Gibson Les Paul Melody Maker

P-90 is great. wood on mine is toneful. helps looks to put on a LPJ pick guard. Should have a one piece bridge like my 56 LPJ but in my old age gotta say the schaeler tuneo matic makes life simpler[my car is still not an automatic but maybe next time....]

It really does sound great. ends the hunt for ridiculously priced vintage single p-90 guitars;period. tube amps of all styles/sizes//tone and volume contols give huge flexability. I always come back to one of my good vintage teles but u know this is way more versatile and it does have lots of character...like a GOOD 50's Junior...friendly guitar//loveable

Action, Fit,fabulous....finish is the cheap unfilled grain style 2 keep price point. who gives a shit! fair deal.reminds me of all the stripped juniors i owned...

solid[the new mahogany gibson uses benifits sgs and other thin guitars and kills the thick ones....its heavier and the MM is as heavy as a 50's junior and u can't whip the neck around with a sideways glance like on an early 60's sg...strong..

who cares,i'm not an accountant...why would i ask a big corporation to help me....if it breaks u fix it or take it to the cool repair guy. is this news???

i'm about 60 and i learned my 3 chords when i was 10.if i had kept all the gear i have owned bill gates would be trying to have lunch with me. this guitar is a steal. the deal has come full circle.after the beatles hit america they cut down all the trees to make guitars and it wasn't until the last 10 years or so that u could get away with a new guitar.makes me laugh to see 70's gibsons and fenders being fought over on the vintage market[martins too] all u young guys should beware:"old" is not necesarily good and u can't afford pre beatles[1964] pieces. and watch out for all the fender/gibson hype stuff in the show rooms...overwhelmingly dead junk.talk to old guys; show an interest and have them let u play some "good" guitars...get the feel of how the majic works and u will be able to avoid the expensive junk. good luck.

Mine is a 59 re-issue made in 2007. Basic satin white with one single coil pickup at the neck, a volume knob, and tone knob. Les Paul body shape with a weight less than my AM STD Strat. Simple Gibson Kluson style tuners and a tailpiece which doubles as a bridge. Neck is somewhat on that fat side, but by no means uncomfortable to play. I give a 9 only because sometimes less is more.

I am very impressed with the sound of the single coil pickup. It sounds nothing like my Strat, but rather has a definite Gibson sound to it. Imagine a humbucker sound without the humbucking capability. Of course any single coil is a great noise antenna under certain conditions, and this is no exception. But again not so bad, and very usable.

OK, its basically a higher end starter electric. No frills, just meat. I personally had to perform a proper fret level, dress and setup. After doing this, it pays as easily as any of my other guitars which also include higher end Gibsons and Fenders and...
The body and neck are constructed of multi-piece mahogany and the fret board is rosewood. Again, your basic Gibson makeup.
The finish is very basic also with no wood filler and no high gloss lacquer. Simply white paint and a few shots of mat lacquer for the final layers. I give it a 9 here simply because it plays great after the proper fret-leveling and dressing. The frets are the same height and width as my other higher end Les Pauls as well.

The unit is built to last. Everything is solid and with proper care and normal maintenance, should last most people a lifetime.

I have never had used Gibson customer support in my 38 years playing.

I have been playing for 38 years, non-professional. I have or own many Gibson, Fender, Electra, Guild, and bla-bla-bla over the years. This guitar is just one of more than I can remember now.
It's a great guitar to simply pickup and start playing when you get an idea, or just need that five minute stress vent. Stays in tune and doesn't let you down.
There is really nothing I don't like about it. It forces you to play well as there is really not any bells and whistles to dick around with.
And finally, the price is right!

Features??!! We don't need no stinking features! A mahogany slab,one p-90, one volume pot, one tone pot. Done. I do have to say that I was looking for a JR with the wraparound tailpiece but I'm very glad I ended up with the tune-o-matic-stopbar combo. Very stable and allows me to thrash with confidence.

Barks like a junkyard dog. Sings like an angel

Solid simple git. The dude I bought it from put on a LP JR type pickguard and he did a nice job so it looks really gear. It was also perfectly set up. I like the satin red finish. It looks old skool and inspires me to play the **** out of it without worry.

It's a Gibby. I could beat you with it and not miss a lick. Oh yeah, put on strap locks! DUH!

Umm.. I bought it used off the net?

Suits me well. Very sensitive to pick attack and the p-90 gives me wood.
I play mostly angry white guy stuff and this git gives an excellent voice to my words. If you can find one of these, buy one.

Just the right amount. Mahogany body, P-90 in bridge, tone and volume, cedar neck, IMO awesome headstock. I sold it a while ago but I'm in the market looking for another. Hit me up on the harmony central forums if you want to sell yours! My username is Occupied By Tim

Perfect for punk. You can easily dial in the famous Green Day sound on the Warning record, also some sounds from The Briefs. Great stuff. I sold it a while ago but I'm in the market looking for another. Hit me up on the harmony central forums if you want to sell yours! My username is Occupied By Tim

Terrible out of the factory but easily fixed. I sold it a while ago but I'm in the market looking for another. Hit me up on the harmony central forums if you want to sell yours! My username is Occupied By Tim

I'd get some straplocks, and watch out for the headstock. I sold it a while ago but I'm in the market looking for another. Hit me up on the harmony central forums if you want to sell yours! My username is Occupied By Tim

Great for Surf, Punk, Classic Rock, and even blues. I sold it a while ago but I'm in the market looking for another. Hit me up on the harmony central forums if you want to sell yours! My username is Occupied By Tim

Everythings been listed before.
Slim 60's neck
Padded Gibson Gigbag with Tool for trussrod adjustment.
Mine was made in Nashville Oct 5th in 2006 s/n 027860507 and was the 7th guitar built that day if all Gibsons info is to be believed.
This guitar is very limited in it's features.

Ok now to the good bit...This guitar unplugged sounds very good.
Stick a wire into it and away we go...straight to punk rock city. yeah it's noisy in a room full of electric gear..remember it's using a 50's designed pickup, and wow what a pickup..bloody love that P90.
Yeah you can squeeze out some differing tones, but for me it's vol on 10 and tone gets rolled from 7-10.
I like the sound alot.

