The Gibson Marauder is back – well, kind of, but not really. The cult classic singlecut electric guitar, played by the likes of KISS’s Paul Stanley and Adam Jones of Tool, has been given a thorough remix to be reborn anew as the Les Paul Music City Special – a limited edition model celebrating 50 years of Gibson in Nashville.
Yeah, that shape is familiar. It’s a single-cut that’s far removed from the Les Paul template, with contouring on the body’s top, a double (or extended) pickguard which, like Fender, mounts the controls on the pickguard. We have the Flying V-style 3-x-3 headstock, too.
But unlike the Marauder, which was something of a ‘70s mayfly, produced between ’74 and ’79, and diverted from the Gibson script to offer players a bolt-on build, the Les Paul Music City Special feels more on-brand, offering players a glued-in SlimTaper neck, and a more familiar dual-humbucker electric guitar pickup configuration.
Mat Koehler, Gibson’s vice president of product, described the Les Paul Music City Special is a love-letter to Nashville, “a tribute to the spirit of creativity and individuality that defines this city”.
“It draws on everything we’ve learned since opening our Gibson USA craftory and channels it into something new and inspiring to play,” says Koehler.
Offered in Wine Red, Tobacco Sunburst and Ebony, all with black multi-ply pickguards, with commemorative truss rod cover, the Les Paul Music City Special is equipped with a pair of ‘70s Tribute humbuckers, which are designed around an Alnico V magnet and as per the era that inspired them, are wound hotter to hit the front end of your guitar amp hard. They have an average DCR rating of 15K.
Sure, that’ll put a bit of punch in your Cold Gin, but these are also pretty effective for high-gain Drop D tunings, too (which makes us think Adam Jones would like these a lot more than the Marauders that inspired them). Gibson master luthier Jim DeCola all but spells it out. Where the Marauder was ultimately an ill-fated curio; this is a workhorse, and spec’d accordingly
“It pays homage to the Gibson Marauder of the ‘70s as well as the city it is named after,” he says. “It has been reimagined as a straightforward, yet versatile and functional instrument relevant for today’s working musician.”
There are some details you would not have on your Gibson bingo card. There are not many Gibson electrics with a solid poplar body and a maple neck. Expect these to be lighter than your average LP. We don’t have our usual rosewood fingerboard either. Here it’s striped ebony, with dot inlays.
But elsewhere it’s pretty much on-brand, with the 24.75” scale length, 12” fretboard radius, the Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge and aluminium stop-bar – and, those Grover Mini-Rotomatics with metal buttons don’t look out of place.
Gibson is making 650 in each finish. They are priced £1,599/$1,799 and that price includes a soft-shell guitar case. See Gibson for more details.
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