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Gibson Melody Maker Electric Guitar
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Gibson Melody Maker Electric Guitar

The Gibson Melody Maker Electric Guitar; One of the most popular guitars in Gibson's history.
An unbelievable value for players of all ages, styles and skill levels; the Melody Maker was originally introduced as a student model, much like the Les Paul Junior, the Melody Maker became a player's favorite for its light weight, comfortable neck, and great tone. Today's Melody Maker is a special tribute to the style of the 1959 edition of this beloved guitar.

The Melody Maker is no exception to Gibson's quality guitar craftsmanship. With a period-correct pickguard housing a special design single-coil pickup, a vintage-style wraparound tailpiece, rounded 50s neck profile, and slim, light body.

Gibson Melody Maker Features
  • Slim, Solid Mahogany Body
  • 50s Rounded Neck Profile with Set-Neck Construction
  • 22-Fret Rosewood Fingerboard with Nickel and Silver Alloy Frets
  • Gibson’s Special Design Singlecoil Pickup
  • Compensated Wraparound Bridge/Tailpiece
  • Angled Headstock
  • Adjustable Truss Rod
  • Dot Inlays
  • Nitrocellulose Finish
Slim, Solid Mahogany Body
The most central of all the Melody Maker’s features is its slim, solid mahogany body. The mahogany goes through the same rigorous selection process as all of Gibson’s woods, and is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson’s team of skilled wood experts before it enters the factories. Inside the Gibson factories, humidity is maintained at 45 percent, and the temperature at 70 degrees. This ensures all woods are dried to a level of equilibrium, where the moisture content does not change during the manufacturing process. This guarantees tight-fitting joints and no expansion, and controls the shrinkage and warping of the woods, in addition to reducing the weight. It also improves the woods’ machinability and finishing properties. Consistent moisture content means that a Melody Maker will respond evenly to temperature and humidity changes long after it leaves the factory. Gibson’s Special Design Singlecoil Pickup

The legendary Melody Makers of the late 1950s and early 1960s were the best-selling models of Gibson’s famed Golden Era, and with good reason—they were lightweight, equipped with a comfortable neck, and capable of exceptional tone courtesy of Gibson’s own singlecoil pickup. Today’s Melody Maker sports a special-design singlecoil pickup that delivers that same vintage tone and performance. A stellar combination of high output and sweet treble response, this multi-ceramic magnet pickup provides plenty of punchy bite when needed, as well as incredible sustain and cutting power.

Compensated Wraparound Bridge/Tailpiece
A classic piece of hardware first used on the Les Paul Junior, the compensated wraparound bridge/tailpiece on the Melody Maker offers a simplicity and functionality that is hard to match. It provides a firm seating for the strings, and allows the player to adjust intonation and string height as needed. It also yields a great union between the strings and body, which results in excellent tone and sustain.

50s Rounded Neck Profile
No guitar neck profiles are more distinguishable than the neck profiles employed on the Gibson models of today. The more traditional ’50s neck profile is the thicker, rounder profile, emulating the neck shapes of the iconic 1958 and 1959 Les Paul Standards. The neck is machined in Gibson’s rough mill using wood shapers to make the initial cuts. But once the fingerboard gets glued on, the rest, including the final sanding, is done by hand. That means there are no two necks with the exact same dimensions. So while it still has the basic characteristics of its respective profile, each neck will be slightly different, with a distinct but traditional feel.





American Musical Supply - an Authorized Gibson Internet Retailer
AmericanMusical.com has been selected as one of Gibson's very few Authorized Internet Retail Sites in the United States. As one of these select few Internet sites, AMS offers an unparalleled selection of all of Gibson’s premium brands, all covered by Gibson’s Limited Lifetime Warranty – only available from Authorized Gibson retailers.

Gibson is recognized as one of the most respected guitar builders in the world. AMS is proud to have a decades-long history with them and honored that Gibson has chosen us to bring their world-class instruments to you. Look for more new product announcements, special events and promotions in the coming months.

Gibson - Pure.
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Gibson Melody Maker Electric Guitar Specifications
  • Body Species: Mahogany
  • Body Style: Slim Solid Mahogany
  • Neck Species: Mahogany
  • Neck Profile: 50s Rounded Neck
  • Peghead Pitch: 17 degrees
  • Nut Width: 1.695 inch
  • Neck Joint: Set-Neck Construction
  • Neck Joint Location: 16
  • Head Inlay: Gibson Logo - Silkscreen
  • Truss Rod: Adjustable
  • Fingerboard Species: Rosewood
  • Scale Length: 24-3/4 inch
  • Number of Frets: 22
  • Inlays: Dot
  • Hardware Color: Chrome
  • Tailpiece: Wraparound
  • Bridge: Compensated Wraparound Tailpiece
  • Knobs: Black Top Hat
  • Tuners: Vintage White Button
  • Pickups: Special Design Single Coil
  • Controls: One volume, One tone
  • Strings: .010-.046 Brite Wires

 
 
