Gibson Les Paul Music City Special 50th Anniversary: 70s Style
Return of the Marauder, as a hybrid design
3,0 / 5,0 | 
Gibson has announced the Les Paul Music City Special 50th Anniversary. A model which blends two Norlin-era guitars into a modern hybrid.
Les Paul Music City Special
This new Gibson Les Paul Music City Special 50th Anniversary is a hybrid of a Marauder with some Music City Junior thrown in the mix. It has a ’70s-vibe to it and celebrates an era of Gibson that most players are still trying to forget about.
Gibson’s marketing states they celebrates 50 years of Gibson making awesome guitars in Nashville.
I like ’70s Gibson guitars (love a Norlin Les Paul Custom with a maple neck), but I was never a fan of Marauders, and this new updated version isn’t really high on my list of guitars I would want to own. Gibson name drops Adam Jones to Paul Stanley as well-known players that have used them, so the marketing hype is strong for this release.
Limited Run
To amplify the FOMO, they are only 650 instruments of each of the three colours available, so if you like these limited run models, then this release is going to be for you.
They are available in Ebony, Wine Red, and Tobacco Burst gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finishes.
Construction
These models have a lightweight poplar body and a SlimTaper maple neck, so expect a different Gibson feel for this model. They have an ebony (striped) fretboard with acrylic dot inlays and 22 medium jumbo frets.
With the pointy headstock and LP Jr-style body these ’70s style oddballs are very different visually, which you will either love or hate.
The construction of these models appears to be on the ‘budget’ side of Gibson, whihc is certainly inline with ’70s models. Gibson at the time was trying out new materials and trying to compete with cheaper import guitars, so the Marauder was less expensive to produce compared to a Les Paul Custom, or ES-335, etc.
70s Tribute humbucker
It’s got chrome hardware including the Nashville Tune-O-Matic bridge, the aluminum Stop Bar tailpiece, Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners, and the output jack plate cover. Protecting the body is a black 5-ply pickguard, which also mounts the two Gibson 70s Tribute humbucker pickups.
You get master volume and master tone controls with black Top Hat knobs, plus a three-way switch to select your pickups.
Verdict
I’m not hating on these guitars, but I get the feeling that they are pushing the limited run aspect of them. Maybe, they could have made an Epiphone version and produced them for under a $1k? I just don’t think I would want to spend this amount on a guitar with these odd specifications.
I do think if they were a lot cheaper then people might buy them as they are a different, I just don’t believe they are worth the money Gibson is charging for them. An original Gibson Marauder sellls for a lot less than these, and you can find other guitar with twin humbuckers for a lot less as well.
The price includes a premium soft shell case.
Available in Ebony, Wine Red, and Tobacco Burst at Thomann.
More Information
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