Is it a Firebird, is it a mandolin? No, it’s the Mandobird
(Image credit: Epiphone)
Epiphone has launched an extensive Bluegrass collection of instruments, including banjos and mandolins, with a brand-new Mandobird the pick of the bunch.
The brand has described the series as “high quality and accessible” with instruments inspired by Gibson and Gibson Custom models representing some of its most historically popular bluegrass builds.
The Mandobird is the undoubted eye-catcher, though. A four-string mandolin designed for players “looking to stretch out and go electric,” as well as rock guitarists craving a little experimentation, it’s a hybrid wildcard.
It features a reverse Firebird-inspired body made from solid nato wood, a bolt-on mahogany neck, and a laurel fretboard with trapezoid inlays.
The reverse trend carries through to its headstock, which is adorned with Grove Mini Rotomatic tuners. There's also a top-mounted, string-through-body bridge and a single Epiphone Firebird pickup, plus tone and volume pots.
The Mandobird costs $364 and comes with a gig bag, as Epiphone dubs it as “the perfect electric mandolin, now built for the stage.”
(Image credit: Epiphone)
The series also includes an Earl Scruggs Golden Deluxe Banjo, Mastertone Bowtie Open Back Banjo, Mastertone Classic Banjo, F5G Mandolin, and the F-5 Studio Mandolin.
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“Banjos and mandolins are a huge part of the Gibson story,” says Mat Koehler, Vice President of Product at Gibson. "We are proud that the legacy is alive and well in this collection.”
The Epiphone Bluegrass Collection ft. Charlie Worsham & Wyatt Ellis - YouTube
It's been a busy first half of the year for Gibson's affordable sister brand. In January it dropped one of the most requested models in its history in the form of a Dave Grohl signature and recently released an updated made-in-USA Coronet.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
