Guitar Collector Forum

The first self-tuning guitar... limited editions... iconic shapes - are Gibsons Robot guitars a future classic?

Both the Robot Les Paul Studio Ltd and Robot SG Special Ltd use the same amazing technology that allows the guitarist to retune to a variety of different tunings at the turn of a dial.

The Les Paul Robot Studio was launched in 1997 and is available (if you can find one) for under £4,000. According to Gibson it redefined the power and possibility of a guitar to capture the imagination of players all around the world - a bold claim, but not unfounded - the tuning tecnology is a true first and a rare innovation in the guitar world.
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electri ... tudio.aspx


The Robot SG Special is a little cheaper than the Les Paul at around $3,600 and combines with classic styling, performance, and power of the legendary SG with the revolutionary Robot Tuning System.
http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electri ... ecial.aspx


I'd love to own either guitar (or both!) and am sure that in 10-20 years time a mint condition original 2007 Robot will be very sought after, with a price tag to match!

They're very nice guitars in their own right - Gibson obviously decided that there was no point in putting clever automatic tuners into a mediocre guitar - but the auto-tuning isn't perfect. I've heard reports of single strings never quite getting on-pitch and the setup having to be frigged by manually tuning and then saving as a 'custom' setting, just to get regular tuning right. Not sure how widespread this is?

They look real impressive. I'm not a big fan of hi-tech gizmos on guitars, but I'd love one that can tune itself! This is the official Gibson Robot demo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WetVXbYRfWk - I hadn't realized that as well as being able to automatically tune to various alternate tunings it can also help you set up intonation, even telling you how many turn to turn the bridge saddle screw! A neat trick.

Looking back you can tell now they werent a great succes, too many gadget and gizmos.

Robb