Gibson Marauder

Made in 1976, USA genuine Gibson
22 frets, 3 way switch, volume and tone control
One superhumbucking 1 Indox VI and 2 Indox VII (front),One special design single coil 2 Indox VII (back).
Thin (custumized) Maple/rosewood !bolt-on! neck, Laminated Maple body (les paul style). V shaped head with Schaller machine heads.
White pickguard, tune 0 matic bridge.
Came with original suitcase (black with red soft cloth inside)

Great rock sound, espacially the back pickup has a screaming sound. With the front pickup (and the effect to match) i can just as well play jazz. Both pickups together give a very rich sound. Watch out for the highest tones though, they sometimes seem not to ring through, or sounds squeezed! Together with mainly a zoom 505 and dod reverb, overdrive and flanger, i can get all the sound i want.
Because it has a bolt-on neck , you can even bent it without any problems.

When i got it it was in terrible shape. Someone even put paint on the rosewood neck. Had to sand it off.I custimized my guitar so it could be played faster. I refinished the neck. Cleaned the electronics and did some rewireing. Now everything is almost as it was when it left the factory (exept the neck).

It's great for live or at home. Everything looks very solid. Of course you have to clean it once in a while.

Unfortunatly Gibson is not proud over this guitar. Even on the official website there is no information of the marauder.

It is the second guitar i bought, and just fell in love with it, It's the shape, playabillity and sound that makes it great.

The only bad thing is that the pickup selection switch is at the bottum left (if you hold the guitar normaly). So while playing you can accidently push the switch.

I love it.It is the first guitar i ever owned.I love it because of a 1 tone 1 volume switch 2 pickups a three way tone selector and i like the way it looks.i think it is the simpelest guitar i have ever owned i also like it because it has a lot of sentimental value.My cousin gave it it to me before he died.I love the way it sounds running out of a peavey backstage amp.I just think it is the best guitar ive ever owned.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

like i said a great clear nice flat pretty sound thats how i describe it.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if you put the right strings on it it will feel like your fingers are flying i plat rock it suits me fine.

in my opinion you cant tear this guitar up solidbody you can drop it on concrete it would be fine.

dont know never had to call them

i have been playing since i was in the 6th grade that was a while back..ha........i own a 335,some sg's,135,ressiue,just about every les paul made

I own a 76 Marauder and it was the first real electric I have ever owned. Yes, I said real electric guitar. Coming from playing in a band at 11 years old with a Silvertone and a 10watt amp the Marauder was just what the Doc oredered. It has a natural finish and a rotatable tone control. An after market on/off swith was installed by the knot head I bought it from in 77. I had new Grover machine heads put on it because I have a hard time keeping the G string in tune. The machine heads didn't help the tuning problem. I still played it though. I have worn the frets down to holes and I still abuse this guitar. I have used it in the studio for an album only to hear the producer say I had a unique sound. I had the nut replaced with an ivory nut vice brass. This guitar has been used and abused and I like to say I own one because there are not many around. So the "Edsel of Gibson"? Keep that opinion because I am fixing to refurbish this one and I am shure it will still sound great for years to come.

I have the original pick ups and it has a muddy grunge sound. As a kid I played through a Fender Bassman with two twelve in speakers. I had a unique sound. The rear pickup has a really cool tin sound the offers some really cool distortion settings. Since I am older I have owned a ton of guitars and amps. I have played this through everything from a Trace Elliot to Mesa Boogie. It sounded the best through a 300 watt Peavy Bass amp with two 15 inch boomers. I love the texture and fatnest.

The action on this guitar is awesome. The finish didn't last long but that gives it character. I beleive it to be the "bully burger eater" of guitars. It gets scared up and bruised but it still keeps coming back for more.

The tuners were not up to snuff and were replaced with Grovers. The hardware is just as sturdy as any hardware on a SG or Paul. I have played this guitar in the studio and live it never let me down. I love the stares I would get on stage. What kind of Gibson is that? Look. I would just grin and let her rip out scorching scale. Its dependable but mine in beat up and ugly. Hey its a guitar meant to be played. Not a show piece!

I haven't dealt with the company at all. I would like to know where to find parts. Email me if you can with part info.

If I lost this guitar I would be crushed. I would get another one for sure. If this particular guitar could talk we would have a great time listening to it. I don't like the way the G string does not seem to tune and I hope that the neck didn't warp. If it did however I would still carry it with me. Its has been with me in numerous bands good and bad and it was something I bought on my own bucking hay bails. I have impressed many a girls with this one. A true soldier! Marauder: to roam about and raid insearch of plunder!!! The perfect name for this axe!

1976 Marauder, made in USA, bought used 20 years ago. 22 fret, all blonde wood. I heard somewhere that the body is alder. The neck and fingerboard are maple. The wood isn't particularly figured or eye-catching. The guitar's colour has changed over the years - it's a nice honey colour now, and is markedly darker than the almost-white original tone.

It has never had a refret. The original bits are: neck plate and bolts, bridge, tailpiece, scratchplate and some of the screws, possibly the tone pot. Maybe the speedknobs as well? I'll run throgh the changes...

The original Gibson machine heads had been changed for high-end Ibanez ones with perloid, tapered-shape keys which complement the flying-V headstock perfectly. One of these had been damaged when I bought the guitar, so this chrome set was replaced with a nearly-new gold plated set of the same Ibanez type.

The over-cut and worn out original nut was replaced with a bone version, hand cut from a blank.

The pickups have been changed to a Seymour Duncan SH-5 at the neck, and a Hot Rails at the bridge. The twiddly tone-blender had been removed by the previous owner and, after further changes, the switching is now a normal 3-way pickup selector, with two mini toggles to its right, giving coil tap and phase switching. The plastic screw-on thingy on the main PU toggle has been cut down to a sphere about 5mm diameter to keep the profile low. All of the switches operate horizontally to minimise the chance of inadvertent switching. The location of the switches in the lower horn is prone to this, but it's also a very good place for them to be when you do want to change them.

Strap buttons are the all-metal slide-fit locking type which have sprung peg thingies bolted onto the strap.

It's possible that the tone control capacitor has been changed. The volume pot was replaced after the original exhibited bits of track with no carbon left.

I promised myself a new case for about 10 years before I got a Hiscox Lite Flite.

Since I did all the mods, and since I haven't changed anything for years, I guess this guitar has all the feaures I want. Apart from nice figuring in the wood. But it's aging nicely (and a tortoise shell style scratchplate is on the cards).

I play clean strummy stuff, very clean funky stuff, crunchy rock riff stuff, and distorted lead stuff. Through a valve amp and Celestion speakers.

The pickup switching I have gives me a wide variety of tones. Virtually all clean rhythm stuff is done with both pickups on, coil-tapped, in phase. Crunch riffs are done with neck humbucker only, or both humbuckers out of phase. Lead stuff can be any humbucker combination that sounds right at the time. I sometimes do clean leads using the neck PU only, coil-tapped.

I plug into a Boss wah pedal, sometimes preceded with a Boss Heavy Metal for low-volume endless sustain. That goes into the amp (Peavey Classic 30 or Selmer T&B 50, both driving Celestions). The preamp outputs to a passive volume pedal, which goes into a digital delay and/or reverb. I use the wah as a sort of sliding tone control for lead playing, the peak of which follows the notes I'm playing. The peak is set at about one third of its range and isn't intended to sound too wah-like - more to change a sustaining note from thick and creamy into screaming, searing, creeping-feedback-inducing head-slice.

I rarely adjust the tone settings on the amps - I sort of 'calibrate' the amp for the room, and then do everything via the pickup switches and wah pedal. I can get just about any sound I want. Sometimes, I want more tone, though...

As others have said, the action is stunning. Super slinky neck and frets. I don't find Dean Markley 10s to be any hindrance. Good access to the 22nd fret in spite of the heel of the bolt-on neck. The heavy body means the guitar has good balance. That, and the wide leather strap, means that it just doesn't rotate around the body or sag as the neck pulls down.

It had a few dings when I got it. It has acquired only 3 or 4 more since then. Aside from the darkening of colour, it is getting rather worn in all the places that get friction - both sides of the fingerboard, around the heel, on the ridges of the chamfers around the body. Lots of character!

A previous-owner ding on the back of the neck caused the wood to move a little - the centre part of the three-piece neck was pushed ever-so-slightly inward. This was has never moved since I got the guitar, and I dare say that any maladjustment has been compensated for in fret wear.

In 24 years, I have never played anything as good as this. This guitar has always allowed a certain fluidity in my playing. The controls are utterly to hand. Even the height of the strings passing over the largely-flat top seems just right (I get 'caught up' in the strings if I play a carved top guitar like a Les Paul).

