The Gibson Robot Guitar Is Coming

On Friday, December 7, 2007, Gibson will change the guitar world forever, states Gibson.com press release.

True to the spirit of innovation that inspired Gibson to invent the legendary Tune-o-matic bridge, the powerful humbucker, and the revolutionary Digital Les Paul, Gibson proudly presents the Gibson Robot Guitar—the world's first guitar with robotic technology.

Since the dawn of the instrument, musicians have come to accept the guitar's imperfections and lack of tonal precision as necessary evils. Onstage and off, guitarists have fought to stay in tune. Every music lover and performer has had to suffer through the show-halting, mood-killing atonal droning of a loudly amped guitar being brought into tune. And in the studio, or at home, imprecise intonation throws the guitar in and out of tune, up and down the neck, as the instrument requires tweaking with each season and at times with each string change.

For as long as the guitar has existed, guitar lovers have had two choices—live with a temperamental and out-of-tune instrument or make frequent trips to the shop for setups. Not anymore.

Introducing the Gibson Robot Guitar. All you have to do is play it.

Click here for the full details.

Comments

[Shabalaba]

I wouldnt buy it, tuning a guitar isnt hard and ear training is important

[Whats the story]

not really bothered about that to be honest.

[TJ1991]

I'd buy this if I was too lazy to tune my own guitar, and if I had the money. It's bound to cost a bomb. I suppose it would be useful for just after restringing, and for playing live, but no one's going to need this for practising. And even if you did use it live, the rest of the band would have to have one as well, and you'd need a singer with perfect pitch for it to still sound spot on.

[hghwaychile]

wow. didnt fender already do this with the vg strat??

[SchitzoJoe]

I want it.

That's all I have to say.

I want it.

[FunkasPuck]

does it fix intonation too?
because if it does, i would be veeeerry interested.

[SchitzoJoe]

It's pretty much for lazy people, but it's really helpful if you have songs that you'll play in different tunings (i.e. going from standard to drop C)

[geetarguy92]

Wow its out on my birthday...but I already have a Les Paul and I can tune it fine so I don't really need it.

[dudeman_andy]

sounds sick, but in like ten years time no-one will be able to tune their guitar lol.

[Cal UK]

Pretty cool, I wonder how much they'll be?

[boor]

Let me guess, if I buy one I will be a better guitar player??? Blow me, I'll stick with my marburg and les paul, they were probably a fraction of the price.

[craZelz]

it looks nice.... but yeh, people should be able to tune by themselves, if they can't then they need to buy a tuner (CHEAPER) or they shouldn't be playing guitar... =]

[SylvaShredder]

Why...?

[Spoony_Bard]

The finish is really cool though. I like the white pickups.

[americanxidiot]

i would totally buy it.
its awesome for shows and live gigs.

[Pure_Morning]

Welcome to the Christmas present for the lazy guitarist.

[pinky_demon]

This guitar is way better than the VG. The VG didn't actually put the guitar in a different tuning, it just made it sound like it was. I think this guitar can also tell you how to get your action perfect.

I think imma get this....

[kriscornella2@g]

its hilarious hearing all you kids say its for lazy people and you wont be able to tune your guitar in the future. i play guitar live every week and change 2 guitars on stage frequently so this is a godsend i can sell my other guitar and even do slide guitar on stage with the open tunings. Also do piano players bemoan the fact that they cant tune a piano?...NO BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE TO.

[LetTheBassPlay]

I'm sorry, this is just lazy. With stuff like this, tuning is going to be a lost skill to guitarist, and especially sharpening the ears if you tune by ear. I mean, props to Gibson cuz the technology sounds great, but they are promoting the all too American value of laziness.

[Tapping_Ninja]

hows it work.... thats all I want to know

[pinky_demon]

kriscornella2@g wrote:

its hilarious hearing all you kids say its for lazy people and you wont be able to tune your guitar in the future. i play guitar live every week and change 2 guitars on stage frequently so this is a godsend i can sell my other guitar and even do slide guitar on stage with the open tunings. Also do piano players bemoan the fact that they cant tune a piano?...NO BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE TO.

Exactly...

[americnidiot]

FunkasPuck wrote:

does it fix intonation too?
because if it does, i would be veeeerry interested.

yes, i believe it does.... looks interesting, but most likely not worth the price tag they'll put on it

[the_extremist00]

cool

but i dont think that this kind of stuff is reliable, i wouldnt want a guitar aware of its tuning, like it glitches and detunes on a bend or tunes a string wrong

just buy a tuner, or even by ear, its not hard at all
you can go by ear on some tuning, and like drop D i tune up and down E and D everyday i can do it in like, 5 seconds ?

in my opinion, this kind of stuff is waster of time, money and technology, they should focus on improving intonation at higher frets, even great guitars loose some tuning after the octave, and that would be nice to fix =)

[the.spine.surfs]

If this guitar can set it's own intonation and action, along with tuning, then I'll be facinated.

