5 Years in: Tronical+ loaded Strat

[Bob Zaod]

Man I don't understand why I don't see more people bragging about this system. It has been such a game changer (yeah a real one) for me since installing it on my fat strat. I can go from any tuning to any other tuning in 10 seconds or less depending on how far away the next one is. Doesn't affect intonation negatively and I have had exactly zero issues with it since the day I installed it. I mean how can you argue with being able to go from E standard to double drop D to Open E to DADGAD at the drop of a hat?

I have gotten so used to it I am not sure what I'd do without it. has seen at least a couple hundred gigs and has never given me trouble. What a fantastic piece of technology. If I HAD to pick one thing out of all my gear that I would never part with it's my Tronical+ loaded strat.

 

[fretworn]

Get Your TronicalTune PLUS - best automatic guitar tuner

guitar tuner professional and from Tronical. full automatic guitar tuner that fits almost any guitar like Fender, Gibson, Ibanez Yamaha

www.tronicaltune.com

Pretty damn cool. Tell us more…

 

[itchyfingers]

This is a strong sell!

Is this the same system that people couldn’t wait to remove from their Gibsons in like 2015?

 

[Bob Zaod]

Get Your TronicalTune PLUS - best automatic guitar tuner

guitar tuner professional and from Tronical. full automatic guitar tuner that fits almost any guitar like Fender, Gibson, Ibanez Yamaha

www.tronicaltune.com

Pretty damn cool. Tell us more…

I mean not much more to say. It can do any tuning even if it's not a preset cos you can program custom tunings if you want also. It was super easy to install. I treat it exactly as the manual told me to and if I remember correctly I got the very first left handed model off the line according to the CSR I dealt with.

 

[Bob Zaod]

This is a strong sell!

Is this the same system that people couldn’t wait to remove from their Gibsons in like 2015?

Yes Tronical successfully sued Gibson for their poor rendition of it.

 

[fretworn]

So, no issues … hmnnn

 

[Bob Zaod]

So, no issues … hmnnn

Zilch. Even in loud environments.

 

[Diezelmonster]

That is amazing you have not had any issues, I work in music retail and am a dealer for Gibson, we started seeing the Robot guitars from day one *2006 or 2008?? can't remember* and they were initially very bad with the first iteration but when they went to the min e tune and Gforce era of tronical products it improved significantly.

I think 2 problems got them the flack they received.

1.) Gibson guitars have inherent tuning stability problems on the D and G strings and unless you rectify that this will only amplify it. Them adding a height adjustable brass nut and then titanium to fix the issues with the brass nut, didn't help.

2.) they expected end users, often people who never owned a guitar, to be able to operate them right out of the box. That was a huge mistake.
Even after we got a training course on the Robot guitars, the original MCK knob and the various iterations then onto the Min E Tune and Gforce, it was a lot to expect the casual guitar player to remember and be on board with. People got frustrated. I spent multiple hours showing people how to run the "string down" and "string up" modes so they could change strings. Let alone storing tunings and recalling them.

It's an awesome concept in my opinion but it should be a modification you seek out because you want to take the extra steps for the eventual "convenience" and then learn the system and it's "quirks"

 

[Bob Zaod]

That is amazing you have not had any issues, I work in music retail and am a dealer for Gibson, we started seeing the Robot guitars from day one *2006 or 2008?? can't remember* and they were initially very bad with the first iteration but when they went to the min e tune and Gforce era of tronical products it improved significantly.

I think 2 problems got them the flack they received.

1.) Gibson guitars have inherent tuning stability problems on the D and G strings and unless you rectify that this will only amplify it. Them adding a height adjustable brass nut and then titanium to fix the issues with the brass nut, didn't help.

2.) they expected end users, often people who never owned a guitar, to be able to operate them right out of the box. That was a huge mistake.
Even after we got a training course on the Robot guitars, the original MCK knob and the various iterations then onto the Min E Tune and Gforce, it was a lot to expect the casual guitar player to remember and be on board with. People got frustrated. I spent multiple hours showing people how to run the "string down" and "string up" modes so they could change strings. Let alone storing tunings and recalling them.

It's an awesome concept in my opinion but it should be a modification you seek out because you want to take the extra steps for the eventual "convenience" and then learn the system and it's "quirks"

Those were very early systems that were on the Gibsons. Tronical rectified the issues fairly quick. I have only had the plus so I cant speak for versions before it or after it. I know they still sell the plus and I know it was super easy to install and maintain. Maintenance isn't much different than standard tuners. Make sure the post nuts and key screws are tight but not overly tight.. No need to lubricate anything other than the nut though. I use the same stuff I have been using for that for many years, graphite oil.
One thing I did not mention that I have done is to calibrate it to a good tuner. I use a Korg Pitch Black when intonating or when calibrating the Tronical. It will by default (depending on how choosy you set it) take longer to get the tuning super close or dead on. I think the default is around 20c +/-.

Also string changes are a bit more cumbersome than on a standard strat.