I dislike anything over-complicated mechanically.
The Robot I've seen was quite prone to mechanical failure.
To me it's just a gimmick and not even an appealing one.

I think that we all like the idea of quick tuning but I just don't know if I can justify the price. Equipment failure is always a concern seeing as how if something happens with hardware on a regular guitar it's an easy fix. I'm not sure if a tech can fix a robot or if they have to go back to Gibson. I'd check into that too.

The way I see it is that the kind of technology manufacturers are coming out with today, is what we'll see perfected tomorrow.

I dont like the idea of a self tuning guitar or a modelling guitar for that matter. But I tried a friends VG the other day, it was great. I dont believe fender have completely given up on that technology. I reckon it will return again. Kind of a 'ok we broke the ice, let someone else do the legwork' ethos. I know the Variax was the same kind of idea. But I believe something so radical needed a giant to really crack the ice over the pond as it were. The Roland ready has been around for about ten years old now. Theres a good indication that this stuff isnt going away.

Whether its currently offererd or not is down to business planning. Why should fender do years of hard work advertizing something, convincing us its good. When they can introduce it with a seal of approval from the bigboys then phase it out and let someone else put all that time, money and effort in.

Expect this stuff to become de rigeur in the next decade.

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No no and no

Maybe you should consider being a keyboard player. Nobody expexts you to tune one of those.

My special system is my tuner LOL...sorry I just had to take the shot at humor..
ABS

I see no reason not to buy one. The do play nice!

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

The VG, Variax, synth guitars... are different kind of beasts.
And the whole thing seems to be coming back, big time (Parker just have a synth model out); and it does have a lot of appeal (playing some horns parts, or a Hammond background on the guitar, very nice). I would much rather give these a shot.
I have nothing against technology, I just don't like Gibson's view of it.

I agree with Niki that this is not the end of Fenders involvement with this type of technology. I did not own a VG but I thought the idea behind it was great. I just feel they pulled the plug as I dont believe they felt it was up to the standards they were expecting. But I can see a new improved model in the near future.

The robot guitar idea is another one of Gibson's recent boondoggles.Guitars like this one,the Dusk Tiger and the Dark Force have a lot of things stacked against them from the start.1-The price,for that price you could buy several guitars of good quality and have them in different tunings for a gig.2-Repairs,Where will you be able to get them fixed?They would have to set up a network of trained techs to repair them or else people would have to be without a guitar while it went to the factory or a repair facility.3.The warranty-What happens when your warranty is up?The repair costs after warranty could be prohibitive especially if it is prone to breakdown.4-Planned obsolescence,Will these guitars be upgradeable?In this day of ever expanding technology it stands to reason that something better will be developed probably in the near future thus rendering these guitars obsolete unless there have been provisions built in for upgrades in hardware and software for them.Gibson should concentrate it's efforts in creating better and cheaper products as lately a lot of people have been complaining about both their quality and price,it seems that they have set sail on the wrong tack again.I think if given a choice for a Gibson product I'd steer well clear of one of these roboguits even if free as down the road it could cost plenty.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Yeah the repair thing is a big problem. Who really wants to muck about soldering a new chip onto a circuitboard round the back of some dark stage.

Line6 earnt my ultimate respect for that. The other guitarist in a band I was in for a very short while, used their flextone amp. A chip on the board went. They quoted him 63pence for a new one. Their UK center was/is only 40 miles away in Daventry (home of Aston Martin). So we took a drive to get the amp checked out.

They were utterly superb, have a sit down here lads, give us your amp, have a look at this stuff were releasing soon, heres some coffee. What do you like about the amp? What do you dislike? Have you tried the variax guitar?
Really took time to quiz us for our views and be allround jolly good chaps.

Soon enough they handed his amp back and didnt even charge him for the chip.
(Isnt Jack Sonni ex dire straits line6's head honcho?)

Now not everyone can operate like that. Could you imagine the masses desending on Corona? Just to get their intonation and action set.

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No no and no

I'm in the simpler is better camp. Match needle metering on cameras, gauges on the dash not graphics, yada yada yada. The convenience is nice, and the little multi-colored lights are cool to. If your getting a heck of a deal on one, then go for it, and play the hell out of it. Life is too short.

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2015 Epiphone Casino Goldtop
2011 Taylor 814ce
2009 EC Custom Shop Merc Blue
2008 Schecter ATX
1964 Epi Granada E444T
Fender Super Champ XD

Much like the cars that park themselves it’s a novelty…the more stuff you got the more stuff you got to go wrong… when playing a gig I want things as simple as possible. Technologies like this scare because I can see the future of musicians all using this kind of thing and becoming so dependent they don’t even know how to tune their own guitar when the things breaks…. I know firsthand this kind of thing happens because I see it every day in my job… We have become so dependent on Computers for tracking Cargo troops, aircraft and so on that when we have an issue all these newer guys absolutely can’t operate and are dead in the water. They just don’t know to go manual…. This generation would not know how to operate without cell phones teller machines, and all the qualities of life we enjoy today.. if the earth lost its satellites for some reason today the entire planets societies would be cast back into the stone age tomorrow with very little idea how to operate or in a lot of cases; survive. I don’t know who Gibson’s demographic is that there marketing these thing to but I know it aint the working musician…. It’s the gadget freak I guess surprised I aint seen one in the sharper image store yet...

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(80’s Hair Metal) = A snapshot in time before Grunge ruined Rock & Roll forever!!!!

i think that ya all have missed the point. The OP is asking about the collectibility of the Robot guitar, not the long term playability. I think if your looking for something that will be a collectors item then the robot guitar is probably a great choice. its probably fun to noodle around with too.

I don't know if the Robot guitar is destined for collectability as it hasn't proven itself yet and buying one for that possibility could be a long shot to say the least.If this guitar proves to be a repair prone dog it's collector value will be just about nil.There have been gimic laden guitars in the past and they aren't hitting the ceiling as far as collectability goes.I have a 66 Vox Astro IV Bass Model V273 with bass,treble boost,fuzz and built in tuner it was quite expensive in it's day but it's value isn't as high as many other guitars of that era made in such limited numbers.The Guitorgan is another technical fiasco that is only collectable to the very few that have the technical knowhow to fix them.Granted this guitar and others of it's type may be fun to fiddle with but they may prove to be a nightmare to own.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I'd say go over to the Gibson website's forums in the Original Robot section and check out the problems owners are reporting. If you think you want to put up with it, then go for it. If all you really want is an LP, there are better choices.