Dang. I guess that playing guitar for 33 years and being able to tune by ear is just useless... not to mention that perfectly easy to use quartz tuners will let you turn your own knobs for about $25.

One last funny bit - for all the guitars I have owned over the years, my Gibsons (Les Pauls, ES335s, J-45) were all the worst for staying in tune, regardless of work done to them. The quality of the mahogany in the necks was simply substandard and unstable, even if they had (occasionally) good tone.

They are all gone now. The Martins and Fenders stay right in tune, don't need no stinkin' robot...

I guess this is for those that got started by playing "Guitar Hero" instead of actually learning how to tune a guitar.

shaking head
Next will be a Les Paul with a MIDI controller for those that can't actually play one.

I was just going to add that changing tunings without a proper set-up will not only affect the "playability" of the guitar but will also have a negative affect on the neck/fretboard's straightness or relief. As much as this sounds like a god-send, I would wait on the reviews(hopefully honest ones-no "strokers".....) before a purchase could ever be a possibility.

What an odd idea. I hope it can hold a tune if the robotics decide to die in the middle of a concert. Hope Taylor doesn't decide to try this.

Most pro guitar players who need to change tuning frequently will have separate guitars, and even separate makes. One guitar that sounds great in standard tune may not hold up so well in double D tuning. I saw Tom Petty doing an solo concert a while ago and he had no less than 12 guitars on stage. Several of them were dupes of each other (in case of tuning or string break). When he changed songs, he just grabbed another guitar.

Most everyday guitar players I know don't mess with open tunings or D tunings. I rarely do, myself.

I tune by ear and also and dare I say it, I use a freaking Tuning fork... yeah talk about old school. Don't ask me why, I just never got around to buying a tuner... lol. Not to mention I have Apps that can squeeze out an A=440 if I really needed to.

But, I digress.

Dude, I am not really big on Gibson either, and while I like the Les Paul, I still like the SG better. However, I own Fender myself. I just think they're better all around. BUT, I really think you missed some other fascinating points of why someone would like a guitar like this. See, not only does it tune on the fly. It also makes intonation a lot easier, by telling you how many half turns you may need "clockwise or counter clockwise". Yeah, great for touring, and even experimenting on action, etc. If you've ever wanted to go that route, but couldn't because you didn't have the resources to apply it.

But, it gets better. In a couple of steps, it can very quickly, retune your guitar to select group of open tunings. That's cool.

Now, while I still see your point and feel that it should be part of anyones music education that we learn certain aspects of our instruments and stay true to the old school methodology. Being able to get to other experimental tunings that quickly, well that's just freaking great. It is usually an exhaustive process that it makes playing around with tunings a task that is not always gratifying. I mean, I don't want to go soft on ya, but c'mon, that feature would be cool, even on a Strat! In fact, I wouldn't mind if at least one of my Strats could do that.