Another auto-tuning guitar.

[Panthur]

This time Trev Wilkinson has had a go. It's supposed to be a Gibson robot guitar killer (proof again that Gibson are getting it wrong ?).
I love the idea of auto tuning guitars but havent really seen a design that I would have much faith in (or that didn't cost a mint).
This looks pretty interesting though, what are the boards thoughts on this one ?. I don't know the price, as far as I can see it's only available on these Fret King gutiars at the moment but apparantly it will be made available as stand alone hardware.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0g_iyBSRz0&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[Strat Avenger]

I can tune my own guitars just fine thanks.

 

[Dan025]

best one yet, amazing they got all those servos in that bridge! but ill stick to the old fashioned way. this would be very useful to someone who play alternate tunnings for the live situation but not for me.

 

[Disco Scottie]

I wish I had a use for it. Like Dan said, it would be great for quick tuning changes in a live setting.

 

[rapfohl09]

It is certainly much sleeker and less obtrusive than gibson's. Gibson's worked rather well from the ones I tried out, and this one seems to work well too, but it is a demo video. I think it is really cool and would love to have one! I hate tuning, I'm too much of a perfectionist with it :laughing7:

 

[Panthur]

It's the quick tuning during gig things that interests me really. I never play in alternate turnings just because it's such a pain to do that in a gig situation (my car is already packed out for gigs, couldn't squeeze another guiter in there if I owned one).

 

[SustainerPlayer]

What I do not like about that system is - that to a certain degree - it eliminates the need for owning more guitars. And that is a true sign of the devils work ...  :evil4:

 

[Cagey]

They're $1,600 at Zzounds. From what I've read, they don't sound that great, but they work well. So, for the gee-wiz factor, I suppose they might be worth it. You can always change pickups. But, seriously, is tuning that damn tough that it needs automating? I mean, I know some guys who wouldn't know a guitar was in tune if you paid them, but generally speaking, most guys who've got more than a few minutes experience don't have that much trouble.

 

[Cagey]

What I do not like about that system is - that to a certain degree - it eliminates the need for owning more guitars. And that is a true sign of the devils work ...  :evil4:

While I agree that anything that keeps you from owning a large number of guitars is evil incarnate, I'm not sure how having one that tunes itself would hold one back. I own multiple guitars because they sound different, not because any of them won't take or hold a tune. Quite the opposite. All my guitars are easy to tune and hold it for surprisingly long times. Modern hardware has eliminated most tuning difficulties.

 

[hannaugh]

I think he means that you wouldn't have to have a bunch of guitars on stage with you that are all tuned differently so you don't have to stop and re-tune between songs.  Right?

I don't really think the auto-tune thing is that big of a deal.  It seems like a gimmick to me, not really that useful. 

 

[JaySwear]

seems like this one would work better than having the gears at the headstock, but still... that bridge looks insanely uncomfortable. looks like instead of inconvenient saddles with jagged height adjustment screws this bridge would actually have tuning pegs under your picking hand. but i like the idea. like hannaugh said, i don't think i'd use it, but i think it's a cool technology

you have to strum for it to tune... what it your volume was rolled down? if you're playing a live show i would think that you wouldn't want to be strumming an open out of tune chord for everybody to hear

 

[Dan025]

seems like this one would work better than having the gears at the headstock, but still... that bridge looks insanely uncomfortable. looks like instead of inconvenient saddles with jagged height adjustment screws this bridge would actually have tuning pegs under your picking hand. but i like the idea. like hannaugh said, i don't think i'd use it, but i think it's a cool technology

you have to strum for it to tune... what it your volume was rolled down? if you're playing a live show i would think that you wouldn't want to be strumming an open out of tune chord for everybody to hear

it works with the volume rooled down. it has it's own pickup but even if it didnt it would be easy to connect it before the volume knob, after all te pickup doesnt get shorted the output does so at zero volume there is plenty of output coming from the pickups.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

I think he means that you wouldn't have to have a bunch of guitars on stage with you that are all tuned differently so you don't have to stop and re-tune between songs.  Right?

:icon_thumright: Sorry for not being well formulated.

 

[AprioriMark]

It's potentially a very useful tool, and I'd be willing to bet that someone with an unbridled imagination will put it to great use.  The "I can tune my guitar just fine" comments always make me laugh.  I say with all confidence that I can tune a guitar up from any state of dissidence as quickly (or quicker) than anyone around, and I would use that auto-tuning system for open tunings on the fly.  Why would you poo-poo such a remarkable option?  It makes me giggle; the things people take stands on.  Does it make it cumbersome to play?  Kill your tone?  Scare off your cat?  Those are viable reasons, but for a performer who wants to play one guitar... that's awesome.

-Mark

 

[hannaugh]

I've seen many bands that stopped in between songs for a minute to re-tune to a different tuning.  As an audience member, I really didn't mind waiting a minute for the next song. 

The auto-tuners take maybe half the time (at least, that's about how long the Robot took when I tried it at GC).  So, taking a minute to tune vs. taking 30 seconds to tune... it doesn't seem like a function I would pay hundreds of dollars extra for. 

 

[AprioriMark]

The one I played seemed to take like 10 seconds to go from standard to open G.  If the tech gets any better, I could retune during a song, and I'll pay the bucks for whoever makes that happen.

-Mark

edit: This one seems that fast.  I'm considering picking one up.  I'm hunting now to see if the bridge will be available without that boring guitar.

 

[hannaugh]

Yeah, split-second mid-song tuning would be awesome.  THAT would be worth a couple hundred bucks.  But the auto-tuners that are out now just don't seem that revolutionary to me because if you're gonna re-tune in between songs, it just doesn't make that much of a difference to me whether I do it in a minute or a machine does it in 10-30 seconds. 

For a while there was a guitar out that had digital filters in it that made it sound like your guitar was tuned differently, and that you could activate mid-song.  I thought the idea was cool, but everyone I talked to that tried it said the guitar sounded kind of processed on those settings. 

 

[AprioriMark]

Watch the video.  It's amazingly fast.  I'm not thinking from a singular point of view.  I see many real-world applications for this.  I'd easily pay 500 bucks for just the bridge system.  I'm stoked at the thought of being able to switch tunings without missing a beat in a live performance.  As a gigging professional (at least at the places that I get paid to play), there isn't downtime to get your gear in order.  You show up ready, and people aren't standing around to watch you be a rock star taking their time.  They're paying to be entertained by a group of professionals.  This thing is a sweet tool.  If it becomes available soon, it will be the bridge I put on most of my electrics.

By the way, this bridge is designed to retro-fit standard strat routes.  It will be available on its own at some point is the word.

-Mark

 

[Strat Avenger]

For a while there was a guitar out that had digital filters in it that made it sound like your guitar was tuned differently, and that you could activate mid-song.  I thought the idea was cool, but everyone I talked to that tried it said the guitar sounded kind of processed on those settings. 

The Variax?

 

[hannaugh]

I think it was a Fender thing actually.  Does Variax do that as well?  I'm not really familiar with them.