Casio MG-510

There has been said a lot already on the features of this instrument, so I will not go too far on details here. Mine was made in 1987, its an all-black model. I bought it new then, that means I could observe it through the decades past ... It is still perfect in shape, no flaws, everything working well.

The Stratocaster part of the sound scope of this instrument always sounded a little hard, maybe. But if you like crispy, bell clear sounds, you are right with it. Anyhow, being an excellent Strat, you can change pickups & hardware with anything you like.

After having played the instrument quite regularly for more than 20 years I honestly think it is not possible to fully discuss the sound scope of the MIDI part of this guitar - and, even more, it is not possible to fully discuss the scope of BOTH guitar and MIDI controller when played synchronous. It provides an ocean of possibilities! And it does this with a never exhausting credibility since summer 1987. It is simply the most versatile guitar I have ever played or seen.

I once read Pete Townsend commented in an interview this Casio guitar has been his 'last resort' - or 'last bullet in the gun' - when he had some heavy times in the 1980ies. I can fully understand this.

How it suits my musical style? Well, choose a style, and play it with this guitar. Actually, this question doesn't make a big sense with this instrument. Oh, yes: It is no REAL Jazz box, ok. But the neck pickup at least offers you some smooth bluesy cleans, and you can play a "Real Book" session with it, too.

Even this works with it: I remember a session in the early 1990ies, when a guitar buddy of mine told me about a gig on a "private birthday party" in Hamburg, Germany, he just had finished with a blues rock quartet. He took his Casio MG 510 (yes, we had two Casios in the Band then - need an orchestra, hm?) with him, just this one, no MIDI stuff, no back up. As it turned out, the "private birthday party" was that of Blues man Champion Jack Dupree, with guys like Luther Allison sitting in the front row of the audience !!! He kind of felt ashamed performing in front of THIS audience with a 'Casio' Strat ... but he got a warm feedback from some of the guys on his playing, and a remark he shouldn't worry about the trade mark thing ... as long as it sounded good, that's what they liked and expected ... no "head stock advertising" needed, though ;)

Chris, if you ever read this: Right, I am talking about you.

Almost everything on this instrument is done rock solid. Period. There is some tracking delay on the deep E and A string; the tracking goes close to nothing further upwards the strings. You can easily omit the tracking by:

1.) playing very clean (this instruments TEACHES you what is meant with "clean" play - i.e., you can directly obverve your precission when connecting it via a MIDI interface to you PC/Mac, and follow the instant display of the music you play, recorded with Logic/CuBase etc. on the Monitor. You think your playing is 'on track' - really? Try "Professora Casio", she might teach you better ;)

2.) Play clean (didn't I already say this?)

3.) Use brand new strings (0.09 or 0.10) when you expect the best reliability of the MIDI gear.

The tremolo could have been a little better, because it easily may spoil the perfect tuning options you get via the integrated tuner device. As you the guitar will need a proper tuning if you don't like to receive error triggers on MIDI with the guitar, better don't use the tremolo when MIDIing.

Knobs have got oxydated during the two decades, and don't look that fancy cool all-in-black as they did in 1987. But, unfortunately, nor do I.

A Rock Solid guitar, no minus.

I read Casio doesn't support the guitar any longer. Well, I don't know.

If there was a Grammy for the best lifetime achievement of a guitar, I would nominate this "Lady in Black" as a candidate ...

You know the specifics on this already.

For those who have tuning trouble with this guitar, do what I did...

- buy a good vibrato and throw the stock one away. 99% of your tuning problems just disappear, immediately. Honestly.

- buy an earvana compensating nut. The rest of your tuning problems disappear.

good sound, this is my main electric and has been for many years...

finish appears to be fine, though black hardware finish required replacement because it wore down.

always works. I hear the MIDI part will eventually give up the ghost if you don't use it, requiring a recap.

n/a

It is a Strat shaped guitar with 1.75 width nut rosewood board on maple neck. The body is basswood and the tremolo is spaced at 2&3/16 (a little wider than the 2&1/8 that all my other guitars are cut to) has a S-S-H setup and the body is routed to this setup as well so to put a neck bucker in would require body routing. originally had a somewhat low -wide fret wire that I have replaced (it has had 2 refrets) with Dunlop 6105 high thin frets. Originally had a Midi converter which became defective so I removed it. GREAT gotoh tuners that are still great 18 years later. A nice medium thick C-shape neck. Originally came with EMG select pickups that were not too bad.