[Menza_]

ahh not for me persoanlly

[dutch5367]

Like the paint job, but I can tune myself.

[Geekis_Khan]

Well, as said, tuning isn't that hard, and it is a sign of laziness if you can't do it yorself.

But on the other hand, I can see how it would be useful for live shows so you don't have to stop a set to retune.

[boomerang531]

changi

[boomerang531]

sorry abt that what i meant was:
changin the history of guitar? arent digital guitars already out? like the line6 variax and stuff? maybe im just a bit uninformed

[Vexian]

Lazy people's guitar... Just buy an les paul original and use your hearing to tune

[XnaySaturo]

Gibson newsletter word for word. How about citing your sources?

[drumpat]

I imagine this with a floyd rose. LOL

[djmay71]

i agree i can tune by ear.
but for those who aren't willing to shell out big bucks for the entire guitar, couldn't they go buy the part that does the tuing after the guitars been out for a while?

[samerika]

it only tunes what's soo great about it, i preffer to buy a tuner for 50 bucks and not spend 40000 billions dollars on some piece of shit that tunes itself

[Heavil]

It is just what I call evolution. I like it. Doesn't everyone like to play perfectly in tune rapidly? And nothing is said that you cannot buy a regular guitar as well...looks like the next big thing i'll buy.

[walkingreject]

how much ya think itll cost?

[RobMcKeown]

looks like an iGuitar..

I'd hardly count this as news, its more like a sponsored Ad. Why isn't it in the review section. Are you selling out UG?? Are you letting companies sell us their products instead of giving unbiased reviews? i hope not

[aig91]

It's pretty cool. I like the finish. I wonder how much it will cost...

[vilhelm_nielsen]

If people want a guitar that stays in tune, they should get a Fender.

Zing!

[Scourge441]

STFU about this being lazy. It's not gonna result in people not knowing how to tune, because cheapo starter guitars like Squiers are never going to have this technology. Like a few people have said (too few people if you ask me), this is extremely useful for live shows.

That frost blue finish is sexy as hell.

[drumpat]

In addition to its automated tuning and alternate/open tuning functions, the Gibson Robot Guitar offers a unique Intonation function, which guides even the most tweak-phobic player through the simple steps of achieving perfect intonation on this revolutionary instrument. No tools or external tuners or other gadgets are needed other than a small screwdriver and the Robot Guitar's own Master Control Knob (MCK). The guitar itself "talks you through" the entire process, resulting in a correctly intonated guitar in a fraction of the time it takes even a professional guitar tech to do the same job.

[giginthesky]

I think it would be cool to have one of these. Only because I play in a lot of different tunings. the VG is kind of like this, I don't know exactly how similar they are but I like the fact that they are trying to make things a little easier. It sounds like all the other people on here today actually enjoy tuning? I think that is crazy. I can tune my own guitar too, big whoop, but isn't anything that saves a little time and makes things just a tad easier kind of cool? of course I won't be able to afford one of these guitars but I just like that Gibson & Fender are trying to do something different and maybe make things a little easier, and also let live playing run a little smoother as well.

[xcaboose]

i could imagine it makes live shows easier... but still prefer tuning it myself

[Dr. Z]

wait all it does is tune for you?

Yeah...another step towards laziness. Nice paint though.

Checked.

[Dr. Z]

i can tune myself i dont understand how this works

[Dr. Z]

i'm lazy already andc one of my guitars has a built in tuner, is that all this is

[Dr. Z]

id have to pla it frst

[Shuk]

but i dont think that this kind of stuff is reliable, i wouldnt want a guitar aware of its tuning, like it glitches and detunes on a bend or tunes a string wrong

I think that is a pretty valid concern. Digital stuff can be very unreliable. Can you imagine playing and it suddenly decides that the guitar is out of tune because you decided to bend? Is there a function where you can turn off the powertune system?

[smb]

Gibsons that tune themselves have been available for a while - Jimmy Page has one. I think Gibson has just bought the luthier that has been doing this to Gibsons for a while.

[DANZIG767]

Pure_Morning wrote:

Welcome to the Christmas present for the lazy guitarist.

HELL YEAH!

[TJ1991]

Shuk wrote:
Is there a function where you can turn off the powertune system?

