Gibson "odd" Electric Guitars

[Dru Edwards]

"Odd" isn't the correct word to use but what are your thoughts on electric guitars that Gibson has made in the past that were not archetypal Gibson? I'm taking about discontinued guitars like the Marauder, S-1, Victory, Sonex and there are others.

Did you play any of them? Did you like them? Post other Gibsons that fit this mold.

Marauder (source wikipedia):


S-1 (source wikipedia):


Victory (source wikipedia):

[Bob Womack]

I was in a band for a couple of yeas with a guy who played a Gibson Grabber bass.




Note sliding pickup. It had the ability to do a sort of Rick sound but with Gibson girth.

Bob

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I was in a band for a couple of years with a guy who played a Gibson Grabber bass.

Here's something you might find of interest:



The "Telecaster" single-cut L-9S/Ripper prototypes shown in the photos date from early 1973, and were shown at the Summer NAMM show that year; they - along with a number of others - were shipped to Gibson dealers when the final double-cutaway (of which there were several variations) version was released. I played two of them at a Brooklyn dealer in 1974 - a walnut fretted version and a fretless sunburst - and while I was impressed with the tone (I'm a major fan of those big old EB pickups) I found them heavy and unwieldy, a combination of the non-contoured body seen in the sunburst photo and their all-maple construction; in contrast, I came within inches of buying a later-issue alder-body Ripper (lucked out on a near-mint '67 Epiphone Rivoli for $150 at Manny's, and wasn't about to pass it up) - surprisingly comfortable in spite of its considerable size, and with a set of flatwounds it could have been my all-arounder. FWIW one source cites the existence of prototype guitars based on the same body design - I'd love to get my hands on one of those...

[M Hayden]

Fender made a Marauder, too, also weird - four pickups under the pickguard.

[pieterh]

Our bassist usually plays his Precision from the 1970s and has a Japanese Jazz too. His main backup is his Gibson Grabber bass though for kudos and sound. He had it on stage for our Eagles tribute show - it looked oddly out of place but it’s a cool bass.

Bolt on neck too which is unusual for Gibson...

[rockabilly69]

I had a Gibson S1 that I fashioned a new pickguard for, and replaced the complete electronics with a set of three DiMarzio HS1 pickups. It was a good sounding guitar but I didn't like the way it played especially with the low flat frets.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by M Hayden

Fender made a Marauder, too, also weird - four pickups under the pickguard.

Matt,
That's exactly where I got the notion to try this, but with a twist.



HE

[ras1500]

A coworker has a Gibson Nighthawk. I got to play if for a few weeks. It sounded pretty good, but I wasn't impressed enough to purchase it from him. I'll stick with my Strat and Guild Starfire III.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by pieterh

...His main backup is his Gibson Grabber bass though for kudos and sound. He had it on stage for our Eagles tribute show - it looked oddly out of place but it’s a cool bass...

Not exactly Eagles gear, but definitely '70s period-correct...

[M Sarad]

my odd guitar is a single cut Les Paul Jr. 3/4 size. 19 frets and definitely short scale. The dark finish says its probably not original, but the crazing says it probably got the refinish 50+ years ago. The P90 is original and it screams Mississippi Queen.

[J Patrick]

The Gibson Moderne from the late fifties comes to mind...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Moderne


...also the Futura of similar vintage...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Futura

....they were not successful when they were introduced but eventually morphed in to the Flying V and Explorer...

[David Eastwood]

An old friend of mine has a Marauder which he’s owned from new. 30 years or so ago he brought it to me for a setup and rewiring - IIRC, one of the pickups was dead, but, regardless, it needed some TLC. I put a pair of Bill Lawrence pickups in it, new switch, wiring and controls, and did a basic setup. I called him to let him know it was done, and heard nothing.

A year passed, with sporadic, fruitless attempts to get in touch, and suddenly, out of the blue, he popped up again. He came to fetch his guitar, professed himself delighted with it, paid me, and promptly disappeared again.

A few years ago, I found him on Facebook, and got in touch. His first reply was all about the Marauder, and how, next to his 335, it was his favourite guitar. He’s a very accomplished player, and knows his guitars - I’d love to hear him playing it again.

Never did find out where he disappeared to

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by ras1500

A coworker has a Gibson Nighthawk. I got to play if for a few weeks. It sounded pretty good, but I wasn't impressed enough to purchase it from him. I'll stick with my Strat and Guild Starfire III.

I always thought the Nighthawk looked so cool! I never see them around on sale though.

Nighthawk (source: Wikipedia)

[DanR]

[fazool]

My first electric was a Sonex 180 Custom

Sonex was one of Gibson's oddball science experiments made out of resin that resonated better than wood. They published scientific studies showing better resonance, sustain, etc. But it was non-traditional and shunned.

They had a basic model, a mid range model and the "Custom" high end model, then a rare model with a Moog midi built in.

The Custom was actually a fantastic guitar with ebony fretboard, dirty finger humbuckers, coil split. This was an amazing guitar.

I sold it and moved on. Decades later I bought an old one and fully restored it. The nostalgia factor was wonderful but I moved into a different style of guitar.

The other models were nothing great but the Custom was an incredible guitar.