MELODY MAKER 2011 MOD IDEA OPINIONS

geetar

Hi all

I am predominantly a bass player but play the guitar too to fulfill my needs, yet I know fairly little about the technicalities re: building etc  because it hasn't really interested me... til now. I own a melody maker (usa 2011 edition)- which are generally regarded as pretty poor and I can understand some of the reasons why. However, I like the way it plays and I LOVE the weight. The sound however is so so limited- I like a scratchy treble heavy, well articulated sound (think Gang of four/ D.Boon) and this pick up just seems too limited to deliver no matter what amplification I use. So I have been thinking about getting a G&L single coil which has the adjustable individual poles to allow for further tonal control. Was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts regarding this?

Please keep in mind- I am new to modding, have little time and limited resources and may get lost if you get too jargony!

cheers

Mark

Also on my agenda are:

- repainting the guitar TV yellow- whats the easiest and cheapest way to achieve this?
- ways to easily repair dents in frets without having to get the whole thing re-fretted

thanks again


 

sweepy

A few pics of the fretwear might help to work out if a refret or just a fret dress is necessary 

Funkfingers

Frankly, on a guitar of that price and “excellence”, repainting to a professional standard would cost more than the instrument.

Unless your frets are gouged to hell, a level and dress should suffice.

Pickup-wise, for most Rockers, a single coil-sized Li’l humbucker would be the wisest choice. My own taste would be for a slightly overwound P90.

sawyer

^yes p90 and paint it white! Job done:)

BeardedRainbow

In terms of refinishing, it depends what colour it is currently; ideally, the guitar is white and you can just buy some tinted clearcoat and spray over it. Any other colour would require finish removal or at least a more thorough opaque finish.

The frets and neck are the heart of the guitar. It might be worth taking it somewhere for fret levelling or have a go yourself to save some money. You should buy a cheap scrap neck to practice on before attempting this though.

As the others have stated above, it seems like a P90 might suit you sonically, but maybe you could also fare well with a hotter strat pickup or maybe even a tele bridge pickup.