This guitar was a cheap backup that I got back when I was finishing my undergraduate music degree in the late 80s. i was using a Gibson 347 as my main axe at the time but started using the Casio for my weekend gigs because it is VERY light in weight as opposed to the ungodly weight of the 347. It was always a great and consistant performer but the synth stuff is not on par with the modern Roland stuff so this rating is based on the GUITAR portion of the Casio. I am a professional guitarist / music professor and can write off my gear so I will admit that my next cheapest guitar is a Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top. Every thing else is a Archtop. I pulled this thing back out of retirement about 2 years ago after finishing my Doctorate in Music Ed. and needing to play some rock for a change of scenery. I put the Buzz feiten Tuning System on it put a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the Bridge and two Fast Track 1s in the neck and bridge, Gutted the synth and filled the holes with Pearlized pickgaurd material. Sanded off the white finish that had turned piss yelloy and dyed it Dark green and put 10 coats of laquer over that. It is now a serious rock and roll machine that can still cover any jazz gigs or blues gigs and has a slight 335 vibe as it is largely hollow without the synth. It is one bad son of a bitch.

It was always great in its original form but he finish did crack and wear as is normal of basswood guitars but it is now refinished and reworked.

As long as it is not the synth that you are worried about it is great.

Yea right

I have been playing since age 3 and I am near 40 now (that sucks) already mentioned my other guitars (Anderson, Heritage, L-5) If it were stolen that would suck but it is the only guitar I have under $2500 so I guess I would be glad they didn't get a more expensive one if it were stolen.

I bought this guitar second hand in the early 1990s top notch Japanese quality and very innovative. It is extremely well made, balanced and plays very well indeed.The midi facility and on board tuner make this an excellent and fairly unique instrument. I did have to 'learn' to play the midi facility. You do need to change your style somewhat and play with a clean positive action to get the best out of it. The midi side does have one or two idiosynchrasies which take some getting used to. The midi response is very quick and you soon get used to any slight delay.You can play guitar, midi or both at the same time but you need to be selective with your sound combinations so as not to produce a real messy sound. Piano and string combinations work well I find. Also for a real cajun sound try a pipe organ mixed with a detuned accordian for an authentic squeeze box.

Extremely versatile guitar with a wide range of sounds. I used the guitar for about eight to ten years or so in a country rock band. I generally use get a 'fat strat' sound with a touch of gibson humbucker thrown in. The five position pick up selector and the additional micro switch give you just about every combination you can imagine. On the other hand you can get a pretty straight strat sound depending on how you set your amplifier. I use a Roland sound generator for the midi and Peavey Reknown amplifier linked to a Peavey Studio 40 (this smaller one is used as a fill for the other side of the stage and really gives a big sound overall.)

The action is set fairly low and plays well up the full lentgh of the neck. I have not had to have any serious maintenance done to it.

Always been reliable but I have always looked after it. It was used as a workhorse for several years. Note that the guitar eats batteries and a mains adapter is absolutely essential for live gigs. There are three connecting cables wich can be a bit restrictive - guitar,midi and power lead. I tie them together with cable ties for neatness and safety.

Never had to contact supplier.

I am a bit long in the tooth now and have owned many many guitars over the years. This Casio is a great guitar and one of my very favourites - pity they weren't around in the sixties.I think they will become very collectable. The midi does take some getting used but this is primarily a guitar after all. If you haven't tried one then you should because I don't think you will be disappointed.

