NAMM 2013: Fender launches Mando-Strat

NAMM 2013: Bearded folky types with a penchant for rocking out, your time is now: Fender has launched the solid-body electric Mando-Strat.

Featuring an alder body and a bridge made on the same machine that produced the parts on Fender's electric mandolins from the late '50s, the Mando-Strat is precisely half rock, half folk, and has an SRP of $399 (£250 approx).

For more information, visit the official Fender website.

Fender press release

The classic Fender electric mandolin returns as the new Mando-Strat. This highly distinctive and charmingly diminutive instrument evokes the Fender electric four-string mandolins of the 1950s and '60s, with an updated and improved design for modern players.

The distinctive shape and chiming tone of Fender's late-'50s electric mandolin are back, with features including a solid alder body, 13.78" scale, "C"-shaped maple neck with 24-fret rosewood fingerboard, and specially designed pickup with volume and tone controls. Other features include a vintage-style bridge with chrome plate made on the actual machine used to produce the original parts half a century ago, three-ply tortoise shell pickguard, vintage-style tuners, and chrome hardware.