Whats the deal with Robots?

[Cpt Albatross]

Okay okay, I know your all thinking," Oh {censored} me, another robot guitar thread." Well I'm sorry, but I have to know. Whats the big hoopla over these things? As far as I've seen, they can only tune themselves. Why not have a feature that can raise the bridge automatically so that you can keep perfect intonation? Or have some gizmo that move the bridge saddles that can give said perfect intonation? Why not have a self adjusting truss rod?

 

I'd buy that {censored} in a heartbeat, and in a nice flamed cherry sunburst finish, not some stupid looking metallic green.

[steve_man]

umm...cuz they're sweet!

[Cpt Albatross]

Come on, what's the real appeal to them? All they can do is tune themselves right? I mean I can do that {censored} with my own three fingers and steel replacement for a right hand.

I mean do these things transform in to some sort of robot girlfriend with built in realistic vaginas? That {censored} is cool too, but what happens when I have to clean out the vagina? Does it do it for me?

[Rex Machete]

Gibson has a new traditional looking Robot guitar coming out. They're definitely trying to win back the people they scared away with the Robot Guitar, the Dark Fire, and Dusk Tiger.

It might also be worth mentioning that they have a lot more sonic versatility with the tone-shaping software- although it is supposedly not very user-friendly

[steve_man]

This may be a troll thread...

 

But have you actually tried one? Pretty stinkin' sweet, IMO.

[Cpt Albatross]

Not a troll. Just trying to get a straight answer, so far all I'm hearing is, "{censored} is awesome."

[onelife]

From what I understand, you can preset alternate tunings so you just dial it in and the guitar tunes itself.

 

If that is indeed the case it could really have some advantages

[steve_man]

I didn't get it either, until I picked one up and tried it. Tried a wine red Studio model. Great playing guitar, and watching the guitar tune itself was really cool. Plus, if you want to change a tuning, you just select the tuning you want, and boom...it's done within a few seconds. Very functional, IMO.

[*BLEEP*]

The DEAL is that they are being dumped cuz that aren't selling so good anymore.

And, there might be a version 2.0 robot coming out (who knows -- just a guess). However, I suspect not.

[Cpt Albatross]

so all it does is tuning... which can be done manually with little effort already? Nothing else?

[*BLEEP*]

so all it does is tuning... which can be done manually with little effort already? Nothing else?

Yep. More or less.

[Wyatt]

so all it does is tuning... which can be done manually with little effort already? Nothing else?

 

 

It offers 6 presets plus 440 concert tuning. That means it can tune on the fly for 7 different tunings....dropped C, Open E, DADDAD, cut capo tunings, Buzz Feiten offsets, raise it a half step when you have to play country in A#, etc. in the middle of the sets between songs without audience evening knowing.

 

Is it necessary...no. But it offers a good deal of versatility and it saves an audience the incredibly boring and off-putting experience of waiting for some cocky guitarist who insists on tuning in the middle of a set.

 

Perfect intonation is a myth on guitar which survived just fine until the adjustable bridge came along in the late '40's.

[germanicus2112]

If you want alternate tunings you may want to check the next gen/James Tyler Variax coming out in a few months. Altered tunings dont change your setup/neck tension and the modelling is light years better.

[Les Paul Lover]

Come on, what's the real appeal to them? All they can do is tune themselves right? I mean I can do that {censored} with my own three fingers and steel replacement for a right hand.

One of my mate does solo gigs, and regularly set up shop 1 hour before to start his show, when the pub is empty and colder.
He tunes his guitar before the show.
By the time all the people are in, it's warmer, and his guitars are detuned, this continuing through the night as more and more people get in. Then it gets too hot, and staff open doors to cool the place...... see where that goes?

He really fancies one of those robots exactly for that - to retune his guitar in between songs without having to repeatedly inflict it on his audience.

It does make sense. It has a use. It is practical.

Perhaps not for you - then pass on and don't buy and stop that narrow minded whinging.

[Padrino]

One of my mate does solo gigs, and regularly set up shop 1 hour before to start his show, when the pub is empty and colder. He tunes his guitar before the show. By the time all the people are in, it's warmer, and his guitars are detuned, this continuing through the night as more and more people get in. Then it gets too hot, and staff open doors to cool the place...... see where that goes? He really fancies one of those robots exactly for that - to retune his guitar in between songs without having to repeatedly inflict it on his audience. It does make sense. It has a use. It is practical. Perhaps not for you - then pass on and don't buy and stop that narrow minded whinging.

