Pre-Owned 2007 Gibson Les Paul Robot Guitar Limited Edition 1st Run Blue Silver Burst With OHSC
Back in December 2007, Gibson unveiled a revolutionary line of guitars, with the first run of limited edition Robot Guitars. It started with a Les Paul, then expanded to an SG, Flying V and X-Plorer. The series lasted until 2012, and was rather polarizing at the time. But like many things in the world, what was once derided has become cool again. This was a landmark model, and this is one of the first built.
Here we have a rare example: a first run build that has never been played. It was originally here at Truetone, sold to an associate, and safely store in their home, never played. Now, nearly 20 years later, it has reemerged - with everything it came with originally and not even a scratch. It's like a new guitar....a Robot Guitar at that.
This self-tuning guitar has an innovative system was developed by Gibson and the Tronical Company of Germany, based on the latter's Powertune system. Piezo saddles in the Tune-o-matic bridge feed each string's pitch to a microprocessor that goes to the Powerhead Locking Tuners. Each tuner has a motor that works in sync with the bridge to tune the string. All of this is powered by a rechargeable battery pack inside the control cavity of the guitar, leaving the body's appearance unchanged from a normal Les Paul.
You still have the standard 4 knob arrangment with individual pickup volume and tone controls, but in place of the bridge pickup tone control, you get a Master Control Knob (MCK). This is how you activate the automatic tuning function. When it's down, it's a normal tone control. When it's up, it activates the circuit for the robot tuners. You get to chose from 7 factory presets for tuning, 6 of which are editable.
Right off the bat you'll notice the finish - it's a Blue Silver Burst paint job that was promised by Gibson to only be used on this release. It's nitrocellulose lacquer, and looks stunning. The blue-tinted metallic flake gives the guitar a beautiful sheen. While the body is reminiscent of a Les Paul Studio, it features a bound neck and headstock, with a mother of pearl logo to top it off. The body is made of mahogany with a carved maple top, and is chambered for weight relief - the guitar comes in at 8.00 lbs even.
It will be comfortable to play all night, thanks to that weigh, as was as the 50's rounded profile on the mahogany neck (.82 - .98"), which is topped with an ebony fretboard that has a 12" radius and medium jumbo frets.
A pair of 490R and 498T humbuckers bring the classic Les Paul sound to the forefront. So while you're getting unique technology and features found on no other guitar, you still get the iconic sound that players worldwide gravitate towards.
Another cool feature is the use of clear covers on the back of the guitar, so you can see inside. Gibson didn't have to do that, but we're glad they did!
The Les Paul Robot Guitar came with a special hardshell case, which is included here, as as well as the proprietary charger for the robot tuners, and a certificate of authenticity showing that this was a first run build. Everything is in perfect shape.
Vetted and setup to play perfectly by the techs in our shop, this special guitar is ready to go. If you're looking to get a legendary piece of Gibson history, this is quite the find - and likely the only one that you'll see that's essentially still next. And, it's not likely to last long here!
Serial Number: RG 1662