Roboshred - Watch a 78-fingered robot rip a guitar solo

I have been a fan of Squarepusher and most of the folks on Warp Records for more than a decade, but I didn't see this one coming!

www.independent.co.uk...

A new band called Z-Machines will be releasing an album through Warp Records soon, comprised of a robot guitarist with 78 fingers and a robot drummer with 22 arms.

Now, I'm not someone who is automatically interested in music or technology purely based on its complexity, but the music itself is very subtle and not exactly Van Halen (thank gahd haha), but don't take my word for it!

Czech it out:

Started out ok, but then.. Wow, that sounded like total crap! 72 fingers is overkill and it still couldn't produce a good song. Just can't replace humans when it comes to art/music. Thanks for sharing anyway!

Yeah that sounds like total crap. Kind of reminds me of the Christmas lights linked up to the radio thing. It does sound forced and completely emotionless but it is a cool idea.

Lets see it play Eruption by Edward Van Halen. Then I will be impressed. This robot sounds terrible and I'm willing to give it lessons.

reply to post by HyphenSt1


Thanks for sharing, it is interesting, I bet it could be really wondrous with the right music composition.

reply to post by HyphenSt1

I find it interesting to say the least. But, as a lifelong musician, all the tech involved here lacks human emotion.

And emotion...is what makes music enjoyable. It is pretty cool though....in a mechanical sort of way!

reply to post by HyphenSt1


PS-It is another form (identical) of sequencing-midi. I use midi-sequencing to play other pre-recorded tracks I do 1st...and then overdub the guitar or other parts as it plays.

As such...this track is mediocre at best as a sequenced piece. Some are absolutely amazing. Thank you tho for this!

Lol @ you guys. That sounded awesome. My guess is your rock ears aren't used to the polyrhythms and intervals. I heard lots of 7th chords and b9's

Eruption?!? Really?!? Listen to the solo section again. John petrucci would've proud to claim that solo as his.
My only criticism is the lack of vibrato. That's the secret to "feeling it"
Once they get a robot that can master all the subtle nuances of vibrato then ill never pick up a guitar again. Until then....

Sounded a bit like Eno, Fripp or Buckethead. If you don't like (or are unfamiliar with,) Avant-garde music, I can see why you'd say it was terrible, but within that genre, it was actually pretty good.

We had a bit on the show a couple of weeks about about how 1/2 of all jobs will be automated by 2050, and Dave and a couple of people in chat said "you'll never replace artists!" but it's just a matter of time before they do. There are already robot painters that do amazing work, and this guitar robot is another example... give them 30 years, and there won't be any human guitar players, apart from hobbyists.

Still needs a human to tell it what music really is.

And the human that taught it needs to go back to his/her roots IMO.

Peace

reply to post by HyphenSt1


Awesome. Just awesome.

Anyone feel obsolete yet?


F&S

reply to post by HyphenSt1


Technology only improves with age. So I wouldn't be surprised if it gets to the point where human vocalists are the only part of the band. They write the song and hire someone to program the robots to play the music. Technology will eventually replace a lot of things we take for granted. Who would have foreseen 50 years ago how today's technology would have encompassed our daily lives, and how it has replaced some jobs once done by people.

Horrible music. And if you can't play guitar and make it sound like you've got 72 fingers, you're not doing it right. The thing should sing, but what the 72 finger robot doesn't know is that the silences are as or more important than the sounds. And it can't improvise when the mood hits, the balancing of the sound with the air itself, the teamwork involved in playing in-between someone elses riffs.

And a drumming robot? Ha. Make way for THE drummingrobot, and the fastest drumming in the world. If you don't want to watch it all, start around 2:30 and coast to he starts kicking it in at 3:30. I think I may have seen him play faster in person once, because I saw the master, Buddy Rich, start the drumhead smoking.

reply to post by HyphenSt1


This is not the only song these robots play (yes robots as there is a drummer and bassist aswell.
There are plenty other songs that they do that are more metalish.
This was a jazz tune and yes 99.99% of all jazz sounds like # just like this.

Watch the other videos folks.us

I kinda liked it! But I want to see what it would do with Jimmy Hendrix's 'Star Spangled Banner'.

mysterioustranger
reply to post by HyphenSt1

 

PS-It is another form (identical) of sequencing-midi. I use midi-sequencing to play other pre-recorded tracks I do 1st...and then overdub the guitar or other parts as it plays.

As such...this track is mediocre at best as a sequenced piece. Some are absolutely amazing. Thank you tho for this!

edit on 09-22-2013 by mysterioustranger because: (no reason given)

I would say it is robotics using midi instructions, or rather digital instructions to play the real instruments, to make a real analogue sound. A kind of reverse logic. The problem here, is that the result is worse than MIDI, since there are little in the way of the dynamics available in stringed instruments, except a bit of muting and tone colours, even the plecs used look all the same and who, even in a multitude, uses the same plec? At least MIDI attempts user dynamics badly. So MIDI may have it's uses, I'm not sure of the point here. May as well build a car.

reply to post by Aleister


RIP Buddy Rich.

He was awesome. No robot can or will ever be able to replace him.

The first part sounded sort of tubular bells....the second sounds like my bro and his jazz buddies down the basement.

reply to post by HyphenSt1


My mate says your alright mate....says you sound a bit like Goldie....

Squarepusher is good, but he's got nothing on his brother, Ceephax Acid Crew.



Hope those bots do a tour! that'd be an interesting 1.

soficrow
reply to post by HyphenSt1

 

Awesome. Just awesome.

Anyone feel obsolete yet?


F&S

Definitely not, music comes from the soul, robotics do not have a soul, they are strictly linear in concept when the real world could be in chaos.