This guitar was bought new and came via mailorder.
I was expecting some setup work and all i had to do were a few minor bridge saddle adjustments and now she's perfect.
For a budget Gibbo i was really surprised, everything has been put together very well and neatly (well there ain't even a pickguard)
The finish is one of the many price savers on this guitar...so what!

As far as i can see this will be around for a very long time, the finish will wear to bare wood, the strap buttons need changing cos they're far too small.
Yeah gig with this..no real need for a backup...what yer expecting? the neck to fall off!!
I don't just depend on this guitar..i need it.

Limited lifetime warranty.

I've been playing for 25+ yrs
I own lots of guitars.
If i could buy this guitar again i would but it's been discontinued as of this year.
I Love the sound, it also plays very well..not brilliant but very well indeed. It is gonna look like a a beaten bag of crap in 20yrs, but it'll still be sounding great and playing well. It's kinda like a cross between a Melody Maker and a Junior.
It's the Punk in Rock it's the Guts in Blood n Guts.
It's raw and i love my little 'yeller peril'

One P 90, one volume, 1 tone. Mahogany body, set cedar neck, 22 frets, skinny headstock, Gibson deluxe tuners. Simple, simple, simple. For me, this is bliss. For others it may be too limiting, so no rating in this category.

Biting, vintage blues tone for days. Cleans up well, darkens up nicely with the tone knob, and doesn't get muddy as long as you use the volume knob at the same time. Someone below said that the wiring makes the tone and volume knobs work differently than on most guitars - it's true. The tone knob is almost like another volume knob. When both are full-on, it really screams. With the volume on 8 and the tone on 7, it rings like a bell. If you like P 90s, this one is a shining example of that sound (and the noise that comes along with it, by the way).

Pretty stripped-down. I'm guessing it's a nitro finish, no gloss to speak of. I think it's awesome, and it gets kind of shiny where you touch it most often - the lower bass-side bout and the back of the neck. It's not for everyone, that's for sure, but it never needs polishing and it should start to look older than it is in a couple of years.

As simple as it is, it should be very reliable. Oh, and it weighs MAYBE six pounds - lightest solidbody I've ever played. Good tune-o-matic bridge and stop tail, unlike the wraparound of the Juniors. I like the ability to fine tune the intonation.

n/a

I'm an old hand at this stuff, but I'm not virtuoso or anything. I chose this because I like simplicity and wanted a lighter guitar. I love P90s, so this was an easy purchase. (US-made Gibson for $400? Are you kidding?) Besides, I wanted to sort of challenge myself to get good tone from as simple a set-up as possible. This guitar with a tube amp can be all you really need, if you're playing blues or classic rock. From Leslie West to Green Day, this will cover all your bases, and I'm finsing out that it'd quite capable of Telecaster-type clean tones as well. Spend some time with it and it will become a favorite in your arsenal.

Features? Sure, just not the conventional "features," like four knobs, two switches, three pickups, coil-splitters, "no-load" tone control, fancy inlays, multi-radius fretboard and a finicky high-gloss finish. Instead, it has these features: an amazing-sounding P-90 pickup, a tune-o-matic bridge and a stop tailpiece, a bone nut, and vintage Gibson deluxe tuners. Made in USA.

For those who believe that an unplugged electric will reveal its potential for tone, this will amaze you. "Resonant" just doesn't do it justice; the thing just rings. Plugged in, you've got all the tonal possibilities you could ask for, as long as you're willing to use the volume and tone knobs in conjunction with each other. The easy part is getting the famous blues grit tone. Just dime both knobs and turn up your tube amp and you're there. But lower the volume knob and finesse the tone and you can get all the clean shimmer you'll ever need. Drop the tone even further and you're in jazz territory, especially with an amp that has some clean headroom. Do you need two pickups? Well, they can certainly make life easier, but the short answer is "no." You only NEED one P-90, some good ears and a little sensitivity to pick attack.

I like the look, personally. For all the complaints I've made about Gibson (don't get me started about the downright shoddy construction of the faded double-cut), this one came in great shape. Finished frets, great action, a neck with proper relief, and solid intonation. I screwed the stop tailpiece down a little. strung it with D'Addarios, and the rest was right. Either the shop did a nice set-up, or Gibson is hiring better QC people. I like the satin finish - it's nice to not worry about fingerprints - but it's a real plain Jane guitar whose appearance probably isn't for everybody. Makes me want to smack it around a little.

Seems pretty darn solid. Not much to it, with no switches and only two knobs. Thin body and a thin finish. Me likes.

Who knows?

I've jettisoned every other guitar in my collection. This one is the keeper, although it wasn't intended to be. I can't explain it; maybe it's the LP Junior vibe, maybe it's that I'm just too stupid for all the other guitars' bells and whistles. After playing for 30+ years, I've finally gotten to the point where I just don't give a damn about what a guitar looks like, how it's marketed, or which pro plays it. Give me reliability and a solid tone foundation, and let me figure out the rest. The guitar isn't going to make up for my deficiencies as a player anyway, so I might as well just get the sound I like. I like the P-90 sound the best, whether for classic rock, blues, or just clean through a Twin Reverb. The only other guitar that comes close is a Tele, but the bidge pickup is too bright, I don't like bolt-on necks, and after spending some time with this MM, I've come to view dual pickups with disdain. I could probably buy something that costs three times as much as this little plank, and not like it nearly as much as I love this one. Who knew? Gibson's best kept secret, period.

I picked up one of these so-called "entry level" Gibson Melody Makers and I absolutely love it. Mine is an '03 model in the faded yellow finish. Love the paint job on this thing. Makes me think of a house in need of a new paint job after a good twenty years of weathering. And I mean that in a good way. The previous owner (I bought this one "used") took the liberty of attaching a Les Paul Junior pickguard to it and it looks fabulous. I have never been particularly fond of how this guitar looks in pictures in catalogs or online, but when I saw this baby at the store I felt an instant attraction. Had to come home with her. No regrets either. Gibson's site says the neck is cedar, which is an interesting choice. Works well judging from the tone this thing produces. One volume and one tone. No frills, but again what a good tone it has, and what a beautiful vibe.