Produced in 1987 (88) in the same factory as Ibanez guitars, Casio produced one of the first integrated MIDI guitar systems. A few other manufacturers followed suit (or pipped Casio to the post), yet the vast majority of those guitars were designed and built by the same Japanese manufacturing firm in the same factory. I've heard people suggest that the Casio is infact an Ibanez, yet I doubt it. There are a few similarities and I supect a bit of cross-referencing occured! A few others have posted to this site, so no point me going over the same ground. Suffice to say it is a stunning guitar. I've played a few in my time and this comes close to being one of the best. I'd disagree with a previous reviewer who stated 'Better than Ibanez JEM'. I'd put it on a par with a Mexican Fender or perhaps a lower spec Ibanez. The manual is terrible! I understood about 3 pages of the stuff I already knew. If you buy one and it needs some work, then I would advise strongly taking it to a guitar tech and having them set it up. Unlike any other guitar, pitch is vital! Get the settings wrong and you'll squeal like a stuck pig. Hit the right spot and you'll be impressed!

I love Fender Strat style guitars, so the Casio MG-510 lends perfectly to my style. It's perhaps a tad heavier than you would expect, however that might be the additional printed circuitry, pots and MIDI unit built in. When slung on a strap it's comfortable enough and well balanced. The neck seems to be a shade wider than I am normally used too, yet who cares! If it helps with tracking of pitch to MIDI then I won't complain. Plugging the guitar directly through a mixer (dry) demonstrates how quiet the electrics are. No adverse noises or clicks occur on change of settings. The pick-up configuration is good, but I am tempted to change them to something a little warmer. It also takes a bit of getting used to having a MIDI lead attached as well as a phono. Using the internal 6xAA battery feature means you can avoid using a 9Volt PSU (mains adaptor) but it does eat them fairly quickly! For this reason alone, I would be unsure of gigging with a 9V PSU lead, MIDI lead & phono cable trailing after me! A good supply of chargeable batteries is a must!!!

As this is second-hand I can hardly argue about the condition. I'm lucky enough to know the guitar tech for 'Texas' who is willing to re configure and fret this babe, so I'll let you know how it works out!

The MG-510 is a robust solid unit. I worried about the little 3 way switches adorning the facade prior to playing, but they don't get in the way at all. Although this guitar has been well used (and rather abused) it has withstood the test of time. Without a word of a lie, each and every function worked without fail the first time I dusted her off and plugged her in. As I have not completely set-up the unit (bridge & saddle needs adjusting) I am amazed at the tracking! The odd note doesn't sound out, but that's probably my playing style more than anything else. Considering it has 'Casio' written on it, it's a beautiful guitar, incredibly well put together and although it was built in 1987 (this is 2005) it's not aged in the slightest. This was worth every penny of it's original asking price of approx. #700.00. This is a studio guitar and if I ever gig it, shoot me!

If I called Casio about this, I doubt whether anyone would even remember what it was!

I have been playing guitar for roughly 20yrs and owned a number of excellent instruments including Fender, Gibson, Yamaha & Ibanez. Until now I have used a Roland GR-50 with GK-2 midi pick-up attached to a solid body Yamaha Pacifica. As soon as I saw the price of the MG-510 I decided to throw caution to the wind. The most impressive thing about this (and other units like it) is that you have a completely integrated system, so no messing around fitting MIDI pick-ups or having to go via a secondary unit. I can plug this directly into ANY midi device I like.
Having tried it out thoroughly, it's a great guitar akin to a fairly good Fender Strat (Mexican), but not as comfortable as an Ibanez (thinner neck on Ibanez).

The Casio MG-510 is an all-in-one solution for MIDI, easier to use than the Roland-type floorboard-powered units and GK series stick-on pickups. That said, I have a Washburn Jennifer Batten MIDI and have tried out various Roland GR guitars along the line. The shape is unashamedly that of a Strat, with a souped-up configuration of 2 single coils and a splittable humbucker at the bridge. See the other reviews here on the Harmony Central page for more details and tech specs :)

Looks: hey you H-C ppl, how about a "looks" category. After all looks are very important to guitar players and bands in general. The MG-510 scores high in that department with its scheme of off-white body and black pickguard, controls and pickups. The color looks fine on video or TV and the general feedback has always been "it looks photogenic". Thus, I had to lend out my first MG for a Danish top-selling band who wanted to look fancy - it got stolen during the tour and it took me some time to locate another one...

