This tiny guitar amp is the most unhinged distortion pedal I’ve ever used
This tiny guitar amp is the most unhinged distortion pedal I’ve ever used

Is Amp Crash a guitar amp or a guitar pedal? Yes. Death By Audio’s latest is, in fact, both. While it’s in a guitar pedal enclosure, Amp Crash is actually a tiny 3-watt amp hooked up to a 2-inch speaker. You can even connect an external speaker if you want. This isn’t a digital re-creation […]

The piano that taught my cat to play for her supper
The piano that taught my cat to play for her supper

The pianist sits before her instrument. She carefully extends a front paw, pressing gingerly on a key. She presses again, and again. She is composing some soul music, because something terrible has happened to her: The vacuum cleaner has come out of the closet. Yes, my cat is a tortured artist. When Jeeves is moved […]

AI music has reached the charts, and the artists using it have stopped hiding it
AI music has reached the charts, and the artists using it have stopped hiding it

The american rapper Tyga has admitted that artificial intelligence generated the retro synths on his new album, Timbaland has signed an entirely AI-created pop star, and a machine-assisted summer hit has already reached the Billboard Hot 100. Generativ…

Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal crafted a hip-hop breakup masterpiece
Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal crafted a hip-hop breakup masterpiece

“Breakups are… tough.” It’s the opening lines of an interlude toward the end of DOOMED! Called “It Happens in Every Universe.” It’s also basically the thesis of the entire record. It’s no grand revelation, but it’s a well-trodden subject that Open Mike Eagle manages to mine for artistic gold. Eagle’s subject matter is usually personal, […]

Don’t overlook Elektron’s budget electronic music instruments
Don’t overlook Elektron’s budget electronic music instruments

When I’m asked what to buy if you want to get into making electronic music, I often recommend Elektron’s budget-minded Model:Samples and Model:Cycles grooveboxes. They don’t grab headlines the way Teenage Engineering’s gear or the Telepathic Instruments Orchid do, and even compared to the company’s higher-end and more niche musical offerings like the Digitakt, Octatrack, […]

Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding love fresh vegetables and guitar pedals
Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding love fresh vegetables and guitar pedals

As if you needed more reason to love Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” beyond its pop perfection, it is also, according to lore, the genesis for Switched on Pop, one of the best music podcasts out there. Cohosts Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding obsessively dissect pop songs, from the theory behind their musical choices […]

Suno is trying to look more like a real music production tool
Suno is trying to look more like a real music production tool

Suno is releasing Studio 2.0 with significant upgrades that push it closer to an actual digital audio workstation (DAW), rather than a bare-bones audio editor with generative AI features. The biggest addition is undoubtedly MIDI support. Suno says that MIDI was its most requested feature, and it’s basically a prerequisite for any modern DAW. Unfortunately, […]

Guitar company D’Addario admits that AI music was used in a promotional video
Guitar company D’Addario admits that AI music was used in a promotional video

After weeks of controversy and speculation, music company D’Addario has admitted that AI, specifically Suno, was used as part of a recent promotional video. For nearly two weeks, the company has denied the allegations, even as evidence piled up against it. It offered various explanations, from low-quality exports, to combinations of plug-ins like Autotune introducing […]

Spotify says it won’t recommend music from ‘AI Personas’
Spotify says it won’t recommend music from ‘AI Personas’

Spotify will soon label AI artists and remove their music from your recommendations. The change, which will start rolling out in mid-September, means you’ll see an “AI Persona” badge on an artist’s profile across the app if they do “not represent a real person.” The music streaming platform will allow artists to disclose that they’re […]

No Dogs in Space is a music history podcast for true obsessives
No Dogs in Space is a music history podcast for true obsessives

Sadly, there hasn’t been a new episode of No Dogs in Space since July of 2024. Part four of the podcast’s series on Can wrapped up an abbreviated season 3, which focused on experimental rock. Don’t get me wrong, I loved seasons 1 and 2, but the show seemed to be gearing up for a […]