Gibson self-tuning guitars

Gibson has announced a line of guitars featuring a new self-tuning system. Driven by the Powertune system, the particular line of Gibson guitars will be able to tune any string to a particular note dictated by a tuning knob on the guitar body.

Chris Adams, the creator of the Powertune technology behind Gibson’s self-tuning guitars says: “I thought, if we can fly to Mars, it must be possible to do something like this.”
You know, because those two ideas connect so seamlessly.

The system begins with an additional set of pickups mounted underneath the strings that are used specifically for the tuning process. But unlike conventional pickups for electric guitars, which are magnetic, Adams uses piezoelectric pickups. These pickups are made from a material that creates an electric charge when stressed or pressured, such as by the sound waves coming from the guitar’s strings.

Typically used on acoustic instruments, piezoelectric pickups tend to focus on the single string above them rather than on bleed from neighboring strings. This allows them to isolate the sound of each string more exactly, Adams says.

The pickups are connected to digital signal-processing electronics mounted in the guitar body’s cavity. The pickups separately identify the frequency of each string.

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A player can strum all six strings at once, and the process should have them in tune within a few seconds.

Guitar purists will most likely shun the idea of self-tuning guitars, saying that “real” musicians will and should be able to tune their own instruments. But hey, if technology can help you tune better, why not embrace it, right?

The traditional tuning pegs on this Gibson guitar are driven by tiny motors within the guitar cavity. They can also be tuned manually.

Here’s a shot of those “piezoelectric pickups” that help the tuning system do its thing.

Expect to pony up around $899 for the Gibson/Tronical self-tuning system.