Electric mandolin 4-string version. A related instrument, the Bahian guitar, was developed in Brazil beginning in the 1940s. Bahian guitars typically have a solid body and 4 or 5 single-course strings tuned in fifths, but are considered to be electric versions of the cavaquinho rather than the mandolin. Both four string single course and eight string double course solid body mandolins have been produced by several makers, as well as five string single course models. From 1956 to 1976, Fender produced a four string version which they simply called the "Fender Electric Mandolin". Its body shape was based on a smaller version
Mandolin orchestra mando-basses but nowadays more likely to be acoustic bass guitar or double bass. The classical guitar section is very important and many orchestras are more accurately described as mandolin and guitar orchestras. Many orchestras also include a percussion section. Most mandolin orchestras are community-based and are supported by a core of professional musicians and teachers with a passion for plucked string instruments and music. They are found in nearly all major cities in the western world, as well as Japan, Korea, and South America. The stimulus to create mandolin groups often came from travelling mandolinists and teachers. Immigration from Europe