Yeah, as far as I'm aware there's a push switch to turn it on and off

[frigginjerk]

yeah, for those of us who play live, this guitar is the ****in tits! it's chambered so it's lighter, it tunes automatically and goes to different tunings, and it's a friggin GIBSON... i'd pop my old 57 classic pickups in there, but that's about it...

[gsr2k6]

XnaySaturo wrote:

Gibson newsletter word for word. How about citing your sources?

Read the artist you stupid twat.

It looks cool and all I think, but I think people are going either one way or the other on this thing. Some people say its stupid and useless, some say its great. I think knowing how to tune a instrument is important but it would be nice to be able to jump from tunings and not have to worry about it at all. I think I will end up getting something like this in the long run (a.k.a. when somebody besides gibson makes them for less than the price of my car). It WOULD be cool to pick up your guitar, be in perfect standard, then switch to C standard in a few secs.

[frigginjerk]

Gibsons that tune themselves have been available for a while - Jimmy Page has one. I think Gibson has just bought the luthier that has been doing this to Gibsons for a while.

that was a different mechanism... it required a cavity to be routed into the body of the les paul, behind the bridge, and the machine was hooked up to the bridge, if i'm not mistaken... in fact, here's a link

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/industry_news/se lf_tuning_guitar.html

[guilty]

I Would buy it, pretty much..

[acidhammerdrums]

Shuk wrote:

but i dont think that this kind of stuff is reliable, i wouldnt want a guitar aware of its tuning, like it glitches and detunes on a bend or tunes a string wrong

I think that is a pretty valid concern. Digital stuff can be very unreliable. Can you imagine playing and it suddenly decides that the guitar is out of tune because you decided to bend? Is there a function where you can turn off the powertune system?

Yeah I was reading about it, the knob that controls the system is a push-pull that has to be out in order for the system to turn on.

[RHCP94]

Fender all ready did this.....I don't like the idea anyways. Shuk (and the user he quoted) made great points. Eventually, a guitar will be developed that will play for you. I'll stick to my tuner. Anyways, the paint is ugly.

[AnimatedHand]

haha looks funny
wouldn't but it though, the price would be sky high

[ashowe]

I'm pretty sure that Epiphone invented the humbucker before they got bought by Gibson.

[duggyrocks]

I'm more suprised they didn't invent this years ago, seriously. Think about how far the likes of keyboards and that have come since they were introduced, then look at the guitar.

[JoshD182]

vilhelm_nielsen wrote:

If people want a guitar that stays in tune, they should get a Fender.

Zing!

Too True hehehe

[acidhammerdrums]

Think about this: How many pro guitarists can tune their own guitars? How many of them do it on stage in a live setting?

[Nerdo-sez-bo]

I play in radically alternate tunings, and change them a lot. I'm a quick tuner, and I'm not lazy, so I have no need for this. Also, being out of tune can sound good, if it's like a jangly clean song. I don't know, just not for me though.

[Green_Jelly]

I wouldn't pay for it. The paintjob's hot though.

[South-of-Heaven]

Meh, that's like automatic transmission in a car. It's makes you lazy, and intalented in the art of manual tuning and ear skills.

[what_the_bleep?]

Even though I could never afford this guitar, the idea is bitchin. The video of it tuning itself is nuts, but it looks like quite a bit of work to change strings and stuff. But hey, that's the ptice you pay.

[Korzack]

ok, the paint job is kinda pretty, but 1: We had this about 3 months ago, 2:... Ooh look, another gimmick to stop gibson from trying to move out of the 60's, and 3:... Jesus wept. I won't be touching these for 20 years... What nevet, 5 fancy coloured buttons instead of strings on the fretboard?

[Korzack]

*What next,*. Damn the lack of an edit button

[pugnapugnapugna]

I'm still waiting for the robot guitar that plays for you. I'm not too worried though. Gibson will come up with it.

[False_God]

old.

and cant imagine how much its gonna set someone back

[americanmovie23]

some purist think that it is for those who are lazy, i believe that it is just a better way of getting a better tone out of an instrument and being able to put on the best performance possible.

