Washburn has announced the release of two new mandolin models, both designed to mimic the appearance of gently worn vintage instruments. These are solid wood mandolins featuring flame maple back and sides and a hand carved spruce top.

The Washburn folks are marking their 125th anniversary in 2008, and introduced these new models as a celebration of their long history building acoustic instruments. The vintage look - complete with aged hardware and a lighter, satin finish - suggests the styling that launched the US mandolin craze in the 1920s, and which has remained the standard to this day.

The M118SW is an F-style model that retails for $1,349.90 while its cousin, the M116SW is an A-style body with a retail price of $1,149.90. Both have a rosewood fingerboard and bridge, Allan tailpiece, ebonite tuner buttons and ship with a hard shell case. Washburn offers a limited lifetime warranty on all their new instruments.

You can find out more about these, and all the other Washburn mandolin models, on their official web site.