Gibson may have failed with its experiments with robot tuners, but Band Industries’ fourth-generation Roadie tuner wants to convince the world that it was onto something after all.
The Roadie 4 is a smart tuner that automates the tuning process in double-quick time, and it arrives with “completely re-engineered algorithms and upgraded audio circuitry.”
Guitarists can completely change their tuning with just one pluck per string. As seen in the video below, co-founder Bassam Jalgha switches from E standard to open D after inputting his desired tuning into the device before placing it onto a tuning peg.
After hitting each string once, the Roadie 4 automatically turns the pegs to lock his acoustic guitar into the new tuning. An audible beep can be heard once the correct pitch has been achieved. And it does so steadily, with no shaking or extraneous noise.
In the three years since the high-scoring Roadie 3, its creators have dissected user feedback to ensure its younger brother mastered and expanded on its recipe. In total, Band Industries has been working on the Roadie’s R&D for 12 years, and the fruits of its labor are now ready to be picked.
One key improvement is its bigger screen. Expanded to a 1.9” full-color LCD display, it more than doubles its predecessor's screen size.
It’s also very immune to background noise, meaning tuning can be delivered in a library and in the middle of a bustling backstage green room with equal degrees of accuracy.
A new scroll wheel enables quicker navigation of its features, with different instruments and tunings selectable. With that in mind, the device’s peg connector has also been modified. It will now hook up to a wider array of instruments with pegs larger and smaller than the average guitar.
Everything from electric guitars to acoustics, mandolins, ukuleles, and banjos are all on the table. It can also handle 12-string, seven-string, and eight-string guitars, meaning low-pitched riff machines aren’t too much for this thing to handle.
Bassists will need to order the instrument-specific Roadie Bass, which is already on the market.
The Roadie 4 is also taller than those that came before it, and it has an anti-slip backing as part of its more ergonomic profile.
“Roadie 4 is our most powerful and user-friendly tuner to date, built to make tuning faster, more precise, and effortless,” says Band Industries. “With cutting-edge vibration detection, completely revamped audio circuitry and algorithms, a high-torque motor, and improved resistance to background noise, Roadie 4 delivers flawless, reliable tuning, whether you're at home, on stage, or in the studio.”
Freshly launched as a Kickstarter campaign, at the time of writing, it has decimated its £7,441 target, having amassed over £100,000 from over 1,000 backers.
The campaign can be backed for as little as $10 (with no reward), while 1x Roadie 4 costs $109. Two can be bought for the slightly discounted price of $200, and three cost $299.
Head to Kickstarter to learn more.