I have dubbed this guitar as my "P-90 Solution". I have been on the search for the perfect P-90 guitar and even considered retrofitting one of my other guitars with P-90's, but now my search is over. This thing sounds awesome. I'm usually a humbucker sort of guy, and I generally prefer a medium output pup. I usually hate single-coils (although I have a nice American Roadhouse Strat just in case). But I really dig P-90's for that happy middle ground between the two extremes. The P-90 on this is spot on for what a P-90 should sound like. Not too bright, not too dark. Just right. Just a tad bit of coil hum on high gain settings but it is well worth it. And it only has the one P-90 in the bridge position. No neck P.U. but I don't miss it with all of the tone I am getting from the one P.U. it does have. And the volume and tone knobs on this guitar are very nicely voiced and taper very well. Better than my nice Gibson Les Paul Classic actually. Go figure. Overall this guitar has excellent tone for dirt and overdrive tones as well as lead tones. For clean sounds I just use an overdrive tone and roll the volume knob back. It cleans up darn near perfectly. Love it!

This thing plays very well actually. I usually don't like paint finishes on my necks, but the worn out feel of the paint on this neck feels almost like raw wood and I feel right at home with it. Mine has the 60's slim taper cut and it is a very fast playing neck. I have .010-.046's on it and the intonation is easy to set. Action is low and I only have a minor amount of buzzing on the D-string on a couple of frets when I really pound on the strings. Playing speed stuff seems easy enough and so do string bends. It sings and has excellent sustain and depth of tone, way more than it would appear.

Not much to wear out on this thing since it is so simplistic. Less is more sometimes.

You have to love a company that actually has a 24-7-365 customer service hotline that is toll free. I've talked to a couple of different guys in customer service and they were both very helpful, informed, and kind.

This is perhaps Gibson's best kept secret of a guitar. It has its own vibe and definitely has a retro feel and look to it, but it is very well crafted and easy to love. I am so glad I bought it. It is one of the funnest guitars to play in my collection. Wow!

They've all been listed before. P-90 pick-up is the reall stand-out feature. Totally no frills. Would I use a second pickup? Probably not! Great neck action also.

What power! For my blues and rock, I can't think of a better sound. Better for lead than rhythm, in my opinion. Not what I would call versatile, but what it does, it does brilliantly.

Action was great out of the box - don't know if guy I bought it from set it up, but it was just the way I like it. Wood looks like it would dent easily and finish is spartan and designed to age, I believe. If you want to sit and polish a guitar, I suggest you look elsewhere. IF you want to play, choose this one

I play it live no problem. There is nothing to go wrong. It looks and feels fragile, but withstands me playing at being a a Hendrixesque guitar hero! I always have a backup, because I have a guitar open tuned for slide work. If I did it for a living, I would probably take along more guitars!!

Got it via Ebay, so no warranty. Haven't a clue, basically

My only gripe is that the pickup is a bit noisy and prone to squealing when I am forced right on top of my amp in a confined space. I wonder if it is hot waxed and whether I should start melting candles. I am a bit of a tart and tend to change guitars like some people change their underpants - several times a year, but I have come back to this one after putting it down for a strat and I think I will hang on to it - might even get another one if the price was right.

you can check it at www.gibson.com or read the other reviews...

i bought this guitar because i needed a simple and lightweighted axe. i have an ibanez rg320 but it was a little bit heavy to me.
i had an epi Lp100 as well but it went always out of tune so i thought i give a try with the melody maker.
the other reason was, that a lots of people wrote really good reviews on it.

when i bought it i knew that i have to change the pick up... with the original p90 it sounds like shit for me. it's okay for some blues and other light distorted styles but i need gain and this pick up is very weak and noisy for it.
i cannot understand those folks who wrote that this guitar can be used by death metal bands...
i'm gonna upgrade the pick up to a seymour distortion. i think it will rock.
so i don't recommend this guitar to metalheads. really not!

the action was high and the strings too heavy for me (.010). i'm gonna change them to elixir.

i didn't played live on it but i think it will stay in tune well.

gibson wrote me back several times so they are okay.

Plain and simple santa maria body painted in red with a rough quality with a cedar neck painted in red.One P90 pickup,one volume and one tone control.Very lightweight guitar but has a character of its own.

Soundwise this guitar can do amazing things.Full on tone has a searing lead sound-back off the tone and you have a great rhythm sound.Can be used effectively in rock mode-a little more difficult to play clean.

This feels like it was made by my friends dad-quite amateurish but it all works and surprisingly well!

Should last the distance but will mark and dent easily-but so what?

1 year warranty.

I have a number of guitars and this sits well with them-it is not special but is fun to play.
I bought it to get the P90 sound and that makes it worthwhile.

This was my first ever guitar which I bought from a second-hand guitar shop in 1973. Double cutaway design, blood red in color with a large black pickguard, two single coil black pickups, 2 volume and 2 tone knobs and a 3-way selector switch. The paint job had begun to crack when I bought it in 1973, which gave it incredible character. Even more impressive was the fact that the paint had worn off on the back of the guitar due to heavy use by the prior owner (he loved wearing those huge belt buckles). Other than that, the guitar was light on features (no tremolo bar, no humbuckers) but had all the basics you could possibly want. The most impressive thing about it was the fact that it had the name GIBSON on the head. Over the years, that became more and more impressive. Unfortunately, it also impressed the thief who broke into my parents house and stole it from me.

BACKSTORY
I carried the guitar everywhere and played in a few bands off and on during high school. I later learned that the prior owner was a guy named Stuart Swanlund who I went to high school with (he was a year older than me). He had traded in the Melody Maker for a much nicer Les Paul at the time. He was also a very impressive guitarist, one of the best blues/rock guys I have ever heard. I was not surprised when I saw that he later joined the Marshall Tucker Band as lead guitarist after Toy Caldwell met an untimely demise (God rest his soul). Stuart told me that he hated to give up the Melody Maker and he was glad that it was serving me well.

The guitar had a rattly neck pickup that could be annoying at times. I had often contemplated fixing or replacing it, but being sentimmental, I learned to appreciate the odd character of the rattling pickup.