[ParkerScks]

be ok... but i dont like gibsons lol

[EdawMail]

i like tuning...
it trains your ears

[frigginjerk]

everyone's missing the point of this guitar...

it's not a playing aid, it's a player's aid... it DOES NOT TUNE AS YOU PLAY. once you stop playing, you pull out the knob and strum the strings, and it checks and corrects your tuning if you went out during the last song. and it does it in 5 seconds with no noise or footswitch.

when you play live, in front of a crowd of people, especially those who paid to be there, you want to put on a good show that looks somewhat like you know what you're doing.

the audience DOES NOT CARE if you can tune by ear, and they most certainly DON'T want to listen to you do it, especially if you're tuning several strings and getting your guitar in balance. it's atonal and boring and annoying to listen to, and it kills the mood of many shows.

the audience also appreciates a minimum of stoppages in the action, such as those required to switch instruments because one is set up with the tuning needed for the next song. and nobody likes hearing live amps and guitars squealing and crackling when they get plugged in and unplugged.

this guitar will remove the need for that power-eating tuning pedal that's in so many guy's rigs...it'll even cut down the time needed to change a broken string, since it winds and tunes them as soon as you thread the new string.

again, i can't emphasize that this is all meant for LIVE play. Guys who play live probably have more than one guitar already, have been playing for years, are good enough to play on stage, and will obviously know how to handle real guitars already, or they wouldn't spend the 5000 dollars this thing is likely to cost.

i guess you could be a lazy guitarist and just get this thing and never learn how to tune. but you would still suck, and even YOU would know it. being in tune is like, the step before step one. It's a given. This guitar just saves you having to buy tuning devices and batteries for them. The guitar is even rechargable thru the input jack, with an included adaptor and a small instrument cable,a nd it only takes 90 mins, for a charge lasting for 200 tunings.

unless it turns out that the guitar SOUNDS terrible, this is going to be HUGE, and will probably get fitted into more and more gibsons, and eventually epiphones

[belavista man]

Sure, revolutionary. Innovative? Nah. This thing takes away part of the beauty of guitars... Sure they go out of tune and it pisses you off. Sure they need re-tuning everytime you replace a string. SO WHAT? If people have dealt with it for the last century, why change now? What makes us any different other than the fact that we're obviously lazier? We have to be to buy this scientific, over-prices piece of crap... Stick to REAL guitars, Gibson.

[Icarus Lives]

hghwaychile wrote:

wow. didnt fender already do this with the vg strat??

No. The VG Strat just uses electronics to modify the signal sent to your amp, this thing actually tunes the strings.

[Useful_Idiot16]

It isn't meant for lazy people, it is meant for people who play live or work in studios for a living, it's a good idea.

[TJM2482]

So people can't tune their guitars themselves? Gibson is basically saying you need to go to a shop to get it tuned.

So basically they're saying all their past guitars (LP, SG, ect.) are worthless. Good job Gibby.

[ElectricOrgasm]

I'd probably never buy one unless I was on tour. It's gotta be nice to not have to worry about tuning live at any time.

[matttt]

RHCP94 wrote:

Fender all ready did this.....I don't like the idea anyways. Shuk (and the user he quoted) made great points. Eventually, a guitar will be developed that will play for you. I'll stick to my tuner. Anyways, the paint is ugly.

Yup; cos a lot of people have keyboards that play themselves or a lot of people use samples, so it might not be long until guitarists do the same thing.
Hopefully not!

[crash_man33]

wow they make tuning sound like the worst thing that has ever happened to mankind...

[gibsonpure]

I can't believe some people are seeing this as a negative thing. Yes it is important to know how to tune. However, I do know many people who rely solely on tuners and can't do it by ear, so isn't that the same thing? I'm not saying I'm getting one. I have a les paul that I love. But this is revolutionary! Eventually, all guitars will probably have this incorporated. It's a gilmpse of the future. My children will ask me "Wait a second so you had to TUNE your guitars YOURSELF?" And I'll say "yes I did, so let me teach you how to." lol. Typing came along but people still know how to write. Real musicians know the importance of ear training. This shouldn't affect that.

[EndOfNothing656]

this takes the fun out of it man, **** that guitar! ppl need to stop being lazy and take 1 minute of their life and tune up, not have some machine do it for you...

[monkeyguitar78]

Sweet colour.

I think it's a waste though, to be honest. All of you saying its a godsend for live shows - Whatever. It doesn't exactly take a long time to tune your guitar, especially if you have a tuner.

[BonezShaker]

What happen to the humble guitar ?

[icpgettozone]

deffenltey not my thing what would you wanna be. a good muscian or a lazy one. i hate the color. i ****in love les pauls. but this one is horrid. mabey if people would learn how to flow more and not pound the shit outta their strings and keep their guitar in a constent room temperature and in their damn cases (if they have one) their neck would last longer... thats my opion. ive had a neck on a pice of crap budget dean last me a very very long time with almost no bow what so ever. but i cant say its arrow straight. theres probly the space of a credit card between the fret wire and the low e string...

[No Seatbelt]

This is f*cking crazy!

[Ace5gt]

Looks awesome. Too bad it's probably gonna cost 5K because it's a Gibson.

