Gibson Dark Fire can sound like any guitar
Gibson's "Dark Fire" guitar is their latest, most tricked-out guitar, marrying on sound processor called "Chameleon Tone" to the second version of their self-tuning "Robot" technology. It even has a snazzy "Master Control Knob" with a LED display on top. Three pickups, a piezo-acoustic in the neck, Burstbucker 3 (a humbucker) in the bridge, and a singlecoil soapbar can be combined for a variety of sounds. ("Every imaginable guitar sound," they claim.)
There's no price announced for the Dark Fire yet, but it will surely be in the $3k range based on prices of the Robot guitars. And if you bought one of the Robots but would like to have it upgraded, Gibson is promising a reasonable upgrade path for not much more than the cost of the new hardware.
The Dark Fire is set to be released on December 15th. I look forward to all its onboard technology becoming more commonplace in the future, so that I can buy something similar for a few hundred dollars.
Dark Fire product page [Gibson]
Previously • Gibson Robot Guitar Official
• Gibson Powertune Self-Tuning Guitars
• N-Tune In-Guitar Tuner
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Pretty. It has hints of Brian May's Red Special. Bust out some Queen on that baby.
To me, Gibson has always owned Fender in every way - and this is just another notch in Gibson's belt. Instead of just capitalizing on their classics, they've been at the forefront of guitar technology and pushing new designs with their imprints.
@2-
While the Fender/Gibson battle is just as futile as the Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo battle, the DC/Marvel battle, or the Protestant/Catholic battle, I've got to point out a few things:
Fender released their "sound like any guitar" guitar in early '07 (the VG strat), although Line 6 was really the first one to do it (Variax), in '04 or earlier.
A company called Transperformance has been retrofitting guitars with a similar self-tuning mechanism since the 90's, and Jimmy Page has had his Les Pauls fitted with them for years.
Gibson is certainly not on the forefront of guitar technology here. There are companies out there that are pushing the envelope, like Moog, and Parker. From a technological aspect, Parker is centuries ahead of Gibson in everything from design to materials to construction. Take a look at Adrian Belew's signature Parker if you want to see a guitar that's high tech. (You might even say that the carbon-fiber accents on the Dark Fire's pickup covers and fretboard inlays are cribbed from Parker as well).
I'll admit though, the "smart knob" is pretty clever in the way that it can map a tuning and a tone to a particular bank. But even so, a self-tuning guitar feels a bit paint-by-numbers to me.
I bought one of the robot Les Pauls last month - Musician's Friend was closing them out in anticipation of the new models. I was able to combine their $1699 sale price with a 20% off code and pick it up for $1360 including a hardshell case.
I love it. It's great to be able to spend ten or fifteen seconds tuning and be ready to play. Haven't used the built-in tunings yet, but I'm assuming they'll work in the same flawless manner as standard tuning. The only caveat I've heard so far is the open G tuning - it's supposedly hard on high E strings, causing them to break much more frequently. (which makes sense when you consider that open G tuning requires tuning the high E up three frets)
I'd be less thrilled if I paid regular price, but for what I paid, it's a real deal.
Meh. Soon, Skynet will pwn your guitars.
Gibson Dark Fire can EMULATE the sound any guitar.
Any nerd knows that emulation is hit or miss.
Any musician knows that the real thing always sounds better.
Any guitar player knows that Gibson guitars have gotten bad lately. (Play me a Les Paul Custom from the '80's vs a Les Paul Custom today).
I'm not a Fender fanboy. In fact, I'm a bass player. But I can hear the difference.
Lame. I can guarantee that not a single person I know in my local music scene will even think twice about buying one of these. Not when there's hundreds of better sounding, cheaper, vintage axes out there.
Gibson:Fender::Microsoft:Apple
#4: Open G requires you tune the high E down to D, so only 1 step.
The Gibson v. Fender thing is tiresome.
G. Park's history of the emulator guitar lineage is right on. Gibson didn't invent the technology. They resisted it.
But his screed that Gibson isn't AT ALL innovative is a bit off mark. Hold, play, and experiment with a Robot Guitar for 5 minutes before you say Gibson doesn't innovate. It's pretty effing amazing what they've done without compromising a classic design.
When you separated the Line 6 Variax from it's custom processor and custom designed amp... Whew. Yuck. I plugged a borrowed Variax into my tube amp and it sounded like Bigfoot took a dump on my ears.
When you separate the VG Strat from a compatible emulation processor... it's still a fine guitar. But it's not as slinky and bright as a real American Strat.
I'm reserving opinion on the Gibson Dark Fire until I hold one in my hands. But it looks as if Gibson is trying to build a guitar that is -- first and foremost -- a fabulous, functional guitar... which also does decent emulation.
Ten days from now we will see.
The Dark Fire early adopters are considering taking legal action for being deceived.
http://forums.gibson.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=10998
http://forums.gibson.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=10842