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Mandolin

Epiphone Mandobird VIII

Name: Epiphone Mandobird VIII
Brand: Epiphone

Epiphone · Mandobird VIII

Price: 484 EUR – 484 EUR

Price history

Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

Availability: 0/10 (Very rare)

The full-course version of Epiphone's electric Mandobird: eight strings in four paired courses rather than the standard four-string Mandobird, giving the traditional doubled-string mandolin tone in a solid Firebird-shaped body.

Where available? Go to the best price – 491 EUR About this instrument

About the Epiphone Mandobird VIII

Where Epiphone's standard Mandobird uses four single strings, the Mandobird VIII adds a second string to each course - eight strings total, GG-DD-AA-EE - matching how an acoustic mandolin is actually strung, unlike the simplified single-string version. That doubled stringing is what gives a real mandolin its characteristic shimmering, chorused tone, so the VIII is the model that more faithfully reproduces mandolin sound rather than functioning as a mandolin-shaped electric guitar substitute.

Construction is solid mahogany for both body and neck (a SlimTaper profile) rather than the nato used on some competitors, with a rosewood fingerboard, 21 frets, and a scale just under 14 inches - longer than the standard 4-string Mandobird to accommodate the doubled string tension. A custom single-coil Mandobird pickup feeds full-size 500k volume and tone potentiometers, mounted with a top-loaded chrome bridge on fully intonatable saddles and Mini-Grover tuners for stability across eight strings. It's offered only in Vintage Sunburst gloss finish, with a gig bag included.

Where to buy

Reverb 491 EUR Best price View details

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Source: https://reverb.com/item/100657069-epiphone-mandobird-viii-vs-vintage-sunburst-epiphone-side-string-mandolin-sj05050066-08-18

Sound character of the Epiphone Mandobird VIII

The doubled courses are what actually make this sound like a mandolin rather than a mandolin-shaped electric guitar: no two strings in a pair are perfectly identical or perfectly in tune with each other, and that tiny mismatch is what produces the instrument's characteristic shimmering, chorused texture - something the standard single-string Mandobird can't reproduce. Solid mahogany body and neck add warmth compared to the nato used on cheaper electric mandolins.

Warm Resonant Full-bodied

Technical data for the Epiphone Mandobird VIII

Body/Neck	Solid mahogany (SlimTaper)
Fretboard	Rosewood
Frets	21
Scale length	~14"
Strings	8 (4 doubled courses, GDAE)
Pickup	Custom Mandobird single-coil
Tuners	Mini-Grover

Price history for the Epiphone Mandobird VIII

Cheapest seen: 484 EUR · Most expensive seen: 484 EUR

Cheapest seen Most expensive seen

The history of the Epiphone Mandobird VIII

The Mandobird VIII fills the gap the standard 4-string Mandobird leaves for players specifically wanting an authentic doubled-course mandolin voice in a solid-body, stage-ready instrument, rather than the guitarist-facing novelty angle of the simpler 4-string version.