The guitar produced pure tone. I loved to play it with both pickups engaged for a deep throaty sound, but would often switch back and forth depending on need. The bridge pickup had a very bright tone to it, perfect for that early Beatles sound. The neck pickup was more lush in tone. Both of them together produced the best overall sound.

The first amp I used was a crappy no name amp I bought for $20. Later that year (1973) I found a Fender Deluxe Reverb for $200 and the marriage between guitar and amp was on.

The lack of humbuckers was later deemed a liability by my fellow bandmates as most new guitars of the day had humbuckers, but I refused to change. As a ryhthm player, the guitar was perfect. However, the guitar was never able to give me the brute power I longed for whenever I had a chance to play lead.

The guitar had incredible action. Movement up and down the neck was smooth and effortless. As I mentioned before, the neck pickup was loose, but that was from years of use and was just something I learned to deal with. The paint job had cracked on the guitar and I'm pretty sure it was the original paint job since the wear on the back of the guitar (down to the base mahogany) revealed no other layers. But who really cares abot what the paint looks like? What I want is an instrument that doesn't kill my fingers and that gives me great sound. That is what the Meoldy Maker did for me.

I never had a problem with keeping the guitar in tune. I could play all day, case it, uncase it, hit it against the door frame, shake it, stretch the strings from here to Kalamazoo and the darn thing would stay in tune. I later bought an acoustic Epiphone that was and still is a piece of unadulterated crapola. I thought all guitars held their tuning like the Melody Maker, but I was sadly mistaken when it came to the Epiphone FT-350, but I digress.

Solid hardware for such an inexpensive entry-level guitar. I used it on many gigs, including a tour across Europe. Never had a backup and never needed one. The pickup only rattled when I was shouldering or unshouldering the guitar, but never when I was playing.

As for the finish, well, I mentioned earlier the paint had cracked on it and that the paint had worn off the back, but the wear on the back was because the prior owner wore cast iron, shoe-sized belt buckles with a sand-paper finish. What do you expect?

I'm sure the guitar is still out there somewhere, giving someone great service. If you bought it, just know it was stolen and please return it to me immediately. If you stole it from me, then may you burn in hell for an eternity and remember: you can't take the guitar with you, you scumbag.

I would have been cluless as to how to even contact Gibson back in the day. With so many great local guitar techs today, why would anyone even want to consider sending their axe back to the manufacturer?

I have been playing off and on for the past 30 years. After my Gibson was stolen, I went through a bit of downtime, but my future wife bought me a nice Yamaha acoustic that I have used quite a bit over the years. Moved to Georgia in 1993 and left the Yamaha in the case for over 10 years. No time for music - for some reason I started using computer games as a way to blow off steam. What a freaking fool I was.

So one day about 5 months ago, my 18-yr daughter brings home a new boyfriend who is carrying a guitar over his shoulder. He said he wanted to share his passion with us and then proceeded to play several songs for us. It wasn't until he butchered "Over The Hills and Far Away" when I had finally heard enough. I took the guitar from him and played the song CORRECTLY and handed it back to him. It didn't matter that my virgin fingers were nearly bleeding after submitting them to the torture of a heavy gauge string on a Sigma guitar (ugh!). By golly, I had to show the dude how to do a classic tune right. My daughter gasped and said, "Wow Dad, THAT sounded a lot better!" That was when I realized how badly I missed my guitar playing days. So I took the Yamaha out and got busy relearning everything. I finally have my calouses back and it feels awesome!

The fever it at high pitch now - I have the Deluxe Reverb in the shop getting a cap/tube job and I just bought a brand new Telecaster. I can't wait to get those two together this weekend.

By the way, The insurance company gave me $250 to replace the Melody Maker back in 1981. I was unable to find another Gibson guitar at that price and thus chose not to buy a relpacement. And now I see vintage Melody Makers selling for $1,000. It's enough to make me want to vomit. If I had it to do over, I would have bought a used SG (which were selling for around $350 back then). The moral to the story: if it gets stolen...GO BUY ANOTHER ONE!

Basics: mahogany body, cedar neck (according to the Gibson website), set neck, rosewood board with abalone dots, one P90 in the bridge stock...that was to change. Ebony satin finish. Nice, thick neck, damn near as thick as the body, with a nice carve to it.

Stock, this guitar rocks for just about any style, maybe not jazz, but whatever... I saw this up at GC and saw the price tag and had to have it. Stripped down, nothing you don't need, and slightly menacing in a Johnny Cash kind of way. I like the fact that the guitar wouldn't seem out of place at either a death metal show or a blues jam.

9? Maybe there's no maple top, no neck pickup or associated switch, no sunburst finish, but I don't want any of that stuff anyway. Here, the features are as much about what's not there - i.e. big ol' routes taking away tone-giving wood - as what is.

Stock, the P90 sound was great - big balls and good definition. However, too much noise with the gain turned up. So out came the router, followed by a Duncan Custom humbucker. Many will cry out 'sacriledge!' at such a move, but fuck 'em - my guitar gets hot rodded my way. The sound now is huge and full, but with great definition. The guitar is now a hardcore or metal player's wet dream for distortion sounds - your Les Paul just got sidelined - but I give up nothing in the clean sounds department or during effects use. I tune down to D and occasionally drop the low string to C, and I'm never wondering where my definition went.
'
Bottom line? Quit pining for that 'Paul, all you need is right here.

While the tuners at first seemed cheap, they've given me no problems so far, although some grovers will be in the near future. Wiring was neat, at least before I went in and removed half of it. People bitch about the finish, but that neck gets nice and slick after you've been playing it for awhile, and so does the lower bout where it contacts your arm. Apparently, it's not the dumb idea that everyone thought it was. And for the price? For a USA made guitar? Please.

Solid as a rock. No reason to doubt it at all. And I don't doubt that the finish will age well.

Never tried, but we've now come to the downside: dealing with Gibson's corporate ass.

If you like stripped down, mean playing machines that will absolutely destroy other guitars in your eyes, get one of these and find bliss. If you're more concerned about fancy tops, transluscent candy finishes and vine inlays...for this price, better contact Jay Turser. If Billy Gibbons had only a few bills to fill the void of Pearly Gates, he might well get this guitar. For players only.

I KNOW everyone is like a KID WITH A NEW TOY with these reviews but here goes

Mine is a like Dark red mabey a BLOOD red or mabey a cross betweed blood+wine I think it will go better with the clothes i have than the yellow one, though i DID think i prefered the yellow the; black is boring. Tuners are kluson tuners. I like the neck its kinda chubby. features? its bare bones
AND
BARE BONES R U L E S!!!!!!!!!

well i started playing the opening strains to Aerosmiths' "moving out" you know back when Aerosmith had every rite to have some PRIDE (NOW they have every rite to be ASHAMED and prob have MORE pride then they ever did back then) back when they were one of the best bands i personaly think they were better than zep
Anyway they SUCK in capitol letters now a TRAGIDY worse the the fall of the roman empire .
POINT IS "moving out" sounded awsom even in MY lame hands
I love this rig .I KNOW "a kid with a new toy"
SUE ME
iTSA rocker like aerosmith on the 1 album

mine is used so its set up nice no buzzes
I very much like the satin finish i like the red cuz its subdude
its not like LOUD(the finish)the guit can be if you want obliviousy
One of my FAV parts is the WEIGHT its LIte
Why do people thing you have to have a guit that weights a f@##$ing TON to get sustain(?) like i owned a OLD artist and it weighted a TON but i LOVE this i SWEAR some companies figuar" well we are charging a arm and a leg for this we better make it heavier"THIS GUITAR SUSTAINS VERY NICLY I LIKE THE SOUND WHEN PLAYED UNPLUGGED
ITSA gibson and has the integrity of a gibson

I bet it will last forever
The onley thing i wish on this guitar is
I wished i paid 99.00 like that OTHER GUY
sue me i am a cheapo
I would be STEALING IT at that price but..I could live with my self just fine

havent tried
i presume gibson will be pretty good

well i started playing like 14 years ago
Like the other guy said onley if it showed
I would ABSOLUTLY get another itsa a cheapo(cashwise NOT qualitywise)) gibbo whats not to love

2003 TV Yellow Model.
1 black P90 pickup.
1 Volume 1 tone.

If you are into vintage rock or straight laced punk n roll type to broken blues music this is what you are looking for. From the Kinks to Johnny Thunders this is a rock n roll classic. I am so impressed Gibson reissued these babies, especially with the les paul jr body. my only gripe is they look kinda weak withouth a pickgaurd, so I slapped on a black les paul jr pickgaurd on it. Great guitar for the price. they could have chargerd me $200 more and i would still have payed it. Nothing says rock too me than a tv yellow les paul jr.
If you'd like to hear this baby rock check out my bands web page www.theheatersmusic.com im running it through my fender deville.

I play mine through a 1993 fender blues deville 410. only a tuner tremelo and booster pedal. If you have played a P90 before you know what this sounds like. Vintage vibe for days.

I have seen some people have issues with the factroy set up. Mine was fine. I LOVE the grainy TV yellow finish. It absolutely fits the character of the guitar. No frills, no high gloss paint job, this baby will chip on the corners.... I cant wait.

Solid body Gibsion with a P90... As solid as it gets.

Dunno

Great guitar at a great price. I am thinking about buying a second.

Features are simple and handy, being in a line like the post and selector of a Tele. Although I've not experience any problems here, some may want to get some kind of 90 degree angle cable plug. Oh well. I had a '59 Melody maker that, after 3 well served years, was traded off and I have regretted it since. I had never really heard a P-90 by itself until this,and I was able to think back to several songs that I love and were recorded with P-90 equipped guitars. I also keep forgetting the Epi Casinos the Beatles used, although I have to say that this Melody Maker is hotter and has sharper teeth. This guitar is stripped down, lean and mean. I used to have an original '59 Melody maker thae body seemed thinner, but had been seriously modified and refinished before I had it. My old Mama was the lightest, fastest and most comfortable guitar I'd ever owned and I regretted trading it away for other stuff.

If Steve McQueen's "Walking Tall" character were a guitarist, this is the guitar he would walk tall and Whoop Ass with, because that's all its designed to do. No nonsense, just Gibson Quality woods and construction and the hottest O.G. pickup ever made. I said I'd never used P-90's and I wonder WTF I was thinking this whole time. Oh yeah, I was a humbucker junky for years because I couldn't stand Strat single coils. lol!

Neck is perfect, not the smoothest, because of the grainy satin finish, but flat and straight. Out of the box the action a little high, like another anecdote I read here.

One pickup, one volume and one tone is all you need. Since it's a P-90, the vintage vibe is through the roof, but it's so tonally flexible, I give this guitar a 10 in features because it wasn't advertised to have more than it does and, what do you know, they're all there. For what it does have, it has the best for the guitar.

Suits my music style(s) well which are Mew/MuMetal, AnarchoPunk, SlopCore, Blues, Jazz, Acid, Funk, anything I can wrap my mind and spirit around. This ax can really Grind out some heavy, snarling lows and sparkle-fizzy highs in the HiGain channels, and the cleans bring me back to the hours I spent at the vintage/used shop trying out different amp and guitar combos before settling on my old '68 silverface Bassman, Another one I wish I hadn't parted with. I just purchased a VOX AD30VT and I have so much tonal variety it's not even funny, yet I am often led to fits of maniacal laughter by this guitar through that amp. This is my first electric guitar in years(my last was a Fender Mexican Strat) and I'm glad I waited for this one. The P-90 is so flexible. It is noisy, but that's why I'll probably get another guitar for quiet later on. Then again, this is Rock 'n' Roll, and quiet is for squares! So, the only dislike is the niosy P-90, but I already expected a noisy P-90, so it's diong its job very well.

As mentioned before, the action seemed a little high out of the box, but ya' gotta love those Tune-O-Matics and the action was down in no time. A little buzz on the 5th string and more on the 6th, but only above the 12th fret, which I can live with. The Fit was amazing. I could tell that the body is more substantial than my old '59, and this one has square edges like a les paul. When I put it on my right leg, the body wants to pull it over, but on the right leg, it's fully secure and, for me, it easier and also like the classical players do it. By the way, I consider the Melody Maker to be a model unto itself, mainly because it is destinguished by the narrow headstock and by light weight overall. The finish is fine.

