At first glance, the 1959 debut Melody Maker closely resembles the original single-cut, sunburst-finish Les Paul Junior introduced earlier in 1954. Similarly constructed using a mahogany slab-body and neck with an unbound 22-fret Brazilian rosewood ’board featuring dot markers, it’s clear where this single-pickup guitar takes its design cues from. But with a depth of just 1 3/8-inch, the body of the Melody Maker is significantly thinner than the 1 ¾-inch deep Junior. Its headstock, too,
