Members cliffenstein Posted May 3, 2017 Members Share Posted May 3, 2017 I got this bad boy in late March for $299 (case included). I put on locking tuners and strap locks and then promptly took it in to the best luthier in town. The 5 week wait was torture for me, but I am so happy with the results! 1. Setup (neck straightened, action super low all the way up the fretboard, no fret buzz) 2. Fretboard stained (it was light-ish and streaky...now it looks almost ebony and the stain isn't rubbing off onto my fingers from playing) 3. Nut filed properly for 11 gauge strings (no binding!) 4. Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickup installed (very minor extra routing was required in order to get the wires through, but otherwise the Hot Rails fit) Instructions were given to replace the bridge if the intonation couldn't be set close enough, but the original bridge remains and the intonation is really quite good! When I got the guitar back, the pickup was all the way down. Melody Makers have much more space between the body and the strings than most Gibsons, so I actually had to raise the pickup all the way up. It sounds absolutely fantastic in this guitar. I'm getting great meaty tone. My other guitarist also has a 2007 Melody Maker and it's at my house right now. His has a Gibson 498T installed in it. After getting my guitar back today, I went back and forth between the guitars and they sound VERY similar to each other. Both retain the dirty, gritty tone that Melody Makers are known for, but with the improved humbucker voicing. I figured the guitars would sound very different from each other with the different pickups, but it's quite remarkable just how much these two guitars sound alike. The neck profile is killer...I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!!! Photos of my finished Melody Maker: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Congratulations! I'm glad the wait was worth it. That looks like a very cool guitar. The neck profile is killer...I LOVE THIS THING!!!!!!! What's the profile like? Is it more of a beefy 50s / rounded profile, a 60s SlimTaper, or something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cliffenstein Posted May 3, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 3, 2017 What's the profile like? Is it more of a beefy 50s / rounded profile, a 60s SlimTaper, or something else? 1959 Melody Maker neck profile. Bigger than 60's slim taper, but not baseball bat. It's the perfect chunky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Very cool - again, congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted May 3, 2017 Members Share Posted May 3, 2017 Congrats!!! I've been hankering about the double single coil model, but it so rarely comes up for sale...... Great guitars for the price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 4, 2017 Members Share Posted May 4, 2017 Congratulations. Happy New Guitar Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted May 4, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 4, 2017 Almost impossible Ant, I've been looking for around 4-5 years, make your own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted May 4, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 4, 2017 I wouldn't have put that pickup in there, but ifs ya like it, cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cliffenstein Posted May 4, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 4, 2017 I wouldn't have put that pickup in there' date=' but ifs ya like it, cool.[/quote'] I would have and I did. It sounds absolutely stellar. I'm a rock guitarist and it suits me perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted May 4, 2017 Moderators Share Posted May 4, 2017 As I said, if it suits you...cool. I find the original rips face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cliffenstein Posted May 4, 2017 Author Members Share Posted May 4, 2017 All good...the original to me just sounded like a too hot single coil, which is obviously great for some, but just isn't for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted May 4, 2017 Members Share Posted May 4, 2017 They are fun guitars. I have the two single coil pickup version of that guitar that MF was selling. Me, I particularly liked its stock pickups. They just seemed unique enough (like somewhere between a Fender single coil and a Gibson P-90) to where I would not want to replace them. But OTOH, I can certainly see if you're not a hoarder/collector like me, that making the guitar your own makes sense. Enjoy! It was interesting to me to click on this, because lately I've been thinking I've got to dig mine back out. For a while it was hanging on the wall in my bedroom as my bedroom guitar (also have one of those little Yamaha desktop amps for bedroom play). I swapped out the MM for a Nighthawk SP-3, which has more switches and is purdier, but I miss the sound of that MM. It's got a good vibe to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted May 4, 2017 Members Share Posted May 4, 2017 I know!!! Been looking for years too, but every time one comes up they're too far away and don't want to ship or I don't have the cash at the time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted May 6, 2017 Members Share Posted May 6, 2017 Very cool man, looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.