Ministar, AMS-CASTAR KIT,6 String Guitar,3 Single Coil Pickups, Vibrato, Bag, OGA-1 Headphone Amp, Profile PMT-3000 Tuner, 1,Hard Rock Maple, Mahogany Stain Finish, 25.5" Scale

by Ministar

Product Features

• Solid one piece body construction
• Adjustable nut and bridge
• Custom designed pickups
• Light weight and portable
• Airline security no problem and fits in the overhead comparment

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 32 x 3.5 x 3 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B001JSFK6Q
• Item model number: AMS-CASTAR KIT
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,862 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Product Description

Ministar guitars and basses are designed to be the worlds smallest full size guitars and basses. Ministar instruments are patented or patent pending due to their unique capabilities or design. When you play a Ministar guitar or bass, you will be amazed by the "FAT" sound, the "LONG SUSTAIN", and the "PLAYABILITY" offered be each model. "No Body Gets A Better Sound" than Ministar, and they're ready to go where you go. Ministar instruments fly through airport security and fit easily in the overhead compartment. The CASTAR KIT includes the CASTAR 6 string guitar with 25.5" scale, 22 frets, 3 matched single coil pickups, 5 position pickup selector, volume and tone control, vibrato, an adjustable nut and bridge, and a full length truss rod. Every kit includes a carrying bag with shoulder strap, guitar strap, instrument cord, arm rest, and rods for playing while standing or sitting.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sadly, I Did Not Have Good Luck With This One..., October 4, 2010

By 

JR (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ministar, AMS-CASTAR KIT,6 String Guitar,3 Single Coil Pickups, Vibrato, Bag, OGA-1 Headphone Amp, Profile PMT-3000 Tuner, 1,Hard Rock Maple, Mahogany Stain Finish, 25.5" Scale (Electronics)

The Good, Bad, and Ugly....

The Good:
1. Neck and action felt good.
2. Tuner worked great.
3. Design of guitar was clever and stored easily.

The Bad:
1. Amazon packing was poor. Box was way too big. As a result the guitar in the gig bag broke out of the manufacturer box and slid around the inside of the shipping box thus causing the gig bag to rip.
2. Volume control did not work smoothly. Went from no sound to about 90% sound. More like a switch than a smooth gradual volume control. I suspect it was a poor design and the resistance was far too high for the circuit design.
3. Tone control also did not work well. More like a switch than a control.
4. I ordered the mahogany stain. Clear, no stain model was shipped.

The Ugly:
1. The OGA-1 Headphone amp did not work. Only hear lots of static. Plugging the guitar input created lots of static. Switching from normal to overdrive was not smooth and you get no sound unless you giggle the switch.
2. Vibrato bar was corroded and pitted. Poor quality control

Even though the neck felt good, the quality control of the electronics and some of the hardware was very, very poor. Great concept design but they took too many shortcuts in getting a cheap price.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Castar - easy fix for the faulty tone control, December 14, 2010

By 

S. Wolff (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ministar, AMS-CASTAR KIT,6 String Guitar,3 Single Coil Pickups, Vibrato, Bag, OGA-1 Headphone Amp, Profile PMT-3000 Tuner, 1,Hard Rock Maple, Mahogany Stain Finish, 25.5" Scale (Electronics)

I have the earlier version (non-adjustable bridge, no built in headphone amp), but aside from a few little quirks, it's a great little ax. I've taken it overseas and played at hotels with it. For ~$165, you can't beat it. Check out [...] to see how it sounds.

Pros:
o Light, compact
o Does a good job at emulating a Strat

Cons:
o It eats up strings (hopefully fixed with the new bridge, but so fare I can't find one to upgrade mine) - pack plenty of spare strings if you travel.
o Tone control needs a bit of soldering (1 wire) to fix - see LimeyInSD on youtube (vids include how to fix it plus sample songs)
o The old tremolo arm was poorly attached - it's easy to fix with a couple of O rings (#47 for the groove and #50 from Home Depot).

NOTE: This is for the original Castar and Telstar - I haven't checked it with the PRO.
Add a Zoom G1 or a Digitech RP55 and you'll be ready to rock and roll.