Gibson Melody Maker

The Gibson Melody Maker, which was introduced in 1959, was Gibson’s answer to the problem of competing against Fender and other guitar companies for the lower end, budget and student, guitar market. Gibson had been primarily known for making higher end guitars, such as the Les Paul and ES semi-hollows. They needed a cheap guitar to round out their product line, a Gibson guitar that just about anyone could afford.

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.

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