The Byrdland, introduced in 1955, was the first in Gibson’s Thinline series to be brought to market although there have been indications that there may have been earlier factory prototypes constructed. The idea behind the guitar was to give guitarists a smaller, lighter, less bulky hollow body guitar than Gibson’s flagship hollow body archtop, the L-5. The specs called for a body depth of 2 1/4 inches, considerably thinner than the L-5′s 3 3/8 inch girth. During the design process, the two jazz guitarists decided that a shorter scale would also be useful since it would allow fingerings that would be more difficult for most guitarists on a longer scale guitar.

The Byrdland entered production in 1955 and remained in the regular Gibson line-up until 1969. After that, it appeared in limited production runs in 1977, 1978 and 1992. There were also custom made versions made in off production years and, since the guitar didn’t usually sell too well due to the high price and specialized nature, it wasn’t unusual for them to hang on a guitar shop’s wall for years. In 1976, a 12 string model was made available to 20 lucky purchasers. Recently, the Byrdland has been available as part of Gibson’s Custom Series so the instrument at a very substantial price tag of $10,471.

The early models, from 1955 through 1958, used a single coil Alnico pickup. This was switched to the new Gibson PAF humbucker in 1958. All years featured separate tone and volume controls with the typical Gibson 500K pots. A three position toggle switch is used to activate either or both pickups.

The body style of the Byrdland varied over the years. The original version, made between 1955 and 1960, had a single Venetian cutaway. This cutaway is rounded. During the 1960′s production runs the Florentine cutaway was used which comes to a sharp point. The most common body colors were a sunburst or natural finish although a wine/burgundy and ebony colors are sometimes seen in production runs. There are rarely seen custom colors and refinishes said to be out there though.

The short scale, 23 1/2 inch, neck is made of five-piece curly maple and has a 22 fret ebony fretboard with pearl block inlays. The neck joins body at the 14th fret and has an adjustable truss rod. In the hardware department, the Byrdland features an adjustable Tune-O-Matic bridge and standard Gibson tuning pegs.

Beyond the two inventors, the Gibson Byrdland was regularly played by John McLaughlin and the guitar was a regular member of many country and jazz studio musician’s arsenal. However, the Byrdland is most associated with rocker Ted Nugent who used the guitar extensively, and often suggestively, in his acts. The Nuge is said to have liked how easy the guitar was to play during is very physical sets and continues to use it today.

A vintage Gibson Byrdland can fetch well over $10K, depending on the condition and originality of the parts. Newer production runs may go for less but they’re still quite pricey. While the Gibson ES-350T was originally intended as a low cost alternative to the Byrdland, it’s reissues have been standard scale, not short scale. Also, the Byrdland or a close match to it hasn’t been issued by Epiphone as an inexpensive choice for the budget minded guitarist.

Related posts:

1. Gibson Melody Maker
2. Fender Jag-Stang

Gibson produced a large number of these guitars and, as you might guess, they were cheap to make. The original body style was a lot like the Les Paul Junior, a single cutaway slab. However, the body used was slightly thinner at 1 3/8 inches. The guitar was front routed with a plastic pickguard holding the pickup and knobs (volume and tone). The common paint job was dark sunburst finish although there is some indications/rumors that custom colors were available during this time.

The original scale length was also like the LP Jr. and regular LP 24 3/4 inches. While this isn’t ‘short scale’ they did make a 3/4 scale model, intended primarily for kids, that was a very short 18.5 inches. Other than the scale length being shorter, the rest of the guitar was the same. The neck featured inexpensive dot inlays.

The original Melody Maker had one single coil pickup in the bridge position. This pickup wasn’t a P90, like on the LP Jr., but a cheaper, less powerful, single coil. During the second production year, 1960, a 2 pickup model was added while the pickups were made slightly smaller and less powerful.

Hardware-wise, the Melody Maker had a wraparound tailpiece and standard Gibson tuning pegs. The wraparound tailpiece is notorious for causing intonation problems and was often replaced by experienced players. Also, a version of the Vibrola vibrato/tremolo bridge was available as an extra cost option.

In 1962, when Gibson was revamping their product line, the Melody Maker was changed from the LP Jr. style body to the SG double cutaway style body. It remained available in both 1 and 2 pickup versions and the 3/4 short scale version was also made available in this new design. Also, a new cherry finish was added to the production models at this time, matching the new SG finish.

In 1966, the Melody Maker saw some attempts to upscale it some. The pickup covers and pickguard were switched to the more popular at the time white and fire engine red and pelham blue finishes were made available. Also, a 3 pickup version was introduced that was called the Melody Maker III. In 1967, a 12 string version was made as well. In 1970, a walnut finish was added.

In 1971, the original Melody Maker line ended, being replaced with new SG models.

Between 1977 and 1983, Gibson did a reissue of the SG style double cutaway version of the Melody Maker. This model featured updated hardware, such as the Tune-O-Matic bridge, and a slightly different pickup. A number of punk band guitarists of the day liked this guitar due to its brash tone and it not being like the typical MTV hair metal guitars of the day.

In 1986, Gibson did another Melody Maker reissue, this time with the classic single cutaway body. However, unlike the original, this guitar had a single humbucker, a P94, along with updated hardware. This reissue was discontinued two years later in 1988.

In the 1990′s and 2000′s there have been a couple of guitars based roughly on the Melody Maker although they’ve strayed somewhat from the original. These include the Gibson All American II, which was available in the mid-90′s and the very limited run Les Paul Melody Maker seen in the mid-00′s.

In 2007, we got an actual Melody Maker reissue with something close to the original smaller single coil pickup and the classic wraparound bridge/tailpiece. A 2 pickup version was available for about a year but was discontinued. As of this writing, the single bridge pickup version is available through retail channels.

In 2008, Gibson released a Joan Jett signature model of the Melody Maker. It has a Burstbucker 3 pickup, an ebony fretboard and a double cutaway style body. It has a kill switch in place of the pickup selector.

Other artists known to use the Melody Maker from time to time include Mick Jones of The Clash, Robby Krieger of The Doors, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. The attraction of the Melody Maker is that it has a comfortable feel and is a good way to get a single coil sound without having to switch to a longer scale Fender guitar.

While it’s not technically a short scale guitar, except for the long discontinued 3/4 model, I wanted to include the Melody Maker here for completeness sake. After all, 18.5 inches is one of the shortest production guitars made by one of the major manufacturers.

Related posts:

1. Gibson Byrdland
2. Fender Jaguar
3. Fender Mustang