[icpgettozone]

i absolutley do not rely on tuners. most the time i use a song that i kno has a open string as the first note or my uncles keyboard. i dont even own a tuner. i woulda put that in eariler but i diddnt read all the reviews...

[RockDragon]

Basically, this guitar is awesome for stage use.

Besides, no-one is going to buy this guitar if they're just starting out, so they'll still have to learn to tune the guitar themselves.

Great guitar, great idea - making it easier to play live.

'Nuff said.

[fire within]

Hope they allow the paint-job to go on other gibsons as thats the only thing i like about this guitar at the moment.

[crash_man33]

gibsonpure wrote:

I can't believe some people are seeing this as a negative thing. Yes it is important to know how to tune. However, I do know many people who rely solely on tuners and can't do it by ear, so isn't that the same thing? I'm not saying I'm getting one. I have a les paul that I love. But this is revolutionary! Eventually, all guitars will probably have this incorporated. It's a gilmpse of the future. My children will ask me "Wait a second so you had to TUNE your guitars YOURSELF?" And I'll say "yes I did, so let me teach you how to." lol. Typing came along but people still know how to write. Real musicians know the importance of ear training. This shouldn't affect that.

i think people dont agree cause this stuff is so new, and diffrent. i agree that some day guitars might all be like this (wich means older guitars will be worth more)

[crash_man33]

Ace5gt wrote:

Looks awesome. Too bad it's probably gonna cost 5K because it's a Gibson.

ya why is gibson so expensive, theres nothing wrong with a epiphone les paul...XD

[gibsonpure]

yeah, I hate the paint job.

[Pure_Morning]

matttt wrote:

RHCP94 wrote:

Yup; cos a lot of people have keyboards that play themselves or a lot of people use samples, so it might not be long until guitarists do the same thing.
Hopefully not!

With that, the only reason I feel this guitar is any use is in a live environment. Same with sequencers and samples, should only only be used live if it is impossible/not right to be played by a human live.

[recliner33]

Every music lover and performer has had to suffer through the show-halting, mood-killing atonal droning of a loudly amped guitar being brought into tune.

do they know that guitars have volume knobs on them?

[cancerbat4life]

It look a sweet guitar but, That's what i love about the guitar its not perfect its challenging.

[tim311mahoney]

great, now all we need is a strumming robot and a frethand robot and we won't ever have to play the guitar again. i just don't see this thing selling well at all.

[zackisawsome21]

i would buy this if i was on tour and rich.

[soulphonate]

Self tuning guitar would be sweet. I know it's important blah blah blah. Paint job is kinda sweet. Matches the new feature. Dear Author of the Article, how much is this thing going to cost?

[pugnapugnapugna]

People have been performing live without it for years. When did tuning become such a chore?

[jammin24]

id buy it just for the crazy disco light on the knob

[Burpbelly]

a tuner pedal with a bypass is fine for me...but that could be because the only time I need to tune is maybe to get drop D or open E and they're fairly easy to get to...I'm just not sure what sort of reliability it'll have, as to whether it'd be worth getting it...plus i couln't afford one of those even if i sold all my worldly possesions...it would however be quite cool if they could work out a way of just doing an upgrade for your current guitar...

[gibsonpure]

crash_man33 wrote:

i think people dont agree cause this stuff is so new, and diffrent. i agree that some day guitars might all be like this (wich means older guitars will be worth more)

that's so, so true.

[silent caution]

i dont really need or want it...but do they make leftys and will it still tune if ya upside down the strings to make it lefty

[Anty 7]

it's hideous

[JC13]

*I apologize if the lazy argument is already through*

But, seriously.. You guys saying it just adds to laziness, I seriously doubt any of your ever-so-loved guitar heroes actually take the time to tune, on stage.. What do they do? They get other people to do it, and hand them the alternately tuned guitar on stage.

[AC-DC luva]

What the hell... i play guitar to get away from technology and stress and tuning a guitar isn't any one of those! has society rally gotten that ****'n lazy!

[vermilion444]

What a sweet bluish white color. Nothing says badass like baby blue and white. Wait, I won't be able to tune by ear anymore? I'll have something do it for me? That's crazy talk! I know that people are in awe of my amazing tuning abilities. I love hearing people tune guitars personally. I'm going to miss that when the robots take over. What's next, electronic pianos? You won't even have to tune them?? I'm so scared. Does this thing run on old people's medicine?

[Guitarfreak777]

I LOVE the color on it, its so beautiful. But sadly this color will only be used on this first run series and not any other Gibson Guitar.

I at least want another guitar with that paint job!

