dirtypurple Posted April 13, 2009 Posted April 13, 2009 Hi, I have an Epiphone SG G 400. Thought i'd try a Gibson SG Robot yesterday to see whether it was worth the nearly £900 extra...I really couldn't tell much difference? I tried it through my head and cab and both sounded as good as each other. Am I a luddite? Thoughts appreciated!
SG dude Posted April 13, 2009 Posted April 13, 2009 hey man! now, was it an SG standard robot, or a robot SG special? In glasgow the prices are Gibson SG special - £649 Gibson SG standard - around £1000 the robots are, SG special £1299 and i cant even find a Robot standard. all of these prices are new. i would say, if you have the money for a robot, forget about it and get a real guitar, get the standard (non robot) BTW a luddite is anyone who is against technological progress or change, so only you can tell if you are a luddite, i know i am.
dirtypurple Posted April 14, 2009 Author Posted April 14, 2009 Thanks SG dude. I have a Dark Fire on order so I cant be too much of a luddite, but i was wondering where the £900 extra went if not on the Robot tuning. I was thinking of cancelling my DF order and going with a Gibson SG. Unfortunately my plans were scuppered when I couldnt really tell the difference between my Epi and the Gibson. I actually think that Epiphone is a pretty good value guitar. I did try a VOS LP...now that was very nice and a step up, but was £2.5k ! Wanted to try a VOS SG, but they didnt have one in at the time.
stevezapp Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 hey man! now' date=' was it an SG standard robot, or a robot SG special? In glasgow the prices are Gibson SG special - £649 Gibson SG standard - around £1000 the robots are, SG special £1299 and i cant even find a Robot standard. all of these prices are new. i would say, if you have the money for a robot, forget about it and get a real guitar, get the standard (non robot) BTW a luddite is anyone who is against technological progress or change, so only you can tell if you are a luddite, i know i am.[/quote'] I'm pretty sure there are no Robot Standards, only Studios... I had a GOR and I wouldn't recommend it, especially if you have a DF on order.
SG dude Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 no probs dirtypurple. I dont think your darkfire will be coming anytime soon, they are still trying to work the kinks, and there is a lot of them, i actually heard a gibson rep, calling it backfire! ouch. Epiphones are consistantly great, but if you asked me people are still paying a helluva lot for the name, like gibson. there will be differences in the Gibby and the Epi, like the neck shape, the better sound, generally the Gibsons are much better, but there are a lot of crap gibbys out there so watch out. as for the whole robot thing, i just cant see the use of a guitar that tunes itself when anyone can easily tune a guitar with a tuner, at least. its just lazyness, and the SG is famous for being neck heavy, so screwing massive machine heads onto it that weigh more than the guitar itself, wasnt the best idea. I think the whole robot thing is just a stupid idea, though i suppose it has a practical use, but still, dont like it, but not against those who do. but anyways it will be a while before they fix the Bac.... i mean Darkfire, then even longer before it comes to the UK. as for me, i will stick to the normal old fashioned way. oh and thanks stevezapp for clearing that one up
fartz Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 I'm not a fan of the robots. I'd rather have a Boss tuner and g400.
gibplayer Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 ...as for the whole robot thing' date=' i just cant see the use of a guitar that tunes itself when anyone can easily tune a guitar with a tuner, at least. its just lazyness, and the SG is famous for being neck heavy, so screwing massive machine heads onto it that weigh more than the guitar itself, wasnt the best idea. I think the whole robot thing is just a stupid idea, though i suppose it has a practical use, but still, dont like it, but not against those who do. but anyways it will be a while before they fix the Bac.... i mean Darkfire, then even longer before it comes to the UK. as for me, i will stick to the normal old fashioned way. oh and thanks stevezapp for clearing that one up[/quote'] Are you sure you are a luddite? I just can't see it. PS. I agree with you.
dirtypurple Posted April 14, 2009 Author Posted April 14, 2009 Thanks for comments. The DF will come one day, maybe it will be rubbish...who knows, havent been able to try one, but i've been sold by the marketing guys. Im sold on the robot tuning for quick alternate tunings whilst playing live. i'm going to try the VOS SG and then decide.
