New Affordable Gibsons

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VikingBlues
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New Affordable Gibsons

Post by VikingBlues »

Melody Maker Les Paul
Melody Maket SG
Melody Maker Explorer
Melody Maker V

The Les Paul and SG are reviewed in this months UK guitarist magazine. Under £500 in UK.

Some oddities :eye_rub: - maple bodies - the SG and the Les Paul weigh the same! - torrefied maple fretboards - no binding - one pickup - ceramic magnet - one volume control and no tone control - "minimal grain filling" - "crude satin nitro-cellulose finish straight off the spray gun .... left plenty of visible sinkage" - "sharp fret ends on treble and bass sides above the 12th fret" - "sharp edges on the scratchplates" and "possible to skin your knuckles with a wide playing arc"!

I'm reminded of some budget Gibsons SG's I tried a few years back in a shop - they were like guitars that had been made on someones kitchen table, badly finished and with amateur looking control knobs - my wife was with me and couldn't believe they were made by the same Gibson that made the SG Standard I had at the time (a beautifully made guitar).

Fender seem to do a more pro job of the more affordable models to me - or maybe I'm missing something as despite all the above points they made and only giving the guitars 3 stars out of 5 the magazine thought they had enough vibe to make them worth buying and using on stage or in the studio. :icon_whoknows:

http://www.dv247.com/guitars/gibson-mel ... lue--83097
http://www.dv247.com/guitars/gibson-mel ... lue--83094
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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vancouverois
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by vancouverois »

Maple is supposed to be a dense tonewood leading the bright side of the guitar rather than the warmth of a mahogany body.
With only a bridge pickup, no tone control.... and on the topmost a "horrified" fretboard :icon_whoknows: :away:

Not so cheap for a (supposed to be) budget guitar.
I'd rather go for an Epi in this price range.
Jan 15th 2007
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DeaconBlues
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by DeaconBlues »

I'd rather go for an Epi in this price range.
I agree.

Gibson and Fender both build a lot of different models. Gibson's lower priced models tend to be very cheaply appointed and have very little in common with their more expensive models. While Fender's lower priced models are usually better appointed and are usually a direct copy of their more expensive models. I've always favored Fenders, but I've tried a few Gibson's lately. However, Epiphone's offerings are much more attractive to me and a much better "bang for the buck".
That boy ain't right...,

but he's big on the North Sea Coast of Germany.
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rocknroll93
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by rocknroll93 »

not a big fan of gibson.. not with the current CEO.
"Playing the blues is like being black twice. Stevie Ray Vaughan missed out on both counts, but I never noticed" - BB king
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LeftyCanuck
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by LeftyCanuck »

If you're buying a Gibson, spend the $2500 and get a nice one. That's what I did. Couldn't be happier.
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weelie
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by weelie »

the sub-400 melody maker that gibson came out with a few years ago was a decent player i feel. The sub-800 tribute les paul with p90s were great, ane there plenty of decent worn models sub-1000. And made in usa, afaik.

Fenders have always been cheaper, and the cheapest usa-made fenders are at least 700e, no?

(My guitars are chinese and korean)
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VikingBlues
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by VikingBlues »

Glad to see the post was of interest. I'm really not having a go at Gibson as I have fond memories of the SG Standard. It just seemed to be another in the run of rather strange lines of guitars that have come from that stable in the last few years (not as bad as the cancelled "Hendrix inspired" Strat idea though).
weelie wrote:the sub-400 melody maker that gibson came out with a few years ago was a decent player i feel. The sub-800 tribute les paul with p90s were great, ane there plenty of decent worn models sub-1000. And made in usa, afaik.
The studio tribute with P90s looks more the part specification wise - the right woods and the right sort of pickups - and they look the part on the basis of the pictures I can see on line. :thumbsup:

I've maybe been unlucky in the cheaper Gibbys I've tried. I'm really not exagerating to say that if I hadn't known what they were I would have guessed at a price tag of £100 to £150 for those budget SGs I tried a few years back - and even then I'd have thought them badly finished for that price - frankly if I'd made them I wouldn't have shown them to anybody as I'd have been too embarassed. :eye_rub: I'm glad to see from what you say about the Melody Maker that there's some good guitars being made by them at the cheaper end of the price range.
weelie wrote:(My guitars are chinese and korean)
Same here ... well, except the one made in North Berwick! :big_smile: The quality of finish on the Korean made PRS SE is so near to immaculate - the only way it is inferior to the Gibson SG Standard I had in its finish is a hardly noticable very slight sharpness at the ends of some of the higher frets. The Chinese made Hagstrom Viking Deluxe and Vintage VSA590 are very close to the standard of the PRS too. When I think back to the quality of the cheaper guitars of the 1907s - we're very lucky to have such generally good standards of cheap guitars just now.
LeftyCanuck wrote:If you're buying a Gibson, spend the $2500 and get a nice one. That's what I did. Couldn't be happier.
Knowing the sort of quality the higher end Gibsons can be I would certainly be looking at that end of the Gibson catalogue if I was buying a Gibson and if I could get to be a good enough player the get the benefit from that high a quality of guitar .... though my numbers would need to come up on the lottery! Unfortunately I can't justify that price for what is just a hobby given the needs of the family and the higher priority areas that need money - now I think about it my entire collection of guitars, bass, pedals, PC interfaces, microphones and DAW software comes in under that figure. I wish I hadn't thought about that now - too depressing. :sad: More chance of being struck by lightening than the numbers coming up - proabably more chance of being struck by lightning while going to get the tickets even. :lol:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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LeftyCanuck
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by LeftyCanuck »

Well, I have no mortgage, no car payments, no kids and had a big fat overtime cheque in hand the day I bought mine... The money probably should've gone into something more practical, but mind you my Gibson has held its value better than some of the market investments I've made.
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VikingBlues
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by VikingBlues »

LeftyCanuck wrote:Well, I have no mortgage, no car payments, no kids and had a big fat overtime cheque in hand the day I bought mine... The money probably should've gone into something more practical, but mind you my Gibson has held its value better than some of the market investments I've made.
If it's the right guitar for you and at a price you could afford I don't think there's too high a price to pay - best to go for it or regret the missed opportunity forever. I'd do the same myself without my other commitments - however I'd not want to change my situation for the world .... but you'll need to forgive me for a twinge or two of jealousy none the less! Still I won £13 on the lottery at the weekend - so there's a start! :big_smile:

I think my pension fund handlers should maybe have invested in some quality guitars instead of losing so much of my funds on the stock market. :sad:
An improv a day keeps the demons at bay!
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weelie
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Re: New Affordable Gibsons

Post by weelie »

i guess you won't agree, but i still think gibson's strategy of making the cheapos in usa, is a sound one. Fender has taken another route, of course. Although you do hear imperfection complaints (even about the 'memphis cs' es-339 that is a higher dollar model). At least the more expensive models are plec'd and play great (better than in the old days, i assume).

I did flick through the guitarist-uk mag. I think they dug the tone of the cheapos...? Also the compared old original prices of tele vs gibson, and the prices wheren't that far apart. Like 190 vs 250 for tele 51 vs les paul 58... And in real price the prices have remained about the same in the 50odd years.
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