Self Tuning Bass?

[stingrayfan]

Gibson are launching a self-tuning [url="http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91221-1293062,00.html"]Les Paul[/url]. If they did a bass version though, would us bass players go for it?

I guess it would be handy at gigs just to press the button between songs and get into tune instantly. You could press the button with one hand and swig the beer with the other. I'm liking the sound of that.

Edited November 16, 2007 by stingrayfan

[cheddatom]

I'd love to be able to change tunings by pressing a button. Tuning up is not so much of an issue, but I am lazy so....

I think this has been around for a while. Can you have it fitted to a 6 string? I wonder how much that would cost?!?

[Machines]

What next - something that plays for you too ?

[SJA]

how fast does it do a change to an alternate tuning?
if it's in mere miliseconds then Michael Manring would love it- it would be far more accurate than his hipshot detuners and hyperbass retuning bridge.

if you just want a bass that won't go out of tune, just get a graphite-neck headless.

Edited November 16, 2007 by SJA

[Krysbass]

I guess a problem on basses could be that the extra self-tuning hardware on the headstock would make the bass even more neck-heavy, when neck-dive seems to be a trait of many bass designs already?

Besides, I'd rather put whatever my budget is into the best bass I could afford, without this added extra. Just another thing to go wrong and probably (sod's law being what it is) right in the middle of a gig.

Edited November 16, 2007 by Krysbass

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Journalists make up such a load of s**t sometimes when they're writing about a subject they know nothing about:
[quote]A guitar has been made which tunes itself - but does this mean that roadies, or guitar techs as they're now called, could be out of a job?[/quote]
Yes roadies are all guitar techs and all they do is tune guitars as its too difficult for the guitarist to tune for himself. Perhaps the writer thinks that roadies are like the stereotypical 90 year old blind gentlemen that tune pianos for a living.

This one made me laugh
[quote]Professionals have guitar techs and as many as 80 guitars on stage to combat that, but the average person doesn't have that.[/quote]
Yes a lot of guitarists change guitar at least three times a song.

Self tuning guitar or bass - no point if you use standard tuning. Get an SOS tuner for £15 and tune accurately in seconds.

Edited November 16, 2007 by Jean-Luc Pickguard

[Mobius]

I wouldn't bother with my jazz - it can stay in tune for a couple of hours of solid playing.

[OldGit]

This was on Front Row on Radio 4 yesterday.
It did give me a chuckle..

Gibson have got some ol guitarist from the Uk on board as a consultant and Front Row had a guy from the Manics check it over ..
They both said "great for beginners" basically because it opens their minds to non standard tunings ..

This is a £1500 Les Paul.

Presumably any beginner guitarists who can afford that will have staff to tune their guitar for them.

Gibson's website on the subject says
"For as long as the guitar has existed, guitar lovers have had two choices—live with a temperamental and out-of-tune instrument or make frequent trips to the shop for setups. Not anymore. "
Gibsons must be pretty sh1te then .....

[Wil]

Yes, its amazing how expensive it gets taking your guitar to the tech for it to be tuned. Once or twice a day, sometimes!

[john_the_bass]

this is the tronical kit right?
if you bought a second hand les paul studio (which is what this is if you look at the specs, apart from the bound neck and the ebony fingerbound) and put the tronical kit on it (about £900 i think i read ages and ages ago), it would probably cost you £1500 including the guitar - except this way, you get a nasty blue les paul instead of your own colour choice

personally, i'd rather tune me own guitar

[Buzz]

[quote name='OldGit' post='98872' date='Dec 4 2007, 02:53 PM']This was on Front Row on Radio 4 yesterday.
It did give me a chuckle..

Gibson have got some ol guitarist from the Uk on board as a consultant and Front Row had a guy from the Manics check it over ..
They both said "great for beginners" basically because it opens their minds to non standard tunings ..

This is a £1500 Les Paul.

Presumably any beginner guitarists who can afford that will have staff to tune their guitar for them.

Gibson's website on the subject says
"For as long as the guitar has existed, guitar lovers have had two choices—live with a temperamental and out-of-tune instrument or make frequent trips to the shop for setups. Not anymore. "
Gibsons must be pretty sh1te then .....[/quote]

Remember, we're talking about mainly guitarists, they probably don't know how to setup a guitar properly and tune it.

[john_the_bass]

[quote name='OldGit' post='98872' date='Dec 4 2007, 02:53 PM']"For as long as the guitar has existed, guitar lovers have had two choices—live with a temperamental and out-of-tune instrument or make frequent trips to the shop for setups. Not anymore. "
Gibsons must be pretty sh1te then .....[/quote]

i have to say that my Les Paul has been (by and large) spot on - needed a bit of work doing to it, which i can't tell was as a result of it being badly cared for by its previous owner or just that it was bad out of the gibson factory.
the white studio i had with the ebony fingerboard was genuinely lovely.

[OldGit]

Well I think it's a "hey aren't we clever" technological answer to a problem that doesn't really exist.. but then, I play bass....

[Tait]

i'd get it if you didn't have to pay too much extra, after all, it saves tuning up, replacing lost tuners, limiting yourself when writing songs that the guitar is in drop d because you cant be bothered to detune.... but it seems pretty pointless to pay an extra £900 just to tune up. After all, as Jean-Luc said, it only costs £15 to buy a tuner.

