# Is Tronical (robot tuners) Out Of Business?



## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

I went to their website and there are no batteries for sale, very limited inventory, a number of items marked as out of stock, and many things not even on the site anymore. When I try to log in to ask them a question my user name and email are not on record.

I really like the min-etuners. I hope they are still alive.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

God I hope so. 😆


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

zztomato said:


> God I hope so. 😆


I will buy the company, and give free robo tuners to everyone in Ottawa, with a note to call you for service.


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## Private Hudson (Jan 27, 2018)

If you find a place for batteries, let me know. I knew I should have picked up a spare.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

player99 said:


> I will buy the company, and give free robo tuners to everyone in Ottawa, with a note to call you for service.


Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Private Hudson said:


> If you find a place for batteries, let me know. I knew I should have picked up a spare.


Hopefully it won't come to this, but I was looking at the battery. It has 2 metal contacts on the outside bottom with + and - on them. If they are not available and mine die completely I will hollow out the battery case, and somehow run 2 wires to the contacts, and add a new battery on the outside of the tuner. They are 3.7 volts. 

If I had a 3D printer I could also print a new blank case to fit into the battery slot with the wires as I outlined above.


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

zztomato said:


> God I hope so. 😆


Beat me to it!


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Chitmo said:


> Beat me to it!


They do require a certain level of intelligence to operate so I can see why you would not be able to use them properly.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Are the batteries a custom proprietary build only available from whoever made the tuners ?


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## Larry (Sep 3, 2016)

player99 said:


> I went to their website and there are no batteries for sale, very limited inventory, a number of items marked as out of stock, and many things not even on the site anymore. When I try to log in to ask them a question my user name and email are not on record.
> 
> I really like the min-etuners. I hope they are still alive.


[email protected] is the L&M Gibson rep, he should be able to get what you want/need.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Larry said:


> [email protected] is the L&M Gibson rep, he should be able to get what you want/need.


Thanks. I emailed him. I thought since Gibson sued Tronical and Tronical sued Gibson they may not deal with them anymore... Worth a shot though.


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

player99 said:


> They do require a certain level of intelligence to operate so I can see why you would not be able to use them properly.


I would argue that they’re for people that lack the skills required to tune a guitar on their own. Probably the same people that take their guitar to L&M to have the strings changed, haha!


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)




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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Chitmo said:


> I would argue that they’re for people that lack the skills required to tune a guitar on their own. Probably the same people that take their guitar to L&M to have the strings changed, haha!





laristotle said:


> View attachment 321156


Seriously? That's a comeback? You guys suck at this. hahahaaa


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Chitmo said:


> I would argue that they’re for people that lack the skills required to tune a guitar on their own. Probably the same people that take their guitar to L&M to have the strings changed, haha!


So you consider the hand shovel the only way to dig a foundation? If someone uses a backhoe they don't have the skills to dig the hole by hand with a shovel? 

Luddite alert! 
*
Dictionary 

a person opposed to new technology or ways of working.
"a small-minded Luddite resisting progress"*


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## Private Hudson (Jan 27, 2018)

It may run under volted to. You can get coins (cr2032) everywhere and they are 3.3.
You can get 3.7V too so we will never be out of luck. Good excuse to get the soldering iron out.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Private Hudson said:


> It may run under volted to. You can get coins (cr2032) everywhere and they are 3.3.
> You can get 3.7V too so we will never be out of luck. Good excuse to get the soldering iron out.


I looked at a spare I have. There are some small round holes that look to be keeping the top control chassis fastened to the plate. I think I would rather mod the battery than to take it apart to get at the terminals in the bottom of the battery compartment.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Wardo said:


> Are the batteries a custom proprietary build only available from whoever made the tuners ?


Yes they are custom. At least I think they are.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

I was looking at buying a battery powered acoustic amp but have decided not to however I narrowed it down to fishman because they use a lead acid battery that you can get in CT for $20 whereas Bose uses a specialized lithium ion battery that costs a lot and you can only get it from them so long as they don’t stop carrying them. Didn’t occur to me about the batteries until after I’d gone through the specs for a lot of amps.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I don't know if the tronical / robotuner idea is the best, but I do support the effort to bring guitars into the modern world.

As I have said many times, keyboard players figured this shit out decades ago.

Yes, I can tune a guitar by ear or with a tuner. Why the resistance to spending more time playing (and staying in tune) than tuning?


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I previously owned two guitars with the "robot tuners" - these were the original iteration. It was a neat party trick, but it didn't always work any better than tuning the old fashioned way. From a future maintenance perspective, I put these in the same category as my old Yamaha DG-80 amp with the motorized chicken-head knobs. Cool when they work, good luck finding a replacement.

Like @Milkman I'm all for anything that brings things up to date - definitely not stuck in 1959. Modern materials, C&C Machining, tighter manufacturing tolerances, PLEK, etc are all good changes that technology has brought. Robot tuners don't fall into the same category.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Since tuning a guitar is so quick and easy it seems like a problem that didn’t need a solution. Especially such a Rube Goldberg contraption as these were. A lot of moving parts and electronics to save 10 seconds.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

BlueRocker said:


> I previously owned two guitars with the "robot tuners" - these were the original iteration. It was a neat party trick, but it didn't always work any better than tuning the old fashioned way. From a future maintenance perspective, I put these in the same category as my old Yamaha DG-80 amp with the motorized chicken-head knobs. Cool when they work, good luck finding a replacement.
> 
> Like @Milkman I'm all for anything that brings things up to date - definitely not stuck in 1959. Modern materials, C&C Machining, tighter manufacturing tolerances, PLEK, etc are all good changes that technology has brought. Robot tuners don't fall into the same category.


I use them many times daily. They work great. I have them installed on 5 of my guitars. Tronical tuners are definitely an incredible technology.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

I was told that if you have one guitar and play a set with different altered timings they're a great time saver. 
One guitar.... ha!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Funny, but if I was living in a cave for the past ten years or more and just emerged now, and you were to tell me they had introduced technology that would keep guitars in tune with a tap of a button, no way would I expect the sort of negative acceptance level I see.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Milkman said:


> Funny, but if I was living in a cave for the past ten years or more and just emerged now, and you were to tell me they had introduced technology that would keep guitars in tune with a tap of a button, no way would I expect the sort of negative acceptance level I see.


I would agree if it was solving a difficult problem. But it's not. Even if you are using different tunings, the experiences related say that it can't be trusted all the time. That seems like a big drawback to me. But, what do I know? That drill-like tuning device seems have some traction in the community though.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

And yet, so many players struggle to get guitars in tune and keep them there.

Keyboard player shows up ready to go. Everything is likely digitally controlled.

I haven't used the robotuners for a gig. I've played with a set and they worked perfectly, but a gig is, I realize, a different set of conditions and pressures.

If you don't like them ok, clearly many seem to agree with you. I'm surprised so many dislike them as I've said, but then again, to deny the love of antiquities and retro styles and technologies among guitarists as a group is pretty hard.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

It’s weird. I never grew up with guitars and only recently got into playing them. So I shouldn’t be stuck in a retro mindset as my life has been one of buying and trying the latest tech. I’m in favour of new guitar technology such as composite bodies, stainless frets, wireless systems, improved trems and such. I’ve just got some strange bias against anything requiring batteries. Even active pickups. Buying a guitar with those tuners wouldn’t be an issue. I’d just not install them on anything I currently own.


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

Milkman said:


> And yet, so many players struggle to get guitars in tune and keep them there.
> 
> Keyboard player shows up ready to go. Everything is likely digitally controlled.
> 
> ...


Just an observation, but a lot of people seem to dislike you as well and you don’t get that either.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Chitmo said:


> Just an observation, but a lot of people seem to dislike you as well and you don’t get that either.



Wow. That was kind of out of the blue, but hey, thanks.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Milkman said:


> Wow. That was kind of out of the blue, but hey, thanks.


 this site is fucked.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

You can use them manually. They're geared high, which means they're very accurate manually. The whole unit is lighter than most tuner sets.


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## Private Hudson (Jan 27, 2018)

Chitmo said:


> Just an observation, but a lot of people seem to dislike you as well and you don’t get that either.


Look kids ... it's a prick !


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Private Hudson said:


> Look kids ... it's a prick !


Just a little pinprick, they'll be no more ah ah aha


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## Private Hudson (Jan 27, 2018)

player99 said:


> I went to their website and there are no batteries for sale, very limited inventory, a number of items marked as out of stock, and many things not even on the site anymore. When I try to log in to ask them a question my user name and email are not on record.
> 
> I really like the min-etuners. I hope they are still alive.


G-FORCE Battery

And delivery is expensive !


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Private Hudson said:


> G-FORCE Battery
> 
> And delivery is expensive !


Plus they have a limited shelf life of a couple of years...


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## brokentoes (Jun 29, 2014)

Ive never tried them. Have nothing against them. What you are asking about shows the problem though. You cant just slap a 9 volt in there and be off and running again. You are left holding the bag. I once bought some cables with a lifetime warranty. They were out of business like 2 years later lol. Thats on me haha.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

brokentoes said:


> Ive never tried them. Have nothing against them. What you are asking about shows the problem though. You cant just slap a 9 volt in there and be off and running again. You are left holding the bag. I once bought some cables with a lifetime warranty. They were out of business like 2 years later lol. Thats on me haha.


I have had a ton of stuff rendered useless because of these custom made batteries. I bought 5 pair of 3D glasses for my TV's and they all need new batteries. I have a couple of very expensive recording glasses that the battieries are dead. I am hoping that the tuners can be wired somehow to hold a new battery.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

They went out of business because “Tronicals” sounds like a name for the things that this purple bastard has on top of his head. It had nothing to do with whether or not robo tuners were a good idea.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Wardo said:


> They went out of business because “Tronicals” sounds like a name for the things that this purple bastard has on top of his head. It had nothing to do with whether or not robo tuners were a good idea.
> View attachment 333714


Now I get it. I never made that connection before.


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## 1989virago (Nov 7, 2021)

player99 said:


> Now I get it. I never made that connection before.


I realize I am late to this party, but I just ordered 2 of the GBP452050 for my epiphone Les Paul. I went thru Gibson (US) but ended up at Tronical. Located in Hamburg, Germany. Still looking for a supplier a little closer. Int'l fed x is a shocker for a package so small. [email protected]


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