Gibson Melody Maker Electric Guitar

June 3, 2007 by Jo Minor 


In the late 1950’s, Gibson produced a small, student sized - and budget priced - electric guitar they called the Melody Maker. At a lower price and lighter weight, it soon became popular with guitarists everywhere of all ages and music styles. This guitar has been reissued, and looks just like the vintage models. It’s capable of cranking out today’s hit sounds as well as those classic rock ‘n’ roll numbers.

The Gibson Melody Maker electric guitar is available with one or two single coil pickups, and retails for $529-$639. That almost sounds cheap for a Gibson, doesn’t it. The guitar is faithful to the original design, right down to the period-correct pickguard and vintage style wrap around tail piece.

Advantages: The first advantage to the Gibson Melody Maker electric guitar is the reasonable price. If you always wanted to own a genuine Gibson, the Melody Maker is your chance. The smaller size makes it easy to play, but it is still substantial feeling. Many players really like the playability of this guitar. It’s said to really sing and put out some unbelievable tones. Of course, you need to try it before you buy it, since guitarists are pretty unique, and a lot of people who’ve tried out the Melody Maker think it’s not so great.

But in all fairness, there are more buyers who like this guitar than who don’t. It can scream. It has good bass punch. It stays in tune and might not need much set up adjustment, as many players liked the feel right out of the box. It has a lot of versatility, too, because you can play just about any sort of music on it. In fact, single coil pickups are popular for country pickers who like a lot of twang.

Disadvantages: One complaint that is often heard with this guitar is that you need strap locks because the angle of the top strap bolt is such that it tends to let go, especially if you like to play with the guitar slung pretty low. Also, the toggle switch is positioned such that you might hit it while strumming.

If you like the classic Gibson Humbucker pickups, you won’t get them with the Melody Maker, so that’s something to keep in mind. The finish on this guitar is nothing special. After all, it is styled as a reissue of a 1959 guitar, so it’s supposed to look sort of outdated and worn. (The sunburst comes in a satin finish instead of a gloss finish.) Of course, the “patina of age” is part of the fun for a lot of us, but if you want gloss and beauty in your Gibson, you are probably going to have to move up the product ladder to a more expensive guitar.

As for quality, it has been suggested that the reissued Gibson Melody Maker guitars are nowhere near as well made as the Melody Maker guitars Gibson made back in the late fifty’s and early sixties. If you played one of the originals years ago, the reissue might disappoint you.

Several reviewers have indicated that Gibson really shouldn’t put their name on a guitar like the Melody Maker, because it really doesn’t have the quality of sound or workmanship you expect when you see the Gibson name on an electric guitar. It is true that it seems like you can “afford” a guitar from the best companies. Maybe they have to sell low end instruments in order to make money. Everyone wants the prestigious logo, but not everyone has the money to save up and get a high dollar axe. It makes you think a little less of the Guitar manufacturer in the long run if they put their name on a lower quality instrument.

A couple of players report that the neck does not extend far enough below the high E string for you to keep your finger on the fretboard. The string can even get caught on the pickup.

Specs:

  • Mahogany body
  • Rounded single cutaway body
  • Rounded mahogany neck
  • Neck joined at the 16th fret
  • Rosewood fingerboard
  • 24.75 inch scale
  • 22 frets
  • 1.695 inches wide at the nut
  • Dot inlays
  • Chrome plated hardware
  • Wraparound tailpiece
  • Black top hat control knobs
  • Vintage white button tuners
  • One or two single coil pickups
  • one volume control and one tone control
  • Brite Wire strings, .010-.046
  • Available in Worn White, Ebony, and Vintage Sunburst satin finish

If you happen to be interested in vintage Gibson electric guitars, including the Melody Maker, check out this web page. It has some beautiful color photos of vintage Gibsons.

Go to the Gibson website, and you can click on a little video to see and hear the Melody Maker in action. It sounds pretty good!

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