MARLIN GUITARS! DO YOU REMEMBER THEM? JAPANESE OR NOT!

[mojo hobo]

Ok Only the oldies but goldies will remember this brand,
Sorry for taking a trip down memory lane,but i was just sitting thinking about the eighties and all the equipment i had been through,when this blast from the past entered my head
From what i can remember they were basic but well made guitars and were everywhere ,from music shops to home order catalogues etc...
WERE THEY MADE IN JAPAN OR NOT :roll:

HAS ANYONE ON THIS FORUM GOT ONE (do not be embarassed) HIDDEN AWAY IN THE GARAGE OR LOFT.
NOT MUCH INFORMATION AT ALL THE ON THE WEB.
Who knows the history of this brand?who made them?where?

MOJO HOBO

FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE OR A FOOL?

 

[iainblack]

Yep, I have a marlin strat but not sure where it was made. I do know that it is a bu**er to upgrade. Tuners are duff so no real problem retro fitting but if you want Klusons then you need specials - I got gold ones from Papa D on ebay, see below. It is the trem that is what I can only describe as 'small scale'. Again I replaced this with a gold trem that fits exactly from Papa D.

http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Papa-Ds-Music-Store__W0QQ_armrsZ1

The main problem is with replacing my craked scratch plate as the routing is weird due to the opposite slant bridge pick up. It has required a lot of mods to make it fit and a bit or re-routing. The other problem is that the pick ups are bigger than standard so you either have to replace, which I will be doing or enlarge the standard holes!

The neck is excellent vintage maple laquer look, 60's headstock, easily removable Marlin logo. I also had it fitted with a fixed bridge and an EMG humbucker and it sang so no same in owning one of these. I saw a white one in my local cash converters for ?60 but it was maple neck - I would have bought it if it was rosewood.

 

[DaveWW]

There are two entries in an old book I have about Marlin. Marlin Materclass guitars - these were a UK importers brand name for some Korean guiitars in the late 80s. The Masterclss was an original design but the others wre mostly copies. The majority were low priced and aimed at beginers but the masterclass was upmarket with a rechargeable active circuit. They also supplied basses.

Dave

 

[mojo hobo]

YEAH did a bit of digging on the net,not much info on exactly who made them in korea or japan,
A company in wales imported them into the u.k ,i think made to the welsh companys specs,
There best seller was the sidewinder strat and sold for 99 quid back then.
The body was birch plywood but had a real maple neck?not sure about that,cheap pups ,electronics ,tuners, well it was only 99 pounds.
They were taken over and swallowed up by J.H.S,
A welsh company ,mmmmh where did UITA get the money to buy so many guitars,got me thinking now!

MEMORIES AAAHHHH!


MOJO HOBO

 

[bluejeannot]

I was playing African music at the time in a Ugandan band.The other guitarist in the band had a Marlin with an active circuit and an l.e.d. situated on ther jack ferule.This piece of crap was made of ply and sounded like a cheap synth,truly vile.Anyway I said if he continued to play this piece of junk I would leave the band and what he needed was a Tokai which I would buy for him seeing as he was skint,provided he paid me back at a small amount per week.I duly tracked down a very nice Goldie st55,2 piece figured sen ash body in natural and rosewood neck,it sounded great and only cost me ?130 second hand.The guy was unwilling or unable to pay me any more than ?50 in a year or so,so I repossesed the guitar,left the band which without the Tokai sounded like crap again ,and guess what that St55 has been my main squeeze ever since.MEMORIES AAAHHHH!

 

[Anonymous]

I duly tracked down a very nice Goldie st55,2 piece figured sen ash body in natural and rosewood neck,it sounded great ....

At Gabe's request, here are pics of the Goldstar he refers to above.

Taken by me yesterday as Gabe's camera is playing up. It's an excellent Strat. Thinking about it Gabe, since it has a 2 piece centre joined sen body, isn't it more likely that it's an ST60?

Mike

 

[Bassassin]

If we're talking about the mid - 80s Marlins (budget-priced, well-equipped predominantly Fender copies, with a fish on the 12th fret) then I'm pretty sure none of them were MIJ.

By this point the low-end Japanese copy era was well & truly over, your Ibanezes, Washburns & Aria Pros etc were all being successful with original designs, and the cheap copy end of the market - very likely including Marlin - was predominantly Korean.

I didn't have one at the time but a few years ago I picked up an old Marlin Sidewinder P/J bass (for ?5!) which I restored back to a playable condition. To be honest it isn't great (ply body, budget hardware & electronics) but the neck has a nice profile and it would have been a decent enough starter instrument.

There's nothing on it anywhere to suggest a country of origin but generally it's comparable with other Koreans from the same era.

Jon.

 

[russ mead]

I found a slot neck acoustic Marlin in a trash can. Totally in tact. Decal on the headstock says USA. Plywood body. My plan for it is to turn it into an art project.it could be coxed into being a playable beach guitar but I have a better beach guitar already. Hmmm, could get a used under saddle pickup, some medium nylon strings and see if I could get close to that magic Willy Nelson sound.