Gibson going Digital

[Outlaws]

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/02/19/195251.php

"Retails for $4000.00"

http://entertainment.polo.com/magazine/editorial/sp05/digital_guitar.asp

"And then I started to wonder… so what? Isn’t enough to get a guitar, plug it into an amp or a stomp box, and thrash away? Who is really going to utilize all that capability? Sure, there will be a small contingent of home-studio tech-heads that will wring everything possible out of every piece of gear, but what about the weekend basement blasters like me? A lot will hinge on the price. One website, Polo.com of all places, has it listed at a cool four grand. That’s about a grand for a great guitar and three more for all the digital gadgetry. The initial pricing will likely mean slow adoption and low breakout sales. With many, many years and millions of dollars of development on the line, has Gibson R&D’d themselves into big financial trouble ?"


http://www.oreillynet.com/digitalmedia/blog/2005/02/gibson_digital_guitar_a_packet.html


Hmmm...I think maybe they meant $3K for the guitar and $1K for the electronics...at least I hope that's what they mean.

J.P.

Looks like the actual price is more like $2600...which isn't that bad if its the same guitar as the Standard. Thats only $400 for the electronics.

I think it has a lot of potential. Maybe the 'amp per string' thing isn't the greatest marketing ploy, but there have been times when I just wished I had a hair less breakup on my lower notes while still getting some singing sustain from the upper frets on the high strings. Not drastic amounts...but just a hair ya know?

Can you imagine finger picking with a delay on e, B, G, and D....while just having A, and E without any delay to hold the bass line? I could. Might be nice. Maybe gimmicky....maybe not. Opens lots of creative doors IMO.

Now that I think about it, I would really like to have one. Not for that price at the moment, but I would certainly like it on a nice guitar and not a $600 POS that would more than likely truely be a simple gimmick lacking all playablility. I haven't played a Variax, but thats only because I am old fashioned and refuse to bother even looking for one to demo, simply because Line6 (imo) isn't a guitar maker...they are an effects maker.

 

[acidrock]

When they first came out with solid bodie s and electrics they made fun of them too.
This does seem a bit off the beaten path,but with prices on electronics going down and the quality going up,something like this could become run of the mill in the future.

 

[Ed Dixon]

I'm not convinced this is a real product. It looks more like an example intended to show Gibson is still high tech rather than a real guitar intended for regular players.

I expect they will sell a few and a few stores might actually show them, but I have doubts about it's near term future. I don't see it being a guitar that is likely to be used live, as cabling and setup are more involved than a regular guitar than can have a wireless.

The price tag alone eliminates a large percentage of guitar buyers. The Line 6 Variax at something like $500 is a far more practical digital entry for many. One thing the Gibson has going for it is it looks good. That's a weakness of the Variax models as most are close to butt ugly.

Ed

 

[sweetpeee]

Can you imagine finger picking with a delay on e, B, G, and D....while just having A, and E without any delay to hold the bass line? I could. Might be nice. Maybe gimmicky....maybe not. Opens lots of creative doors IMO.

I could think of quite a few things to do with it...a not-too-distant hollowy reverb on the bass strings and a slow sweeping flange up top might be nice.

I haven't played a Variax, but thats only because I am old fashioned and refuse to bother even looking for one to demo, simply because Line6 (imo) isn't a guitar maker...they are an effects maker.

I got mine just as they first hit the market. Was in GC and saw a guitar with no visible pickups.That was enough to get me to try it. I recorded one acoustic demo on a Martin model that turned out alright.My biggest influences music-wise play a lot of different styles and use different tones. Page, Morse and Howe are probably my biggest influences. I just saw solo Steve Howe last Sat in a small venue in Philly. The only electric he used that night was a Variax with an XTLive pedal.This Wed night, it's Satch and Eric Johnson together...I seriously doubt either will break out the Variax,so you're in good company as well

J.P.

 

[(b)lackheart]

Going wireless...

It takes an E-cable (can you go wireless with this? Doesn't look like you can) after the hex pickup and the cable, you still have to go through the "magic box". Add all of that to the expense of a brand new Les Paul..."imagine" that if you will.
J.P.

They shouldn't have bothered with is monsterous "plug and socket" and gone straight to WiFi Hmmm....
..Yeah...
.....
...(Mentally updating the well-know scene from "This is Spinal tap" where a band member tries playing wireless at an airforce base)...

 

[warrengtype]

Thought it was just a disagreement, nothing personal...my mistake.

Haha, no no no, that was just a joke. That's why I put it up top. Guess I shoulda tossed in one of those smiley deals. I sometimes forget my sarcasm doesn't come through as strong in text alone. I was just bustin' balls.

As far as that retail price? That's not much more than a Les Paul custom... well, it's actually even cheaper than some of the models.

No, I don't see the everyday joe buying it. You don't see the everyday joe buying most high end guitars. Doesn't mean they are gonna stop making them anytime soon.

 

[Hard2Hear]

This model has been around for about 5 years now, nothing really new. And its not meant for general production and sales. It is just a branch of the technology Gibson has been working on for real time studio sharing environments. Meant more to show they're working on that technology.

H2H

 

[ggunn]

How can someone NOT see how it would be cool to have your bottom three strings on one amp and your top three on another? Or recording each string to a seperate track while strumming chords? You could get one hell of a surround sound panoramic type thing going with that. With just one guitar!

Ovation did this 25 years ago. Some of their guitars had a stereo output that had the odd strings on one channel and the even strings on the other. On a big system with the channels hard panned, it sounded pretty cool.

 

[PhiloBeddoe]

I know a custom guitar builder that occasionally gets commissioned to install elaborate electronics and he likes to say "it's an awful lot of money for an effect". At first "an effect" sounded like an oversimplification, but it's really not by much. This stuff is only useful for making your guitar *not* sound like a guitar anymore so in the end it has limited appeal and usefulness. There are already nearly infinite options for effects for a fraction of the price.

Another problem with combining guitars, especially Les Pauls, with high tech stuff is that in 5-10 years the tech stuff will be obsolete so you will have this expensive guitar with silly stuff in it. You can look at it and laugh at the USB port.

I love innovation and advances in technology, but I kind of think this is neither. Maybe it will take off, but I recall them introducing this concept 5 years ago and no one really caring. I just hope they have a better reason than this for raising the price of their regular guitars to ridiculous levels.