Been doing some research on the new 2015 Les Paul's, primarily the new brass nut and Geforce tuning system is where the problems are occurring
Turns out Gibson is using a soft brass for that zero fret nut, so when the Geforce tuner is being used it's creating such friction that its wearing grooves into the brass nut and leaving metal dust residue on the fretboard.
Plus some people have been having issues with recharging the Geforce battery..
Here's the problem that they have with that system: First, if there's too much friction in the nut, the tuning system won't work at all. So the nut has to have a groove cut lengthwise in the middle and the zero fret to minimize the contact between the string and the nut.
Since the plated steel on most of their strings is harder than the brass nut, and since the nut's actual contact points are quite narrow, you have a recipe for wear issues.
I suppose a trem system poses a recipe for friction, too, but after many years of making guitars with trems, most of those issues have been solved already by various makers.
I don't know what that big trench in the nut does to affect the tone, but it probably isn't the same thing as having the string contact the nut the way it does on a traditional nut, regardless of what it's made of.
The second issue I have with the tuning system is that as with any electronic device, after a certain period of time it isn't likely to be supported by the manufacturer. This wouldn't be as big a deal if it was an old computer, or an old cell phone, or even an old car, but with a musical instrument that can last for generations, it might prove to be a very big deal indeed.
I hate tuning, but I hate string changes. more I think if the system changed strings for me, I'd buy it despite the drawbacks!
This of course has nothing to do with the weight, the ability of the tuning mechanisms to last for many years, etc. I'm talking about the ability to work at ALL once better technology becomes available.
I do applaud Gibson for trying something new. Whether it should be optional instead of standard is another matter entirely. Whether a big plastic thingamajig hanging off the headstock is or isn't a good thing aesthetically, I leave to others to decide.
But if I was young enough to look forward to 20 or 30 years with my guitar, I really wouldn't want to depend on that machinery for anywhere near that long.
