Executive Summary

The goal of our system is to provide guitar players of all ages and skill levels with accurate hands-free tuning. The system is unique in that it is designed for an acoustic guitar. The design will implement several major components. To begin, a device will be used to collect the vibrations from a single plucked guitar string, and convert them into an electronic signal. The signal will then be used to record the appropriate frequency of each string. The information containing the fundamental frequency of the plucked string will be sent to a microprocessor, where it will be compared to the desired tuning frequency. A keypad and LCD will be part of the user interface and allow the consumer to choose which note the consumer would like to assign to the string. Based on the difference between the actual and desired frequencies, a signal generated in the microprocessor will be sent to control the rotation of a servo motor. This will alter the tension in the string, thus, tuning the guitar. A manual tuning option will also allow the user to tune the guitar by plucking the string and observing the LEDs to determine whether the string is in tune. During manual tuning, the remaining components will be powered down while the user adjusts the tuning peg. In addition, the system will possess an on/off option, which allows th