BigKahune Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 ...as for the whole robot thing' date=' i just cant see the use of a guitar that tunes itself when anyone can easily tune a guitar with a tuner...[/quote'] Hmmm... Actually, alternative tunings are currently quite popular. Playing different alternative tunings at a gig (without having a guitar tuned for each tuning you use - read 'very expensive'), is time consuming and boring for the audience. It can also take a lot of extra time at rehersals. That is what the Robot guitars are aimed at. Sure, some people like pushing a button to keep their guitar tuned to standard E, but the real target is players using alt tunings. BTW, the acoustic Robot Gibson is working will have at least two banks of stored tunings instead of the one bank the current models have.
elantric Posted April 14, 2009 Posted April 14, 2009 BigKahune - I totally agree. I think Gibson would sell more Robots / Dark Fires if they kill the whole "self tuning guitar" marketing campaign. It targets idiots - and generates "guilt by association" if you even mention you own one of these Powertuner Gibsons in many Guitar purest circles. Instead - if they advertised it as a Guitar that can get you into many different memorized Alternate tunings under 5 seconds - maybe more folks would finally "get" it" and see what a valuable tool this feature ads during live performance..
Thundergod Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 SG400s are great... specially those vintage/faded/satin finishes... I used to own one in satin brown... great guitar.
fartz Posted April 15, 2009 Posted April 15, 2009 Hmmm... Actually' date=' alternative tunings are currently quite popular. Playing different alternative tunings at a gig (without having a guitar tuned for each tuning you use - read 'very expensive'), is time consuming and boring for the audience. It can also take a lot of extra time at rehersals. That is what the Robot guitars are aimed at. Sure, some people like pushing a button to keep their guitar tuned to standard E, but the real target is players using alt tunings. BTW, the acoustic Robot Gibson is working will have at least two banks of stored tunings instead of the one bank the current models have. [/quote'] I never use alternate tunings but I can see that if you do, it'd be a great help.
dirtypurple Posted April 15, 2009 Author Posted April 15, 2009 Well, last night i watched Angus Young do his stuff. Yet again, I am drawn to a black SG. Maybe the SG robot was a bit of a let down and the SG Standard/VOS is what I should be trying. I think elantric sums up what i think - robot tuning is all about quick changes without drama whilst playing live/rehearsing. Its not about standard tuning. Trouble is the SG Robot sounded very ordinary to me.
greg420blues Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 Tell ya what ... had the opportunity to mess around with an LP with the original robot gear in it at Summer NAMM 2 years ago ... before Gibson introduced it. WAY WAY cool ... and super easy to use. I would LOVE to be able to walk up to the mic, say a few words, and walk away in Open E. Once the tune is done, walk back up to the mic, introduce the next tune and walk away in Eb with dropped D. Tell me there's not value in that. THAT BEING SAID, I find it hard to buy a guitar with so much extra crap on it. But that's the funny things about paradigm shifts .... they're hard to handle!!
Geff Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Personally I think an EPI (with the pickups changed out if required) represents a far better prospect than a real Gibson. At least it does at the under $1000 price range which, lets face it, is where most people are! I just cannot get over how good my Prophecy SG with genuine Gibson Dirty Fingers pickups is and I have also seen and tried a number of very nice G400s in my local shop that were way better finished than the Gibsons that were hidden in the "Expensive Guitars" section. Not all EPIs are this good (I have a Prophecy Futura that is nowhere near as good as my Prophecy SG - Made in indonesia for the futura as opposed to China for the SG) but the G400 and Prophecy SGs are, from what I have seen, consistently good.
chongo Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 Hi' date='I have an Epiphone SG G 400. Thought i'd try a Gibson SG Robot yesterday to see whether it was worth the nearly £900 extra...I really couldn't tell much difference? I tried it through my head and cab and both sounded as good as each other. Am I a luddite? Thoughts appreciated! [/quote'] you are SO going to hate that Robot guitar when you can't get parts for those stupid tuners in a few years and Gibson suggests you check eBay...
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