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LOS ANGELES – Ever get mad trying to figure out why your version of "Voodoo Child" doesn’t sound like Jimi Hendrix?
Help is at hand from what is described as the world’s first robot guitar — an electric guitar that not only keeps itself in tune even after string changes but also allows players to access six nonstandard tunings at the push of a button.
After 15 years of research, Gibson Guitar is launching a limited edition Les Paul Robot Guitar next month that has set players abuzz with both enthusiasm and skepticism.
"It will not make you a better guitar player but it will allow the average player to access some very sophisticated tunings," Gibson Guitar Chief Executive Henry Juszkiewicz told Reuters on Tuesday.
The six nonstandard preset tunings were used on hits ranging from "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones and Hendrix’s "Voodoo Child" to Led Zeppelin’s "Going to California" and Joni Mitchell’s "The Circle Game."
Gibson says the robot guitar is aimed at amateurs who have a hard time keeping their guitars in tune, as well as professionals who now use technicians during concerts to keep about 100 guitars tuned to different keys.
"Professional guitar players use a lot of different tuning and people who listen to the stars wonder why they can’t reproduce the same sound themselves," Juszkiewicz said.
Temperature variations, changing strings and simply playing the instrument have long been tuning challenges for guitarists with even the best musical ear.
But some have already poured scorn on the robot guitar.
"I’m sorry, this is just lazy. With stuff like this, tuning is going to be a lost skill," wrote LettheBassPlay on the http://www.ultimate-guitar.com Web site forum.
Gibson said the robot guitar is the biggest advance in electric guitar design in more than 70 years.
"It’s very addictive," Juszkiewicz said.
Gibson will launch 4,000 limited edition, blue silverburst Les Gibson Robot Guitars around the world on December 7 at a price in the region of $2,500. It expects to roll out a standard robot edition starting in January 2008.
"Biggest advance in electric guitar design in over 70 years"??
……Even bigger than the solidbody electric guitar then?.I doubt that anyone besides absolute newbies would buy this guitar."lofi73 " wrote:"Biggest advance in electric guitar design in over 70 years"?? ……Even bigger than the solidbody electric guitar then?.I doubt that anyone besides absolute newbies would buy this guitar.My thoughts exactly… This is going to tank. Not only is it ugly, but who would pay that much more for something that can tune? Tuning’s not exactly the most difficult thing in the world.
"Virvel " wrote:I fucking hate Gibson
yeah im not that much in to gibsons except for some of the ones with p 90s and my dads old les paul "the paul" model
With the price of Les Paul’s this day, I’m surprised it’s so "cheap." I mean, special paint warrants $3000 price tags from them these days. It’s a cool premise. It will be big with studio guys and "assassin" types who tour with singer/songwriters who use a lot of alt tunings. Still, seems a bit much.
The less robots stay out of guitars, the better I think.
Tuning might be a bitch but that still keeps some "innocence" of it. Having a robot do it for you I don’t know. I just don’t like it. Tuners are better.
EDIT: And oh yeah, I hate Gibson. Just can’t stand their necks.
~Jeremy~
"oldskool1221 " wrote:yeah im not that much in to gibsons except for some of the ones with p 90s and my dads old les paul "the paul" modelwell i said Gibson as in the company, the guitars are good, like sg’s and lp’s with p90’s.
but the company annoys the fuck out of me
between this guitar, their promotion of guitar hero and the swiss cheesing of their formerly solid body guitars, Gibson can bite me.
When are they going to put out an accurrate 59 RI? Those bastards are going to wait until 09, have Tom Murphy drop them a few times and then charge 20 f-ing grand for it! I would blow up as chool for the tailpiece to be in the right position. UGHHHHHHHH
Don’t get me started. And I own les pauls and ironcially use a …….cloud 9. But I want a solid RI with the correct appointments at $3k, NOW!
Not a self tuning guitar. What’s nesxt, self playing? A guitar shaped sampler? Buy a guitar get the player free?on the subject heres the link to gibson..http://www.gibson.com/robotguitar/….it seems so lame
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