NAMM 2012: Peavey Announces AT-200 Auto-Tune guitar

Auto-Tune seems to be an early theme of his year's NAMM, as Peavey has just introduced the AT-200, a guitar that boasts Antares Auto-Tune technology that allows it to never go out of tune.

The AT-200 not only keeps your guitar in perfect standard tuning, but allows you to choose from a wide variety of popular alternate tunings, as well as some unique ones that veer into Sonic Youth territory. The AT-200 also features a virtual capo, Solid-Tune Intonation and a dedicated MIDI interface.

From Peavey: Music and audio innovator Peavey Electronics® has partnered with Antares Audio Technologies, the creator of world-renowned Auto-Tune® pitch-correction technology, to announce the dawn of the new guitar revolution: the Peavey AT-200™ guitar featuring Auto-Tune for Guitar, a new musical instrument that electronically self tunes and intonates continuously as you play.

With the simple push of a button on the Peavey AT-200, guitar players can now create music in perfect tune and pitch. The Peavey AT-200 utilizes Antares Auto-Tune for Guitar, a DSP technology that works behind the scenes to bring the clarity of perfect pitch to a quality instrument in an unobtrusive manner. No bulky, unattractive hardware weighs down the playing experience—the Peavey AT-200 looks, plays and sounds just like a conventional guitar, exactly the way it should.

Just as Auto-Tune changed how vocals are recorded, the Peavey AT-200 with Auto-Tune for Guitar will forever change the way guitars are played and recorded. Players won’t have to stop to retune during live performances. Producers and engineers will no longer waste precious time on tuning and intonation issues during recording sessions. With the AT-200 guitar, perfect pitch is the new standard.

The Peavey AT-200 is also the gateway to a growing collection of powerful new Auto-Tune for Guitar features. With its built-in software upgrade capability, new features from Antares can be easily loaded into the AT-200 and controlled by any MIDI source, from MIDI foot switch controllers to iPad or iPhone devices running dedicated Auto-Tune control software.

Combining Peavey’s 47-year legacy of innovation in music and audio with Antares’ history of creating game-changing audio technologies is a natural partnership, said Peavey Electronics founder and CEO Hartley Peavey.

“Peavey has always been a ‘different’ kind of company, one that is driven by the desire to innovate and advance the possibilities in music and audio, while serving players and professionals with attainable, quality products,” said Peavey. “Partnering with Antares to bring their revolutionary Auto-Tune technology to guitars is the gateway to the next generation of music creation. As always, we’re proud to be leading the way.”

As countless players and producers know, less-than-perfect intonation can seriously muddy a guitar's tone. The Peavey AT-200 guitar with the Antares Solid-Tune™ intonation system constantly monitors the precise pitch of each individual string and electronically makes any corrections necessary to ensure that every note of every chord and riff is always in tune, regardless of variables like finger position or pressure. The technology is even smart enough to know when players intend to manipulate pitch, so bends and vibrato sound as natural as they always have. As a result, listening to a guitar with Solid-Tune is a revelation, offering a purity of tone that has simply never before been possible.

“We knew that our Auto-Tune had the power to change the sound of guitars, creating sonority and clarity,” said Dr. Andy Hildebrand, founder of Antares Audio Technologies. “Partnering with a company revered for quality and reliability like Peavey was very important to this project. Peavey has been a leader in musical instruments for decades, and the AT-200 with Auto-Tune for Guitar is a high-quality guitar that any musician can appreciate.”

Peavey’s legacy of innovation includes pioneering the use of computers in guitar making and in creating the first digitally configured and controlled audio system. In addition, Peavey’s ReValver™ amplifier modeling software has changed the way musicians and producers think about recording guitar tone forever.