Re: Melody maker

fonzie · Post by **fonzie** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:57 pm

So ive been really wanting one of those melody makers that are extra cheap, and ive been wonding if it would be possible to put one of these on it?
http://www.marshallparts.com/products/9 ... Nickel.htm

Basically im wondering if you would have to take the existing wraparound bridge off or leave it on like how it is on this

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6848 ... kerjd8.jpg

I'm also wondering if the tailpieces on the epiphone riviera's or the ones on the casinos only fit on semi/hollow bodied guitars.
Thanks

BenHagerty · Post by **BenHagerty** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:59 pm

I am not sure, but that is a really good idea haha

chrisjedijane · Post by **chrisjedijane** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:03 pm

re: The wraparound bridge - yeah, it's fine using the vibrola with the bridge on the melody maker.

re: riviera/casino tailpiece - They'll fit on other guitars, but it depends. What were you thinking about doing?

fonzie · Post by **fonzie** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:08 pm

just wondering if those tailpeices would fit on soild bodied guitars since ive only seen them on semi/hollows

fonzie · Post by **fonzie** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:43 pm

wonder how a MM would be with jag pickups....

soundhack · Post by **soundhack** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 7:47 pm

you mean a trapeze like this?

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_ta ... piece.html

the melody maker body is 1 5/16" thick, the trapeze tailpiece is 1 3/8" deep, so it may hang over the back a little

you might have better luck with a rick trapeze tailpiece

as these are made for thinner guitars

soundhack · Post by **soundhack** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 7:53 pm

fonzie wrote: wonder how a MM would be with jag pickups....

i would guess that there's no shielding in the MM, as it uses stacked humbuckers. might be a bit too noisy with single-coils. i'd give the MM pickups a chance first. most gibson players i've heard say they're too thin - so they probably sound pretty good.

flatfiver · Post by **flatfiver** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 9:01 pm

I've seen some trapeze tailpieces that were about 1/2-2/3 as long as the ones pictured above. Those would probably work better. I think maybe AllParts might have them.

fonzie · Post by **fonzie** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:09 pm

That rick tailpiece isnt bad, i just can't find one anywhere.

This tailpiece looks like it might fit better than the trapeze one but it may still have some hanging off, which i bet isnt too much of a problem
http://www.allparts.com/store/tailpiece ... roduct.asp

Tremolo wise, im thinking a bigsby would probly be statistically better (correct me if im wrong) than the vibrola.

soundhack · Post by **soundhack** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:17 pm

just google "rickenbacker parts" and you should be able to find one.

flatfiver · Post by **flatfiver** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:29 pm

http://www.allparts.com/store/tailpiece ... roduct.asp

This was the one I was thinking of. 4-3/8", maybe not quite as short as I thought.

soundhack · Post by **soundhack** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:35 pm

actually a search of trapeze tailpiece on ebay and you'll find a huge variety. the short one with the spaghetti wire should work fine on a MM

Jaded · Post by **Jaded** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:34 pm

Has anyone actually tried any of these reissuse melody makers? they look pretty promising.. as i've been wanting something less fender-ish for a while.. the cheap price and single coils make them quite tempting..

5L1V3R · Post by **5L1V3R** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:53 pm

I've always thought these melodymakers would be fun to customize, they're simple, cheap, and lightweight. That would be cool to put a pair of jag pickups in there

del · Post by **del** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:35 pm

original issues melody makers were available with non-tailpiece vibrolas (i don't recall the correct name for this variety). Here is a current example on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/65-VINTAGE-GIBSON-M ... dZViewItem

I think if there was a reissue of this double-cut variety it would be hard to keep me away, but the current one seems too much like a set-neck tele to me. And I like the bolt-on tele thank-you-very-much.

But... the MMs are cheaper than the MIM Fenders...

Also, someone mentioned stacked humbuckers in the meoldy maker - the Gibson website lists them as regular single-coils, which I think is accurate and corresponds with the originals.