Isn't this cool or what? It's self-tuning, self-winding and it can guide you to adjust the intonation too. (Check the instruction video) http://www.gibson.com/robotguitar/index.html
We're getting at least one, so I will definitely be checking it out. I loved my Les Paul and was amazed to learn that this thing would actually cost me less than my Standard.
That would be a great gigging guitar once you became fluent with the setup! Did anyone see if it had automatic Eb tuning?
I think, basically, it's a Studio (50s neck) with a lot of (non-trivial) cosmetic upgrades, for example, the ebony fretboard instead of rosewood (if you look, you'll see an ebony fretboard is used on the Supreme). The "nitro" finish seems to be different as well. Not bad for a first run edition. What do you guys think of the color? ("Blue Silverburst w/ Nitrocellulose Finish")?
Curious to know how much this will run. Looks very slick. Watch the vids. It has various tunings. Eb, D, etc.
OK, so I've put down a deposit on one. If anybody can pull this off, it's an axe-slinging roboticist, right? Pretty impressed with the guitar. I draw the analogy that it's similar to the F1 shifter in modern Ferraris. It's still manual (manual tuning, etc.)--it's just actuated automatically! There's a lot of features here that don't come through in the video, if you look at the manual... Storing custom tunings, tuning to a reference pitch (i.e. slightly out of tune jazz band), calibration. You can even control the precision of the tuning--you can get even more accurate tuning at the expense of time (takes slightly longer to establish tune). It has firmware (i.e. software version) which, presumably, is updatable. Everything is integrated nicely, and it feels well thought out; no hacks here (vs. similar retrofits). There's a number of threads about it on the web, as you can imagine, it's pretty polarizing... A lot of people don't get it (just a built in automatic tuner, essentially, with add'l features), and think of it as some sort of digital signal processing. Here's the best thread I've found so far--there's a guy contributing that actually knows what he's talking about: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1795935 Select dealers are each getting 10 models. From what I can tell, worldwide, there are 200 such dealers (very rough estimate), so as a "limited first run" your looking at production numbers of around 2,000. Here's the dealer locator: http://www.gibson.com/robotguitar/locate.aspx The big question is quality--if I see manufacturing concerns, I'll walk. The hope is that, in line with upgrades like the ebony fingerboard, the rest of the quality exceeds that of a typical run-of-the-mill Studio model (on which this is based). Overall, a solid guitar to add to the collection--I'll probably gig with it a bit. Next up is a Gibson custom Slash model--but not before I add a real Tele or Strat first! --Mike
Here's a neat video from of the Gibson CEO holding/playing/talking about the Robot Guitar (taken by the local news, not Gibson marketing): http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071113/VIDEO03/71114001 He says that they will use this in all of their guitars moving forward. (This doesn't imply every guitar will have it, but my take is, you'll be able to get an SG, Classic, Standard, V, etc. with the system.) Clearly he has a strong vision of it.
Informative thread Mike. So... estimate they will be priced around 1800ish or in that ballpark? Actually looks very promising.
Official retail is $2499. Guitar Center called me back with a price of $2,199. The cost at my local independent dealer, who also got an allocation, is $2,000. One guy on the Les Paul Forums said he got it for around $1,750, I believe pre-tax, which is a price that I'm having trouble believing - but he said he got that price from Guitar Center (!!!). I look at it this way. Musicians Friend sells a basic Les Paul Studio for $1,200. The Robot Guitar is basically a limited edition (run of 4000) Studio model, with the upgraded ebony fretboard, and with the automatic tuning/intonation/etc system. I would estimate the tuning system to be a $500 option on a new guitar, ballpark; I have seen estimtaed of similar systems for $800. So, price seems reasonable, especially for a limited edition. There may be some other craftsmanship improvements beyond the basic Studio to help justify the price. If you find it for less than $2K, let me know.
Thanks for the details. I'll wait until the prices come down on non-limited editions in about a year or two. For the time being, I'm fine with tuning my guitars... since I mainly play bass.
