Ultra-rare Fender Marauder offset re-imagined – with a built in delay effect
Fender Marauder · Source: YouTube/Fender
Fender Marauder reimagined with a built in delay · Source: YouTube/Fender
Fender’s Carlos Lopez has re-imagined an ultra-rare offset model from the mid-sixties, giving it a makeover, throwing in some sweet pickups and adding a built-in delay effect, too!
Dream Factory
The Fender Custom Shop is the dream of many a guitar player. Design your own guitar and – providing you have the money – they’ll make it a reality. The video below is a demonstration of what the Fender Custom Shop concept is all about. This one has an interesting story to tell: the recreation of a crazy rare Fender offset that didn’t make it into production.
Delta Spirit
Before embarking on this project, Delta Spirit guitarist Matthew Logan Vasquez already had a rich history with Fender. His family worked at the original Fender factory. Nowadays he plays Fender guitars and wanted a new guitar. Something unique. Enter Custom Shop builder Carlos Lopez.
Fender Marauder reimagined with a built in delay
An Offset reborn
The guitar Carlos Lopez built was a super-sweet recreation of the Marauder, modified to fit a custom delay effect into the top control section! That area is normally reserved for a tone circuit. The original Fender Marauder never made into production and only ever existed as a prototype in 1965. That’s one rare guitar.
The video below is fascinating to watch. It takes you through the whole process and I highly recommend you all check it out. Hopefully, this will trickle down into some variation of a standard run sometime in the near future. If you love offset guitars, then I guarantee you will love this video!
It’s great how Fender allows its Master Builders to riff like this. Keeps them happy, allows them develop new ideas, and builds both their reputation as a craftsman as well as the Custom Shop’s brand. It’s a brilliant strategy.
Name a Gibson master builder.
Bilt Guitars. Look them up. Already doing this.
Yeah, I know them well. But they aren’t Fender. I do like the Bilt Guitars though, very nicely made.
Ironic comment. Bilt might deserve more credit if they came up with their own guitar designs rather than rip off Fender’s.