Melody Maker with P90?

[stryker59]

Originally Posted by singlecut

thats a great graphic on there, those look great with a lp jr type pickguard too.

thanks! i was thinking about the pickguard but decided to leave it off..

[koen]

Originally Posted by Redfish

I had never done it before either but it went well. Just take your time and get it where you want it on the pickguard. Masking tape around the pickup to mark where you need to route and just go slowly around the perimeter until it drops in. There won't be any wood under the treble end to mount the pickup into so I just used a wall anchor to secure the wood screw to the pickguard. I guess you could glue a block of wood in the gap if you wanted but it's not necessary. I just used the stock wiring and cap and it sounds perfect. Good luck.

I looked at how the P90 (dogear) would fit in my pickguard, and am a bit confused. The cover looks almost as wide as the pickguard, did you cut out that much? Or did you make the hole big enough for the element only and put the cover on top of the pickguard? Also, the holes in the P90 cover don't match up with the old ones. How did you solve that, just drilling new holes?

Do you have some pics you'd like to share on how it looks on your guitar?

thanks!

[Redfish]

Hey Buddy, Sorry I didn't see this question for a few days. I routed through the pickguard and wood until the pickup dropped though but the cover sits on top of the pickguard. I think I remember the hole on the bass side lining up with the existing hole and I just drilled a new one on the treble side and screwed the wood screw into a wall anchor to secure it to the pickguard. You could glue a block of wood in the hole under the pickguard and secure it into that if you want. Here's a crappy picture but you get the idea.

[koen]

Thanks! I went to a friend a few days ago with a lot of tools, but he didn't have the router base for his dremel. So I got one and am going back next week. We already cut some of the pickguard and wood with spinning sandpaper (don't know what the tool is called), but definitely need a router to finish it. I also considered getting a cover and bottom plate from Lollar to convert it into a soapbar, so I could attach it to the pickguard and make it adjustable in height. But that would require a very neat pickguard cut. And the magnets are also adjustable, so I decided to stick with the dogear.

I'll post a pic when I'm done.

[NeoConMan]

SPAM ALERT!

I'll be honest up front here.
I bought this MM with the full intent of modding the hell out of it and installing a pair of P-90's.

My wife asked me "Why would you do that?"
Well, you know how THAT goes....

So, it sat in my office for months until I decided to sell it.
No luck there, I spent $100 trying to move a $300 guitar on Ebay and such....

So here's my dilema;
I would LOVE to sell that damned thing because I never play it - I have too many guitars.

$320 shipped to anywhere in the 48 states WITH the brand new Gibson gig bag.

OR;

I'm gonna spend another $600 on the damned thing to rout the body, sand the neck, install a Bigsby, cut a new pickguard and install a pair of P-90's.
Then I'll have a thousand dollars in a $300 guitar....









HELP!

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by Redfish

Hey Buddy, Sorry I didn't see this question for a few days. I routed through the pickguard and wood until the pickup dropped though but the cover sits on top of the pickguard. I think I remember the hole on the bass side lining up with the existing hole and I just drilled a new one on the treble side and screwed the wood screw into a wall anchor to secure it to the pickguard. You could glue a block of wood in the hole under the pickguard and secure it into that if you want. Here's a crappy picture but you get the idea.

i've got an orignal 59 , looks just like that
it's my "les paul jr , jr"

[Redfish]

Originally Posted by singlecut

i've got an orignal 59 , looks just like that
it's my "les paul jr , jr"

Yeah, I knew a guy that had one back in the day and that's what inspired me to do this. It came out really nice. I had a chance to buy his 59 for $150 in the early eighties but back then I wasn't interested in an old scratched up guitar!

[koen]

Update: last night we finished the routing of the pickguard and body, and the P90 now fits snugly in my Melody Maker. I haven't had the time yet to solder everything in place, maybe tonight. I am making pics and will post those soon.

[StoneFreeFuzz]

Can't wait to see Koen. For the last few months I've been putting off buying a MM, My plans are to do the same "P-90 Mod" and trick it out for a good rippin' guitar. Haven't had the spare cash layin' around...but it will happen lol. A Quick sidenote...anyone know which Gibson Case will fit a Melody make? Preferably one the Snakeskin cases...would a LP standard case be too big? Any help would be great!