THE most interesting feature, besides the MIDI stuff, is the presence of a tuner... BLISS... why isn't every guitar equipped with an on-board tuner? It is a bit basic, with just two arrow-shaped LEDs, but they work even with the on-board volume turned down.

All the bits and pieces in the control section are arranged ergonomically, and it is a breeze to handle the controls even without looking.

The rest of the guitar paraphernalia compares well against non-MIDI guitars in the same or in an even higher price range. Casio must have reasoned a bit like Roland: "if we aim at convincing the guitar fraternity of the usefulness of on-board MIDI, it better be a damn good guitar!". My fellow guitar freak friends always loved playing it and it's been out on loan for sessions many times over.

The MIDI bits: obviously, the MIDI sound palette is up to whatever the user has got in terms of synths, sound modules, etc. Having had the MG in constant use since early 1988, here's a detailed report:

Sequencing: the MG (as any other decent MIDI guitar) is great at sequencing jobs for a guitarist whose knowledge of complicated chords in tricky keys is limited on a keyboard. Initially, I really had to readjust my chops to avoid stray notes, glitches and the various artifacts derived from sloppy playing... My regular technique benefited immensely, and I play cleaner and leaner than I used to. Anywayz, it still is mandatory to check sequenced tracks for minor glitches and to quantize nearly everything due to the inherent MIDI-delay in pitch conversion.

Best MIDI sound uses:

The MG tracks reasonably well on the bass strings and useful for simulating a bass guitar - much better at it than a keyboard. The delay might require you to play a tiny fraction ahead of the beat, if you plan on doing things like that live, however :(

Sequencing or playing live, string or keyboard type pads with slow attacks and a reverb-like character work well under rhythm guitar parts. When sequencing, great four-part harmony string sections can be simulated. It is fun to stun keyboard players doing this - keyboard players would need a third hand to cover a guitar's range when doing spread-out chords from high to low open strings.

At the age of 55 now, I have over time been able to gather a useful number of guitars and besides a Tele, the rest is very much in the Gibson / Epiphone camp. I do a whole lot of recording, but also the odd gigs where I then need to reproduce studio stuff on just one guitar and one amp. The styles go from grungy rock to R'n'B to antique folk from Northern Sweden in what I do right now, for example.

I usually run the MG through a Boss VF-1 preamp (digital) or a Boss ME-5 floorboard (analog) even though I have tube pres like the Marshall JMP-1. For over-the-top solos I kick in a Big Muff, and I never use MIDI for anything live.

It is really fun to freak out fellow guitarists by saying "my guitar is a Casio!", but the Casio is actually and surprisingly a seriously effective axe. I never touch amp or preamp pots during a gig and just run things with the guitar pots and the switches, using mainly single coils and just occasionally the humbucker. The sounds are of course very Fenderish and cut across very well in the mix, without the balancing problems one might have with the meatier P90 or 'bucker Gibsons. The out-of-phase sound is really outstanding and gets constant use and the guitar seems well-screened and relatively quiet on the hum front. For me, it also provides and excellent shredding platform as it has a very comfortable and fast neck for ripping solos, tapping, etc.

Even though I have 2 tube Fender amps from way back when things were all tone, I now prefer going straight into the PA and bring along my own little monitor system with active speakers. Provided you don't go totally bananas with effects like distortion (which will make the non-hum-cancelling pickup positions a bit noisy) it is a very good guitar to run into pedals (for example the Boss Metal Zone, any decent Wah, etc.).

The guitar is light, well-balanced and fun to play as it is easy to control. When the MIDI is not connected, BTW, the MIDI-on switch provides instant silence (I once had a noisy P90 SG retrofitted with an on-off switch).

While the factory set-up was OK, I've had the MG for check-ups down the line to keep it in top-notch condition - just like my other guitars, as a routine thing. There's never been anything wrong with it, it has got its fair shares of knocks, nicks and dents. I occasionally knock heavy fists on it, knock the back with my knee and bend the whole neck to get some explosive stage stuff. It stays in tune despite a trem and no locking nut.

