Marlin Sidewinder Guitar

3.0 (2)

2 Critic Reviews

1 Review

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Page last updated Aug 10, 2025

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Description

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The Marlin Sidewinder Guitar is a true workhorse for electric guitar enthusiasts, offering a powerful blend of performance and style. As part of the solid body electric guitar lineage, it stands out with its custom-wound humbucking pickups that deliver both warmth and clarity, making it ideal for genres ranging from blues to hard rock. The Sidewinder's body is crafted from swamp ash, known for its resonant qualities and lightweight feel, providing a comfortable playing experience whether you're on stage or in the studio.

This guitar is equipped with a sleek rosewood fingerboard, providing smooth playability and a classic appearance. The bolt-on maple neck ensures stability and sustain, while the 22 jumbo frets offer precision for intricate solos and riffs. The Marlin Sidewinder also features a high-quality, vintage-style tremolo system that allows for expressive vibrato techniques without compromising tuning stability.

The Sidewinder is designed for versatility, with a 5-way pickup selector that offers a wide range of tonal possibilities. Whether you're seeking crisp cleans or gritty overdrive, this guitar provides the flexibility needed to shape your sound to perfection.

Key Features:

Custom-wound humbucking pickups
Swamp ash body for resonant sound and lightweight feel
Rosewood fingerboard for smooth playability
Bolt-on maple neck with 22 jumbo frets
Vintage-style tremolo system for expressive play
5-way pickup selector for versatile tonal options

Videos

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Muzak Shack

Marlin Sidewinder 1980s Stratocaster Type Guitar

Muzak Shack

Guitar DEMO: Marlin Sidewinder ('80's / '90's electric)

Mark Stuart GUITARIST

Marlin Sidewinder Black and White Strat 80s made

Muzak Shack

Marlin Sidewinder Trem Resto

Dave Barlow

Reviews

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Critic Reviews

Marlin Sidewinder - The Forgotten Legend | Planet Botch

planetbotch.blogspot.com

The Marlin Sidewinder is a budget-friendly guitar that once dominated the UK market in the 1980s, offering features like wax-potted pickups rare for its price range. While it was known for its affordability and ability to perform basic rock staples, it suffered from cheap components, a dull tone, and questionable durability. The Sidewinder was a hit for aspiring young guitarists due to its eye-catching finishes and cost-effective design, but it never achieved vintage status or long-term durability. Despite its historical success, it remains largely forgotten in today's market, overshadowed by more reputable brands.

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Marlin Sidewinder Six String (MM Sep 86)

muzines.co.uk

The Marlin Sidewinder impresses with its range of features typically unexpected at its price point, including a Floyd Rose-style tremolo and a humbucker pickup. Its attention to detail, from felt washers to an allen key clamp, enhances its appeal. However, the guitar isn't without flaws; issues like a shallow-cut nut and tuning instability due to the distant locking clamp are noted. Despite these, its overall value and craftsmanship make it stand out among budget guitars. If you're seeking a cost-effective entry into Stratocaster-style guitars, the Marlin Sidewinder is hard to beat.

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3.0 out of 5

Based on 1 Review and 2 Ratings

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nodzpunk

almost 10 years ago

Korean Built Marlin Sidewinder - Budget Worldbeater -'86-'88

Extremely dense, heavy, laminated, plywood bodied guitar that has great sustain but still retains a chimey character. Five position pick-up switch that allows selection of neck, neck and middle, middle, middle and humbucker and humbucker alone. Also a switch to split the humbucker making a vast array of tones available. Purchased metallic pastel pink in 1987 and always pick it up once in a while. Quite a low action on a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard.

Artist usage

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Ash Bowie

Guitarist, Bassist

Polvo

Verified via Photo

Ash Bowie used the Marlin Sidewinder Guitar throughout the 1990s and during the Polvo reformation, as shown in a user-uploaded photo on Blumind.

Bruce Soord

Guitarist

The Pineapple Thief

Verified via MusicRadar

“It was a sparkly purple Marlin Sidewinder. I think they were the first true ultra-budget (aka shit) electric guitars? Anyway, at the time, I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I think Mike Vennart actually has a Sidewinder bridge on his current guitar, so maybe it wasn’t so bad...”