My $299 deal came in this week (MMFV)!

[hobbyman]

My Melody Maker Flying V arrived Wednesday, but I've been too busy messing with it to post! It shipped 10 days earlier than initially advertised!









The maple fretboard looks almost like the rosewood fretboard of my Epi LP Custom .



Overall, I am very happy with it! It's a great guitar! What I like most about it is it's light weight. The weight was one of the deciding factors in getting it. I wanted something that my seven year old could comfortably hold. I want to start teaching him some guitar basics. He tried it, and although he says it is still heavy, he managed to hold it on his own by wrapping his legs around the lower 'V' side while holding it 'classical' style.

The guitar itself is very well made. The frets are very smooth IMO, and the intonation is great for not having Tune-O-Matic bridge. The action is just right for me, so I'm not going to mess with it. It came with Kluson Deluxe tuners, strung with 10s, and with a nice 'Gibson USA' V gigbag (made in China).

The pickup is pretty hot (regardless of make or model, I don't care). I A/B-ed it with my Epi Les Paul Custom's bridge pickup, and the MM's pickup is hotter. I initially tested it with my Fender Champ 600 amp (also only one volume knob), and by messing with the amp knob and the guitar knob, I can get a variety of sounds. To get both guitars to sound about the same, with both guitar volumes dimed, I set my amp at 6 when plugged into the Epi, but have to bring it back down to 4 when plugged into the MM. I only have one other guitar with an uncovered humbucker at the bridge position (my Ibanez Jet King II), and I've always said it had the hottest bridge pickup of any of my guitars. It will be interesting comparing the two.

Bottom line is: A killer U.S.A.-made guitar with killer looks for a great price! You can't go wrong!

[djrussell]

$300? Cant go wrong. Thats a nice guitar man... Flying V Melody Maker... niice

[ll IrOn CiTy ll]

absolute titz! HNGD!!(o)(o)

The new Melody Maker line is hard to beat..

[hobbyman]

Thank you guys! It's my first (and probably only) Gibson.

[leftyguitarman]

I would love to have one of these, then convert it to lefty. Cool guitar, congrats!

If you feel up to it, would you consider popping that pickguard up and taking a pic of the route? I'm really curious to see how the electronics route looks. I think it would be pretty easy to convert it to lefty.

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by leftyguitarman

I would love to have one of these, then convert it to lefty. Cool guitar, congrats!

If you feel up to it, would you consider popping that pickguard up and taking a pic of the route? I'm really curious to see how the electronics route looks. I think it would be pretty easy to convert it to lefty.

Thank you. Glad you like it. While looking for information on these, I came across this photo. It's an Explorer model, but I would assume the routing is the same. Post #21:

NGD!! MM explorer (lotso pics)

[FUS44]

I'm a V guy, but I went with the Explorer. I'm still impressed with this guitar, regardless of the pick up.

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by FUS44

I'm a V guy, but I went with the Explorer. I'm still impressed with this guitar, regardless of the pick up.

Yeah, as long as it sounds good, that's all that matters.

[Agflyer]

Nice!!!

[leftyguitarman]

Originally Posted by hobbyman

Thank you. Glad you like it. While looking for information on these, I came across this photo. It's an Explorer model, but I would assume the routing is the same. Post #21:

NGD!! MM explorer (lotso pics)

Thanks for the link!

[hobbyman]

You're welcome, Lefty!

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by Agflyer

Nice!!!

Thanks!

[Zack]

you cant get a squier affinity in australia for 299..

[leftyguitarman]

Originally Posted by zack268

you cant get a squier affinity in australia for 299..

Man, you guys really get screwed with guitar prices. I feel bad for you guys.

[Kalamazuu]

Nice man! I would love to grab one of these while Sam Ash has a few left,
But alas, I probably won't uave enough extra money untIl they're all gone in the end of the summer.

[OBX351]

When your son gets older get him a Lonnie Mack Bigsby!! Thanks for the review!!

[Webtroll]

i want the white explorer but they all appear to cost much more

* black one ordered, maybe it would look cool with a white PG...

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by Kalamazuu

Nice man! I would love to grab one of these while Sam Ash has a few left,
But alas, I probably won't uave enough extra money untIl they're all gone in the end of the summer.

Thanks! Don't give up hope. Maybe Gibson will make the rounds to some of the other online retailers. They started with MF, now Sam Ash has a special on them, maybe AMS and Sweetwater will be next!

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by OBX351

When your son gets older get him a Lonnie Mack Bigsby!! Thanks for the review!!

That Bigsby looks wicked! I had never seen one like that! Glad you liked my review.

[SoWhat?]

Very Nice!

I hope your son sticks with it.

.

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by Webtroll

i want the white explorer but they all appear to cost much more

* black one ordered, maybe it would look cool with a white PG...

I'm sure a black with white pickguard will look good. Trust me, once you get it and start playing it, you'll forget all about the color scheme!

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by SoWhat?

Very Nice!

I hope your son sticks with it.

.

Thanks! I hope so too. I was playing it last night and my son tells me he wants to play it today. I bought him a Squier Strat a while back and he really likes it, except it's too heavy for him. I really love the light weight of this guitar - it's like picking up my acoustic, but less bulky!

[Webtroll]

Originally Posted by hobbyman

I'm sure a black with white pickguard will look good.

