Epiphone Les Paul Melody Maker wraparound bridge

[Flyboy]

Now, you got good advice in the above posts, but inquiring minds want to know whats with that Spam container on top of the amp that appears to have switches and jacks on the top????

Yes, that is indeed a SPAMP! My one is the earlier version, with out the 'Quack' filter. Available from Etsy. Its a great wee thing!

SPAMP

 

[Flyboy]

By "missing something", you're not expecting those pickups to sound like P-90s, are you? I have a real '59 Melody Maker, and it, too, is "missing something".

Nope.

 

[Flyboy]

That wraparound bridge is what many owners of LP Specials and LP Jrs. (myself included) feel adds some ‘magic’ to the tone due it its simple solida, no moving parts design. I think that they improve the sound, not take from it.

Really?

 

[Flyboy]

To each his own, but its a fact, its not nearly as popular. If it were superior for a majority, it would be more popular. I know from working saddles, nuts, that the "leaving" angle between the string and nut/saddle/bridge has a lot to do with the strings' sustain or lack of. See the blue string for a saddle, with red lines describing the parabolic shape of the moving string, and the same for the wrap around bridge, note the interference of the string motion with the wrap around bridge,

View attachment 1236276

This I totally get, from working on acoustic guitar saddles.

 

[Flyboy]

By "missing something", you're not expecting those pickups to sound like P-90s, are you? I have a real '59 Melody Maker, and it, too, is "missing something".

Nope. Defo not.

 

[Flyboy]

That wraparound bridge is what many owners of LP Specials and LP Jrs. (myself included) feel adds some ‘magic’ to the tone due it its simple solida, no moving parts design. I think that they improve the sound, not take from it.

This is the thing that I put on my HB Junior, and it sucked the tone, bigstyle. The TOM Wraparound went straight back on.

 

[Zepfan]

I have one of those Epiphone SL guitars and they are very cheap.
Plastic nut, low output pickups, cheap controls, cheap tuners, cheap strings and the fretboard isn't great either.
That lightning bridge is probably the best part on it.
After replacing all the cheap parts with decent parts, pickups and strings it became a decent guitar.
Still has the lightning bridge on it and the string angle is fine because that's the way it's supposed to be for a Jr style bridge.
If it had a separate bridge and stop tail piece, then the string angle would come into play.

 

[14strings]

Maybe a bridge upgrade is in order?

My Eastman SB55V comes stock with a Faber wrap around bridge.

Faber® Intonatable Wraparound Bridge | Buy Wraparound Guitar Bridge

Faber® Wraparound Bridges. Original style, compensated, and fully adjustable styles. For left handed guitars, too!

faberusa.com

There is also the company Tom Bukovac likes:

Guitar Parts

Designed by Joe Glaser and Nick Drushel of Glaser Instruments.

musiccitybridge.com

On a side note I love my Eastman Jr. A Junior is a great guitar to have in the arsenal along with a Tele but of course!

 

[TheCheapGuitarist]

I had two '62-'64 Melody Maker Ds and thought the pickups sounded like bland garbage. Others wax rapsodic about them.

I think part of this equation is that specs of these old P90's are all over the place from pickup to pickup, and what qualifies as "the" P90 sound is somewhat elusive as a result.

 

[1 21 gigawatts]

I love the simplicity of the wraparound bridge, but the lightning bar can be problematic if it tilts forward too much. If you look at the side profile, as the bridge tilts forward, some strings get higher while others lower than designed. To compensate, you have to jack the treble end up making the bridge angle even wonkier.

I've had favorable results with locking studs. They make it a pain to adjust, but worth it to take the tilt out.