The finish is very durable, as dents are barely visible and the hardware bits such as tuners and the trem still stand up to the test of time 1988-2004. The pots will need replacing as a bit of noise has crept in but the flimsy mini-switches have amazingly survived so far.

The strap buttons have been replaced with locking ones, but that's the only customization done. It is a real workhorse and #1 gig guitar for me, for years. I bring a backup for gigs (usually a nice-sounding ultra-cheap Epiphone SG junior with one P90-like PU), but as I haven't got a spare MG - the backup is only used if I break a string on the MG.

At first I was worried about the electronics... will they stand up or will they crucially fail? Now, in 2004, I am not really expecting customer support from Casio for such an ancient product. If the MG goes down, I'd try to get a replacement MG while trying to have the original one resurrected somehow.

When synths, sequencers, samplers and computer-based equipment appeared I asked myself "how can this be applied to the guitar?". I transmogrified into a guitar-and-MIDI home studio freak over time. One of my longtime friends is John Guldberg, guitarist in the Danish group Laid Back ("Sunshine Reggae", "White Horse", "Bakerman" are their best-known hits), and he bought all of the various Roland MIDI guitars as they were released for sale. I was able to suss out MIDI guitaristics with his help, but ended up opting for the Casio MG-510 instead of a Roland. I've never tried the other Casio models, so I am not able to compare that way.

I understand that the going price in the US would be around USD 200, so it is a very cheap price for a good workhorse having the added MIDI bits in place (instead of the stick-on GK solution). As you can gather, I'm too in the market for a backup and I have been checking availability and prices!

I have a Casio MG510 .. what a great guitar. I picked it up about 12 years ago at a Sam Ash midnight blowout sale (it was actually 1:00AM). I think the salesman was drunk.. anyway I paid 300 bucks for it! It was selling a few months before for $1,000 (NY prices are higher). It's been flawless, but it now needs some repair. The 9v DC jack hasn't worked for years, so I use batteries which last long enough. The battery pack finally broke a few months ago. I found (by accident) a great source for the same battery pack!! Mead telescopes (www.mead.com) uses the same battery pack for their telescopes. My wife bought me a Meade 70 for Christmas and while putting it together I was floored .. the battery pack that just borke in my Casio was actually in a plastic package NEW! I'm not sure how to fix the 9v DC, but I'm sure it can be done. The pickup switch doesn't work anymore, and I'm looking for a replacement for that. If anyone knows where I can find it, let me know. Also need knobs! Is their a replacement for the bridge ? Replacing the strings is a bitch when they get stuck! Not something I care to do in the dark! I also have a Les Paul (illegal copy by guess who!). I've had strats, elecasters, Gretch Country Gentlemen and Gibson ES-335's .. none have the versatility of this guitar and now that I'm down to one .. it's my choice. It would be nice if the MIDI cable was joined to the power cable with a good conenctor. That way, one wire set with a dependable power source would be nice. Also, batteries that charge while the guitar is plugged in would be beautiful. Will never sell.. this guitar is rare. Mine has never been used on stage, only at home, and is like new except for the aforementioned electronic repairs needed. I have a home MIDI system, Cakewalk, Band-in-a-box, and several synths including a Kawaii K1-R analog with a great hammond B-3 voice. I have a CASIO VZ-1 keyboard and ROland GS synth with the drum machines, and digital effect processors etc. I also have a Vestax 6-track tape recorder which I use to mix down my digital stuff from Cakewalk. Lots of fun for me (not the wife though). See you on the dark side of the moon!

