Owners of the '59 Melody Maker Reissue, tell me about your experiences with them!

[thegamestop]

I'm thinking about buying a '59 RI, not the 2011 limited edition one. I was curious what your experiences are with them. I know there were quite a few people in here who bought them when they were cheap at MF. Also show them if you got em!

[thegamestop]

Everyone must have sold theirs I guess.

[Elias Graves]

I've had two. The single and the double pickup model. Both of mine were well put together and played great.

I just hated the lack of finish on them. That worn or faded or whatever they call it was worn through in nothing flat.

The narrow headstock can be problematic if the nut isn't just so.

Some didn't like the pickups, but I liked em just fine.

[poolshark]

 

They're well built, but still feel cheap and trashy. Fun guitars, and I love mine.

[thegamestop]

What pickups do you have in there?

 

They're well built, but still feel cheap and trashy. Fun guitars, and I love mine.

[poolshark]

Dimarzio mini hums.

[harold heckuba]

I also had two of them, but sold them off. I was not happy with the build quality, even for the then-price of $300.

Paint job was like what you would do to your barn. There are just a lot of better guitars for the same money,

unless someone is selling one very cheap.

[Belva]

 

well built, but cheap and trashy.

 

Sounds like a woman I know........

[DaveGrima]

 

I love mine. I put a set of Lace Sensors in it but Im not really digging them, Probably change em out soon. I like Poolsharks idea of mini-hums. Either that or some kind of P-90 I can fit in there.

[ilikeguitar90]

I used to have one and loved it, it was really light and fun to play. For whatever reason, I remember the strings feeling really heavy though when I had 9s on it, which is weird because I own a few other guitars (including another Gibson) that have 9s and 10s, but the strings on the Melody Maker felt the heaviest by far.

[Spudro]

I've got the single pickup one. I already owned the yellow '04 Melody Maker... a real tone monster!

 

 

I didn't care for the newer sunburst Melody Maker's "Special Design Singlecoil Pickup" as much as I like a P90, so I replaced it with a real P90. That pickup replacement helped a lot, but I like my yellow '04 more. The newer sunburst is certainly a usable guitar (especially with the P90) and I have no intention of ever selling it. One thing that I really do like about the newer MM is the wraptail bridge. An uncompensated wraptail ("slant tail") is my favorite Gibson bridge.

 

I find that both of the Melody Makers are very responsive to string gauge. I use Dean Markley Blue Steels 11-52 on both of them. They're a little heavy but they reward with great tone. I am not a heavy string SRV wannabe. I use 9-42 on my R4 Les Paul because there is not nearly as much of a tone payoff with that heavier guitar. Why fight heavier gauge strings if it doesn't help with tone or intonation? The light Melody Maker with almost no paint smothering the wood are very responsive to strings and technique.

 

Another mod to the sunburst Melody Maker that happened after the photo was taken was I replaced the tuners with full size Grover Rotomatics. There was a tone improvement there as well, probably because of the additional mass on the headstock.

 

Who knows? A different example of the newer sunburst may sound as good or better to me than my yellow '04. There's nothing wrong with the sunburst MM, I just happen to like my '04 more.

[mockchoi]

I've got the single pickup one. I already owned the yellow '04 Melody Maker... a real tone monster!

 

I would love this yellow guitar...man I wish I could still get one!

[Ratbatblues]

 

I also had two of them, but sold them off. I was not happy with the build quality, even for the then-price of $300. Paint job was like what you would do to your barn. There are just a lot of better guitars for the same money, unless someone is selling one very cheap.

 

 

What Mr Heckuba said.

[profgalen]

I really like the neck on the 59RI. Sure the finish is cheap but I don't worry about about the wear. I like the light weight. I installed BG MM90 pups. I liked the original pups, but no RWRP for hum cancellation. The MM90s sound better too. I also switched the bridge for better intonation. No tuning issues. I gig it sometimes. It is what it is. No complaints.

[thegamestop]

Thanks for the responses guys, I am still on the fence about buying one. I want it for the simplicity, and the neck profile. I'll have to see if I can find one used first.