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... Encouraged by the initial success of its gold-topped Les Paul model, Gibson added

two new solidbody guitars to its catalogue in 1954. Priced at $325 – exactly $100 more than the regular Les Paul model – the Les Paul Custom featured an imposing Super 400-style headstock inlay, multiple body binding and gold-plated hardware. By contrast, the $99.50 Les Paul Junior was a no-frills, slab-bodied electric, equipped with basic hardware and a single P-90 pickup.

The Les Paul Junior remained Gibson’s least expensive solidbody until 1959, by which time its price had risen to $120. Reasoning that a cheaper solidbody guitar was needed if Gibson was to remain competitive in the entry-level section of the market, the company set about designing a new model that would retail at less than $100.

BUILT TO A PRICEClearly based on the original Les Paul Junior, the Melody Maker featured an unbound single-cutaway slab mahogany body, a one-piece mahogany neck, a dot-inlaid rosewood fingerboard, a single pickup, a stud-mounted wraparound bridge/tailpiece and a dark brown to yellow sunburst finish.

In order to keep the retail price below the magic $100 figure, the new model’s body was three eighths of an inch thinner than that of the Junior (1.375 as opposed to 1.75 inches). Its narrow, 2.25-inch-wide headstock was fitted with open-back, three-on-a-strip tuners with white oval plastic buttons and its electronics – including the jack socket – were mounted Fender-style onto a single-ply black plastic pickguard.

Rather than design a new pickup, Gibson used the rather basic single-coil unit that was already fitted to its Skylark lap steel (for more on the Melody Maker’s pickup, see box on page 114).

MELODY MAKEOVER

GBV&C GIBSON MELODY MAKER

109guitarbuyerJULY 2009

WITH A FEW EASILY REVERSIBLE MODS, THE HUMBLE MELODY MAKER CAN BECOME A FIRE-BREATHING ROCK ’N’ ROLL MACHINE! PAUL ALCANTARA PLUGS IN GIBSON’S UNDERRATED ECONOMY SOLIDBODY…

110 guitarbuyer JULY 2009

GBV&C GIBSON MELODY MAKER

The Melody Maker was available with a full 24.75-inch scale length, 22 frets and a neck-body junction at the 16th fret, or alternatively a short 22.75-inch scale length with 19 frets and a neck-body junction at the 12th fret.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHEDPriced at $99.50 ($89.50 for the guitar plus $10 for the 114 Durabilt soft case), the Melody Maker was significantly cheaper than Fender’s single-pickup bolt-neck Musicmaster. Moreover, the full-scale model, at least, played like a real Gibson, with a glued-in neck, a 22-fret Brazilian

rosewood fingerboard and a lightweight Honduras mahogany body. The guitar’s sound may have left something to be desired, but this was unlikely to be a major issue with the entry-level players at which it was aimed.

It is interesting to note that Gibson initially intended to market the Melody Maker as a Les Paul model. Indeed, the guitar was described in the Gibson Gazette as the “all new Les Paul Melody Maker”. By the time the model made it to the production stage in the spring of 1959, however, the Les Paul connection had been dropped.

BUYING A VINTAGE MELODY MAKER

GOING FOR A SONG

Compared with other vintage Gibson electrics, the various Melody Maker models remain relatively affordable.

If you view your purchase as an investment, however, it is best to seek out an example that is in clean, all-original condition – and if necessary pay slightly more for it. If, on the other hand, you intend to upgrade the hardware, swap out the pickups or change the finish,

it would make more sense to look for what’s referred to as a ‘player’s guitar’: an instrument that has been damaged, refinished or otherwise altered. Guitars in this category can often be snapped up at very affordable prices and, once fitted with the hardware and electronics of your choice, may actually suit your playing needs better than an unadulterated stock instrument.

As a rule, Gibsons built before 1965 are considered more desirable and are priced accordingly. With Melody Makers this doesn’t appear to be the case and the later SG-style models, perhaps because of their attractive fire engine red and Pelham blue finishes, often fetch as much if not more than earlier examples. Three-quarter-size guitars are generally not sought after and this fact should be reflected by a lower asking price.

The prices given below are given in US$ for unmolested guitars in excellent or better condition. Double- and triple-pickup models tend to be more expensive than their single-pickup counterparts, but not markedly so.