Some other guy was ranting on and on about the cheap finish, cheap small plastic tuners and the thin headstock and waaaah! If you want high gloss, buy a high gloss Les Paul. If you want bigger and probably also plastic tuners, buy another model. If you want a bigger headstock, buy anything but a Melody Maker because it's part of what MAKES it a Melody Maker! Gibson is not putting out crap. Take a look at every other guitar in their line if you anything but a stripped down, balls to the wall tone juggernaut. This thing has literally allowed my playing to improve greatly in the barely a couple weeks I've owned it. It's so fun I can't put it down.

I don't play live yet. Hope to some day, but I don't see why this guitar wouldn't hold up. If I were to use it as a backup, my main ax would also be a Melody Maker. Haha!

the hardware is great so far. The butterbean tuners are a little small and don't give much leverage, but there's nothing I would change unless it broke. It feels solid and like I don't have anything to worry about for a long time.

N/A

I've been playing for about 18 years. The only other gear I own is a VOX AD30VT modelling combo and an L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic D.I., both great products. If my Melody Maker were lost, I would buy another in a heartbeat. I love the weight, the feel of the neck, the resonance I can feel in my belly when I strum chords and the tonal capability of the P-90. Nothing I hate. Favorite feature...that it's an affordable Gibson!

2004 model, tv yellow. others have described it well, so i won't do it all again.

it's a basic guitar and that is EXACTLY what it's supposed to be.

i LOVE p-90 pickups. this has amazing tone, which suits my blues-rock style perfectly

factory set up was great. no complaints.

don't see any flaws on the guitar anywhere.

my only worry is the headstock. the steep angle could snap if dropped. came with a good padded gibson gig bag, but i'm going to get a hardshell case to protect the headstock.

everything else is solid as a rock. this should last forever.

why would i need them?

i have been playing for over 30 years. i can compare this to les paul junior type and melody maker type guitars, including epiphone coronets and olympics from the 60's

basically, this is a les paul junior, with a 60's melody maker neck and it has the bonus of a tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece.

it has the "feel" and the "tone" that i love. i would get another, if this one gets lost or stolen.

i wish it came with a pickguard, but i'll add one later.

a made in the us set neck gibson for $325. this is EASILY worth every penny. NOTHING at this price comes close. get one, get one today!!!!

2003 TV Yellow model. Solid Santa Maria/Mahogany body/neck. Single dog-ear P-90, vol, tone knobs. Gibson Kluson-style tuners with plastic butterbeans. 22 frets. The most simple electric guitar you can imagine since the old Esquires. This guitar has no features, so I give it a 10, because that's what you're buying it for.

It's pretty much of a one-trick pony, but's a helluva trick. P-90 pickups are terrifically versatile; a little roll-off on the tone and a little tweak of the volume, and you've got a whole new sound. You can get clean and ringing jangle tones, a muted dark sound, or the biting, gritty trademark p-90 thing, plus several places in between all these, depending on your amp settings, etc. P-90s are bright, but not "Tele bridge" bright. They're midrangy, but not anonymously murky like standard humbuckers. If the P-90 were introduced today, I swear they'd be proclaimed the "hottest new innovation in electric guitars" by all the trade mags. I was afraid when I bough this that I would miss having another pickup, but that hasn't been the case. On the contrary, no toggle or three-way is kind of freeing--it's like going back to your one-speed bike after riding with gears for a long time; you start to wonder why you ever bothered with the added complexity.

Well, it's ugly. The wood hasn't seen any filler. The finish is dull. The paint hasn't been applied very evenly, or very thick where it has been applied. The body is about half as deep as a Les Paul carved top. The only nuance of "style" are the abalone dots, which almost look out of place here. That said, it has the most awesome workhorse vibe you'll ever buy new; it's stripped and chopped like an old Mercury hot rod with grey primer. Not for show, just for go. Mine came slightly second-hand, and the action is great. No buzzes, but easy playing. The neck isn't as chunky as I was expecting, but it's no skinny puppy; surprisingly comfortable. The fret ends are cut well, but I kind of miss the rounded edges of my US Telecaster.

This thing has virtually no moving parts. When the nukes finally fall from the sky, all that will be left on earth will be cockroaches and Melody Makers.

I have no idea.

30+ years playing, lots of styles, mostly in the vein of 70s - 80s powerpop, but occasional forays into Americana, pseudo-jazz, post-rock, and just about everything else. This guitar will be good for slide, and for retro-sounding lead work. I play it through a Hot Rod Deluxe and for recording through my hard-disk home studio. I like the classics, and have a Fender US Tele, a Martin acoustic, a few lap steels, a tenor sax, and now this. I kind of needed a Gibson to round out the collection. Let me tell you, it's hard to find a US-made guitar with P-90s today. Reverend, Godin (Canadian), a high-end Hamer... otherwise you're pretty much stuck with Epiphone or Dean, which aren't bad, but they cost MORE than this Gibson, and that somehow doesn't seem right. Plus they have the notorius shoddy electronics. Call me a cheapskate traditionalist, but if a $300 USA Gibson with a genuine Gibson P-90 isn't enough for rock and roll, something besides necessity is driving your guitar decisions. Me, I can pass on the AAAA high-gloss carved top and the now-generic 496/498T pickup configuration, and with the $1500 I save in the process I can get hair plugs and a tattoo and live the rock god fantasy that way, instead! The fact is, you wouldn't be reading this far if you didn't already intuitively know that there's something intriguingly cool about these bare-minimum little axes. So go for it. Even at full retail of $425, what do you have to lose?

# What year was it made? Where was is made? 2003 USA

# How many frets? 22

# Solid-Top? Laminated top? looks like a spray painted finish! faded black!

# Which controls are given volume, tone

# Pickup configuration? 1 dog-eared P-90! that's all you need!!!

# Make and model of pickups? gibson

# Finish black!

# Body style based on a Melody maker with no pick guard! Single cutaway with cheap thin lookin' headstock!

# Bridge style Tune-O-Matic

# Tuners cheap gibson plastic ones! WTF?!?

# How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?
Johnny Thunders rocknroll! Perfect! That's all you need! 1 pickup, that's it!

