Gibson Melody Maker D Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1965), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 554111, cherry lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original brown alligator chipboard case.
The Melody Maker was Gibson's 1960s offering in a high-quality student or amateur player's guitar, with many of the features of the company's more expensive solid-bodies at a budget price. While the instrument is fairly unadorned and has some basic economies: a single-layer pickguard, single-coil pickups with unshielded wiring, plastic strap buttons and a narrow headstock with Japanese-made strip tuners and a decal logo. Still in the important ways this is still a real Gibson instrument.
The thin solid mahogany body and neck are finished in the company's vibrant 1960s cherry finish and the neck is the slimmer 1 5/8" nut width 1965 style, but more substantial feeling as it approaches the body. This twin-pickup guitar is the later style body, somewhat flatter and broader than the early Melody Makers made through 1964. This style was only offered around 1965, as by early '66 the Melody Maker was redesigned yet again to use the SG shape. This guitar has a stud-mounted tailpiece/bridge mated to the Gibson short Vibrola used on many instruments in this period.
While only in production for about 14 months, this version of the Melody Maker-D is not exactly a rare guitar -- 1965 production figures show over 4500 were shipped out that year! Nevertheless, many have been damaged and/or modified heavily over the years, so finding one in all original condition is always nice. Probably the single most famous MM-D is the '65 used by Eric Carmen in the Raspberries and subsequently owned and played by Joan Jett for the bulk of her career, which is refinished in white with two humbucking pickups. This original cherry guitar is still a bargain in a 1960s Gibson: light, easy to handle and extremely responsive with a great sound and vibe.
Overall length is 39 in. (99.1 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This guitar shows some typical wear overall including various dings, dents, and scrapes to the finish but there are no large areas of finish loss. All hardware is original and complete; the Vibrola unit is fitted, some players prefer to remove it and string the bridge as a straight stoptail for a more rock-oriented feel which is easily done. In general this is a nice guitar to play, light and handy with a fairly versatile if not particularly high-output sound. It resides in the original 1950s style chipboard case (Gibson must have been using up the very last of these in 1965) which is somewhat functional but a modern gig bag can be included if desired. Overall Excellent - Condition.