Everybody else has pretty much spelled out the features...just wanna clarify, the guitar section is totally passive, kinda weird with all the onboard electronics and 9Vdc onboard. But at least you still have guitar if you lose power...this one was originally in white, but I've repainted it a dark metallic green (Toyota Camry paint). I've had to replace all the MIDI switches due to breaking and such, this guitar's seen a LOT of hard gig use in 10 years. It also has Gibson hatbox knobs, a Hipshot Trem-Setter to stabilize the tremolo block, 2 Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails in neck and middle and a Duncan Vintage Humbucker wired parallel-series so all modes are humbucking (to deal with loud dimmer noise where I played). The 9Vdc power jack went out pretty quickly, replaced with a metal-jacket jack from Radio Shack. I also put a 500 pF cap between hot and wiper of the volume control to get back the highs lost at lower volume settings. Added straplock buttons too. I wore the frets out on the first neck, got another neck on EBay for $35. The Casio name's a bummer as others have said, but I keep replacing the parts cause it's such a GREAT guitar. The MIDI section takes some getting used to, best to stay away from string bends, forget muted picking and pick scrapes, and you have to deal with some tracking delay that gets longer the lower the note (20 ms on the big E open). I just try to play ahead to compensate.

I use this guitar in a bar-band setting, originally to get rid of a keyboard player (BIG grin). I play classic-southern rock mostly but vary all over the pop music arena from 50's to early 90's. The Duncan pickups are pretty quiet and sound GREAT, especially the neck one. I play the MIDI stuff using a Boss DS-330 Dr. Synth...it's cheap, small and light, some of its patches are nice, and it has bank-buttons for quick patch changes onstage (I added a light to its display). For guitar fx, I use a Korg AX1G re-programmed for simplicity (1 fx at a time). For the guitar amp I use a silverface Super Reverb I rewired as a Mesa Boogie MKII to get both clean and crunchy sounds footswitchable, and the synth amp is a Peavey MX (100W, BW speaker) which gives a clean-but-warm sound. The cable to the Casio has guitar cable, MIDI cable and 9Vdc cable all nylon-jacketed together, I call it the "space umbilical" cord.

Got it used back in 1993, but it has always played great. The hardware is cheap but easily replaced. Trouble is I replaced with Radio Shack stuff which also breaks, so best thing is to get hardware from an electronics supplier (Cutler-Hammer switches, Switchcraft jacks etc) that's more reliable.

Recurring problem has been with running power to the guitar, NOBODY makes a durable 9V power plug and it's always breaking or going intermittent (which changes the synth patch to #1 repeatedly). I store it in a Fender rectangular case, and due to the longer horn it stresses and loosens the top strap button. A little J-B Weld on the screw seems to take care of that.
I HAVE depended on this guitar for years and have always fixed the problems myself (about 3-4 times a year, mainly the power plug and MIDI swotches). Of course, a regular guitar just won't cut it, so I'll limp thru a gig with whatever problem I get then fix it later. About the only total show-stopper has been breaking the 1st string (at the bridge), like with any non-locking Strat you're screwed until you get another string on there. Other that that, the guitar section has worked flawlessly.

The one problem I've been unable to fix is a gradual deterioration of tracking on the 5th string....it's been getting worse over about the last two years. It barely triggers now, and when it does it repeats rapidly. Due to the obsolete nature of this guitar, I can't find a schematic anywhere and the pc boards are surprisingly high-tech with surface-mount components (read hard to troubleshoot and service). Anyone out there wanna help me with this?

Forget it, Casio stopped selling and supporting this guitar back around 1991. Shame they don't re-issue it with some updated eletronics, I think it would give the Rolands a real run for the money. I've got a degree in electronics, so I can fix about anything given the schematics and resources, so no need for a warranty. Funny thing is though, a lot of the pc board components are now obsolete too!

I've been playing about 38 years, also have a '66 335, a Mexicaster, Ovation Ultra acoustic (with piezo pickup and condenser mic inside), and a ton of various amps (Fender, Laney, Hiwatt, Ampeg etc). I've probably owned 30+ guitars and the Casio is the grestest! By far the most versatile and all-purpose electric guitar I've ever owned, the ergonomics are great and it's made me into more of an all-around musician vs. just a guitarist, like how to play piano/organ/banjo/sax/brass/marimba licks. Best fun was to play the old piano song "Last Date" and watch all the rednecks look around for the piano onstage (tee hee).
If it was broken, lost or stolen, I'd have to find another and fix it up like this one. They sporadically go on EBay, and are worth the bucks up to about $900 or so.