[Bu||eT]

Tone recognition is very important.

[\m/Torin\m/]

sure it's kool but man, like TJ1991 said unless your playing live, or your just that lazy, it isn't a necessety.

[NirvanaJake]

this is gay. soon, theyre going to have robotic fingers that press the frets down for you. i cant wait...

[Satch_Boogie]

One second. Is this a new report or an advert?

Does Gibson sponsor UG?

[AnoKid09]

it could be useful for deaf people

[AC-DC luva]

i would expect this lazy attitude from some shitty wally brand but not Gibson.

[phillyguitar]

kriscornella2@g wrote:

its hilarious hearing all you kids say its for lazy people and you wont be able to tune your guitar in the future. i play guitar live every week and change 2 guitars on stage frequently so this is a godsend i can sell my other guitar and even do slide guitar on stage with the open tunings. Also do piano players bemoan the fact that they cant tune a piano?...NO BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE TO.

First off, I'm not a kid. Secondly, tuning a Piano is far more tedious/difficult than tuning a guitar. On a guitar you tune 6 strings, on a full size piano you have what 60+ keys?

I don't think this guitar will ever become so popular that guitar players won't know how to tune their guitars. The technology is extremly pricy I'm guessing, and there will always be guitars in the classic style. I couldn't imagine if something were to accidentally happen to this guitar how much it would cost to replace the electronics. I think most of us will ignore this altogether.

[BassistGal]

kriscornella2@g wrote:

its hilarious hearing all you kids say its for lazy people and you wont be able to tune your guitar in the future. i play guitar live every week and change 2 guitars on stage frequently so this is a godsend i can sell my other guitar and even do slide guitar on stage with the open tunings. Also do piano players bemoan the fact that they cant tune a piano?...NO BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE TO.

You do realize you have to tune a piano.
The sound is made by little hammers hitting strings, and you have to tune those strings every once in awhile.

[Sanitarium91]

AnoKid09 wrote:

it could be useful for deaf people

LOL

[sueycide]

Pfft lazy

[raidernixon]

this is actually gonna be the controller for guitar hero 5 and rock band 2

[qwikfngr]

Piano's have nothing to do with this. Though the guitar is innovative and a great tool for live performance, tuning is not that much of a pain, if your tuning gear is dialed in a guitar can stay tuned for weeks and as Shalabala pointed out ear training is important; a bunch of kids that never tune their guitar means getting dangerously close to a bunch of kids never ever playing in key.

[easthatred]

I think im in love. I've always wanted one guitar to bring with me. Two isnt really a pain but I still would prefer one. Now in the future it is possible.

[ScruffMcGruff]

Great, they're gonna turn the guitar into a computer... Gibson, what's wrong with you?

[Hubie1110]

its kind of retarted, but at least Gibson is thinking, i wouldnt buy it, because i can tune! ill stick with my SG, if they put as much effort into making better tires than they did to make this pile, we would have great guitars out on the market

CHecked.

[nuncautnumquam]

i swear auto-tuners take half the fun out of playing guitar

[Aerotides]

what a waste of money

[jpgilbert701]

Intonation thing is cool but i still have to turn screws. Pft do it right or don't do it at all. Also the string changing seems nice. I could do without the actual self-tuning though.

[PekarGuitar]

This kinda reinforces the feeling that this site is heavily biased towards Gibson. But it's ok with me cause I love Gibbies.

This could be kinda cool for switching tunings while on stage, but meh...

[McLovin-]

well it has upsides !
it shall be easier to keep in tune when new strings are just put on!..

[AcsticRckr89]

i would buy it if i had the money... just because im lazy when it comes to tuning to different tunings

[SilverSpurs616]

I can't understand why people are complaining about this guitar eliminating the need for tuning. It's there to make things EASIER!

Although maybe tuning is one of the few skills these people actually posess, and now they'd have less to show off abaout?

[FireandFlames]

When I first saw the article title, I thought it'd be like a Transformer guitar.

[NoiseBox]

Fuck that. Don't get me wrong having to constantly re-tune and suchness is a bother but tuning is necessary for ear training. Not to mention it brings you closer to your instrument.

[Jack Flint]

I think this is great, especially for gigs and studio recording. I find it funny that people think of this as negative, that it's making people lazy. Well, take a look around. Instead of using the microwave, why don't you go get an axe, chop some wood, start a fire with flint, and warm up your food that way?
And as gibsonpure said, many musicians just use tuning pedals, it's pretty much the same thing. My brother uses a tuning pedal, but he has the most insane ear skills, he can tell from across the house if i'm slightly out of tune.

