NGD: 2014 Gibson Melody Maker

[culturejam]

This year's model is a definite departure from the Melody Makers of years past. But then again, that model seems to be very different from year to year anyway. This is a lot more like a Les Paul Junior Special, but with a carved top, maple cap, wrap-around bridge (like most "regular" Juniors), and the oft-maligned "satin" finish that is on most of Gibson's "cheap" guitars the past few years.

The color is "Mahanttan Midnight", which looks like very dark grey until the light hits it just right, and then the dark blue underneath shows through. Sure, I would have preferred a plain top burst with a decent clear coat, but in Gibson-land that means $$$. It's a decent enough finish, but I suspect it will pick up "relic marks" a lot faster than a traditional finish. It's very raw feeling, which some people like and some hate. I'm on the fence, but I definitely don't hate it.

The body is quite thin and has a body sculpt not unlike a Strat (but less pronounced). The weight on this one is about 7.5 pounds. The carved top is nice and very similar to a typical Les Paul. Fans of the older Melody Maker and Junior flat-slab-o-wood models probably won't like all the curves and cuts. The headstock is standard Gibson rather than the tiny little thing they put on previous models.

Tuners are Klusons with the small white vintage buttons; the quality seems pretty nice on these, and they turn smoothly. I thought I wouldn't like the aesthetics of these, but they kinda work. They will stay for now. The bridge is a wrap-around intonated with set screws to adjust the length (somewhat).

The pickups are interesting, to say the least. They are P90s, but they have a slug pole pieces instead of the typical screw-adjust. These puppies are pretty punchy and sound to me a lot closer to a humbucker than a standard single coil. I might put metal covers on there for the looks, but I'm going to keep the pickups in there a good while and see how I like them.

The neck is medium, in terms of baseball bat-ness. Fretboard looks pretty nice (but needs to be oiled), and the 120th logo inlay actually is kinda neat looking. Must have been robots, because there is no wood filler visible around the inlay.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the quality, fit/finish, and tone. The action is a bit too high for my taste, but that's an easy fix and a personal preference. I got it from Sweetwater in their Deal Zone section; it's a demo unit (presumably in their retail store in Ft. Wayne) and there are a few minor marks, but it took me a few minutes to find them. Price was $460 shipped, which I think is amazing for a USA-made set-neck carved-top guitar, regardless of what name is on the headstock.

Here are a few pics:




I flashed it up good to make the blue show up. It doesn't even really look like this in person.





Here's an up-skirt of the control cavity. I rather like the tidyness of the PCB. And the film caps are a nice touch.

[skullservant]

Awesome. Glad to see they are putting stuff out that is pretty decent. Those pickups remind me of EGC's single coils, those also do not have the screws but instead have slugs. Sweet!

[culturejam]

Those pickups remind me of EGC's single coils, those also do not have the screws but instead have slugs. Sweet!

The factory pickups in my '91 Strat had flat slugs (not staggered), and it reminds me of that (lookswise).

These pickups are fairly noisy, but they sound very good to me. The middle position is dead-quiet though.

[neonblack]

Oh man. I would kill for a bass in this finish. An SG bass.

I'm actually really looking forward to Gibson's 2015 lineup. I hope they keep some of the less expensive options without that dumb anniversary inlay.

[Moose]

That's a pretty nice finish on it, but from the looks of it I think you're right about the self-relic'ing aspect.

Never really been a fan of wraparound bridges, I think if I had it I'd probably change it to a TOM with a stop-tail.



Interested to hear those pickups though, given the slugs rather than screws.


Seems like a good purchase though, especially at that price for the visual quality! Nice one

[coldbrightsunlight]

Seems like a sweet guitar and the price is right, but I don't like that finish.

[culturejam]

A guy on the MyLesPaul forum buffed/polished the finish on his (TV yellow) to a decent shine. Looks pretty good. I may give that a try.

[Disarm D'arcy]

The finish looks super rad in the flash photo.

[Holy Schnikes]

A guy on the MyLesPaul forum buffed/polished the finish on his (TV yellow) to a decent shine. Looks pretty good. I may give that a try.

I've seen this done on many of new Gibson satin finishes and it really does look nice. More of a vintage looking shine as opposed to gloss.

I generally love satin finishes but these new Gibson offerings are downright dull/chalky looking. My only gripe is they usually start shining up from normal play wear anyway so buffing it out a bit is a good option imo.

[Gone Fission]

I'd seen some mention of those pickups in an article in comparison to the "staple" pickups in early 50s Gibsons, and by extension to DeArmond Dynasonics which are quite similar in construction and sound to the staples except for the magnet shape. A big difference on the P90S pickups in the 2014 MM is that the slug magnets aren't height adjustable, but I think that's a similar deal for a lot of Dynasonics-flavored pickups. I'm not sure I would believe the exact same sound could be expected, but the similar coil and magnet geometry should give something different then a P90.

If you ever change the pickups out, I'd be curious to get hands on one.

[culturejam]

If you ever change the pickups out, I'd be curious to get hands on one.

A few guys at the MyLesPaul forum have taken theirs out. You could definitely ask over there (in the Buy/Sell) and probably get some bites. You can find just about any Gibson part there. I once got a brand new single treble-side Gibson Deluxe tuner shipped for $7 there. It's a great source.

[Psyre]

Glad to see a full sized headstock on a melody maker.

[culturejam]

Glad to see a full sized headstock on a melody maker.

Oh, me too! I think tiny little stick of a headstock on most of them looks silly.

[HorseyBoy]

Glad to see a full sized headstock on a melody maker.

Oh, me too! I think tiny little stick of a headstock on most of them looks silly.

Except it doesn't really look like a Melody Maker anymore. Like the OP said, it's more like a Les Paul Junior, especially with those pickups in it.

[culturejam]

Glad to see a full sized headstock on a melody maker.

Oh, me too! I think tiny little stick of a headstock on most of them looks silly.

Except it doesn't really look like a Melody Maker anymore. Like the OP said, it's more like a Les Paul Junior, especially with those pickups in it.

I totally agree with you. It's a lot more like a LP Junior Deluxe than it is a traditional Melody Maker. Although to be fair, there are like 20 different Melody Maker configurations before this one.