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for stringed instrument players..bass..electric..or acoustic...or pretty much any stringed instrument that has to be plucked, bowed, or strummed....it would be a neat idea if there was a tiny computer installed that worked in conjunction with an onboard guitar tuner to keep strings constantly tuned with an option to set the tuning notes to whatever you desired the tuning to be. like this...basic string notes on a guitar are E A D G B E. you could program the computer to keep those strings constantly tuned to those notes by way of testing string tension. now that part would be worked out by connecting 2 sensors to the computer and these sensors would be a small rod installed right between the sound hole (on an acoustic guitar or bass guitar) or pickup(s) (on an electric guitar or bass guitar) and the stop piece where the strings are locked in and the other much smaller sensor would replace the original bridge in the neck of the guitar (it would have the grooves for the strings). those sensor rods would read the string tension coming across it and send a signal back to the computer which would send this data to the tuner and the tuner would send it back telling it which strings to tune. the computer then sends the data up the cable to the tuning knobs which are controlled by servos...each servo would then turn the keys to the proper tension. and you could turn the auto tuner on or off with a button. Now..to actually program a different tuning you'd have a USB Port on the guitar to hook it up with your computer and corresponding software. once you enter in the alternate tunings you'd save it to the computer and then send it and save it to the guitar where you could assign it a certain "SpeedTune" number which you could call up right there on the guitar with a programmable key pad
J_man10, Jan 19 2007
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Cool idea. . .As a somewhat hard-of-hearing guitar player (read: really bad, struggling, been at it nearly 30 years, and can kill spiders & pigeons at 20 paces with my Lab Series L5 amp much to my neighbor's discontent) I would love a guitar that would automatically stay in tune. I've used an electronic tuner for years. The difference between identifying the notes and being able to have the instrument tune a string to that key shouldn't be that much of a leap in this day & age.
I don't play, but this sounds like a great idea. I don't know if measuring the tension would be a sure way of measuring the tuning. I suspect that different strings may need different tensions to get the same note. However, it would probably be possible to have a device that actually listens to the notes and tunes them. I know they sell devices that can do most of that now, but they can't turn the tension keys for you. The guitar could be set up to listen to each string's pick up and adjust the tuning whenever it hears an open note played on that string. Alternatively, there could be a button on the guitar that you press when you want it to tune. You could just strum an open cord and press the button, wait a few seconds, and the guitar is tuned. There are probably other ways to have it work that would be practical too.
Anyway, great idea.
The only problem I see is the difficulty one would have installing a system like this in an existing guitar. Wiring for the sensors in the nut would have to be run through the neck, which would be a difficult task in acoustic guitars with one-piece bodies. I guess you could go with a wireless system.
I've been thinking about this for a bit.
The tuner would be a feedback device with an on-off switch. Instead of having tuning pegs on the neck you reverse it and have the motorized tuner pegs in the guitar body, where there's plenty of room.
This is an easily doable concept.
Good idea, It would work really well for a guitar- it could be strung in reverse- all tension adjusted at the bridge and anchored on head. It might be a bit tougher for traditionally stringed instruments- there are two points of tension adjustment- pegs and fine tuners, even if you did away with the two points and strung it in reverse like the potential guitar, it would be tough to tune instruments like the double bass- there is so much vibration variation in the string as it is so long that it could be difficult to pinpoint a pitch, but I suppose all of that would be semantics when the idea was implemented.
Yahoo! I read in the paper yesterday that a company has perfected and is marketing guitars with this option available. The Gibson Guitar Company has begun offering this as $900 option available on the Les Paul models for 2008. The technology, which recognizes pitch, tells the processor to direct motors on its' six tuning pegs to tighten or loosen the strings accordingly.
I wonder if they read it here first?