This is for the MG-500, which looks like an 80s sci-fi version of a vox phantom. However, you can still rest it on your knee. three pick ups, one tone, one volume, pu selector. Midi out. (!). On board tuner. MIDI program switch via note. 6 AA or AC adapter. What more could you ask for?

The sound is, unfortunately, a little thin (esp. with the pickups out of phase). The guitar opts for clarity over any sort of muscle. Set up: mg500-ibanez cs9-boss flanger-proco rat- ibanez ad-80-mxr dist + - line 6 delay modeler - univox proverb reverb - fender blackface bandmaster. exhale. Midi goes out to a yamaha tg33 then into line 6 (for looping). (mix usually 80% guitar, 20% ambient strings). The guitar does lose some versatility points when it gets out rocked by the back up (a ric!)

Easy, easy to play. Stealth mode aesthetics.

I've had it 6 months now, and haven't had a problem with it. (other than forgetting to turn it off and draining the batteries).

This guitar has done wonders for my creativity. The ability to have a synth line going on simultaneously has been really inspiring. I do not use it to suddenly bust into a flute solo live, but rather to lend another layer of sound/noise/ambience to what I'm playing. As such, this guitar can fill up a room just by itself. The tracking probably isn't fast enough to keep up with the latest generation of roland gear, but is that really the point? This guitar does some amazing stuff and makes playing a joy. A truly creative person could get some insane stuff out of the guitar (splitting the 6 strings into separate MIDI channels), but I was mostly just interested in the ambient possibilities. Would I buy one again? Yes, but it would probably be the mg510, since they are more common and a little less out there.

I think it was made in 1987, but I have no idea where.
22 frets
solid top
1 volume control, 1 tone control, humbucker switcher, 5-way pickup selector PLUS 1 MIDI volume knob and other MIDI switches for selecting midi, guitar or both and an octave selector and pitch bend settings, program change.
S/S/H
I wish I knew what the pickups were
Not sure if it's active or passive
strat-style body with pointier horns
non-locking tremolo bridge
covered tuners
built-in tuner

I play metal and punk and the guitar does well, although i dont have much to compare it to. I keep it on the humbucker unless i want to play some clapton-style stuff. Currently, im on a huge budget (im only 16, give me a break) so i have it through a fender chamion 30 DSP and the two go well w/ each other. I use a compressor/sustainer (boss cs-2) occasionally and it adds noise, but with a direct connection, the only noise i get is from the gain settings on the amp and none from the guitar. People say the humbucker is a little muddy but i havent noticed anything, it sounds great to me.
The MIDI on the guitar really shines, except for some slow tracking on the lower strings, so i just use the higher strings and drop everything down an octave when needed. very creative voice selection. I use it as the controller for my casio wk-1630 keyboard plugged directly into the input.

The action is low so it's very easy to shred. i use d'addarrio .10sand a fender heavy pick. The pickups were a little low when i got it used, so i just raised it a bit, no problem. The only thing that was out of whack was the bridge, im still trying to get it right. Unfortunately, there were only 3 springs on the tremolo so im blocking it until i can get two more, cuz it continuously got out of tune and when changing tunings, it took forever to get it right. the guitar was in excellent shape when i got it, just some cosmetic flaws and a couple missing screws. it also didnt have a tremolo covering, but if it did, i would have taken it off cuz it's easier to change strings that way.

Since this is the only guitar i have, it will have to withstand live playing, but i dont think i will have any problems. the hardware and electronics are ery good, considering it's been around for about 15 years! Even if i had another guitar, id prob use it for a diff. tuning instead of a backup, i trust the midi guitar. Only thing is, i wouldnt use the midi part live, cuz of slow tracking.

Never dealt with casio.

Overall, this guitar is def. worth the price that i paid, and hundreds more (i think original retail was $900 or sumthin). combined with a better amp (if i could afford one), it would be an awesome setup. If anyone has an amp that they're willing to sell to me (around 100 watts, or 50 watts for tube) contact me via e-mail describing it including the brand and estimated price.