Gibson Shows New Self-Tuning Guitar

Japanese musician Ichiro Tanaka holds Gibson's new product "Robot Guitar" at Gibson Tokyo office Monday, Dec. 3, 2007. A new electric guitar from Gibson comes with robotics technology that allows the instrument to tune itself in a matter of seconds. The technology, developed in partnership with German company Tronical, allows the guitar to recognize pitch and use its processor and six motors on its tuning pegs to tighten the strings accordingly. Gibson, based in Nashville, TN., says it's the world's first guitar-turned-robot. The Les Paul with a Blue Silverburst finish goes on sale globally Dec. 7 for 308,700 yen (US$2,780; euro1,880) in Japan and US$2,499 in the U.S. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

(AP) -- Musicians of the world are getting a new kind of artistic freedom with technology that eliminates the challenging chore of tuning.