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 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