I would get one if I had a million bucks.. Unfortunately, I don't. And the finish kind of annoys me. Hopefully they'll come up with other finishes.

[apmaman]

I love the paint scheme

[Scarlet_Fever]

Yay! More Gibson propaganda! Wooo!

[acidhammerdrums]

TJM2482 wrote:

So people can't tune their guitars themselves? Gibson is basically saying you need to go to a shop to get it tuned.

So basically they're saying all their past guitars (LP, SG, ect.) are worthless. Good job Gibby.

Yeah, pretty sure that part of the ad was about intonation, which is not something most people can do.

recliner33 wrote:

do they know that guitars have volume knobs on them?

Good luck tuning your guitar with no output.

[matth05]

No more listening to guitarists tune on stage? That'd suck lol, I love that.. dunno why, it's just not as authentic without a string going out of tune and having to tune it during a song lol...

[manny10258]

ROBOTS ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD!!!!

[Love_Guitar8]

Love the look, its probley gpnna be REALLY expensive, and tuning by ear is great. but still, cool idea.

[TheMagicStump]

Cool idea, but i'll stick with the classical way of playing!

[phoenixrock]

all you people sayin this is for poeple who can't tune, thats incorect, it just makes tuning easier. i know a lot of guitarist, quite a few who have just started, and they all know how to tune, ive neva met a guitarist of any kind that can't. this is to save valuable time on stage, and i would gladly set aside my money to buy one, not cause im lazy, but caus eiu love to experiment with different tuning,s which takes quite a lot of effort if your doing it different for every song. if its like, only £200 more than a regular les paul standard (£1400) id gladly save the extra £200 for this piece of kit, and im sure many others would too.

[ce12872001]

Tapping_Ninja wrote:

hows it work.... thats all I want to know

yeah tapping ninja is asking the right question hear...this whole thing sounds like there could be a lot of potential kinks and problems with this...I would bet money that this thing is going to end up being more of a pain in the ass for the people that buy them than anything, especially these first models

[SINOWred]

$ out our asses

[MaXiMuse]

I would buy it (if I had the money) because it`s so beautiful.

[Shabalaba]

Sorry for double post but i need to say a few thingsthat i didnt say in my other post:
1. Woooo! i got first post
2. They arent even releasing it in the UK to start with.
3. It is a really good idea, but it is taking a key skill, ear training.
4. It is another thing to go wrong, seeing as though its the first it may have a some faults
5. I love the paintwork

[metallicafan08]

pinky_demon wrote:

kriscornella2@g wrote:

its hilarious hearing all you kids say its for lazy people and you wont be able to tune your guitar in the future. i play guitar live every week and change 2 guitars on stage frequently so this is a godsend i can sell my other guitar and even do slide guitar on stage with the open tunings. Also do piano players bemoan the fact that they cant tune a piano?...NO BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE TO.

Exactly...

I think that every guitar player should know how to tune a guitar before buying that guitar though. It's a basic skill which guitar players should know. Imagine playing for two years and then somebody asking you if you can tune their guitar and you said you can't because you play with a robot guitar. They would think you're just a bigger bullshitter.

[ChucklesMginty]

I'd only get it if the guitar itself was good, but even then it's seems like a waste of money.

My friend has a guitar with a locked bridge to keep the guitar in tune, but you can't change to any alternate tunings without adjusting the bolts.

[gatiur]

yeah, and did you hear about gibson's newest project? The guitar that plays itself. I say
FUCK THAT
tune your guitars by yourself if your a real guitarist

and btw: Fender rulez, **** gibson ;

[Stryker_66]

kriscornella2@g wrote:
its hilarious hearing all you kids say its for lazy people and you wont be able to tune your guitar in the future. i play guitar live every week and change 2 guitars on stage frequently so this is a godsend i can sell my other guitar and even do slide guitar on stage with the open tunings. Also do piano players bemoan the fact that they cant tune a piano?...NO BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE TO.

Right on!

Not only that, technology has been around long before you were even born. I imagine at the time when the solid body electric guitar was just being invented, similar thoughts about lazy and art form being lost and all that blah blah blah. You can't stop progress. Stop resisting people...lol. This might turn out to be an awesome product.

[JanB]

watched the video... seems sweet but all those pulling out buttons look so breakable and i would imagine the repair costs would suck

[IlikeMetal]

I think the large majority of people posting on here are completely illiterate, or they are too lazy to actually read the story. The guitar wasn't made so people can be lazy, it was made to help people stay in tune during shows and to minimize the amount of work put into keeping the guitar in tune. Read the ****ing article before you post.