# What amps and effects are you using it with? Mesa Boogie combo!

# Is it noisy? On what settings? sounds great!

# Rich/Full sound? Bright sound? hot sharp sound! bright!

# How well was the guitar set-up at the factory? (How was the action?)
the action was kinda high! I just can't understand how Gibson could send out these guitars like that!

# How well were the pickups adjusted? alright!

# Did the guitar contain any flaws? cheap finish, plastic tuners and small headstock, other than that, it's an awesome guitar!

* Will this guitar withstand live playing?
yes

* Does the hardware seem like it will last? probably!

* Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing? cheap finish!

* Are the strap buttons solid? yeah, but like all stupid Gibson mentalities, is that a word?!?! the front straplock is at an angle, so you have to buy straplocks! That's where they getcha!

* Can you depend on it?yeah, I should, it's a gibson!!!

* Would you use it on a gig without a backup?it's the backup!

N/A

# How long have you been playing? 17 years!

# Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar?
Why Gibson is puttin' out crap?!!!

# If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?maybe, if there just wasn't anything else left on the planet!

# What do you love about it? it's simplicity! one pickup, 2 knobs!
lightweight!

What do you hate?cheap plastic tuners, small headstock!

What is your favorite feature?p90 pickup! this is how a real les paul junior should be actually, double cutaway, tv yellow, wraparound bridge and grovers!

# Did you compare it to other guitars?yeah, the black was cooler than the cherry! P90's rule!

# Anything you wish it had?grovers, tv yellow finish, wraparound bridge, pickguard!

# Anything else you'd like to share?Gibson is going downhill!

2003 I believe is the year of manufacture. By now you know the features: Mahogany body, Spanish Cedar (Mahogany Family) neck with rosewood fretboard, etc, etc, ...and of course a very vintage sounding P90...the king of all pickups. Let me say that this version of the Melody Maker is more like a Les Paul Jr. Junior!!! I owned a mid-80s LP Jr. that I am sorry I sold. The only thing missing on this LPMM is the weight of the Les Paul Jr. I once owned. This baby sings with the best of 'em. It couldn't be any simpler, really. Nothing gets in the way of you and the music the guitar produces. This is a minimalist guitar....and in this case
with this LES Paul, LESS IS MORE.

Now this is where it shines: for any of you over 45 the band names I am going to mention say it all: Humble Pie, MOUNTAIN, Allman Bros.,
Free, early Savoy Brown, early Fleetwood Mac, if these bands bring to mind a certain guitar tone that you love...go and buy one of these without delay. Mate it with any decent Fender amp or a Marshall and you are in business. I use a Fender Cyber Champ and it blends nicely with al of the various tones that amp offers. And talk about Gritty.......whew.....it has bite...it is like a vintage Tele on steroids....

as for the rest of the info.....each guitar is different and each has to be set up to your liking....
go for this baby...if you want, biting, stinging sustain for days...
if you want the chunk and the warmth....and the fuzzy feeling of a hot Gibson with no frills....this is the ticket.....for me..I am back in 1968....wish I was...for sure....'cos now I got the sound...I have always wanted....
ya gotta love those P90s man....FAR OUT...

I have been playing since 1966.....and I know the sound I wanted...I tried all of the ensuing sounds of the various eras...and you know what...fuck'em....it's good to be back where you belong....
peace, man...peace

As previous reviews say, this guitar couldn't be more simple. 1 pickup, 2 knobs, 1 jack. Set neck, 22 frets. The finish is a simple paint that shows the grain of the wood. I just got three of these at the Guitar Center sale: 2 yellow and 1 red.

I'm using this through a Mesa Boogie studio 22. I strung one of them with Gibson Vintage 11 strings, and it sounds full and solid, as you'd expect from the P90. I jammed with a band yesteday, and both the clean and distorted sounds cut trough the mix well.

The finish is cheap, but that's part of the charm. The only thing I don't love is the paint on the back of the neck: it feels slightly "sticky". I sanded off the paint on the neck and finished the bare wood with tung oil and this makes the neck play faster.

Don't know yet... There's not much to go wrong, and I'm hoping the finished will wear off over time.

Don't know

I was considering buying one of these for $299 earlier in the week, but the sales person suggested I come back for the Memorial Day sale. This guitar would have been a good deal at $299, and unbeleivable at $99.

Just picked this thing up at a blowout price of $299 with an SKB hardshell case and gibson deluxe bag thrown in for another 80! I had my pick of about 5 and nothing could touch the tv yellow one that I first tried. Year model is an 03, 22 frets, mahogany body, and what I believe is a mahogany neck. Gibson website for 04 says spanish cedar or equivalent, but musicians friend lists the neck as mahogany. I give this thing a 7 on features, because I would like a p90 in the neck and an extra set of tone/volume controls so you could run them parallel and cancel the hum or just cut the volume on the neck and use the toggle as a mute. Bottom line: I just picked up a USA Gibson, with a set neck that sustains for days, perfect action/setup/intonation, the exact same hardware as a 5k dollar les paul for under 300 bones. Will say that the white button gibson deluxe kluson tuners work perfectly and make you feel like you are playing a 59.

I have owned at one time or another a Les Paul Studio, Standard, Custom, and Les Paul Special Junior and can HONESTLY say that not one of those guitars comes close to sounding as good as this guitar's P90 through my Mesa MKIII head and ported widebody Rivera cab. Hands down best rock sound I have ever heard with unbelievable clarity. The mahogany body and set neck lend a very warm full les paul sound. I test drove this thing on a mesa lone star next to an array of sg specials and standards and the 490 and 496 pickups sounded horribly muddy next to the P90. The pickup does hum as it is a single coil, but the noise is only there when you aren't playing.

I say 10 here with the caveat that this was the only one out of 5 guitars tested that was set up so nicely. Most of them had horribly high action, but this one was absolutely perfect all the way around. If you are buying mail order it might be worth getting a pro set-up out of the box.

As durable as any Gibson--probably more given the simplicity of this machine.