I've used it live and it was fine. It's been with me a long time and I've always felt happy with it. Never had a back up guitar until I got a strat copy a few months ago. If someone offered me a gig, I would only take the Gibson. The only failures have been sheer ear and tear on the volume pot and nut.

Never had to deal with Gibson. I do my own repairs/mods.

Been playing over 24 years. The complement to my Marauder has always been an Eko Ranger 6 acoustic. Amps and effects are already described elsewhere. If I had to replace it, it would have to be one with the maple fingerboard. I've played rosewooded Marausers and didn't like them. If I couldn't find a maple one, I'd probably chase after a Yamaha SG3000S or some other double-cutaway LP-style instrument, and look back on my Marauder days with fondness. That said, as its aura of vintageness grows and grows, I'm glad I've still got it!

i've read over these reviews and seen a lot of wanking about the pickup circuit and the pickups themselves. let me make one thing clear THIS IS NOT A LES PAUL! if you want 2 humbuckers and a 3-way absolute selection switch, buy a freaking les or an sg.

that being said, i have a 1978 usa (tennessee) made marauder. all original, meaning bill lawrence designed humbucker in the neck and slanted single coil in the bridge. one volume, one tone, one 'chicken-head' pan selector for the pickups. i LOVE the tonal variety that this selection system allows. stop tailpiece, wide-travel schaller bridge, standard gibson tuners.

it's got a nice, fast maple neck and fretboard. the body is either maple or mahogany... i think maple, but i don't currently recall

as mentioned above THIS IS NOT A LES PAUL! IT IS NOT AN SG!

which is great, because i don't want a les or an sg. the full-pan switching is, i think, awesome. i get a great, chimey almost british invasion clean sound dialed back towards the bridge position and a beautiful dirty rawk sound towards the neck.

i play through a fender princeton stereo chorus amp, with a boss compressor and a russian big muff. the compressor gives a nice boost, and the big muff does its thing. the guitar sounds great running straight into the amp without any signal modification, though. i'm playing a lot of indie/power pop stuff, and this guitar is just great for both rhythm and lead work.

i bought this guitar used. the dealer who sold it to me did a great setup on it before he sent it out. i cannot speak for gibson's factory setup, but neal gallop had the thing ready to rock before he sent it out.

as many other reviewers have mentioned, the marauder is nearly bullet-proof. i have no fear that this guitar will get hurt.

again, i didn't buy it from gibson, but neal was nice

this guitar has been called 'gibson's edsel'. fine. hate it. that means more of them for me.

if this guitar were stolen or lost, yes i would definitely buy another. i'm thinking of buying another to have as a backup anyhow

1980 - made in Nashville, Single Coil Bridge pick-up in the bridge and humbucker in the neck. Dark Brown Mahogany. Body style similar to a Les Paul w/ Flying V headstock. Came with original hard shell case.

Both the single coil and the humbucker lack a strong mid-range sound. When playing through Triple Rectifier distortion, it is very thick and crunchy. I'm very used to my bright sounding SG standard but the marauder is a nice contrast and is real versatile in producing different tones. The marauder sounds sweet but will be used as back up.

Very good action. Lots of buckle rash. Warped pick guard. However the old brown mahogany finish looks awesome.

This guitar has been beat up pretty bad. I think its impossible to destroy a marauder. Very dependable.

I'd highly reccomend a marauder to anyone who is looking for a contrast to modern gibson sound, while still rockin' a gibson. The best part about the sound is the thick, crunchy tone when playing through distortion.

I have a 1974-74 Maurader, Flying V neck w/22 frets. 1 volume and 1 tone control knob w/Pick-up toggle switch. Humbucker at the nck with a Steve Lawrence Single Ciol at the Bridge. Tume-O-Matic Bridge. w/stop tail peice. Black Grover replacement Tuners. Fat neck w/medium frets rosewood fretboard, Gibson OHC

The orignal P/U's were too tiny at the Bridge, and the Hum at the neck too deep. I replaced these with a new Pick gaurd with '57 Humbuckers in both postions. Classic at the neck w/57 plus at the Bridge. WHAT a difference this made. This is now a truly plesure to play. Sounds great for Blues to rock. A very Classic sound now!

Good action... better with replaced pick ups as noted earlier! The finish was very cheap out of the factory, and shows with time! My 59 ES125 has a better gloss to it still!

This Guitar is Bulletproof! Period! It has been dropped, kicked, fallen over banged into... NOTHING stops it! It's used as a backup and 2nd set Guitar, but only because I have others that play/sound better!