[fallout365]

i think it may be a good idea but computers fail and i perfer setting up myself and whats this about a guitar that plays it self that sucks that just means that fakie air guitar people can anoy us man gibson thats just another reason to like Fender!!!!!

[Hash4you]

w/e man,. this is a stupid/pointless product. Im saving up for a ibanez RG4 or RG5. Its not worth spending an extra 200-300 dollars just for a self-tune feature...

[Tophue]

hghwaychile wrote:

wow. didnt fender already do this with the vg strat??

Not exactly. The Gibson has motors in the tuning knobs that tune the guitar, the VG just alters the signal to make it a different tuning, you still have to make sure it's in tune for it to work correctly

[toddos84]

Awesome, a guitar that kills people, thats what i need.

[Guitarfreak777]

What is up with everyone? This guitar is going to be such a godsend to so many people. Also, even if your one of the "i'll tune it myself i don't need it to help me" or "ear training is important blah blah blah" Yes it is important but heres the cool part:

1. You can tune it yourself if you want to and also change the strings yourself. (Note: You DON'T always have to use the self tuning mechanisim)
2. If your in a rush and don't have time to tune it yourself and get it perfect or it's your first couple times stringing a guitar and you need help some help this guitar is there for you.
3. It looks AMAZING!

Face it people, this guitar is going to be of GREAT help to people on stage. Say that you have a guitar tuned to Double Drop D and a string on it breaks, someone from the back could quickly run and grab this guitar and set it to just that tuning in a matter of seconds! Elimating the time to tune a different guitar to that same tuning. Because if something happends YOU(The band) are the ones that are losing playing time.

[Ibeatonthebrat]

Enh...

[HaKattack]

kriscornella2@g wrote:

its hilarious hearing all you kids say its for lazy people and you wont be able to tune your guitar in the future. i play guitar live every week and change 2 guitars on stage frequently so this is a godsend i can sell my other guitar and even do slide guitar on stage with the open tunings. Also do piano players bemoan the fact that they cant tune a piano?...NO BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE TO.

You do to have to tune a piano, you dolt. Most people just can't.


The rest of the post I agree with, though. This thing would shine in a live a setting.

[Music ismy Drug]

I don't really think it's necessary, but I still want one! lol... I'm a guitar *****.

[insurgentsteve]

does it change its own strings too?

[Music ismy Drug]

SWEET! I just realized this thing auto censors! Wait... not sweet... I can't ****ing swear? For serious? eh well... for the best I suppose. Heh, you can all flame me now for posting spam :P

[Serjem]

do they make lefties too?

[One Way Ticket]

Fucking stupid.

Learn how to intonate your guitar properly, it's simple.

Gibson's taking tuning in the wrong direction. What they should be doing is using true temperate necks. I wish those were stock.

[red star]

well considering its a gibson with robot technology... itll probably cost as much as 10 les paul standard or 20 mia strats lol

[psychodudebrett]

mm good idea but not really that great it will cost more than its worth spending

[Pingis_Or_Death]

Unneccesary. Learn to tune by ear.

[SlashNX]

nice idea if you want to record clean as a whistle guitar sounds. would be crap live cos no1 wants to hear the song radio perfect!!!!

[One Way Ticket]

SlashNX wrote:

nice idea if you want to record clean as a whistle guitar sounds. would be crap live cos no1 wants to hear the song radio perfect!!!!

ya i haet sogn tht r i n tune

[The Spoon]

It looks cool, but i can tune my own guitar

[skindred]

the majority of the people on here saying this is for lazy people are just sad, get off your high horses and see the bigger picture that its just more efficient.

FireandFlames wrote:

When I first saw the article title, I thought it'd be like a Transformer guitar.

best comment out of all of them lol

[MESAexplorer]

this is kinda cool. I don't see the point of it on a guitar with a hardtail though. Something like this on a guitar with a tremolo...that would be a good idea.

[gator_08_man]

FunkasPuck wrote:

does it fix intonation too?
because if it does, i would be veeeerry interested.

yes it does, check out the video of the guitar on youtube.com

[MTVget0FFtheAIR]

i don't approve. it is completely unnecessary and they really exaggerate the problems of tuning. the one true help would be going from standard tuning to Eb to open string stuff, etc. other than that, wow, whatever. and even if you have it to change from different tunings, i personally would say it's much cooler simply having different guitars. For example, instead of having a "robot" that handles all the tunings, i'd rather take a Flying V in standard and a gibson es335 in Eb. that way you have two completely different guitars to enjoy that you won't get tired of...AND, the two guitars would cost probably half the cost of a "robot". No thanks.

[Aikoj]