TYPE ONE MELODY MAKERSLes Paul Junior-style body (pictured left)with single cutaway and sunburst finish.$1,500 to $2,250

TYPE TWO MELODY MAKERSThe first double-cutaway version (sunburst finish).$1,000 to $1,500

TYPE THREE MELODY MAKERSThe second double-cutaway version (cherry finish).$1,000 to $1,500

TYPE FOUR MELODY MAKERSSG-style body.$1,500 to $2,000

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“The melody maker was significanTly cheaper Than The fender musicmasTer”

n Both of this month’s guitars have been fitted with replacement tuners

GBV&C GIBSON MELODY MAKER

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DOUBLING UPThe success of the single-pickup Melody Maker – 3,073 units of which were shipped in 1959 – led Gibson to introduce a double-pickup version, the Melody Maker D, which was announced in late 1959 and shipped in 1960. Priced at $135 (marginally higher than the company’s single-pickup Junior and TV models), the MM-D was only available with a full 24.75-inch scale length.

In 1958, Gibson revamped the Les Paul Junior with a cherry red finish and, more significantly, a brand new double-cutaway body shape. For a time, both the regular and three-quarter-size Melody Makers continued as single-cutaway models, but in 1961 these too adopted the double cutaway format.

However, unlike the Les Paul Junior, TV and Special models, the Melody Maker’s twin cutaways were symmetrical. Since the neck-body junction remained at the 16th fret, the change of body style appears to have been implemented for cosmetic rather than practical reasons.

In early 1965, the Melody Maker’s body outline changed again. The horns were now angled slightly further away from the neck and the neck-body junction was moved to the 18th fret, thus improving access to the top end of the fingerboard. At the same time, the body edges became slightly more rounded and cherry red replaced sunburst as the standard finish.

POINTY BODIESIn 1966, the Melody Maker adopted the thin double-cutaway

n The neck on this 1965 Melody Maker meets the body at the 18th fret

n The Melody Maker’s small headstock means it’s less prone to being neck-heavy

SAVE CASH BY GRABBING SOME OLYMPIC GOLD

EPIPHONE ALTERNATIVE

If you can live without the ‘G’ word on your guitar’s headstock, it might be worth considering the Gibson-built Epiphone Olympic.

Introduced in 1960, this model is virtually identical to the early single-cutaway Melody Maker, with the same pickup, stud-mounted bridge/tailpiece and narrow headstock. The Olympic Special, introduced in 1962, is equivalent to the ‘type two’ double-cutaway Melody Maker model (it later adopted the body outline of the ‘type three’ double-cutaway Melody Maker). On the whole, the prices of vintage Epiphone solids are lower than their Gibson counterparts and, with luck, an Olympic Special like this one can be found for as little as $650!

body style that the Les Paul solids – by now known as the SG series – had assumed earlier in the decade. Other changes included a large white pickguard that covered much of the upper body, matching white pickup covers and body-mounted knobs and jack socket. A Gibson vibrato was now fitted as standard and the cherry finish was replaced with a choice of ‘fire engine red’ or ‘Pelham blue’.

In 1967 the range was broadened to include a 12-string version (the MM-12) and a three-pickup version (the MM-III). A ‘walnut’ finish was

offered as an option in 1968, going on to become the Melody

Maker’s standard finish two years later. Around the same time the model was upgraded with a full-width headstock. ➔

“The melody maker played like a real gibson guiTar”

n The glued-in neck joint provides good access to the top frets

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GBV&C GIBSON MELODY MAKER

By now the Melody Maker had lost much of its individual character and, in 1971, it was quietly assimilated into the SG range as the SG-100 and SG-200 models (with one and two pickups respectively), which featured a similar SG body style, Melody Maker-type pickups and an oblong metal control plate.

GIBSON’S BEST-KEPT SECRETDespite its budget status, the original Melody Maker was built to the same high standard as any other Gibson guitar. Moreover, its body and one-piece neck were both constructed from resonant Honduras mahogany and its unbound fingerboard from Brazilian rosewood, timbers that are rarely encountered on production electrics today.

Melody Makers built in the late

n This Pelham blue 1968 Melody Maker has been fitted with a full-sized Gibson humbucker

WHAT MAKES ONE PICKUP SOUND DIFFERENT TO ANOTHER?

PICKUP COMPARISON

With the help of US pickup guru Curtis Novak (www.curtisnovak.com), we examine the stock Melody Maker pickup and suggest some replacement options …

MELODY MAKER PICKUPSWhen the Melody Maker first appeared in 1959, it was equipped with a single-coil pickup codenamed the PU-380. Already fitted to Gibson’s Skylark lap steel, the unit was ideally suited to an entry-level model, being both cheap and simple to produce.Externally, the pickup was characterised by an oblong black plastic cover that was 0.875 inches wide and had no visible polepieces. Like other Gibson pickups of the period, its Alnico magnet was wound with number 42-gauge wire. In 1960 the pickup’s grey fibre bobbin was replaced with a moulded nylon bobbin and as a result its width was reduced to 0.625 inches.

“The weakness with the Melody Maker pickup [see below] is that it uses a single bar magnet turned on its end as a blade,” says Curtis Novak. “Most popular Gibson pickups have the bar magnet turned on its side and this is a major factor in creating what we

think of today as the classic ‘Gibson’ tone. When the magnet is laid flat on its side, there is a larger area to sense the strings and thereby affect the coil. In addition, the steel screws, slugs or blades are magnetised and this increases the pickups’ overall magnetic field. With the Melody Maker

pickup, Gibson wound the coil hotter in an attempt to compensate for the lack of metal and the narrow sensing area. In my opinion, they wound them a little too high.”

MINI-HUMBUCKERSEarly Gibson-built Epiphone electrics were fitted with left over ‘New York’ pickups. Once supplies of these were exhausted, Gibson began using three different pickup types: P-90s, Melody Maker-style single-coils and mini-humbuckers.

Designed by Seth Lover (who was also responsible for the full-sized Gibson humbucker), the mini-humbucker has two coils and a metal cover with adjustable slot-head polepieces. A ‘Patent Applied For’

sticker is visible on the base of early examples. The first Gibson model to be fitted with mini-humbuckers was the Les Paul Deluxe of 1969. The mini-humbuckers are wound a little less than a full-size humbucker, so their resistance is slightly lower. Together with its smaller size and narrow magnetic field, this lends the pickup a bright, focused tone.

FIREBIRD PICKUPSSimilar in size to the mini-humbucker, the Firebird ‘Super Deluxe’ pickup can also be fitted to the Melody Maker. It is characterised by a metal cover with no visible polepieces. “Unlike the mini-humbucker, which has a blade in one bobbin and screw polepieces in the other, the Firebird pickup has two steel blades,” says Curtis. “The mini-humbucker used an Alnico-V magnet and the Firebird used a slightly weaker Alnico-II. Other than that, the two pickups are identical.”

1950s and early 1960s have the same 1.69-inch nut width as most other Gibsons of the period and a neck profile that is a delight to play. If their 1.375-inch-thick body is thinner than that of a Les Paul Junior, then it’s actually a 16th of an inch thicker than that of an SG!

That said, in retrospect, Gibson would have been well advised to spend a little extra on the pickup, and it is in this area that many players find the Melody Maker lacking. What constitutes ‘good tone’ is of course subjective but ‘thin’, ‘brittle’ and ‘harsh’ are adjectives that spring to mind when describing the sound of a stock Melody Maker through a clean amp.

OUR GUITARSBoth of this month’s featured guitars are from the collection ➔

n Gibson’s mini-humbucker (right) and Firebird pickups

n A mini-humbucker (right) next to a full-sized PAF

116 guitarbuyer JULY 2009

double-cutaway model in a guitar shop. I was immediately struck by how good and bad these entry-level guitars were. Though Gibson didn’t cut corners in their build quality, the Melody Maker was let down by cheap machineheads, a vibrato that refused to stay in tune and pickups that, while cool in a garage band kind of way, were a little too brittle.

“A few days later, while passing through Las Vegas, I stumbled on a 1965 Melody Maker in amazing condition hanging in the back of a pawnshop. Finished in cherry red, it had my name all over it! Being a player rather than a collector, I immediately began considering how best to modify my new acquisition. Initially, I contemplated ‘doing a Joan Jett’ and fitting two ’buckers, but as I grew more attached to the guitar, the idea of routing its stock mahogany body became less appealing.”

MELODY MODS“A solution came in the form of a man named Kennan Keating who I met in New York City, where we ended our first US tour,” Andy continues. “A soundman at Club Rehab, who had spotted

of Andy Duke, vocalist and bass player with the band Buck Brothers (see www.buckbrothers.net). A self-confessed ‘Melody Maker anorak’, Andy admits to a long-held obsession with Joan Jett.

