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“I’d go back to my mother’s house and sleep in my childhood bed and feel like life is still real”: Dave Grohl on coping with Nirvana’s sudden mainstream success
Sudden, world-conquering success might sound like the dream for any musician – but for 22-year-old Dave Grohl, that reality quickly became overwhelming.
In a new interview, the former Nirvana drummer opens up about anxiety and coping with fame at the height of the band’s explosion. Speaking in a recent chat with Logan Kelly on Logan Sounds Off, the Foo Fighters frontman reflects on just how disorienting Nirvana’s sudden mainstream success was.
“We didn’t think that it would be as popular as it became,” Grohl begins. “But I knew that the songs were so good. Kurt [Cobain] wrote amazing songs. His voice was so amazing and as a band we made this crazy noise and so I knew that it was special but I didn’t really think anyone else would understand the way that we did.”
“So when it became hugely popular it kind of freaked us all out. We were not expecting that to happen and it’s a lot to deal with. We were young too. I think I was 22 years old and I didn’t have much life behind me at that point. So yeah, it kind of freaked us all out.”
As the band’s profile grew, so did the pressure and the scale of what they were dealing with.
“It got to the point where I would have anxiety,” the guitarist explains. “The shows were getting bigger and I was nervous about that. Crazy shit was happening – shows were turning into riots.”
To cope, Grohl found himself retreating to something far removed from the chaos of Nirvana at their peak: “Whenever I had that anxiety or felt uncomfortable with it I would just go back to Virginia to my mother’s house and I would sleep in my childhood bedroom and hang out with my buddies from high school and be like ‘okay well life is still real.’ Like there’s still real life here.”
“I think everybody needs that,” he adds. “I think Kurt maybe didn’t have that and being the front person of the band he really did bear the brunt and responsibility of whatever it was. That could be difficult for anybody, especially at a young age. But I’ve always kind of relied on that.”
These days though, Grohl says he’s found a different kind of safety net – one built within his own band.
“It’s funny now as a band since we’ve been together for so long, just as I would lean on or retreat to my family when I was young, I can do that now with our band. We’ve just been together for so long that if I’m losing my fucking mind and the band is really busy and things are crazy, I can sort of step into the band instead of out of it for comfort.”
Elsewhere in the chat, the Foo Fighters leader also reveals his newfound fascination with Quebec rock duo Angine de Poitrine, noting how their music “absolutely blew my fucking mind.”
Watch the full interview below.
The post “I’d go back to my mother’s house and sleep in my childhood bed and feel like life is still real”: Dave Grohl on coping with Nirvana’s sudden mainstream success appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“I patently refuse to use AI in my music creation”: Billy Corgan calls AI “a deal with the devil” that could “wipe out” generations of songwriters
Billy Corgan is no fan of AI, and the world certainly won’t be seeing him use it in his music any time soon, if ever.
Appearing on the latest episode of And The Writer Is… podcast, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman slams artificial intelligence as “the most cataclysmic technological innovation” since the invention of moving pictures, framing its rise as an existential threat to songwriters and the creative process itself.
“You didn’t ask me, but I’m gonna make a declaratory statement,” Corgan begins [via Blabbermouth], “I refuse, refuse, patently refuse to use AI in my music creation. Because, to me, it’s a deal with the devil. Simple. Whether it’s the Promethean fire myth or whatever, to me you’re literally leaning into the thing that will destroy you. Period.”
For Corgan, the value of making music lies in the struggle itself: the doubt, the creative blocks, and the slow process of finding something new.
“The pressure, the inspiration, the soul searching, the ‘I’m not sure I got anything else to say’, that’s all part of the journey that a songwriter needs to go through,” he explains. “I’m saying it’s good that a songwriter has doubt, it’s good that a songwriter’s not sure they have anything left to say, it’s good that a songwriter has to think of a new chord that they haven’t thought of. That’s where the magic comes from.”
Removing that struggle risks changing not just how music is made, but how it is valued. In an AI-shaped future, he argues, authenticity itself could become a selling point.
“Maybe people will listen to me and continue to listen to me into my old age because they know it’s coming from me. That actually might be part of the sale.”
But Corgan’s concern extends beyond individual artistry. What begins as a creative tool, he warns, could reshape the entire ecosystem around music-making.
