The lighting in my house sucks for picture taking.
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The lighting in my house sucks for picture taking.
Congratulations! I am green (or perhaps Aged Pelham Blue) with envy!
Also AFAIK these were made out of mahogany just like the EB-0/3 assuming the guitars were made out of the same material. I've seen several refinish threads and they're all mahogany under the paint.
I had one of those! Loved it - great way to have a budget mudbucker bass.
I think you are thinking of the Kalamazoo version - the Gibson ones are mahogany - but I don't have my copy of the Gibson Bass Book handy - will double-check when I get home. EDIT: @PlanZero beat me to it!
I think you are thinking of the Kalamazoo version - the Gibson ones are mahogany - but I don't have my copy of the Gibson Bass Book handy - will double-check when I get home. EDIT: @PlanZero beat me to it!
I'd be curious to peek under the pickguard to see what the original shade is that's hiding under there, just saying. 
I stand corrected...you are absolutely right! The Kalamazoo model is Yowanda Wood, but the Gibson is mahogany. It's been awhile since I had one. Thanks!
I'd be interested in learning more about them too. There isn't much info on them out there. I've only seen two others in the wild. One was dark red which I believe is offically dubbed burgandy. And the other was Gibson's well-known "Pelham Blue." I've also heard that green color called "Inverness Green" in an article about this model bass, although I don't know if that was an official color or just what the writer decided to call it.
I did get to hear the burgandy one in action. It definitely had that authoritative Gibson sonic footprint. Which is something you like or you don't.
I like it. A lot.
@PlanZero - Congratulations on your newest family member. That is one sweet score! Play it well.
Thanks for all the compliments! Honestly even though I know everything about the EB-0 (thanks fly guitars) I didn't even know the MM bass existed until it popped up for sale at a local consignment guitar shop. Using info for the MM guitars I found out they were produced along side the Kalamazoo brand guitars (just different body wood) and supposedly came in only red at first, then pelham blue (Kalamazoos were white) then burgundy. Someone on Wikipedia added custom colors available such as Inverness green but who knows if that's a fact or just aged Pelham blue. Although the MMs were budget guitars and thousands produced in response to the fender musicmaster (the Kalamazoo bass before the SG shape was almost identical to a mustang or musicmaster shape), there don't seem to be too many for sale out there so in my eyes it's a rarity.
Side note: I love seeing these old basses with all the tug bars, hand rests, bridge covers, etc. but actually using them is another story. If I use the tug bar and hand rest (playing with my thumb I assume) it's quite the challenge.
Side note: I love seeing these old basses with all the tug bars, hand rests, bridge covers, etc. but actually using them is another story. If I use the tug bar and hand rest (playing with my thumb I assume) it's quite the challenge.
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Interesting bass, congrats!
I don't know how much this applies to your bass but just FYI, on my '59 RI Melody Maker guitar (and the original '59 Melody Maker guitar), one of the big differences is that the body wood is thinner than that of its Gibson big brother (in this case, the Les Paul Special).
Other differences, besides the aforementioned pick guard mounted electronics and limited colors, were unique Melody Maker pickups and a noticeably narrower headstock. My reissue has only 2 knobs on the dual pickup guitar, whereas the original dual pickup version of the Melody Maker guitar, like the Gibson, had 4 knobs
I don't know how much this applies to your bass but just FYI, on my '59 RI Melody Maker guitar (and the original '59 Melody Maker guitar), one of the big differences is that the body wood is thinner than that of its Gibson big brother (in this case, the Les Paul Special).
Other differences, besides the aforementioned pick guard mounted electronics and limited colors, were unique Melody Maker pickups and a noticeably narrower headstock. My reissue has only 2 knobs on the dual pickup guitar, whereas the original dual pickup version of the Melody Maker guitar, like the Gibson, had 4 knobs
Well for the bass the thickness is the same as my EB-0. In fact I think the MM is slightly thicker though I haven't measured. Remington Steele helped me clean up the tuners. He only likes Gibbys
The MM that you've just acquired *should* be a carbon copy of the second generation EB-0/3 dimensions-wise. Your EB-0 belongs to the third generation sporting different body contours and direct comparisons may prove to be confusing.
Are the MM pickups the same ones used on the EB-3 of the same era? Also, are there two pickups there on the Melody Maker, or is that cover thing just a thumb anchor?
Also, is the bridge the same as the EB bridge of back in the day?
I'm basically quite curious as to what makes one a EB and one an MM. The big pickguard with pickguard mounted electronics, cheaper tuners and limited paint options seem to be the only differences I see so far.
I've done quite a bit to my Melody Maker guitar to turn it into a player, and these are a curious family of instruments to me overall. Kind of a forgotten (or at least kinda forgotten/little known) corner of Gibson history...
If you don't know their answers, I can well understand. It took me a while to start to get a handle on what my guitar was and where it fit in in the whole Melody Maker world, not to mention what the heck a "Melody Maker" was in the first place. I actually had heard of Melody Makers years before, but they'd largely slipped my mind when I ran into mine. My drummer, of all people, had bought it, thought it sucked (though he couldn't even play guitar besides strum a few chords) and was soon looking to move on, so I picked it up off of him as a project and a player. Still working on it, and still hoping it all works out!
Also, is the bridge the same as the EB bridge of back in the day?
I'm basically quite curious as to what makes one a EB and one an MM. The big pickguard with pickguard mounted electronics, cheaper tuners and limited paint options seem to be the only differences I see so far.
I've done quite a bit to my Melody Maker guitar to turn it into a player, and these are a curious family of instruments to me overall. Kind of a forgotten (or at least kinda forgotten/little known) corner of Gibson history...
If you don't know their answers, I can well understand. It took me a while to start to get a handle on what my guitar was and where it fit in in the whole Melody Maker world, not to mention what the heck a "Melody Maker" was in the first place. I actually had heard of Melody Makers years before, but they'd largely slipped my mind when I ran into mine. My drummer, of all people, had bought it, thought it sucked (though he couldn't even play guitar besides strum a few chords) and was soon looking to move on, so I picked it up off of him as a project and a player. Still working on it, and still hoping it all works out!
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Yes for the pickup. As well as for the bridge.
All MM basses that I've ever seen were single PU units.
Funny thing is that you'll see some EB-0s with these same cheap-looking tuners. My best *guess* is that MMs *might* have not had their bodies cut out of one piece of mahagony which was standard for EBs from that era, and that the underlying pieces of wood *might* not have been as pretty. But, short of stripping one or more down - not something that I've ever done personally - these are just guesses on my end.
I had one of those ! I believe it was a '68 or '69 that I bought new. Had it for maybe 15 years.
Started up like this, Candy Apple Red. (web photo)
Ended up like that, stripped and painted white. I can vouch for the mahogany body, it stayed natural for a while. Fender Precision pickup was added, one volume, one tone and a rotary switch. I was in my twenties, wanted the tone of the Precision, but not the long scale, so I figured ...
It was killer with my Traynor Super Custom Special YBA-3A and two 1X15 JBL.
Started up like this, Candy Apple Red. (web photo)
Ended up like that, stripped and painted white. I can vouch for the mahogany body, it stayed natural for a while. Fender Precision pickup was added, one volume, one tone and a rotary switch. I was in my twenties, wanted the tone of the Precision, but not the long scale, so I figured ...
It was killer with my Traynor Super Custom Special YBA-3A and two 1X15 JBL.
