Gibson Marauder (1976)

The Marauder was introduced as an attempt to break into the single coil pickup bolt-on neck guitar market, which was dominated by Fender at that time. To design the pickups, Gibson tapped Bill Lawrence, who had joined in 1972 and had already produced the L6-S. His design was reminiscent of the Fender Telecaster, though it in fact it had two humbucker pickups.

The Marauder was officially introduced in 1974 and began shipping in 1975, supported by endorsements from Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley. Minor modifications were made in 1976 and in 1978. The model was cancelled in 1979 though some were still made until 1982. In all, only 7,111 were ever made.

The Marauder sports a contoured single cutaway Les Paul-shaped body, and a bolt on a maple neck with a headstock similar to the Flying V's. Marauders were made with alder, maple, or mahogany bodies. The fretboard was produced both in the traditional Gibson rosewood, or a more Fender-like maple, both with 22 frets. Most had dot markers, "though some may have had trapezoid.

Every Marauder featured custom-designed Bill Lawrence pickups sealed in clear epoxy. The guitar had a regular-sized humbucker pickup in the neck position and a small humbucker, in a blade style resembling a single coil, was mounted at an angle by the bridge (similar to a Telecaster or Stratocaster). This arrangement resembled the Fender Telecaster Custom and the resulting tone was closer to the Fender sound than that of most Gibson guitars, with more higher frequencies than regular Gibsons.