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The Story Behind JOAN JETT's Gibson Melody Maker
from: ultimate-guitar.com
By Justin Beckner [UG Writer]
A punk rock workhorse.
JOAN JETT famously used a Les Paul during her time with The RUNAWAYS but seeked something a bit lighter for live performances. So she acquired her first Gibson Melody Maker from Eric Carmen of The Raspberries. That guitar would go on to serve as one of rock's most famous female icons from the final days of The RUNAWAYS to the dawn of her solo career all the way up to today. The guitar was used to record most of her hits, such as "I Love Rock n' Roll" and "Bad Reputation."
Jett's Melody Maker is a 1977 model. Much like the Gibson Juniors, it is simply a slab of mahogany with an ebony fingerboard. If the Junior was the cheap, no-frills version of a Les Paul, then the Melody Maker was a cheaper, lesser-frilled version of that - perfect for a punk rocker on a budget. The original model made its debut in 1959 and ran all the way up to 1970. After that, the Melody Maker went through several variations well past the turn of the century.
JOAN JETT's main workhorse for the duration of her solo career was a Melody Maker Double, which was made from 1977 until 1983. The body of the Melody Maker was even thinner than the Les Paul Junior, which made it noticeably lighter. Guitars being lighter is said to have certain tonal implications as well.
Jett's Melody Maker has been adorned with stickers - many celebrating feminism and gay identity. It wears the scars of its years spent on the road as a bare-bones workhorse. Other modifications include different knobs and a pickup selector that functions as a killswitch. A single humbucker rests in the bridge position next to the Tune-O-Matic tailpiece.
Gibson came out with a JOAN JETT signature version of her Melody Maker in 2008, complete with the killswitch in place of the pickup selector. There's no need for a pickup selector when you only have one pickup. This is functionally similar to how Tom Morello operates his killswitch effect by turning the volume off on one pickup and alternating between a muted pickup and a live one. In Jett's case the muted pickup is removed altogether. The signature model featured a single Burstbucker III humbucker in the bridge. A "Blackheart" version of this guitar was also introduced in 2010 with all the same specs, but it is finished in black, with red and pearl heart inlays.
Jett still owns her original but often plays her signature models live. The original was on display at The Met for a while. The Melody Maker holds a special place in Gibson's history, even if it was at the lower end of the price spectrum. It was famously used by Robby Krieger on the first couple of The Doors albums. Of course, Johnny Thunders used one, as did Mick Jones of The Clash and D. Boom, adding to the instrument's punk rock pedigree. The low price point made it ideal for not only punks but kids just starting out on guitar. A Melody Maker was said to be the first guitar of legends like Billy Gibbons and Carlos Santana. |
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