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Archives for August 2008

Tronical PowerHead Locking Tuners

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The next aspect of the Tronical Powertune that I want to talk about is the PowerHead-Locking Tuners.

The tuning heads/headstock processor/tuner’s that are used here are custom built obviously, and they are similar to your standard guitar ones… except that they are powered! This is the aspect of the Powertune that affect the winding and un-winding of strings for tuning.

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This part of the technology is basically located directly on the back of the headstock(tuning peg). They can be placed into any standard drilled tuner holes on any guitar, so this will not a problem that you will encounter. In my mind, this should be installed by trained professionals! {Personal note: just like my many attempts at home renovations, I tend to eventually pay someone re-do/un-do what I had just done!} I’m not for certain here, but it looks like it can be disassembled if not needed in the future with minimal damage to your guitar.

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The headstock looks a lot bigger/larger then the standard size, but I’m sure that they won’t wear you down!

The electronics are produced by a number of different companies.

They are Texas Instruments, NXP, Silicon Labs, Linear Technology, and Rohm. As we’re all aware, these companies have been around for a long time now and have a proven technological track record!

The motors they use here are referred to as the Servo pegs.

Each unit consists of a motor, high-performance gears along with intelligent servo electronics. The servo motor control electronics use an intelligent ‘learn’ capability, this allows you to optimize your tuning requirements, even accommodating different string tensions.

Tronical Technology

So in case your wondering, Gibson states that the batteries will last for around 200 individual tunings. Not all that bad I’d say!

So that is a very rough overview of the PowerHead Locking Tuner system. I don’t want to get too technical for most of my readers because I might be viewed by some to be too much of a techie, which I am not. I just want to help plant a little seed in your mind, then you can pursue it in greater detail on your own! So I hope that you enjoyed a bit of this and …

Keep on Jammin’





TuneControl-MultiKnob

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The TuneControl-MultiKnob is the only hands on part of the Gibson Robot Guitar/Tronical Powertune system that you actually touch.

It looks just like any other of the control knobs that you use on a electric guitar. The best thing about this is that it comes in a kit form. If you do get this kit, I would highly recommend that you let a highly reputable guitar techie install this for you. This will set you back around $800.00 (US).

Here is what it looks like all stripped down.

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To say this is just a regular multi-functional pot is an understatement! This is the real brains behind the product. It holds a tiny processor inside this pot.

Basically it controls all the pre-set tunings for your guitar. It allows you to personally program any type of open tuning that you may wish to use and implement it at a moments notice. They say that you can have 11 different tunings but they don’t say how many personal settings you can set up for yourself. I guess how many tunings does one guitarist need anyway?

Once you choose your tuning setting here, tiny LED lights will flash until your guitar is tuned perfectly to your desired requirements. This takes around 5 seconds to complete once activated. Once all the tiny lights, each light represents individual strings, are lit up then your new tuning is done!

These programed instructions are then sent to and performed by the tuning heads that have tiny motors is them. This topic is for another post for the future.

You WILL NOT ruin your guitar in any way once you have this installed! It is a modular system that you can be retro fitted to any guitar set up that you might have. You can also restore your guitar back to it’s original configuration very easily if need be.

They come in multiple styles and finishes to compliment your guitar so don’t worry about it making your axe look hideous! That’s one of the first questions that I had going through my head when I first read about this.

Just a side thought here, I wonder if you could apply this form of tuner into an acoustic? Humm, interesting. I’m just kiddin’ here all you acoustic purists out there!

Keep on Jammin’

The worlds smallest Tube Amp

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The Nanohead from this company called ZVEX, is considered the smallest Tube amp in the world. For those of you tired of lugging those big heavy mothers up and down stairs, this puppy could very well save you from back problems later on in life (Ha, ha)!

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This little baby comes in one colour, has a universal adapter for use in any country.

It has a tone(both high and low) control, a brightness control (only works @ low volume) and comes with a 1/4 inch plug for your external speaker hook up (8 or 16 Ohm cabinets only).

The thing that I got a laugh from the video is that it comes with an internal speaker. It has a self resetting fuse, which I like. There is a tiny little light that tells you that you’ve blown the fuse on it.

It has a 12 volt power supply and a mini fan to cool this hot little puppy down when your axe is pushing it to it’s limit!

A perfect little gift for all you camping rockers out there!

Keep on Jammin’

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