[mrpesca]

Originally Posted by StoneFreeFuzz

Can't wait to see Koen. For the last few months I've been putting off buying a MM, My plans are to do the same "P-90 Mod" and trick it out for a good rippin' guitar. Haven't had the spare cash layin' around...but it will happen lol. A Quick sidenote...anyone know which Gibson Case will fit a Melody make? Preferably one the Snakeskin cases...would a LP standard case be too big? Any help would be great!

Les Paul case with a spacer under the body. T-shirt works fine.

[koen]

I just asked a question about a case for the MM here: guitar case suggestions

[koen]

Bleh - I am unable to heat up the pots with my soldering iron to disconnect the old and reconnect the new element. I have a 40W iron from Radio Sh*t. I have soldered pots before, but never had any problem. Is there something magical about Gibson potmeters?

[Redfish]

No, there's something unmagical about trying to solder with a POS cheap soldering iron. I tried it for a while and my solder joints looked like little silver piles of dog crap and I couldn't get pots to tin either. I bought a Weller gun and all my problems went away. It can be a little tight to manuever in a control cavity so I eventually upgraded to a soldering station. Some folks use a low wattage pencil for connections and a high watt gun for grounding pots. You might try loosening the set screw and pushing the tip into the iron farther and see if it gets hotter.

[koen]

Originally Posted by Redfish

I bought a Weller gun and all my problems went away. It can be a little tight to manuever in a control cavity so I eventually upgraded to a soldering station.

What soldering station did you get? I found this on Amazon, seems like a good deal: Amazon.com: Weller WLC100 Soldering Station For Hobbyist And Diyer: Home Improvement

[edit] just bought a replacement tip for my RS soldering iron, and it worked fine.

[StoneFreeFuzz]

Thanks for the heads up about the case Koen!

[koen]

So yesterday I finally had the opportunity to test my MM with P90 in the rehearsal room through my Tweed Deluxe (5E3 kit) amp. First impression: it is LOUD! When I play my Tele, I need to turn up the amp's volume far open, but with the MM, I need to leave it around 5/6 and then even not fully open on the guitar. Besides that, the sound is very great, nice and warm, a good contrast with my Tele so I have different sounds available.

All in all, highly recommended!!!

[rybass]

Originally Posted by djwilbanks

apparently there were only 300 joan jetts made though, might be slim.

Don't fall for the ebay or big box hype! They were originally planned for the GOW line but were postponed and there was such a huge interest Gibson threw it into their regular production line. Gibson just can't keep up with demand right now.

Call gibby direct and they will give you the details. Then wait a few months til they get caught up and these things start dropping on ebay.

[filiphslim]

What do you think of this one?
It's from -68 and some guy here in Sweden is selling it for 1.100 bucks.
It has had its neck repaired once and the pups have been swapped for USA Fenders...
Would you go for it?

[badform]

Well, if nothing else, I wouldn't believe that it's a '68. Looks like a '61-64 to me.
Is that $1100 US Dollars? Seems really high for having everything changed on it and with a headstock repair.

[filiphslim]

Originally Posted by badform

Well, if nothing else, I wouldn't believe that it's a '68. Looks like a '61-64 to me.
Is that $1100 US Dollars? Seems really high for having everything changed on it and with a headstock repair.

Ok, thanks!
Even though the prices for guitars are pretty much twice the price here in Sweden compared to the U.S., I guess I'll let this one go.

Still pretty interesting with the year though, I'll ask him for the serial!



BTW. I'm sorry if I kind of hijacket this thread in any way. If so, that isn't my purpose..

Sorry, hehe!

[filiphslim]

The seller insist's this is an -68...
Serial is 0924599

[skydog]

That serial number doesn't add up. Are you sure that's what it is?

[filiphslim]

Originally Posted by skydog

That serial number doesn't add up. Are you sure that's what it is?

I'm not sure at all, that's just what the seller gave me!

F