I have dealt with Gibson over the years and they have alway provided wonderful customer service on a range of issues. I had a tuner break off when a friend knocked over my Studio and the sent me a brand new gold Kluson right away. In another instance I had ordered a gibson hardcase from a deadbeat dealer (later busted for guitar theft) who didn't follow through with the order so Gibson worked with me directly on it. Lifetime warranty is pretty rock solid.

Been playing for 11 years and have gone through the 'gear escalation phase' topping out at a David Thomas McNaught Custom guitar costing well over 4k that I sold weeks after it arrived (6 months to build), vowing never to pay that much for a guitar again. The melody maker is the essence of a real players guitar with everything you find on any other USA Gibson, but without the aesthetic appeal making it costs thousands of dollars more. This thing will blow away 95% of the guitars in Gibson's line for under 300 bones.

No features, really. USA made, thin body and fast neck, looks to be mahogany. A single dog-ear P-90 under a Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tail with single tone and volume controls. Nice Kluson tuners with white button keys, TV Yellow satin finish over an unfilled body so it's nice and grainy. Feels like an old friend. Came with a nice, thickly-padded bag. If you're looking for a basic rock machine, this is it. I almost wish it had less features, and I could deal with a wraparound/Badass bridge and a kill switch instead of controls, but versatility never hurt anyone.

Sounds ballsy and raw, like a P-90 should, through a variety of amps. I'm using it mostly through a 4x10 Peavey Classic 50, and it truly is a rock machine. It's the rock guitar sound at it's most basic, so you could use it for pretty much anything...the clean sound is very punchy and nice. I usually use thinner single coil guitars and a bass booster to add some kick through the Classic 50, but this guitar needs none of that. There's a lot of variation in the volume knob for different sounds, but I don't use them much, as my preference for a kill switch might suggest. Great sound, period.

Set-up is pretty good from the factory, no buzz but the low E is a little stiff from being a tad on the high side. I'll take a tad lower action over a lack of buzz any day, but I also don't really care about cleanliness in playing, as evidenced by the fact that I bought what is essentially a student guitar design from the '50s. The only complaint I have is on the dressing of the fret ends; a few of them are a little jagged, but nothing that a few minutes of work won't fix. The price has to be considered in all this...you can't be too picky with an American-made Gibson for under $400. The finish is great. It already looks old without being cheesily "aged" and hopefully it will wear naturally without having to be abused.

This thing seems built to last. I've thrown it around quite a bit and it never felt fragile, and there's not much on it that can break/go wrong. With only four elements wired in, even an electronic problem will be easy to fix. Finish is thin, but well-applied and it seems solid. I think it's meant to wear a bit, as Gibson didn't even bother with grain filler, and I love it. Strap buttons are solid, but small. I replaced them with straplocks, but only because I swing and flail a lot. The buttons are perfectly fine for normal use. I always keep a backup, but I'd use this without one if I had to.

Standard Gibson lifetime warranty. Won't use it, because nothing on this guitar other than possibly total pickup failure is worth the effort of a warranty claim.

A fantastic piece of work, especially for the money. If you want a bare bones rock machine, this is your guitar, and it's a steal. For a long time I wanted something along the lines of an LP Jr. for that raucous sound, but because of budget constraints, and not wanting to go the Epiphone route, I've been limited to the awesome (but somewhat fragile) middle position on a pair of Danelectros. With the LP Melody Maker, Gibson has given people on a budget a chance to land their own old school flame thrower, and I salute them for it. Fantastic.

2003 usa made mahogany? plank, with dog-eared p-90. satin yellow.

i play everything from electric blues to qotsa. i use a fender blues junior, a vox wah, a boss os, and on occasion fuzz. this guitar has such a raw crunchy,pure sound; it is really superb. the guitar is very light and small which might be the only thing i dont love about it.

action needed a little tweaking. no other flaws

i would and do depend on this guitar as a main tool. this guitar is just a solid block of wood with no frills. a baseball bat with a p-90 perfect!

samash if their prices weren't so good i would not buy from them.

playing for 17 years. i also own a gibson es135 which i also love. the melody maker is better for the price though. i would buy another if this was ever stolen. my favorite guitar was my usa tele, but this melody maker is making its way to the top.

'03 NAMM Show USA made w Letter of Authenticity and gig bag.

Looks like a LP Junior but has smaller head, thinner body, Kluson tuners with white plastic keys, tune-o-matic w stop tailpiece, satin finish (this one's yellow), no pickguard.

One P-90 dogear pickup in bridge position; one vol; one tone; input jack on front.

24&3/4" scale; rosewood fingerboard; medium frets, fairly nicely finished.

It could be mistaken for an Airline brand guitar, but then it would have a lousy neck and frets and be MUCH cheaper. As it is, it's Gibson's lowest price in decades, and a hoot to play.

No features. As basic as a Traveler Guitar!

Sounds nasty and primitive, like with Joe Walsh's attitude!
Rock and Roll machine.
Lots of sustain, and as much output as a humbucker (better highs though).
Can be turned down and tamed too though, just not as much fun.
It's got P-90 wallop and you'd never suspect the body wasn't full thickness LP Jr.
Good snarl.
I use it with Tech 21 amps (TM 10, Power Engine, SansAmp Classic) for Blues and Rock. Will do country too.
Even Jazz, but the trebles are a bit pingy and it sustains a LOT!

All good.
The finish drags on the neck a bit (maybe it's lacquer?).

Tiny strap buttons.

I can't imagine it NOT being reliable, the basic design is 1950's, and there are functioning LP Juniors around from that era still.

I don't think the finish is meant to hold up forever.

Basic Gibson warranty.

I've never bothered with any company.

If it needs work, I'll do it.

Playing guitar 40 years. All styles.
When I play jobs I use a Guild Jazz guitar for Standards and Swingtunes.
This Melody Maker is just for fun and Blues jams, etc.
I wanted something for sustain and distorted sounds, Country leads, etc., and just goofing around with friends and doing nasty guitar god licks.
Reminds me very much of a '93 LP Jr I had, but that one had a P-100, which I didn't really care for. Necks are about the same.
I love the neck and the fret finish.
Time will tell on the finish, but I don't mind if it isn't sanding sealed. Just adds to the campyness.
Tuners are good, and I like tune-o-matics.
It's a toy to me, but it could be used for world tours by some Rock star, no problem.