I used to have a black Custom Shop Explorer with a white pickguard and gold hardware that was nothing short of awesome. I wish I still had it, and my original P bass that was old in the late 70s, and my '63 Firebird I, and my '68 SG Custom (damn you Eastern Airlines!), and my pre EB Sabre bass, and... almost every guitar, bass and amp I've owned over the years. I'd be able to open my own musical junkyard!

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by Webtroll

I used to have a black Custom Shop Explorer with a white pickguard and gold hardware that was nothing short of awesome. I wish I still had it, and my original P bass that was old in the late 70s, and my '63 Firebird I, and my '68 SG Custom (damn you Eastern Airlines!), and my pre EB Sabre bass, and... almost every guitar, bass and amp I've owned over the years. I'd be able to open my own musical junkyard!

Ha! Ha! Ha!...Guitar seller's remorse! That's something I want to avoid! None of my guitars come close to any of the one's you've let go. I mean, my most expensive guitar if bought new would be the Epi LP Custom in the picture above, but I don't want to get rid of any of them because I don't want to go through that seller's remorse!

[Webtroll]

Originally Posted by hobbyman

Ha! Ha! Ha!...Guitar seller's remorse! That's something I want to avoid!

Except that the trades and sales funded more purchases. I've owned Alembics, Spectors, still have a couple of Warwicks, a few Les Pauls (even an LP Jumbo), Strats, Rickenbacker (basses), and many more. I would never have been able to buy all of these as I do not have a lot of money, but through these I have a good idea of what the difference in these instruments are to me. DO I wish I still had the '63 Firebird I? Yes, I could have sold it and paid for (or traded for) a very sweet Les Paul. The LP Jumbo? Again worth something to a collector, but I hated it as a guitar. The '68 SG Custom? One of the best playing and sounding guitars I've ever had the pleasure of playing, shredded back in the mid 80s.

[Kalamazuu]

Originally Posted by hobbyman

Thanks! Don't give up hope. Maybe Gibson will make the rounds to some of the other online retailers. They started with MF, now Sam Ash has a special on them, maybe AMS and Sweetwater will be next!

Maybe I hadn't thought of that.
But I think even if I get one, I would sell it a year or two later to get a standard V, so if not, I'll have a V someday!

[rubbieh]

Mine was delivered last Thursday, I love it! It's a screamer and plays like a dream. Fit and finish have no flaws that I've noticed.

Last night I was changing the strings to .11-.52s and decided to look under the pickguard while I had the strings off. To my delight, it looks like I got an actual Gibson pickup and not the DD HB103. I can only assume it is a 491T, it didn't have it written anywhere on it but the bottom of the pickup was engraved with Gibson USA, and it had braided wires. The pickup has some pretty ghetto looking black paper tape around the coils, but it sounds amazing.

Very interesting stuff going on with the pickups in these guitars, what kind you get almost seems to be luck of the draw.

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by Webtroll

Except that the trades and sales funded more purchases. I've owned Alembics, Spectors, still have a couple of Warwicks, a few Les Pauls (even an LP Jumbo), Strats, Rickenbacker (basses), and many more. I would never have been able to buy all of these as I do not have a lot of money, but through these I have a good idea of what the difference in these instruments are to me. DO I wish I still had the '63 Firebird I? Yes, I could have sold it and paid for (or traded for) a very sweet Les Paul. The LP Jumbo? Again worth something to a collector, but I hated it as a guitar. The '68 SG Custom? One of the best playing and sounding guitars I've ever had the pleasure of playing, shredded back in the mid 80s.

I see your point. Maybe someday I'll sell some of my stuff to fund another piece of gear that I really want at the time.

[hobbyman]

Originally Posted by rubbieh

Mine was delivered last Thursday, I love it! It's a screamer and plays like a dream. Fit and finish have no flaws that I've noticed.

Last night I was changing the strings to .11-.52s and decided to look under the pickguard while I had the strings off. To my delight, it looks like I got an actual Gibson pickup and not the DD HB103. I can only assume it is a 491T, it didn't have it written anywhere on it but the bottom of the pickup was engraved with Gibson USA, and it had braided wires. The pickup has some pretty ghetto looking black paper tape around the coils, but it sounds amazing.

Very interesting stuff going on with the pickups in these guitars, what kind you get almost seems to be luck of the draw.

Congratulations, and welcome to MLP! Did you get the Flying V also, or one of the other shapes? They are great guitars! I've heard some of the other shapes do have the 491T pickups in them. I have not checked mine. All I know is that is sounds great, and that's good enough for me. I might check when I change strings, but, knowing me, I probably won't.

[rubbieh]

Originally Posted by hobbyman

Congratulations, and welcome to MLP! Did you get the Flying V also, or one of the other shapes? They are great guitars! I've heard some of the other shapes do have the 491T pickups in them. I have not checked mine. All I know is that is sounds great, and that's good enough for me. I might check when I change strings, but, knowing me, I probably won't.

Yep, I got the Flying V in satin ebony. It really is a great guitar, especially for this price. Completely blew my expectations out of the water. When I bought it I was thinking I might use it as a project guitar but now I want to keep it as-is. The only thing I might do is swap the tuners for some of the Gibson Modern ones...only for aesthetics though, as the stock tuners are perfectly functional.

I have been a long time lurker on this forum, but finally made an account just to chime in about these Melody Makers...they are awesome!