Ibanez Melody Maker (an giant Iceybomb)
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:39 pm
This thread was inevitable really. Since I was out taking pictures for these Mustang parts auctions I figured I'd get a few of the Melody Maker too. I have a few I took of the insides when I first got it (I was going to give it a while with the strings that came with it, then I saw they were light Fender Bullets with a plain G, so switched for 13s and wound G (I prefer wound and the bridge is unadjustable intonation set for a wound too) straight off and took a few pics while I had the chance).
So far I like it a lot. The neck is taking a bit of getting used to but it's nice. I've been playing on that 22.5" Musicmaster neck for a while and although my jazzbox is the same scale as this, the body join is in a very different place and the thickness of the body is about as contrasting as it gets. The neck feels a lot long than it is because of the short horns and the high joining the body position, and of course near the nut the neck shape on this sort of thing is entirely different to the Fender feel. A few times I've been playing it and as I've moved towards the 12th fret and looked down to the enck, it's seemed a bit like playing a V, there are a couple of pics showing the neck to body join from the side that show what I mean. I wouldn't say I dislike those parts of it, they'll just take a little getting used to. The frets are very low and look to have been stoned fairly recently. I think it's possible to set it up for very low action without too much hassle. It's quite low as it is and I haven't had a play with it.
Visually it's not entirely to my taste although not that far off. I love the body shape, the bridge and single coils, but the burst the pickguard and the knobs are not really my thing. Still, of those three it's only the knobs that would annoy me enough that it detracts from the guitar and luckily they're easily changable. As you'll see, I've switched to RI Mustang knobs for the time being. I also switched for a black switch tip. The Body is two pieces of wood sandiwched together. You can see the line around the centre of the sides but it's difficult to photograph, there's an internal shot showing the ground wire that you can see it best in.
Sound-wise, the wrap around bridge is superb. I'm not sure if it's that that makes it so nice but it seems to be. I don't know if the construction helps that or not but when you play it it just asks to be rocked. I will see about doing a demo soon, but I love the sound of it. I suppose for want of better terms, it is a bit mid-way between Fender and Gibson stereotype tones. I felt a bit silly when I first plugged it in and realised that this is the sort of sound I want from a guitar when I've been looking for it in a Fender for a while. The neck pickup seems better than the bridge, although that's fairly typical i suppose. The number printed on the back is the same for both pickups so I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually the same. The pickup covers are actually metal painted black, with the paint chipping off a little. You can see it in one of the pics.
On to the pics...
So far I like it a lot. The neck is taking a bit of getting used to but it's nice. I've been playing on that 22.5" Musicmaster neck for a while and although my jazzbox is the same scale as this, the body join is in a very different place and the thickness of the body is about as contrasting as it gets. The neck feels a lot long than it is because of the short horns and the high joining the body position, and of course near the nut the neck shape on this sort of thing is entirely different to the Fender feel. A few times I've been playing it and as I've moved towards the 12th fret and looked down to the enck, it's seemed a bit like playing a V, there are a couple of pics showing the neck to body join from the side that show what I mean. I wouldn't say I dislike those parts of it, they'll just take a little getting used to. The frets are very low and look to have been stoned fairly recently. I think it's possible to set it up for very low action without too much hassle. It's quite low as it is and I haven't had a play with it.
Visually it's not entirely to my taste although not that far off. I love the body shape, the bridge and single coils, but the burst the pickguard and the knobs are not really my thing. Still, of those three it's only the knobs that would annoy me enough that it detracts from the guitar and luckily they're easily changable. As you'll see, I've switched to RI Mustang knobs for the time being. I also switched for a black switch tip. The Body is two pieces of wood sandiwched together. You can see the line around the centre of the sides but it's difficult to photograph, there's an internal shot showing the ground wire that you can see it best in.
Sound-wise, the wrap around bridge is superb. I'm not sure if it's that that makes it so nice but it seems to be. I don't know if the construction helps that or not but when you play it it just asks to be rocked. I will see about doing a demo soon, but I love the sound of it. I suppose for want of better terms, it is a bit mid-way between Fender and Gibson stereotype tones. I felt a bit silly when I first plugged it in and realised that this is the sort of sound I want from a guitar when I've been looking for it in a Fender for a while. The neck pickup seems better than the bridge, although that's fairly typical i suppose. The number printed on the back is the same for both pickups so I wouldn't be surprised if they were actually the same. The pickup covers are actually metal painted black, with the paint chipping off a little. You can see it in one of the pics.
On to the pics...
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