Electric mandolin and "EM-8", with carved top bodies and four and eight strings respectively. Blue Star produces four and five string models under the name "Mandoblaster". Jbovier produces four and five string "EMC" electric mandolins, which resemble the Fender electric mandolins, and a four string "ELS" electric mandolin. EMC stands for Electric Mandocaster and ELS stands for Electric Leo Smith. The Eastwood Guitars manufactures solid body eight string electric mandolin under the name "Mandocaster". It has Telecaster resembling body, two single coil pickups and a pickup switch known from Stratocaster guitars. They also make "Mandocaster 12" which is actually an octave guitar.
Mandolin of the customary wooden soundboard (mandolin top/face). Historic brands include Dobro and National. As with almost every other contemporary string instrument, another modern variant is the electric mandolin. These mandolins can have four or five individual or double courses of strings. They have been around since the late 1920s or early 1930s depending on the brand. They come in solid body and acoustic electric forms. Instruments have been designed that overcome the mandolin's lack of sustain with its plucked notes. Fender released a model in 1992 with an additional string (a high a, above the e string), a tremolo bridge