Robot Guitar? Self-Tuning, Anyway

"Gibson Dusk Tiger Guitar"
Wired (December 17, 2009)

"Robot Guitar Tunes Itself So You Don't Have To"

"Let's face it, Gibson's Dusk Tiger looks like the guitar you would play while lounging around in silk pajamas, on a rotating circle bed, while looking at yourself in your giant ceiling mirror. And like your rotating bed, the guitar's automation is pretty extravagant. But if you can get past the Ron Burgundy-esque name and aesthetic, there's a lot to love about this robotic ax.

"First, the most crowd-pleasing of the Dusk Tiger's bag of tricks is its automatic tuning. No need for a tuner. You don't even have to touch the tuning knobs. ... No more awkward stage banter as you fiddle with your tuning pedal between songs at a gig...."

"...At no point is your signal digitally processed so you always get that classic Gibson tone. No, it's not the best-sounding Gibson, but with all the options at my disposal, we quickly found at least four to five sounds that were exciting and unique."

Oh-kay. I love the sound of acoustic guitars - and am willing to believe that electric guitars are musical instruments for people other than tone-deaf teenage rock star wannabes. It didn't help that I grew up within about fifty yards of a group of kids who were under the impression they were a garage band. To be fair, the sounds they made may have been more a matter of faulty amplifiers working beyond their design limits.

The reviewer apparently likes this 'robot guitar' from Gibson. Although I'm a little wary when someone uses words like "exciting" and "unique." Those adjectives could be applied to the sensations you get during root canal procedures.

I can see the utility of that self-tuning feature - particularly if it's faster than doing it by hand. The guitar seems quite adaptable, too. Describing one feature, the reviewer said: "You're essentially switching to completely different guitars with the turn of a knob."

That reference to "stage banter" hints that professionals might use this guitar - and if it could take the place of two other guitars, that would be a big plus. I'm not a performing musician, but I've learned that setting up equipment and taking it down again is something you want to be a quick and simple as possible.

With a price tag of $4,130, there's no way I'd buy that thing. But I can see why someone might.