All user reviews of 4/5 for the Gibson Melody Maker Explorer

Made in Nashville, TN, USA

Body
Species Maple
Body Type Slab
Adhesive Franklin Titebond 50
Neck
Species Mahogany
Profile Melody Maker
Truss Rod Traditional Adjustable
Joint Angle 1.75° (+/- 15 seconds)
Adhesive Franklin Titebond 50
Neck Fit
Joint Mortise & Tenon
Adhesive Franklin Titebond 50
Joint Angle Tolerance +/- .005"
Fingerboard
Species Baked Maple
Frets 22
Radius 12"
Nut/E.O.B 1.695"/2.260"
Inlays Dot
Nut
Material Corian
Width 1.695
Slots Gibson PLEK System
Headstock
Truss Rod Cover with Hot Stamp Gold Gibson Logo Black Antique Bell

Tuners
Model White Button

Tailpiece
Type Wrap Around Tailpiece
Plating Chrome
Hardware
Knobs Black Top Hat
Strings .010 - .046, Genuine Gibson strings
Strap Buttons Aluminum
Pickups
Bridge Position Seymour Duncan HB-103 (Ceramic)
Electronics
Potentiometer 1 Volume Control
Type 300k Linear Volume
Coil Wiring Machine Wound
Output Jack Traditional 1/4"
Finish
Sealer Nitrocellulose
Process 1-1.5 mils
Satin EbonySatin BlueSatin WhiteCase
Type Gigbag
Accessories
Additional Materials Gibson Owners Manual


UTILIZATION

What an interesting guitar. It's cool that Gibson decided to bring the Explorer shape into the Melody Maker family, stripping down the functions and features to make a very simplistic electric guitar. The guitar plays well, and the body seems a bit smaller than a regular Explorer. I like the idea of a single pickup, single knob guitar, and this is the epitome of that design ideal. The fact that the headstock is more like a Flying V headstock is also a great design idea.

SOUNDS

The single pickup sounds great - big, cutting and clear tones. It works well for all rock styles - metal, punk, grunge, screamo - and more. The fact that the body is made of maple does enhance the high mid frequencies, creating a more present clarity in the timbre. This is simplicity to the max, and sometimes the simpler guitar designs are the ones that end up sounding the best. This guitar has a great tone.

OVERALL OPINION

This is a very cool axe from Gibson. Where else can you get a solid maple-bodied set neck guitar with just one pickup, frets all professionally dressed via the computer controlled PLEK system, made in the USA, for under $550? I've seen them used sell for $400 even! At that price, it's worth it to buy this even just to have a spare "knock-around" guitar! One could get an Epiphone for that price - not that they are bad guitars, but it's very cool to have a USA-made guitar for that cheap. Highly recommended - try it out!