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Always wanting to make sure the history is correct I do want to point out that Jimmy Page had not called us back in the 80's for "playing tips" but because he wanted an effects box that Brian Jones had used with his Mosrite Melobar on a movie track for a unique sound; we talk about it in Fun Melobar Facts.
The caption between the Mosrite and Rosac are backwards, the Rosac model is on the right. What is pictured here is a Mosrite Melobar.
The little town we built them in during the 80's was Weiser...not Weister, and Melobar moved to the Sweet Idaho Shop in 1991 after Dad had died. Otherwise it was a very good recount of Melobar's Roots.
the Author Willie Moseley emailed me that; When I interviewed Jorma Kaukonen, he was appreciative of the opportunity to discuss his experience with Melobar, telling me "Thanks for the trip down memory lane."
We all thank you for that trip down memory lane Willie!!
Here's a hum reduction tip - adding either self-adhesive copper shielding or shielding paint to the pickup and control cavities (which must be connected to the string and control grounds) helps with hum as on any guitar. But even before adding shielding I didn't notice any unusual hum with my Rosac-era Melobar - just that typical of any single-coil equipped guitar like a Tele, Jazzmaster, Strat, Casino, 360-12 string etc.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Rosac pickups - the last designed/wound by the legendary Paul Barth - are highly prized by many players for their tone AND low noise, and hunted for at vintage guitar shows. Many guitarists have pulled them from Melobars, installing Strat or P-90 types in the Melobars and installed the Rosac/Barth pickups in fretted guitars!
Also, I've called the Melobar/Tele hybrid double neck I've had since 2010 the "Melocaster"! Ted kindly sold me a partially completed project guitar; I did some "relief" on the back like a Strat, reducing the weight and increasing comfort, finished the body in blond lacquer, and installed Red Rhodes Velvet Hammers (with the VHTBX boost coil bridge pickup and Strat neck pickup)on the Tele "side", and a Sentell humbucker on the "Melobar" side, set up in open-E with 6 strings. On stage I clipped a combination thumbpick/flatpick to the strings just above the Tele nut to make instrument switches more convenient.
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