Cosmic Cantina owner makes guitars sing true

Cosmos Lyles thinks he has solved two big problems.

The first — a public desire for quality burritos in the Triangle — finds its solution in Lyles’ chain of Mexican restaurants, Cosmic Cantina.

The second — guitars that won’t stay in tune — is alleviated by his invention of EverTune, which is recently available in stores.

EverTune is a bridge installed on a guitar that keeps the instrument in the same tune set by its player, eliminating the need for retuning.

It uses constant-tension technology and is a purely spring-and-lever system, freeing users from the need to purchase batteries, said Lyles’ publicist.

Lyles, who studied engineering and physics at Duke University, said that his invention of EverTune was a function of his mathematical background.

“It’s mostly just math,” he said. “And a lot of trigonometry.”

In addition to his academic studies, Lyles continued to develop his musicianship by playing the guitar and piano during his undergraduate career.

Having grown up in San Francisco, Lyles founded Cosmic Cantina in 1995 in response to a lack of “San Fran-style” burritos in the Triangle.

“Burritos are such a staple in college towns, especially late at night,” he said.

Though Lyles enjoys the culinary industry, he said his true passion is inventing.

“It was pretty easy to enter the restaurant business,” he said. “But I always wanted to be an inventor.”

With EverTune in the picture, guitars will gradually become more like keyboards because they won’t need to be constantly retuned, Lyles said.

O’Ryan McKinney, Lyles’s publicist, said that when she first saw EverTune three years ago, she was impressed by its innovation.

“EverTune is kind of a publicist’s dream,” she said. “It’s an amazing solution to a problem people never realized they could fix.”

McKinney cited Lyles’s mathematic capabilities as the driving force behind his inventive efforts.

“There’s something so different about his mind,” she said. “He has that engineering brain.”

Since its creation, EverTune has gained widespread recognition.

The device was mentioned in Popular Science magazine’s 2010 “Invention of the Year” issue, as well as the 10th Annual “Year in Ideas” issue of the New York Times Magazine. Allen Anderson, a guitarist and professor in UNC’s music department, said he was intrigued by EverTune when he first read about it.

“I’m curious to try it,” he said. “Guitars contend with so many tuning issues. Here’s a solution that avoids motors, batteries and chips.”

McKinney said that EverTune could feasibly have a long-term effect on the guitar industry.

“It’s going to change the face of guitars a lot,” she said.

As a musician as well as an inventor, Lyles agreed that EverTune will be a great help to his playing, especially during a live show.

“When you’re playing and your guitar goes out of tune, you have to just stop completely and fix it,” he said.

“That can really kill the moment of the show.”

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.