[1] The Katana was designed to compete with the unconventionally-shaped guitars of the era, such as the Jackson Randy Rhoads, and to satisfy Fender dealers who were suffering from the competition those instruments offered.
[citation needed] The Katana did not sell as well as Fender hoped, and it was discontinued in 1986 before being reissued as a Masterbuilt Custom Shop model as part of the Prestige collection three decades later.
The Katana has a maple glued-in neck with bound rosewood fingerboard, offset triangle markers, a 629mm (24.75") scale with 22 frets, a truss rod adjuster at the headstock end.
It features a string clamp, an arrow-head-shape headstock and a neck that matches the body color.
It was also available as a bass model with a split-coil P-Bass humbucker, 4-saddle bridge and a medium 32"-inch scale maple neck with a 20-fret rosewood fretboard.