[s_u_y_*]

I personally think it is a good idea. My guitarist uses a floating tremolo. When a string breaks, the tension changes meaning all the strings go out of tune. He then has to quickly change to his backup. With this self-tuning system, he can carry on after 3 seconds as opposed to a minute, which kind of disrupts the flow of the track.

I do understand some people's thoughts that it is the lazy route to tuning... but to be honest, most guitarists who would invest in such an instrument would be able to tune normally. There are still a few people who say that using digital tuners is a lazy option. I mean, tuning by pitch fork is okay... but not in some circumstances, like a loud gig for instance. It has found its use.

Just like that, this self-tuning system has its place. Say in a live gig, and you knock your tuners. It's much more preferable to auto-tune. If you play £100 to see a big band play, an out of tune instrument is simply unacceptable.

Also, the alternate tunings do open up avenues that some guitarists may not have thought to explore due to practicalities.

But the market decides a product's worth. I know it is an incredibly niche product, but the coming years will see whether or not the market sees a place for it.

I personally would buy a bass version if I was gigging professionally.

Edited December 4, 2007 by s_u_y_*

[MB1]

[quote name='stingrayfan' date='Nov 16 2007, 11:30 AM' post='89296']
Gibson are launching a self-tuning [url="http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91221-1293062,00.html"]Les Paul[/url]. If they did a bass version though, would us bass players go for it?

I guess it would be handy at gigs just to press the button between songs and get into tune instantly. You could press the button with one hand and swig the beer with the other. I'm liking the sound of that.

MB1.

Whats Tuning?
Sorry i only play Status Basses!

Edited December 5, 2007 by MB1

[tauzero]

I tune my basses once a month, whether they need it or not.

Basses are so stable compared to guitars that there just seems no need for a bass version of this. Even guitars don't necessarily need tuning more than once a gig.

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='MB1' post='99235' date='Dec 4 2007, 10:05 PM']MB1.

Whats Tuning?[/quote]


Province of China, Capital is Of-Ki

[Freuds_Cat]

[quote name='Mobius' post='92484' date='Nov 22 2007, 10:05 AM']I wouldn't bother with my jazz - it can stay in tune for a couple of hours of solid playing.[/quote]


I would suggest weeks with my Jazz. It just doesn't go out of tune. After all these years this fact still freaks me out now and again. Cold days, hot days, trucks, cars, home, studio's, practice, it just doesnt seem to matter.

Now, where do I find a woman this reliable?

[G-77]

[quote name='SJA' post='89310' date='Nov 16 2007, 11:47 AM']if you just want a bass that won't go out of tune, just get a graphite-neck headless.[/quote]

+1 for that,

but my guitarist has a Gibson LesPaul, and it the most unstable guitar i have ever know, he has to retune between every song.

[john_the_bass]

[quote name='s_u_y_*' post='99232' date='Dec 4 2007, 09:59 PM']I personally think it is a good idea. My guitarist uses a floating tremolo. When a string breaks, the tension changes meaning all the strings go out of tune.[/quote]

A hipshot tremsetter [i]might[/i] sort that out - i don't know a lot about them, but apparently they make sure the trem and the strings all return to pitch after the trem has been used so in theory it should do the same for a broken string

[OldGit]

[quote name='G-77' post='99352' date='Dec 5 2007, 08:49 AM']+1 for that,

but my guitarist has a Gibson LesPaul, and it the most unstable guitar i have ever know, he has to retune between every song.[/quote]


See? It's a Gibson Gu1t@r problem


That must be awful.. I hope he does it silently

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='tauzero' post='99321' date='Dec 5 2007, 12:58 AM']I tune my basses once a month, whether they need it or not.[/quote]

That's my one liner !!!!

The major thing that seems to alter the tuning of my basses is carrying them in a gig bag. I think the M/Cs turn against the padded fabric. In a hard case they never move. I do stretch the strings well though. I check my tuning before the gig and generally don't have to bother again. Odd glance at the racked Korg but that's about it.

The turd in the water pipe is temp fluctuations mid gig , lights I'm sure are often the culprit. I have to watch that . That alone makes me interested in a bass that would keep itself in tune while my hands aren't free to do it myself.
I'm not a gadget freak at all - suspiciously so - but my gig motto is anything that helps my performance is good and anything that hampers it is bad. If it works , and works well , I'm interested.

I can see it would be more suited to guitar , with their thin little strings. Our guitarist uses any 2 (one of each brand) from 2 Gibsons and 3 Fenders for gigs. His instruments are set up and maintained well (he used to do it for a living) but the Fenders def. stay in tune far better than the Gibbos. No question.

[Freuds_Cat]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='99380' date='Dec 5 2007, 07:18 PM']I do stretch the strings well though.[/quote]

I hope not as much as Dawson or Doolan or whatever his name on youtube does!!!


Anyone remember the link to that? Did a search but couldn't find it.

[Pikefloyd]

A bit more technical information about Gibson's self tuning guitar here;

[url="http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/303949/Stay+tuned.htm"]http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/303949/Stay+tuned.htm[/url]