Robo-guitar makes old one a string of the past

A SELF-TUNING guitar, said to be the first that uses robotic technology, goes on sale around the world this week.

The Gibson Robot self-tunes to a standard setting. It has six tuning pre-settings, which musicians can use by pushing a button as they play.

The guitar automatically retunes itself within seconds after string changes.

The idea is to make it quicker and easier to tune than the manual process.

Gibson said the automatic tuning version of its Les Paul model would reduce tuning problems for both novices and professional performers.

They must have taken this off the market, and revamped it, because it came out originally almost 10 years ago.

Gibson Robot Guitar

I got this in my email last Friday

REPOST!

There's a glitch in the matrix.

good thing- now i can leave those 80 guitars at home.

I'm waiting for the 12-string version.

YouTube - Gibson Robot Guitar

LOL, yes for 12's I might consider it.

I wonder also how reliable these things will be a year on. At least the system's not actually made by Gibson, though.

Meh I've got a 1960 gibson reissue and a 1976 Fender American Strat Anniversary model.

Wanna know how they keep in tune? I use my hands. I keep them intonated. And I replaced the stock saddles with graphite Saddles on both. (And put a graphite nut on the Fender)

I don't need no stinkin' robots!

Hands? You mean robotic hands right?

My avatar really wants one.

it's not that hard to tune a guitar, why build a robot to do it?

although it would make the lead guitarist of my band not have an excuse to just sit there looking down between songs

Actually it would be great if you tune in a lot of alternate tunings. This would be especially useful if you're playing a gig where you'd need multiple guitars to reduce tuning changes.

heh

i just bought one the other day- comes in on friday.. i've been working with a band and having a hell of a time tracking rhythm guitars- we've run into bad set ups left and right. either the intonation is terrible, the guitar wont stay in tune, or the above are great but the frets buzz like crazy. everywhere we've gone (which is honestly 5 or 6 places) has done a terrible job setting up the guitars. finally i decided i was tired of that so i went out and paid for the robot- i'm actually really excited to get it

I saw this like 6 or 7 years ago (http://transperformance.com/index2.htm) but the Gibson Robot guitar seems to achieve things more in the vein of technology today, functional but invisible. I really have no idea which system is better, but the fact that Gibson's really doesn't deface the guitar seems to be a huge plus in my book. Looking forward to trying it in the store sometime.

You bought a *gibson* without trying it????

I think this is where technology goes wrong..
Kids working at McDonalds cant even make chage for you if the register goes down.. Were has all the thinking gone.. oh I'll just push a button and let it figure it out...dfegad

Just freakin lazy!!!

That's a bit of $$$ just to tune your guitar, does it set intonation as well?
Thought so.
Does it adjust the truss rod?
Thought so.
That may be required if an alternate tuning is "selected".
Will it compensate for string stretching while you play?
If this is offered for pros, they seem to have more than one guitar on stage, will it tune all of them? Only if they are all Gibson Les Pauls?
As to pro's, I never see them tune their guitars, they have backstage techs handing them a tuned instrument. So they don't need it.

Seems the market is for well off recreational players. This is a very large market for Gibson, bigger than any pro sales.

I saw it at Namm several years ago, I was not impressed as it seemed like a gimmick.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

I saw a similar thread to this a couple weeks ago.

I really think people are missing the point of this guitar. It's a great idea for gigging musicians who use multiple tunings onstage or who want to tune the guitar throughout the show with minimal dead time between songs. I don't care if you can tune your guitar in your sleep, the bottom line is you can't tune as quickly as this guitar and you definitely can't switch among alternate tunings as quickly as this guitar. Any great performing musician knows how important it can be to keep transitions between songs to a minimum and this is just another tool to help us do that. It would definitely also save time if you're working with a producer or engineer (like me) who makes you tune between every take and overdub. I'd say half of the time I track guitars is spent waiting for the guitarist to tune his/her instrument.

Of course, people will buy it out of laziness or lack of knowledge, but that's really neither here nor there. All I'm saying is any live performing guitarist should be able to recognize the benefits of a tuning system like this.

Cory Spotts

You use this thing for gigging for 3 years and suddenly one day it breaks and you are *#**#. With tech like this, we get way too reliant on it and it screws us eventually.

Moral of the story, keep tuning because it is EASY.

Or be a yuppie ass and buy 2 or 3 robot guitars.

It does automate the intonation process to a degree.
You play the string and turn the saddle screw according to an indicator. It's not that different to using a tuner, but the process at least indicates the direction to adjust...
A lot of players seem to avoid performing the intonation procedure, so this may help them a bit.

I think you're right, *at the moment*...
IMO, in a few years, once the mechanisms have been further miniaturized and proven road-worthy, I think it will catch on.
If gibson starts using decent wood and construction again, I may even get one :-)

Keep in mind the tuning heads can still be used manually, so the guitar is still functional even if some component of the tuning system broke.

2 weeks a go the people of Gibson took me one of the limited edition "les paul robot" to give it a try. And all I can say is... the system is IMPRESIVE, and the feel of the guitar is great. I mean, I already have 78 guitars, mostly vintage, but this toy is a really nice addition. (and since I have a Gibson endorsement well...)

Of course I know this! I watched the videos. I am talking about being out of practice and not ready to have to do it the old way in front of a bunch of people in just a few seconds. This guitar would make you lose that ability.

Maybe Gibson should change their scale length and add a compensated nut
so their gtrs could actually intonate properly. That's what we really need.

*Breaking News*

Robots to be implanted in singers' throats to keep them in tune. I mean, why not, that's the next logical step. Just think how good everyone will sound live then...ahem, Ashlee.

Yea, I can see the guitar hero pulling out a screwdriver to reset the intonation when alternate tunings are selected, then he will pull out the truss rod tool and give the neck a tweak before the next song, or maybe he has more than one guitar on stage that is already set just right and in tune?

I remember when touring with Stevie Wonder that each wood instrument (guitars, grand pianos, etc,) would drop in pitch as the crowd entered the room and drove up the temperature, I couldn't do much about the piano, but the guitars got a once over ever couple of songs or every guitar change. We need this on a grand piano, not a guitar.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades