Fender Marauder
| Fender Marauder | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Manufacturer | Fender |
| Period | 1965 — 1966 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Woods | |
| Body | Alder |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Rosewood with pearl block inlays |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Fixed Bridge or Hidden Tremolo |
| Pickup(s) | 3 or 4 Single-coil, specially designed |
| Colors available | |
| 3 Tone Sunburst | |
Between 1965 and 1966, Fender prototyped the Marauder. There were two versions made: Type I, with pickups hidden underneath the pickguard and Type II, with the pickups mounted as standard on the pickguard. The Type II variation has three pickups, arranged as upon a Stratocaster. It also has seven switches and four knobs. The thinking behind the model was to combine the ideas behind the Stratocaster and Jaguar guitars while adding some new features to increase versatility.
The guitar never officially passed the prototype stage, allegedly because the hidden pickups of the Type I variation were either too expensive for mass-production or the technology itself was too expensive to license. It is perhaps the rarest Fender guitar ever made and it is said that only 8 Marauders were created.
Around the turn of the 21st century, the Fender custom shop later made a 12-String Marauder model. However this model was radically different, having fewer buttons and a very different body shape.