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Rate and Review this Product:      Rate It
16 people rated this item
G.L.Walston from Indiana state B-Ball champs 1954.
garywalston1@aol.com
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Subject:My favorite blues guitar.
Quality: How old is Gibson USA?
Sound: Adjust the amp to your liking.
Reliability: I think my great grand kis will play it as much as my son will when it become thiers.
Overall: The finish seems to worry a lot of folks.I have no stay at home guitars. I have only favored guitars for certain songs. If you carry those with you the get bumped around. Sound is more impurtant than looks. Great little piece for the price.
Playability and Feel: Plays like an old friend.
Tone: YES,YES,YES,YES.
Finish: Nice old look and feel to me, If you want a $2,000 paint job, buy a Les Paul Custom.
Action: Straight from the box.
Skill Level: Pro-Rock Star
Do you own this product?: Oh,Yeah.
Date submitted: 9-22-09
 
emaynard from Summerville, SC USA
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Subject:Incredible Value in a USA made Gibson
Quality: Built like an American guitar should be
Sound: The guitar came setup with the pickup in the highest position, which sounded extremely hot and harsh. After taking it down closer to the top and taking the tone control down to 4/5, I was able to get a very nice sound. I'm playing it through my 1984 Marshall JCM800.
Reliability: Just got it, but everything seems well built.
Overall: I've owned many guitars over the years and have fallen in love with my new Gibson Melody Maker. I regularly play my Gibson Les Paul Classic, but find myself picking up the MM more and more often. It is so light and comfortable that it's hard to put down.
Playability and Feel: Incredible neck. It's very fast and comfortable.
Tone: Bright with an extremely hot pickup.
Finish: Nitrocellulose finish is a low-cost finish, but allows the wood to breath and age. Gibson put tape over the edges of the guitar to protect it during shipping, and it was a bear to remove the adhesive that remained. They need to pack better!
Action: Action was great out of the box.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Do you own this product?: Yes
Date submitted: 08/26/2009
 
Matt from New York
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Subject:The best deal around!
Quality: The melody maker is an awesome deal. American made and you can tell. its very rugged and durable although it looks frail. only let down s the tuners seem a little ghetto .
Reliability: Because its the cheapest guitar i own, it gets well beaten up kinda like a stray dog. but it looks as good as it did when i brought it , and its not been kept in a case.
Overall: you wont find a better deal or harder working guitar period.
Playability and Feel: Its one of the lightest guitars i've ever held except the parker fly but hey. The neck its a little thick but nothing to cry about . The controls are very very easy to use.
Tone: the tone is as rock'n'roll as it gets. I'll be honest i brought it as a cheaper substitute for the tele caster as i didn't want a mim model.It is nothing at all like the tele, but has uniquely awesome tones. I was very surprised to find it tunes down well, the single coil sounds awesome in drop d or even a whole step down then dropped to b.
Finish: the finish is not really that amazing, but from a distance it looks good.
Action: a little high for me but some might like that.
Skill Level: Semi-Pro
Do you own this product?: yes for 2 years
Date submitted: 6\17\09
 
Brian Paris from North Jersey
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Subject:Many better options out there
Quality: The quality is solid but the fit and finish is poor. Cheap components you can tell they cheaped out to keep the price low. Gibson is putting out low quality and hoping the name "Gibson" sells it.
Reliability: It is soild - meaning the neck, & fretboard are in there. But the tuning pegs are absolutly awful, it DOES NOT stay in tune. It will need a setup upon arrival. But I am an out of the box kind of guy and replacing the tuners seems like a waste. Don't make a cheap guitar if it isn't going to work.
Overall: You can buy an Epiphone or Mexi Fender for around the same price and get a far better product. The looks are terrible, the finish does not last, it does not stay in tune and the sound (pickup) it flat and trebbley. Unless you are a label junkie (Gibson) you can do better.
Playability and Feel: Controls are in a good spot the neck is fat, I like that it does have a good feel to it. I do like the "Fit" and "Feel" when playing it.
Tone: Horrible. I have been playing for 25 years and I never changed a pickup in a guitar before since I believe you should buy it because of the sound when you play it at the store. I took a chance on this one because got it so cheap and ordered it online. It is flat and tinny NO BASS, and NO MIDRANGE. And do not think "Twang" when I say this - the pickup stinks and I replaced mine with a Duncan Quarter Pound Strat.
Finish: Terrible. It comes off after time and does not look great to begin with. You can get an Epiphone that looks like a million bucks for the same price. And it will sound better too.
Action: Needed a setup but came out well. The wrap around tail piece makes it difficult to intonate.
Skill Level: Pro-Rock Star
Do you own this product?: Yes - for a year now
Date submitted: 2-24-09
 
Joe from Cave City Ky. U.S.A.
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Subject:Good but not great . Poor delivery from UPS .Didn't knock on door. Laid it in the driveway and left.
Quality: Average
Reliability: Haven't had it long yet
Overall: Fair
Playability and Feel: Fair
Tone: Fair
Finish: Poor
Action: Fair
Skill Level: Beginner
Do you own this product?: yes
Date submitted: 12-05-08
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