Guitar that tunes itself

Gibson is selling self tuning guitars. The Powertune system was developed by German engineer Chris Adams, and is being distributed by Gibson as an option on their guitars, with a price tag of $899.

The Powertune system uses a special bridge with piezo pickups in it. These pickups isolate the frequency of the individual strings, signal processing electronics in the guitar body cavity analyse whether each string is in tune. If tuning adjustments are required, signals are sent down the string to servo motors mounted in the headstock. These servos turn the machine heads by the required amount to tune the guitar. You can play all six strings at once, and the system should have them in tune within a few seconds.

A master switch on the guitar turns the system on and off and you can choose from standard tuning or a range of alternative or user defined tunings. With the system turned off the machine heads will work as typical manual tuning pegs.

With the invention of guitar robots guitarists are now free to enjoy their gigs without the hassles of actually of playing or tuning.

Via: MIT Technology Review

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