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1964 Gibson Melody Maker - a classic vintage guitar

A closer look at a Gibson Melody maker from 1964. The Melody Maker is one of Gibson's best ever selling guitars - despite it's comparatively low price it didn't skimp on Gibson tradition: well-built instruments, constructed from the finest materials. The body and set neck are both of South American mahogany whilst the fingerboard is South American rosewood. With a sunburst nitrocellulose finish the Melody Maker certainly looked the part. In fact the Melody Maker had more in common with many higher end Gibson instruments than guitars of a similar price bracket made by other manufacturers. The circuitry was simple; just a volume and tone control for one single coil pickup. See also Gibson Melody Maker shipping figures

1967 Vox (JMI) electric guitar catalogue

This was the last guitar and bass catalogue produced by Vox under the ownership of JMI. The cover features Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, playing his trademark Vox Mark VI teardrop, and features a line up of British and Italian built vox guitars and basses; Vox Phantom, Vox Mark, Vox Spitfire, Lynx, Super Lynx and the Jones' Stones colleague Bill Wymans signature Wyman Bass. Twelve pages.

1966 Kalamazoo KG2a electric guitar

Details and information on the Kalamazoo KG2a electric guitar. The beat boom of the mid 1960s heralded a huge demand for electric guitars; youngsters up and down America were looking for affordable, well-built solid-bodies, with modern looks and a great sound. Gibson, better known for it's high-end jazz guitars, responded by producing the KG guitar and KB bass lines, under the Kalamazoo brand. They were initially modelled on the Fender Mustang, though soon took the shape of the Gibson SG, which was rapidly rising in popularity. The resulting instruments used modern composite wood technology, Fender style construction and actual Gibson hardware. They looked good, played well, and sold in large quantities. See also Kalamazoo KG shipping figures, a 1966 Kalamazoo KG1 (single pickup) and listen to the Kalamazoo KG soundclips.

1961 Gibson EB3

A 1961 Gibson EB3 bass. 1961 was the first year of EB3 production, and the year Gibson first used the classic SG shape. Like the SG guitars, the EB3 was built at the Gibson plant in Kalamazoo. Early EB3s are characterised by their chunky necks, wide-spaced controls, nickel hardware and bakelite neck pickup cover. Have a listen to the soundclips of this bass, through several vintage amplifiers.

1966 Gibson EB0

Profile of a 1966 Gibson EB0 bass. The EB0, like it's big brother the EB3, is something of a 1960s classic; the construction (short scale, mahogany body, set mahogany neck), and the famous Gibson EB humbucker positioned at the neck, gave a deep rumble that perfectly suited the musical environment of the early-mid sixties. But by the early-mid seventies things were going long-scale and maple... Nonetheless, this is a finely built instrument, capable of some terrific sounds that really suit certain musical situations. Have a listen to the soundclips of this bass, through various vintage amplifiers.

1966 Hagstrom Coronado IV bass

The Hagstrom Coronado is one of the most distinctive bass guitars ever manufactured; the quirky controls, 32" scale, and unique shape. The body and neck are mahogany, but with bolt on construction. This 1966 Coronado is one of the later guitars, so does not have the Hagstrom Bi-Sonic pickups, but it is still a great sounding, and highly playable bass. Check out the short Hagstrom Coronado bass sound clips on this site.

Older updates here

1959 Epiphone Century
Thinline semi acoustic

This early example of the Epiphone Century is one of 276 made in 1959. Gibson-assembled (Kalamazoo), but with numerous Epiphone components. 1959 was the first year of its production, and just two years after Gibson had bought the Epiphone name, along with tooling, partially completed instruments, and parts.

The pickup is one of those parts; an Epiphone-made New York humbucker. Gibson used these on numerous models in the late 1950s. By 1960 they had run out, and the Century went over to a single-coil P90 with a plastic dogear cover.

Another early feature is the metal triangular name-plate, pinned onto the peghead. This was replaced with the familiar Epiphone logo (transfer) in around 1961. The scratchplate, and control knobs are both Epiphone parts. The Bigsby tremolo is not stock, this guitar would have been shipped with a standard trapeze tailpiece.

The neck itself is three-piece, has a v-profile, and is joined to the body with a heel-cap, very much in earlier Epiphone style. In fact it seems likely that it came from the pre-Gibson Epiphone era, part of the stock bought by Gibson parent company CMI in 1957. Exactly how much of the manufacture this guitar happened in Kalamazoo is not at all clear. The 100% Gibson-made Centuries have one-piece mahogany necks, with a rounded profile, and rounded uncapped-heel.

Images courtesey of justgreatguitars.com

If you are looking for specific vintage guitars for sale, you may have to keep an eye on numerous vintage guitar stores, classifieds websites and ebay listings. Below are just the auctions - Vintage guitar stores tend to advertise theirs in their ebay online vintage guitar stores - have a look because there are some different listings.