Via a great guitar community friend here in Copenhagen, Hans Nissen, I was able to get another MG-510 - this time, it is the all-black model while my other one is all-white. Consistency-wise, it is exactly the same as my other one. Another great friend is lusting for a Parker MIDI guitar just like Joni Mitchell's... but these aren't made anymore, nor (I suppose) is the Washburn JB-100 MIDI. A MG-510 is thus more attractive than ever if you can locate one.

There are so many options available to a player with one of these. I use mine to control a midi effects pedal so there is no need to press foot switches. I can select any distortion, phaser, echo, reverb patch just by sending a program change message from the guitar.

If you really want to get fancy get hold of a Yamaha MEP4 processor and link this to the guitar and you can program midi fretboard splits, arpegios and echo across 4 midi devices!!

After all these years I just realised that this the ability to help guitarists read music!! I hook mine up to a Trax midi sequencer and I can see exactly what I am playing in real musical notation.

The only sad point is that with age, mine has recently started to play up so it needs to be switched on 5-10 minutes before playing but that is the only snag I have.

I'd like to keep mine going for as long as possible so if know of someone who wants to sell one or the electronics do let me know.

Without the midi it is a great guitar. With the midi capability it is just streets ahead of anything I have seen!!