“The first time I saw a Melody Maker was in the video for ‘I Love Rock ’N’ Roll’ by Joan Jett,” Andy recalls. “I had no idea what model it was at the time – in fact, I thought it was a Gibson ES-335S Deluxe for quite a while! Fast forward to March 2008 and while touring the States with my band Buck Brothers I came across a life-sized poster of Joan Jett holding the axe that I’d lusted after all those years ago. On examining the poster, I could clearly see the words ‘Melody Maker’ on the pickguard just above the neck pickup.

“The search was on and, being in the States, it didn’t take long before I spotted (though didn’t buy) a 1963

GBV&C GIBSON MELODY MAKER

my cherry Melody Maker on stage, said, ‘You’ve got to meet this cat named Kennan – he’ll talk your ear off about Melody Makers’. Numbers were exchanged and, a quick phone call later, I found out that the soundman was right.

“Kennan Keating is the Obi-wan Kenobi of Melody Makers! Not only does he own a bunch of them but he also offers retrofit pickup assemblies that slot right in and don’t require a single change to the guitar’s woodwork. Pre-1966 Melody Maker pickup assemblies are all one-piece, so all you have to do is connect the earth wire and screw the new assembly into place.

“My 1965 Melody Maker now has a one-piece Badass bridge, mini-humbuckers and Grover retrofit machineheads. It sounds like a cross between a Les Paul Deluxe and an SG: bright and well-defined but really big too. It’s incredibly light and holds its tuning better than any Gibson I’ve ever played.

“About a year later I found a 1968 SG-shaped Melody Maker in Pelham blue that had already been fitted with an early 1970s humbucker with ‘Gibson’ embossed on its cover. Like the cherry 1965, the guitar needed new machineheads and it, too, now sports a one-piece Badass bridge. Thanks to the reduced weight of its narrow headstock, it doesn’t ‘floor dive’ like a regular SG does.” GB

n Special thanks go to Andy Duke for the loan of his guitars and to Curtis Novak for sharing his knowledge of vintage pickups

“iT sounds like a cross beTween a les

paul deluxe and an sg”

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n Andy has replaced the unreliable vibrato with an adjustable Badass bridge

n The pickguard-mounted pickups and electronics make it easy to swap out the entire assembly

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GBV&C GIBSON MELODY MAKER

MELODY MAKER TIMELINE1959Introduced in 1959, the Melody Maker features a single-cutaway mahogany body (like that of a Les Paul Junior but 0.375 inches thinner), mahogany neck, dot-inlaid 22-fret rosewood fingerboard and narrow headstock. It is fitted with a wraparound bridge/tailpiece and a 0.875-inch-wide single-coil pickup with a black plastic cover and no visible polepieces. Electronics are mounted to a black plastic pickguard that has the words ‘Melody Maker’ embossed where it meets the fingerboard. The finish is sunburst. A three-quarter-size version is also available. This has 12 frets clear of the body, a 19-fret fingerboard and 22.75-inch scale length. The price for the guitar is $99.50 (including a soft case).

1960A dual-pickup version – the Melody Maker D (MM-D) – is introduced. Priced at $135, it is only available with a full 24.75-inch scale length. It has individual tone and volume controls for each pickup and a three-way toggle selector switch. The pickup width is narrowed to 0.625 inches.

1961The body shape switches to a symmetrical double cutaway outline. The neck to body junction remains at the 16th fret.

Late 1961The bridge/tailpiece now features preset compensated ridges for improved intonation.

1962A Maestro vibrato is now available as an optional extra.

1965The body edges are now more rounded, the horns are angled further away from the neck and the neck-body junction is moved to the 18th fret. The standard finish is changed from sunburst to cherry red.

1966The Melody Maker is redesigned with an SG-shaped body. A large white pickguard covers most of the upper body. The pickup covers are white and the controls are mounted direct to the body. A Gibson vibrato is now fitted as standard. The finish options are fire engine red and Pelham blue.

1967A 12-string version (the MM-12) is available with two pickups and no vibrato. A three-pickup version (the MM-III) is also introduced. The MM-D, MM-III and Melody Maker 3/4 are available with optional sparkling burgundy finish.

1968A walnut finish is added to the options.

Late 1969The MM-D now features a full-size headstock. The MM-12 is available with optional sparkling burgundy or Pelham blue finishes.

1970The single-pickup Melody Maker now has a walnut finish as standard and a full-size headstock.

1971Single- and double-pickup Melody Makers are replaced by the SG-100 and SG-200 models respectively.