The Stratomaster was rummaging through his archives, and happened across this little bit of history: a sales pamphlet from GIBSON GUITARS. Let's take a walk through the past, and check out what was hitting the guitar shops back in 1976!

In the words of this pamphlet:

"The more rock you listen to, the more Gibson guitars you hear. It's that simple, because Gibson simply makes the best solid body guitars ... and the biggest selection to choose from."

Hmm ... the vaunted "Q-System". Anyone out there ever get to try this out? I don't think Gibson offers this feature anymore.

I KNOW that Gibson doesn't make this particular guitar anymore. Too bad. I loved the name.

The Marauder (see left) came with "two entirely different pickups for tremendous tonal versatility". The front pickup was a Super Humbucking, and the back was an "entirely new design with accented treble frequencies.

There was a 3-position toggle switch which let you use either pickup or both simultaneously.

"Power hungry musicians will enjoy the Marauder's high energy. It has a powerful Humbucking rhythm pickup, plus an entirely new design lead pickup for a biting treble tone that's a new high in itself."

The Gibson S-1 (see right) boasted :"3 new design high frequency pickups wired in humbucking (3 point adjustable)", "4 position pickup and phase selector switch", and "a unique bypass switch to enter into the circuit, the back pickup only".

As for colors, you had a choice of three: Natural Satin, Lustrous Ebony, Lustrous Sunburst Finish.

"Gibson's latest solid body contribution is the S-1. It gets its `cutting power' from three new high frequency Humbucking pickups. It gets its versatility from a four-position pickup and phase selector switch, plus a bypass that activates the rear pickup in a non-Humbucking configuration."

Want to see more? Drop the Stratomaster an e-mail - his address is at the bottom of this page (just click on his name)!