They are great for exactly that. If you only want to cart around one guitar, take the tuner off your board, and not have to worry about spending time between songs getting your intonation perfect with temperature changes etc. its very handy.

I know a lot of the local bar band guys around here use it just so they don't have to cart as much gear around.

Practically, i would love to own one, but price wise, i would rather complete my wishlist of other guitars before i go there. I did see a Sam Ash add for last weekend that advertised the SG's for 800 bucks. Which is totally reasonable. Hell, even if all you did was use it to switch between slide tunings for stuff, if i had a Sam Ash anywhere near me i probably would've gotten one.

[Edge11]

[YOUTUBE]WGoi1MSGu64[/YOUTUBE]
The robots want to make us obsolete.

[bisticles]

I'd love to get one. Playing hour-long sets where you're trying to flow one song into the next, there isn't much opportunity to retune. It'd be nice to be able to hit a button and let my guitar adjust itself while I flip pages, adjust levels or take a quick drink.

[faberbz]

The Robot does more than tune.

 

It will do all the winding (and tuning) when changing strings--not bad when you're in a hurry.

 

It also will intonate. You have to turn the screwdriver on the bridge, but it will tell you how many turns.

[Angry Tele]

{censored} is awesome. Thats the deal.

[steve_man]

The Robot does more than tune. It will do all the winding (and tuning) when changing strings--not bad when you're in a hurry. It also will intonate. You have to turn the screwdriver on the bridge, but it will tell you how many turns.

Did not know this...that is awesome!

[twotimingpete]

if it really was rock solid, never worked, never went haywire, was reliable and stayed reliable for decades to come, I'd be LESS against it (I'd still think it's hokey).. but I doubt any of that is true.

 

electric motors and moving parts... not {censored} I want in a guitar

[BoneNut]

if it really was rock solid, never worked, never went haywire, was reliable and stayed reliable for decades to come, I'd be LESS against it (I'd still think it's hokey).. but I doubt any of that is true. electric motors and moving parts... not {censored} I want in a guitar

 

 

Dayum tooting boy!

 

Just like those new fangled, fancy city slickers automobile things! Who needs those when we got horses?!?

 

...and electricity... moving parts! Don't even get me started on that! It's dangerous stuff! It's the devil's work I say!!!

[scuzzo]

mho.. if justification for spending coin on such a stupid stupid idea..
its like "hey gang these are really great and you all are missing out.. and just to prove it im going to post lots of threads about it.. because some where in this great big wide netroverse some one will agree with me"

just tune the guitar your self.. mho..
blah blah about i need mulit tuning..
whatever sport..

[Wyatt]

If you want alternate tunings you may want to check the next gen/James Tyler Variax coming out in a few months. Altered tunings dont change your setup/neck tension and the modelling is light years better.

 

 

The Robot isn't a model, it's real strings as real tuning s through real pickups. And most alternate tuning aren't significant enough to alter the setup.

 

The Variax is nice for versatility but will probably always sound processed. It'll never quite have that natural feel. And I wouldn't hold out for fresher modeling. It's been nearly a decade since they've done major revisions on their amp models. The interfaces become more intricate, but the modeling software and how the models work haven't been changed since the Vetta I was launched in 2001. Software development at Line6 ground to a halt ages ago and there is currently no attempt to move that forward even though they are being surpassed on so many fronts. They seem content to develop hardware and interfaces.

[steve_man]

The Robot isn't a model, it's real strings as real tuning s through real pickups. And most alternate tuning aren't significant enough to alter the setup. The Variax is nice for versatility but will probably always sound processed. It'll never quite have that natural feel. And I wouldn't hold out for fresher modeling. It's been nearly a decade since they've done major revisions on their amp models. The interfaces become more intricate, but the modeling software and how the models work haven't been changed since the Vetta I was launched in 2001. Software development at Line6 ground to a halt ages ago and there is currently no attempt to move that forward even though they are being surpassed on so many fronts. They seem content to develop hardware and interfaces.

 

 

Agreed. Line 6 was groundbreaking 10 years ago...but since then, I just can't hear any difference in tone in the new stuff vs. the old stuff. Sure, it's more fancy in how you can use those tones...but they do still sound like...the same tones...which really should be updated, IMO. I'd take a Robot over a Variax anyday...