The Gibson people were the best when retro-fitting the Pick-ups. Great crew in Nashville! When one of the pick-ups failed and was sent back for repair, (they upgraded it per my reuest) at no charge, with prepaid shipping in less that a week!

Playing for 35years, own 73 Ibanez Modern, 59 Gibson ES125, '52 RI Fender Tele, '59 Fender Duo-Sonic along with this one.

I believe it's a 1981 model. It has 22 frets, I think the neck is maple. It has black pickup covers and "chicken head" fader knob to blend between the 2 pickups (humbucker in neck, weird single-coil in bridge) The body looks like mahogany - natural finish. The bridge is Tune-O-Matic style. Nice fat bolt-on neck with big fretwire. I bought this used - it's pretty dang beat-up, but everything essential works properly.

This is a great rock guitar. I'm running it through a Marshall with a 2x12 cabinet. Sounds really nasty (in a good way). The single coil rips!. It has a nice Johnny Thunders meets Keith Richards snarl to it. The humbucker sounds cool blended with the single coil (especially for cleaner stuff) but is pretty wimpy by itself. I find I usually keep it set to single-coil only. The clean sound is especially good for "strummy" kinds of things. It's best distorted though. Jazz snobs stay away!

This guitar is set up pretty well - it may be able to be set up better. The action is somewhere between my SG and my Strat. I adjusted the pickups to be a bit closer to the strings. The neck is not bent. This guitar is certainly no collectors piece. It has obviously been rocked on for 20 years. No breaks in the neck or anything serious, but lots of scratches and dings. The pickguard is warped and cracked in some spots. It's got a lot of "personality". The electronics seem to work fine.

I've only had it in my posession for a short time, but it's already made it through 20 years of what looks like serious use (and abuse). This is a real road dog. I got this as a backup guitar (for my SG) - we'll see how it holds up for gigs. I'm already planning on using as the main guitar on some songs since it sounds and looks so cool.

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This is a super-cool axe. Cheap, but well-made. It has a lot of character and a distinctive look and sound. I love the Flying V headstock! I like that these things are semi-rare but cheap. I have a nice SG, but am constantly worried about snapping the headstock (I already had it cracked and glued once). This axe is a road veteran - and I don't have to worry about it. If I ever do break it or lose it, I can probably grab another for under $400. It's a real USA Gibson too. Not a mass-produced Epiphone. The bad reputation of the "Edsel of Gibson" and overall non-collectablitly is one of the best features. You don't have to compete with some wealthy lawyer or stock broker willing to throw down 3 grand for a Les Paul. I'm already keeping my eyes out for another one. The Marauder is the best kept secret of pawn shops, ebay, and used music stores everywhere. Shhhh Don't spread the word!

I found out at Gibson's web site that it was made at 1976. 22 frets. Only two control buttons, volume and tone. 2 pickups, 1 single (bridge, nice fender like sound) and 1 humbucking (neck, classic gibson sound). It's a completely different guitar, a flying V /Les Paul mix. Strange but beautiful, easy to play, nice shape and weight. My Marauder is all original, great guitar. I give it a 9 because I miss another tone button (1 for each pickup).

I play 60 rock, lots of hendrix, stones, cream and who. Marauder sounds just perfect for almost any kind of music, its pickups sound so different one from another that it gives you lots of options to choose. The only problem with my guitar is that the bass E string does not sound as loud as the others, it's not hard to fix it though.

Very easy to adjust.

I believe (and hope) that this babe is impossible to break.

I've been playing for almost 12 years, most of that time using a Fender Strato, I never really liked Gibson guitars/sound until i try this one. I'm still trying to figure out why they stop producing it.
Great guitar, great sound, great price. If it were stolen I would buy another, in fact I will buy another anyway.

Single cut away, solid body with single neck humbucker and a single coil at the bridge both encased in clear lexan.

Bold on neck with a pointed head. Not the standard Gibson head. Came with a standard tail but I changed it to a fine tune Gibson tail and replaced the Gibson machines with Shallers.

I used to play rock and lite rock in a band in NYC when I owned this guitar with a Gibson Lab series amp.

I never liked the sound. Not much sustain and the sound was too tiney.

It was well made and everything fit. don't get me wrong, the craftmanship was great, it just souned bad.

I took the thing all over NYC and it held up fine. Got dropped a few times an dlasted through it all Fininsh seemed to hold up and was dependable. just sounded bad...

I could tell why they did not make more....