The Steel Guitar Forum

Check this out! Has anyone tried one of these? I have been looking to buy a light travel guitar and this at 22 lbs might be a good option.

Thoughts?

Here's the email I received from Fuzzy:

New model Robostar S10--$2.980.00 !!
*Limited production of 10 units, order early!

The attached photo shows the new Robostar model weight 22lb.
It is lightweight, robotic, and rambunctious!
Body is aluminum, neck is hard maple, sound quality and extension are top
class.
The parts are the same specifications as EXstar, and it is as good as a
professional model. Cabinet drop is close to zero.
This is only $2.980.00! Accessories are the same as EXstar.

Thanks,
Mitsuo

His designs are excellent and build time is usually super fast.

Wow! His guitars are awesome. If I could afford a new guitar, I would definitely consider one of his. This guitar wouldn't work for me as I play a double neck. If this could come in a D10, well, I still couldn't afford it. This guitar looks awesome.

Landon Johnson wrote:Check this out! Has anyone tried one of these? I have been looking to buy a light travel guitar and this at 22 lbs might be a good option.

Thoughts?

Here's the email I received from Fuzzy:

New model Robostar S10--$2.980.00 !!
*Limited production of 10 units, order early!

The attached photo shows the new Robostar model weight 22lb.
It is lightweight, robotic, and rambunctious!
Body is aluminum, neck is hard maple, sound quality and extension are top
class.
The parts are the same specifications as EXstar, and it is as good as a
professional model. Cabinet drop is close to zero.
This is only $2.980.00! Accessories are the same as EXstar.

Thanks,
Mitsuo

Just waiting for mine to clear customs - can’t wait!!

Looks very nice. What is robotic about it??

Really stunning appearance and a great value. You need to play one to appreciate the smoothness of all the mechanics.

Lee Gauthier wrote:Looks very nice. What is robotic about it??

nothing as far as I know, it's just a cool name

Are Excels standard all-pull mechanism guitars?
Thanks,
John

I see one price specified but two different guitars. One has 3 floor pedals and one has 5 floor pedals.

John Ely wrote:Are Excels standard all-pull mechanism guitars?
Thanks,
John

Yes - Mitsuo told me this model is a 5 raise / 5 lower all pull

Greg Cutshaw wrote:I see one price specified but two different guitars. One has 3 floor pedals and one has 5 floor pedals.

$2980 is the base price I was quoted for a 3+5 in black, and since I didn’t need additional pedals or levers I didn’t ask how much they would be…

Pad, volume/tone controls and other colours are also available (but I can’t remember how much they were now)

Mine has been sitting in French customs for several days but I’ll post some details and photos when it arrives (I think it might actually be the black one in the second photo!)

I had emailed Mitsuo several times over the past year about building me one of his old SGI models to which he never quite said no, but also never quite said yes either. Then one day, he replied that he had something better in the works which turned out to be the Robostar so I ordered one about 2 months ago.

I'm not seeing anything about this model on the website.. is there any source for information?

Dave Meis wrote:I'm not seeing anything about this model on the website.. is there any source for information?

the last update to their website seems to be 2014

I'll post detailed photos and answer questions as soon as it gets here (next week hopefully) but if you email Mitsuo, I'm sure he'll happily give you all the specs.

Doesn’t he also build a crossover model? Switch pedals and levers from E9th to C6th?

bUd

Ordered mine with 4P/6K in red and standard E9th tuning. Delivery in 2 months.

Regarding the "robo" name, Mitsuo replied to my email query:

"The neck is made of wood, but the frame of the aluminum body is secured with screws, making it look like a sturdy robot. Cabinet drop is close to 0"

I've had mine for just under a week have been playing it constantly since it arrived - it is a big adjustment in feel from the EMCI I've played forever, but I'm feeling really good on it now. And after bringing it down 7 flights of stairs, taking it on three subways, and up 6 more flights to get to rehearsal, then doing the reverse to get home, I can't stop smiling about how easy it is to move around in comparison to my other guitar

The top is polished with no mica and I think that looks very cool! As does the slight metallic flake in the black mica. The back is more or less entirely unfinished, and I ordered the volume / tone / bypass switch option which adds a narrow plate all along the back side of the body which is also unfinished on the underside but that doesn't bother me. After playing this guitar in a few scenarios, I don't know that I'd say it's necessary to have the knobs but I do like having them just in case. I have my first proper gig with it in a week and a half, we'll see if I end up engaging them or leaving them bypassed the whole time... I've tweaked the setup a bit and the mechanics are precise, tidy and very clever. A couple rods were a bit 'rattly' for my liking so I cut a bit of foam to wedge around them and now it's all good underneath.

It sounds great, and I was a bit worried about a keyless of this scale having read on the forum that some have found a longer scale is necessary to get the lower strings sounding good, but I'm not finding that at all - it sounds probably better in the lowest registers than my EMCI. The knee levers feel fantastic and I immediately preferred them... The pedals are taking a bit to get used to as they are maybe a bit lighter to the touch and 'springier' than I'm used to but the pulls are timed really well and I feel like I instantly sound slightly more in tune on this guitar. And it is so light The wheeled case with lots of pockets is a very nice touch.

I'm a convert to keyless now, and it really stays in tune fantastically - I've been bringing it to rehearsals and not bothering with bringing my Peterson since I can touch it up by ear but am not even really needing to. Mitsuo is right, there is very little cabinet drop.

Really cool guitar!

Stew,

Thank you for the great photos and review. Very interested to hear your feedback after the gig.

Re scale length: other Excels seem to be 24.25 inches, slightly longer than many older PSGs. How long is the Robostar?

Cheers,

John

That is one seriously cool looking steel, apart from the "decorative" strip on the body edges and the neck. Would look sooo much better without them.

And what about losing the mica altogether? A satiny oil & wax finish on plain maple would be even cooler.

Luckily I don't need one – but I really want one!

John Laidler wrote:Stew,

Thank you for the great photos and review. Very interested to hear your feedback after the gig.

Re scale length: other Excels seem to be 24.25 inches, slightly longer than many older PSGs. How long is the Robostar?

Cheers,

John

It’s 24 1/8 according to Mitsuo, so a ‘normal’ scale length but I’ve seen some general discussion on keyless steels that some people seem to feel that without the extra length of string behind the rollers to the keys the tension is low unless the scale is longer… but then string breakage becomes an issue… This is the first keyless I’ve played and can’t say I feel that at all, though Excel offers a longer scale option on their other models…

Per Berner wrote:That is one seriously cool looking steel, apart from the "decorative" strip on the body edges and the neck. Would look sooo much better without them.

And what about losing the mica altogether? A satiny oil & wax finish on plain maple would be even cooler.

Luckily I don't need one – but I really want one!

I felt the same at first but it's grown on me and now I think it would look too plain without them... Which is good because I don't think they'd come off easily

Would look even better with a brushed aluminum neck...

Per Berner wrote:Would look even better with a brushed aluminum neck...

Yah brushed aluminium neck would be a hot look! Then we'd have to wade into the wood neck vs aluminium neck discussions though

Does this Robo Star come in a Universal 12 with 7 and 5?

wrote:Yah brushed aluminium neck would be a hot look! Then we'd have to wade into the wood neck vs aluminium neck discussions though

Then it would look something like this. And what if we added carbon fibre legs?

Is it just me, I don't seem to find any info on either, the ExSTAR and this model now on the www.FuzzyPSG.com page?

... J-D.