A Fine 'Pelham Blue' Melody Maker 12.

1968 Gibson Melody Maker 12.

This super rare little 'Pelham Blue' Melody Maker 12 weighs just 6.20 lbs. and has a nut width of just over 1 9/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Solid mahogany body, one-piece mahogany neck with a medium profile. Rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Headstock with gold silk-screened "Gibson" logo. Closed-back dual-line Kluson Deluxe strip tuners with white plastic oval buttons. Serial number "948914" stamped on the back of the headstock. Two hot Melody Maker pickups (white plastic-covered single-coil pickups without adjustable poles) with outputs of 7.05k and 7.60k. Single-layer white plastic pickguard with Gibson logo engraved in black and ten screws. Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout plus three-way sliding selector switch mounted on pickguard. Black plastic ribbed-side conical-shape "Witch Hat" control knobs with metal tops. The pots are stamped: "137 67XX" (the last number on all four pots obscured by solder but all CTS from 1967). Stud wrap-around bridge/tailpiece with pre-set intonation and original twelve-string tailpiece secured by three screws. This Pelham Blue Melody Maker 12 is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition, with only a few tiny chips on the edges, a small amount of finish checking, and the absolute bare minimum of fading. The serial number on the back of the headstock has a '2' above it denoting that this guitar was shipped as a factory 'second' (although as usual we cannot see any obvious factory finish 'flaw'). Housed in the original three-latch, shaped black sofshell case with black felt lining (9.00).

Only 123 Melody Maker 12 guitars were shipped in 196  (the second year of production) out of a total run of just 210 guitars between 1967 band 1971. The colors offered were Polaris White, Sparkling Burgundy and Pelham Blue.

The single pickup Melody Maker was introduced in early 1959, both in regular and 3/4 size versions, as the newer budget model in the solid body line. A dual pickup version was subsequently listed in late 1959. Between 1959 and 1965, the Melody Maker trio kept the same basic specifications but went through two successive body redesigns. The first variant is characterized by a single cutaway shape identical to the original Les Paul Junior except for a thinner body. The instruments made up to mid-1960 also feature a slightly wider pickup cover (7/8") whereas those subsequently released have a narrower unit (5/8"). In early 1961 both the regular and the 3/4 size versions were modified with a double cutaway shape produced by creating an upper horn symmetrical to the lower one (the Melody Maker was about the only solid body in the early 60s not to be fitted with the highly contoured SG design with pointed horns). A further redesign took place in early 1965 when the model took on a double cutaway body with more pointed sculptured horns positioned farther away from the neck. At the same time the body edges became slightly more rounded and the standard finish was changed from sunburst to cherry red. Eventually, the new body shape did not prove very pleasing and in February 1966 the Melody Maker was fitted with the SG body style. The SG-styled Melody Makers were phased out in 1971. See A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, pp. 215-216.