Gibson Melody Maker

Gibson Melody Maker ( 1959-1971 )
Solidbody Electric Guitar

In the late 50s gibson had plans to manufacture a solid body electric guitar solely for beginners and students, a guitar that was plain, simple and everyone could of afford .

This led to the introduction of the gibson melody maker in 1959 which were produced in large numbers due to their cheap cost . If you were around during that time it was probably the first guitar you owned .

In 1959 the gibson melody maker had a single round cutaway very similar to the les paul junior but the body was slightly thinner, it's slab body was 1 3/8" thick ,

it had a 7/8" single coil oblong pickup with a black cover fitted close to the tailpiece bar , knobs on pickguard , fingerboards had dot inlays and were made in a dark sunburst finish .( Melody maker 3/4 size short scale versions were also available )

In 1960 the pickups got a little smaller and were narrowed to 5/8" , 2 pickup versions were available shortly after .

In 1962 the melody maker d (double cutaway) design was introduced with 2 rounded horns pointed away from the neck and two versions were available with one or two pickups , these guitars were made in sunburst finishes and few in cherry .

In 1963 the body was larger and more round on the edges and cherry colors were more common .

In 1966 another version was introduced which shared the same body features like their sg guitars with pointed horns , white pickguards that covered most of the body , white pickup covers instead of black , and were made in red or pelham blue finishes , some versions of these guitars had 3 pickups and named the melody maker III .

In 1967 the gibson melody maker 12 appeared with 12 strings , no vibrato , 2 pickups and were made in white , red , or blue colors . ( walnut colors were available on all melody maker versions in 1970 )

All melody maker models were short lived in 1971 and replaced by sg-100, sg-200 and sg-250 guitars until 1972 . Modified versions of the gibson melody maker were used by several artists such as billie joe armstrong from green day , and carl barat from the libertines .... In 1977 gibson reintroduced the gibson melody maker d ( double cut away ) and were discontinued in 1983 .

Overview : These guitars are not very sought after by collectors and don't carry much historic significance but if your looking for a light inexpensive guitar for your moneys worth to jam , this axe can do the trick . Extremely competitive in its price range , especially the new ones of today with the single (dog ear) p-90 pickups .

Vintage Price Value For 2007 :
1959 - 1961 > $1 600 to $2 000 ( melody maker )
1962 - 1971 > $1 000 to $1 600

1959 - 1965 > $700 to $1 300 ( melody maker 3/4 size )
1966 - 1970 > $800 to $1100 ( sg body )

1960 - 1966 > $1 500 to $2 100 ( melody maker d )
1966 - 1971 > $1 200 to $1 400 ( sg body )

1966 - 1969 > $1 500 to $1 800 ( melody maker III )
1970 - 1971 > $1 300 to $1 500

1967 - 1971 > $1 100 to $1 400 ( melody maker 12 )
1977 - 1983 > $600 to $800 ( MM double cut reintroduced )

Avg Upward Trend Of 6% A Year Since 2000 ( For All Models )

Prices are according to 4 different vintage guitar price guides and rounded off to the nearest dollar.

>> You can find used or vintage gibson melody maker guitars for sale on ebay at killer prices if your lucky , however make sure you read the descriptions carefully .