Gibson Marauder Electric Guitars

Gibson Marauder Electric Guitars were manufactured from 1974 to 1979 and were an attempt by Gibson to enter the single-coil-pickup, bolt-on-neck guitar market, which was dominated at that time by their biggest competitor Fender. Despite of a huge effort from Gibson and promoting it by such rock starts as Paul Stanley of the rock band "Kiss", Gibson Marauder electric guitars were not as a big success as Gibson expected and the line was completely discontinued in 1982.

Gibson Marauder electric guitars feature single cutaway body similar to the one of the Gibson Les Paul model, and a bolt-on neck with a headstock similar to the Flying V model. All fretboards had dot markers and were either rosewood, common for Gibson, or maple, more usual for Fender guitars.

A humbucker pickup of Gibson Marauder electric guitars is mounted in the neck position and another single-coil, solid-blade style pickup is located by the bridge, which is similar to the Fender's Telecaster. As a result, Gibson Marauders sounded more like Fender guitars rather than Gibson, which in fact might have been one of the main reasons of unpopularity of this model: it was too Fender-like for Gibson's fans, and too Gibson-like for Fender's fans.

Early issues of Gibson Marauder electric guitars had a three-way toggle switch in the lower part of the body to switch between either one or both pickups, but the switch was replaced with a potentiometer on the later models. All Gibson Marauder electric guitars had a stop tailpiece, usual for Gibson guitars a "tune-o-matic" bridge, and strap buttons as well as enclosed tuners.

Beside of the original Gibson Marauder electric guitars, there was the Marauder Custom, produced from 1976 to 1977 and made with a premium finish and construction details. There was also a signature model by Paul Stanley known as "the Midnight Special".

Despite of being initially unsuccessful, Gibson Marauder electric guitars are getting more popular among Gibson guitar collectors and enthusiasts at the present time. Considering a limited number of Gibson Marauders produced, getting a good example of this model is not a trivial task anymore, but still possible for a keen and avid collector.

You can see current listings for Gibson Marauder Electric Guitars here: