Gibson Marauder

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Mid-production Gibson Marauder with rotary pickup selector in the lower bout

The Gibson Marauder is an electric guitar model. This short-lived series of solid-body guitars was produced in the USA from 1974 to 1979. Only one Gibson Marauder was shipped in 1974. These guitars were an attempt by Gibson to break into the single-coil-pickup, bolt-on-neck guitar market dominated by Fender. The Marauder originally sold for under $400 USD.

The Marauder sports a contoured single cutaway Les Paul-shaped body, and a bolt-on maple neck with a headstock similar to the Flying V's. Marauders were made with alder, maple, or mahogany bodies. The fretboard was produced in the traditional Gibson rosewood, or the more Fender-like maple, with twenty-two frets. All maple Marauder fretboards had dot markers. Many of the Marauders with rosewood fretboards had trapezoidal markers.

The Marauder features custom-designed Bill Lawrence pickups sealed in clear epoxy, a feature which was considered ahead of its time, and this was and still is considered to be one of the best qualities of this guitar. The guitar has a humbucker pickup in the neck position and a single-coil, solid-blade style pickup mounted at an angle by the bridge. This arrangement resembles the Fender Telecaster. The resulting sound was closer to the Fender sound than that of most Gibson guitars.

Early Marauders have a three-way toggle switch in the lower bout of the body, to to turn on either one or both pickups. Later examples were fitted with a rotary potentiometer instead, which allows a range of blends between the two pickups. In still later Marauders, the potentiometer was positioned between the volume and tone knobs.

Marauders all have Gibson's tune-o-matic bridge and a stop tailpiece. They have enclosed tuners, and typical Gibson strap buttons.

Late-production Marauder, with rotary switch between the tone and volume knobs

Published reviews characterize the guitar as heavy and durable, but with weak pickups.

Due to the bolt-on neck construction and unusual Fender characteristics of the guitar, the Marauder was not a success. It was too much like a Fender for Gibson buyers to like, and too much like the Gibson for those who liked Fender qualities to enjoy. After its slow reaction, the Marauder was discontinued by 1982. It is, however, considered a solid-quality, if unusual, vintage guitar.

In 1976–77, Gibson produced the Marauder Custom, with a premium finish and construction details. Also starting in 1976, Gibson started producing the Gibson S-1, similar to the Marauder in appearance, but with three single-coil pickups. It, too, was unpopular and was discontinued at around the same time as the Marauder.

[edit] Notable Marauder players

Main article: List of Gibson players

Gibson Marauders were played, and smashed for effect, by members of Kiss (who, according to a Gibson advertisement called the guitar a Kiss axe). Masafumi Gotō of Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Joshua Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Paul Westerberg of The Replacements,Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks, Deryck Whibley of Sum 41, and Mac McCaughan of Superchunk have also played Marauders in later years (McCaughan plays a Marauder that was smashed by Paul Stanley of Kiss in 1978). Cubby in earlier years of Canadian band The Reason.