“I’m saying I’m making a bigger argument,” he continues. “We, us, we’re flirting with the thing that will destroy us as a economy, as a business, as a movement. We’re asking to be eradicated. We’re giving them our information. They already have all our other information. God knows what the labels are doing… You’re asking to be wiped out.”
“I think the real fallow winter that’s coming is you’re gonna lose generations of songwriters.”
He then draws a comparison to the rise of superproducers like Max Martin, and a music landscape whereby the “producer-writer is more important than the artist”, noting how AI could accelerate that shift to its extreme, to the point where the human musicianship is no longer central to creation at all.
“You’re gonna see the rise of the guy who knows how to run the programs better than the other guy or girl,” says Corgan. “And he’ll be branded and he’ll have a sponsorship and he’ll be doing commercials [saying] ‘you can be just like me… I’m just really good at knowing how to put this information together. I don’t even know fucking music. I just know what I like.’”
While he acknowledges that every generation has its technological ‘shock’, Corgan believes this one will hit harder than most.
“Let’s face it, this shit’s gonna wipe out a lot of people,” he says. “This might be the most cataclysmic technological innovation in this town since the change from silence to talking pictures. A lot of people are gonna lose their gig and there’s gonna be a lot of new faces who are suddenly boy or girl wonder because they know how to press some fricking buttons.”
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“I had to change his strings every day. He would play one song and destroy them”: Slash guitar tech reveals what it’s like working for the Guns N’ Roses legend
Ever wondered what it takes to keep one of rock’s biggest guitarists stage-ready night after night? In a new interview, Slash’s longtime guitar tech Ryan Redler peels back the curtain on life in service of the Guns N’ Roses icon – and it’s every bit as relentless, high-pressure, and gear-destroying as his ferocious playing style suggests.
Speaking on Shane Theriot’s Guitar Channel, Redler reveals the brutal workload that comes with maintaining Slash’s road-worn arsenal, starting with a seemingly simple task that quickly becomes anything but.
“Slash, I had to change his strings every day,” Redler explains. “He would play one song and destroy [them], because of the sweat and just how hard he plays.”
“So I was stringing his guitars every day – six, seven, eight, at least, stretching the strings, too, making sure the nut’s all set,” he says. “Man, I was wrecking my hands. I was changing so many guitars of his a day that on days off, I’d just rest my hands.”
That same intensity also extends beyond strings and into last-minute gear curveballs. During the interview, Redler recalls one particularly tense moment during the 2015 World on Fire tour that nearly derailed a show. Tasked with prepping a last-minute double-neck guitar, he was hit with an unexpected request just minutes before showtime.
“We went to Europe, and he decided he wanted to play a song where he needed a double-neck. We didn’t take his with him, so I found him a double-neck, and right before the show, I showed it to him, and the pickup covers were still on.”
Redler continues, “He goes, ‘You got to take the pickup covers off.’ And I was like ‘now?’ And it was getting close to showtime, and I had a lot of stuff to do. So that meant four pickup covers off, and they’re soldered on there.”
“One of my friends just told me, 11 years later, he’s like, ‘Oh, there’s a really easy way to do this.’”
“But [at the time] I had to do four of them, and it was hot. We were outdoors. I didn’t have my whole work case. So I started doing it. I’m taking the pickguards off… I was melting the solder to get that off, and one of those springs goes flying,” he says. “I was nervous enough, and that spring goes flying, and it’s an old wooden stage. And I didn’t have my stuff with me. I didn’t have a spring, and I don’t know what I would have done.”
With the clock ticking and the stage moments away from going live, Redler scrambled to recover: “I looked for about 15 minutes, and time’s running out. It’s showtime… but I found that spring. I did it, and hopefully it was in tune that night!”
Beyond repairs, Redler’s guitar tech’ing duties with Slash also extend into the performance itself.
“If he’s playing a lead, [I had to] hit a boost or a chorus,” says Redler.
Even so, the pair’s working relationship remains surprisingly grounded: “If we had something go wrong, I could always go talk to him and say, ‘Hey, man.’ He’s always available. You could always go into the dressing room after and say, ‘Hey, I screwed up.’”
The post “I had to change his strings every day. He would play one song and destroy them”: Slash guitar tech reveals what it’s like working for the Guns N’ Roses legend appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL review – “bewilderingly ambitious… but it feels like the future”
$2,199.99/£1,980, line6.com
On their current development trajectory, floor-based guitar processors will control the entire known universe by 2046. Digital amp modelling has come a long way since the original Line 6 Pod appeared in 1998, and it’s the same company that’s now pushing forwards towards cosmic domination with its new twin flagships, the Helix Stadium and Stadium XL.
This is the latter. It’s big, it’s heavy, and in pricing terms it’s a cost-of-living crisis in a box. But it’s also stuffed with new processing tech and advanced features, which should make it more useful – and more tonally realistic – than any previous offering in the Helix line.
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL – what is it?
When you see a huge black rectangle like this, either you’re watching the opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey or there’s a new deluxe guitar processor in town. In fact, the Helix Stadium XL is slightly less monolithic in dimensions than the old Helix Floor, despite having the same basic layout – two rows of six footswitches plus an expression pedal – and a bigger display: a full eight inches instead of six and a bit, and now with touch control.
What it’s packing on the inside is, in a word, everything – and that includes such bonuses as imported backing tracks, stomp-free looping and automated setlists – but let’s start with the modelling basics. Plug your guitar in at one end, and connect one of the assorted outputs straight to a live PA, a recording interface or simply a pair of headphones; you now have access to 134 amplifier models, plus 46 speaker cabinets and 246 effects pedals. These can be arranged in up to 512 user presets, all controlled by swishing a fingertip around on that screen (with some help from the many knobs and buttons plus the touch-sensitive footswitches).
Image: Adam Gasson
Of course, having a touchscreen is nothing new in this field – the HeadRush Pedalboard had one back in 2017, and Line 6 is really catching up with everyone else here – but there’s more that’s new in the Stadium XL… starting with the all-important amp models. These have been built using a new technology called Agoura, which claims to provide more lifelike sounds and feel than ever before. This is thanks to its component-level capturing of real amplifiers, right down to such ultra-nerdy details as measuring impedance levels between gain stages and current flow within valves at different voltages.
Mind you, if you still don’t trust anyone else to supply your amp tones, you can always use your own: also new is a system called Proxy, which is Line 6’s take on profiling, cloning, capturing or whatever else you want to call ‘the Kemper thing’. This wasn’t ready for the initial launch but has arrived with firmware version 1.3, allowing you to clone your own amps and pedals so you can take them on the road in virtual form.
And finally, there’s Showcase – the ‘live automation engine’. This lets you set the unit to switch automatically between different settings at precise points – including recording loops then playing them back later in a song – and sync those cues with external MIDI gear. You can also use it to import stereo backing tracks and send different mixes to different outputs – Line 6 gives the example of routing a click track to a drummer via the headphone socket while everything else goes to the main stereo outputs.
Image: Adam Gasson
So basically, you’re no longer dealing with a mere guitar processor here but a sort of robot performance hub. You might find that idea wildly exciting; you might find it utterly irrelevant to your guitar-playing life. Either way, note that all the Showcase stuff happens in the Helix Stadium PC/Mac app, with your files jumping over to the unit afterwards via WiFi.
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL – is it easy to use?
Unless you nodded off halfway through the previous section – don’t feel bad, it happens all the time – you’ll have gathered that this is an extremely powerful and complex piece of equipment. That means one of the main design challenges for Line 6 was ensuring ease of use; and on the whole, thanks in no small part to that spacious touchscreen (it’s about the same size as an iPad Mini), they’ve succeeded.
Image: Adam Gasson
You’ll probably want to set aside a distraction-free evening for getting used to the main navigation procedures, but the fundamentals are all pretty intuitive and there’s plenty of help at hand from the online guides and tutorials. Even the cloning process is just about foolproof: all the steps are laid out clearly on the screen.
If you do want to dive into the Stadium XL’s more advanced features, be prepared for some head-scratching along the way – but honestly, there’s so much going on without them that you might never feel the need.
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL – what does it sound like?
People get awfully combative about why their preferred amp modeller sounds so great and all the others are so crap, don’t they? But it seems to me that the differences are getting smaller year by year… and if Line 6 was behind the competition in terms of sheer realism before, it isn’t any more. The Agoura models sound consistently excellent, to the extent that it’s hard to see what more you could possibly ask of them. And that goes for the playing feel too.
Image: Adam Gasson
As ever, there are dozens of factory presets to scroll through in order to get a sense of what the device can do; and as ever, most of them have too much reverb. But everything is covered, from chiming black-panel cleans to roaring Marshall crunch, from oddball ethereal ambiences to aggressively gated modern metal tones – and there are no obvious weak points.
A couple of new tone-shaping features are worth mentioning here: Hype and Focus View. The former is an extra control that lets you push an amp beyond strict realism into something a bit more ‘big’ and compressed – think of it as a sort of pre-mastering option – and the latter, much more interestingly, is a way of adjusting multiple controls at once by moving the cursor around a screen with different tone types in each corner. This is adding nothing in terms of available sounds, but as an extra-intuitive way of navigating a virtual amp (or pedal) it’s wonderfully clever.
The effects are good too, within certain limitations: I couldn’t get a Muff to sound as expansive as my Stomp Under Foot Ram’s Head, or a Klon to quite match my Bondi Effects Sick As… and there’s still no such thing as a satisfactory digital emulation of the Deluxe Memory Man. But they’re generally very close, and I had no complaints about any of the modulation pedals.
Image: Adam Gasson
And I was, in the end, able to get an absolutely identical sound to that Ram’s Head… by cloning it. The Proxy tech works really well on both pedals and amps, though the process does take a while and, like rival systems, involves a lot of strange noises if you’re using a speaker cab and microphone to get the full picture. Make sure the windows are closed if you’ve got easily spooked neighbours.
The power of Showcase is also impressive. Its most useful element is probably the ability to import multiple backing tracks, then tweak their levels and panning in mid-performance, turning the Stadium XL into a highly flexible virtual band on top of all its other skills.
One practical issue to mention is the half-second gap when switching between presets. But this is easily avoided as long as you don’t insist on changing amps in mid-song: if you use ‘snapshots’ instead to store and jump between different settings within the same rig, the changes are gapless.
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL – should I buy it?
The Stadium XL is full of ‘wow’ moments; it’s just unfortunate that one of them is for the price. If that’s not an issue for you, then go for it – this is a fabulously powerful processor with a user-friendly interface and a sackload of top-quality tones.
For the rest of us, it might make sense to wait and see if Line 6 rolls out a more affordable model as a replacement for the Helix LT. If that comes along with the same touch display and Agoura amp modelling as the Stadium and Stadium XL – never mind Proxy and Showcase, which are very cool but inessential for the average player – then it will surely be the one to get.
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL alternatives
We gave the Neural DSP Quad Cortex ($1,799/£1,449) a 10/10 review, although that was five years ago and its seven-inch screen is no longer the state of the art. The Fender Tone Master Pro ($1,599.99/£1,499) is another strong contender with a seven-inch display, but don’t forget the non-XL version of the Line 6 Helix Stadium ($1,799.99/£1,549), which saves you more than a few pennies by chopping off the expression pedal.
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Adding Strap Locks to Your Guitar Has Never Been Easier
These limited-edition Emerald Night Gretsch Penguin and Falcon guitars are real lookers
Gretsch has launched two new guitars offering alluring and modern takes on two classic designs.
Both reimagined versions of designs dating back to 1958, the C6134TG-58 Limited Edition 1958 Custom Penguin and G6136TG-58 Limited Edition 1958 Custom Falcon arrive as real lookers, sharing a dark Emerald Night finish, plus Bigsby tailpieces and TV Jones Ray Butts Ful-Fidelity Filter-Tron pickups.
These TV Jones pickups are made according to the personal notes and designs of late Filter-Tron inventor Ray Butts, and are said to produce a tighter bass response and slightly more top end than modern Filter’Tron pickups, while the absence of wax potting “results in a more open, three-dimensional sound”.
Both models share similar spec sheets, with a Space Control bridge with a pinned ebony base, gold hardware, Standard U neck profiles and 22 medium jumbo frets. As a forward-thinking appointment, both guitars feature Luminlay glow-in-the-dark side dot fret markers, plus gold plexi pickguards with their respective birds etched in.
In terms of where they diverge, the Penguin has a mahogany solid body and neck with a Bigsby B3GP String-Thru vibrato tailpiece. Its body is chambered just like the Duo Jet, making it lighter and more resonant than most solid-body guitars.
The Falcon hollow body has a maple body and glued-in neck, and it has a Bigsby B6GP String-Thru vibrato tailpiece. The body was constructed with 1959 trestle bracing, running 2.75” deep.
“Both models deliver rich vintage tone with elevated playability,” Gretsch writes. “These rare birds are crafted for players who want a classic Gretsch feel with standout performance.”
Both guitars are available now, with the Penguin priced at £3,739, and the Falcon at £4,339.
Head to Gretsch for more information.
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“Their first record was very different to the record they made after they met me”: Dave Mustaine on how he has influenced Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax
Dave Mustaine has spoken about the influence he feels he’s had on the guitarists in his Big Four co-members, Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax.
In a new interview with São Paulo, Brazil’s 89 FM A Rádio Rock, the Megadeth frontman explains the effect his guitar playing had on his thrash metal contemporaries. “I’ve been very invested in the metal community,” he says [via Blabbermouth].
“Kerry [King, Slayer guitarist] and I played together [during the early days of both bands], and I showed him how to play Megadeth songs, which was before [Slayer] started having all their pivotal records. Kerry and I had a really great time together.”
He continues: “And I wrote music in Metallica and I wrote music in Megadeth. So I’ve been very influential with the guitar with these three bands.”
Dave Mustaine was Metallica’s lead guitarist between 1981 and 1983, before he was fired from the band for alcoholism, drug addiction and personal conflicts. He helped write a number of songs on the band’s debut album Kill ‘Em All – which was ultimately recorded with Kirk Hammett who joined in ‘83 – as well as Ride the Lightning, from the band’s sophomore album and covered this year on Megadeth’s final album.
“And when I met Scott [Ian, Anthrax guitarist] and the guys in Anthrax out in New York,” he goes on, “the same thing happened.
“Their first record was very different from the record they made after they met me and the guys in Metallica. So I think that’s great. I love all those bands.”
Though tensions have died down in the decades following their split, Dave Mustaine continues to reflect on his past with Metallica in interviews. Recently, he claimed that Megadeth’s success was, in part, due to the motivating factor of Metallica “trying to hold me back”.
“And it wasn’t just Metallica, it was everybody. For a long time, it very much was me against the world. It was like, okay, if you’re not with me, you’re against me,” he said.
Megadeth released their final album earlier this year, and are embarking on a massive world tour for the rest of 2026.
For a full list of dates, head to megadeth.com.
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Jack White brands Donald Trump the “Worst American of All Time” in light of the US president seemingly likening himself to Jesus Christ
Jack White and Donald Trump have never quite seen eye-to-eye. From filing a lawsuit over the usage of Seven Nation Army in a 2024 Presidential campaign video, to branding Trump a “disgusting, vile, egomaniac, loser, child” in December, the White Stripes man has always been very vocal about his distaste for the US President.
Now, White has criticised Trump for likening himself to Jesus in a since-deleted Truth Social post. The controversial image in question was an AI-generated depiction of Trump in a white robe ‘healing’ veterans, surrounded by a holy, halo-like glow – something he told reporters was merely intended to show him as a “doctor making people better” [via the BBC].
In light of the image, White took to Instagram to voice his disdain. His thoughts centred around the seemingly blasphemous nature of the AI-image, questioning how devout Christians continue to support the US President. “Hey evangelical Christians?” the guitarist writes. “Remember that anti-Christ you been squawking about all these years and how he’d present himself as Christlike and bring about the end of days with a final war in the Middle East involving Jerusalem? Well…check out your boy now!”
He goes on to question why Catholic supporters continue to stand by Trump in spite of his multiple “attacks [on] the character of their Pope”, with Trump recently labelling Pope Leo XIV “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” [via The Independent]. White also included a second AI image of Trump depicted as the Pope from May last year, to further cement his point.
“How did so many millions of people fall for this conman?” White continues. “He’s already got worst President in the history of America on lock, but I’m gonna go ahead and take the honour of pronouncing Trump ‘Worst American of All Time.’”
In more positive news, it’s shaping up to be an exciting year for White. The garage rocker is set to host his first ever UK art exhibition, These Thoughts May Disappear, opening in May, as well as confirming a slew of dates for a 2026 world tour.
The tour will see White swinging by the UK in August, too. His UK run will include two gigs at London’s Eventim Apollo on 25th and 26th August, as well as shows in Bristol, Newcastle, Belfast and Dublin.
White has also teased fans with two new tracks, G.O.D And The Broken Ribs and Derecho Demonico. While nothing else is confirmed, here’s to hoping White is gearing up for a new album.
For more information on Jack White’s upcoming tour, head to his website.
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Violet Grohl thinks male musicians of her generation have “attitude problems”: “It’s time that they sit down, be quiet and play their music”
Punk may pride itself on breaking rules, but Violet Grohl thinks some of its male musicians are still playing by old ones. The 19-year-old, daughter of Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, has criticised what she describes as “attitude problems” among male artists of her generation.
Speaking to The Forty-Five ahead of her debut album Be Sweet To Me, Grohl outlines her frustrations with the current state of punk and hardcore scenes, particularly when it comes to how women are treated within them.
On her track Cool Buzz, she points to what she sees as a disconnect between the progressive image some male musicians project and the reality of their behaviour.
“It still feels like an exclusive scene,” says Grohl. “Especially when you wanna listen to really hardcore shit and run around and mosh, there’s a lot of ‘Oh, you’re too delicate, you’re too feminine, this isn’t your place.’ But I do wanna be in that space and I know there are a lot of other girls who want to be there too. So I think more girls should make punk music, if these spaces aren’t gonna allow it.”
While she’s found a sense of community among female artists – including close friend Persia Numan, daughter of Gary Numan, and collaborator on What’s Heaven Without You – Grohl is far less charitable when it comes to her male peers.
“I don’t like male musicians my age,” she says bluntly. “I don’t care. They have attitude problems. They’ve been saying this about us for so fucking long – it’s time that they sit down, be quiet and play their music.”
As a woman in rock, Grohl says learning to set boundaries has been as important as finding confidence in her voice.
“The best advice I’ve been given is that it’s OK to say no or that you don’t want to do something,” she says. “For a lot of women, it took them a really long time to accept and implement that into their lives. It’s inspiring to be around the kinds of people who don’t give a fuck and will say whatever they feel.”
Be Sweet To Me arrives on 29 May. Check out Grohl’s latest single 595 below.
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“It was the perfect choice to make fun of guitar heroes”: The story behind Angine de Poitrine’s ridiculous double-neck guitar
Between viral live sessions, a rapidly growing cult following, and even a recent co-sign from Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Angine de Poitrine’s rise has been hard to ignore. But for a band that looks and sounds this intense, their core idea is surprisingly tongue-in-cheek.
In a recent chat with Cult MTL, guitarist Khn de Poitrine reveals that the project didn’t begin as some grand artistic statement, but as an inside joke that spiralled into something much bigger.
“This project is a culmination of a lot of years of inside jokes,” says Khn. “The names were our alter egos in a 10-minute free jazz project, where I was just fooling around on saxophone and (Klek) was on drums.”
That playful, slightly absurd energy also shaped the band’s iconic masked personas, which were originally conceived as a kind of experiment in anonymity.
“At first, the idea for the costumes was to play more shows and play a bit of an Andy Kaufman-esque joke on the crowd and say, ‘Hey, can we start a band without anybody knowing who we are?’ And who is it behind the masks?” drummer Klek de Poitrine explains.
What started as a gag, however, has since become something more practical.
“There’s a comfort to feeling, ‘Oh, I’m this on stage,’ but after that, I’m a normal person,” Klek adds. “We can avoid the, ‘Oh, this is the drummer’ talks, where everyone swarms you after a show when I just want to drink my water.”
Musically, the duo’s sound is just as unconventional. Before releasing their debut single Sherpa in 2024, the band’s signature microtonal approach began with a DIY experiment.
“I took two guitars, and I took the frets from one board, which was kind of rusty and fucked up anyway, and I put them on a second fret board,” Klek recalls.
Early performances saw Khn juggling between a microtonal guitar and bass while looping parts live. But it didn’t take long before the pair began thinking bigger – and stranger.
“We thought it would look fucking sick, and for 15 seconds, we were like, ‘Oh, that’s a funny joke.’ But it became clear that it was a good idea,” Klek says of the now-signature double-neck build.
After fielding eye-watering quotes from luthiers – including one that came in at $12,000 per fretboard – the instrument was eventually built by a “professional friend” of Angine de Poitrine. And it quickly became central to the band’s identity.
“The whole idea of the band was to assume a bit of a satirical approach to rock music in general,” says Khn. “We wanted an exaggeration, so the double-neck guitar was the perfect choice to kind of make fun of guitar heroes.”
“We will have short musical statements in the songs that are actually just jokes, like, this is the boomer lick, and just shout (distortedly) ‘Hail Santana!’ into the microphone. Obviously, we love Santana. It’s a love statement, but also a caricature, because you’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself and say, ‘What we do is ridiculous.’”
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EHX Pico Atomic Cluster review – is this whacky and weird filter effect worth it?
$129, ehx.com
When you think of Electro-Harmonix, you may not think weird, at least, not weird effects. Magnetospheres and cigars aside, EHX’s sonic focus is for the most part gain and utility pedals. But every once in a while, the brand passes what we’ll call the “Chase Bliss Event Horizon” and makes something entirely dedicated to bleeps and bloops, the sort of pedal you’d see in an old Knobs review. The latest effort from EHX in this particular direction is the Atomic Cluster, a “spectral decomposer” – what does that mean? Let’s get into it.
- READ MORE: Twilight Pulse Audioworks Konstante review – a dual dirt pedal that’s faster than the speed of light
What does the Atomic Cluster do?
The Atomic Cluster is, kind of, the filter equivalent of an arpeggiator. It isolates the component frequencies of your signal – the note’s fundamental and its overtones – and then rhythmically steps through them.
Controls include a volume and wet/dry blend, along with two knobs specific to this kind of effect: speed, which determines how quickly the effect steps through the discrete frequency bands, and atoms, which determines how many bands the pedal is chopped into. You also get a mode switch, which decides whether the transitions between the frequency bands are sharp and choppy or smoothed over.
These controls are packed into EHX’s pico form factor. There are undeniable benefits to the Pico platform, mostly in terms of saving pedalboard space – but you may find the controls fiddly to turn, and, as with all mini pedals, they can end up not saving quite as much space as you might hope, as ultimately you still need to leave room for patch cables, and to actually hit the footswitch.
Image: Press
Does the Atomic Cluster sound good?
My initial experiences with the effect are, sonically, pretty hard to square with anything anyone would want to use in any musical setting. In isolation, with an otherwise clean and dry sound, I find the Atomic Cluster fairly useless. The harsh filtering is just kind of unpleasant rather than interesting, and the steps between the atoms are pretty jarring, even on ‘smooth’ mode.
However, as the pedal works using overtones, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that putting a clean guitar sound into the front of the Atomic Cluster is going to be a tonal disaster. The signal that comes straight out of a guitar pickup has a strong fundamental compared to its harmonics – and so the resulting chopped-up sound, with the Atomic Cluster isolating these harmonics, is an unbalanced mess.
Hence, the next thing I do is get a distortion pedal placed ahead of it – this gives a more complex sound for the pedal to work with, a block of full-frequency sound to chop into slices. I then also turn on some reverb and delay – as well as helping evoke a more soundscapey vibe, these effects also help mask the crunchy artefacting from the digital filtering.
With these extra effects engaged, the sound is a lot more intriguing. It kind of sounds like my playing is being automatically accompanied by a weird, complex modular synth setup, pseudo-arpeggiating through the sounds of sustained chords. It does very little to augment the sounds of more traditional shreddy or bluesy playing, but you already knew that. Instead, I spend some time making loops and picking out some sparse, slow chord changes – the Atomic Cluster does indeed add a dimension of interest and depth in this musical mode.
As some people have pointed out in the comments of EHX’s official demo, the Atomic Cluster comes alive best on a synth, and indeed when I plug in a hardware synth I have a much easier time finding strange, crystalline worlds within its tonal universe. This isn’t too surprising, especially with more complex, multi-oscillator sounds, as these provide a fuller-frequency basis for the pedal to work with.
For guitar, though, it does feel like I at the very least need some compression, if not distortion, before the pedal to have it functioning properly – and indeed, this is actually recommended in the pedal’s manual. Which slightly begs the question as to why some compression or distortion weren’t included as part of the effect’s digital signal chain. Perhaps it would have brought the price up too much, or been too much of a lift given its miniscule form-factor and four knobs. However, we’re now in a world awash with all-in-one ambient-in-a-box pedals – which, even if they’re weird and unique effects, can function without too much help from a wider board.
And so the Atomic Cluster remains a difficult pedal to enthusiastically recommend to anyone other than EHX completionists, or those who are happy to compensate for its limitations. Sure, it’s a unique character effect, but it’s so unique and so characterful you may find yourself wrangling your playing – and your signal chain – to be in service of it. This can be cool for bedroom sound-scaping – but it’s a harder sell outside of that context. The good thing about it is its price – it is luckily not a lot of money for a pedal that needs a little signal-chain help.
Electro-Harmonix Atomic Cluster alternatives
The first thing it reminds me of is my dearly departed EQD Arpanoid, which is a more traditional arpeggiator that pitch-shifts your sound rather than slices it up. For a more in-depth and perhaps easier to use lo-fi filter thing, you’ve got a lot of options, of course, but the Old Blood Noise Endeavours Float comes to mind, being a controllable and weird set of filters.
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My Latest eBay Listing - A Vintage Stanley No.7 Jointer Plane
At 22 inches long with a 2⅜-inch iron, the No. 7’s length allows it to bridge high spots and shave down low spots, producing dead-flat edges ready for gluing. Its precision, weight, and stability make it ideal for preparing long edges and wide panels.
Reba McEntire Celebrates 50 Years With Multiple Music Releases
Press Release
Source: The Green Room PR
Reba McEntire will begin releasing music capsules each month, thematically curated songs from throughout her career paired with brand new recordings that spotlight the road ahead for the iconic entertainer. The first release, ONE NIGHT IN TULSA, centers songs around her home state and will be released this Friday, April 17 via MCA and is available for pre-save HERE.
On April 9, McEntire previewed the project during a special performance at her restaurant Reba’s Place, where she debuted a new song and title track of the first capsule “One Night In Tulsa.” Written by Neal Coty, Kylie Frey and Thom McHugh, the song marks a return to the ’90s country ballads that cemented McEntire’s place as one of the genre’s most definitive voices of heartbreak.
ONE NIGHT IN TULSA
- “One Night In Tulsa”
- “Tulsa Time”
- “Oklahoma Swing”
- “Does The Wind Still Blow In Oklahoma”
- “No U In Oklahoma”
Each digital music capsule pairs a newly recorded song with carefully selected tracks that trace the evolution of one of country music’s most enduring and influential voices. In tandem with each music capsule, tailored playlists will launch to further illuminate the defining eras of McEntire’s career. Beginning May 1 with “The Making of Reba,” the first playlist captures a young McEntire finding her voice through classic country heartbreak, laying the foundation for everything to come. The playlists serve as a companion piece, offering fans a deeper, more expansive look at the moments, milestones, and music that shaped her legacy.
About Reba McEntire:
Multi-media entertainment mogul Reba McEntire has become a household name through a successful career that includes music, television, film, theater, retail and hospitality. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Hollywood Bowl member has more than 50 award wins under her belt, earning honors from the ACM Awards, American Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards, CMA Awards, GRAMMY® Awards and GMA Dove Awards. Reba was also a 2018 Kennedy Center Honors recipient, in addition to multiple philanthropic and leadership honors. Reba has celebrated unprecedented success, including 35 career No.1 singles and more than 58 million albums sold worldwide. Reba earned her 60th Top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, extending her record for the most Top 10 hits among female artists. Reba’s Top 10 success spans five straight decades, landing her in the singular group with only George Jones, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton who have the same achievement. Most recently, her latest single, “Trailblazer,” featuring Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert, garnered an impressive 2.6 million on-demand streams in its first week, marking a new personal best for Reba in the streaming era. The Oklahoma native and Golden Globe® nominated actress has multiple movie credits to her name, a critically-acclaimed lead role on Broadway in Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun, and starred in the 6-season television sitcom Reba. Reba has also proven to be a savvy entrepreneur, with longstanding brand partnerships including her Dillard’s clothing line and western footwear collection REBA by Justin
. She has even added restaurateur to the list with Reba’s Place, a restaurant, bar, retail and entertainment venue in Atoka, Oklahoma. Her book Not That Fancy landed on the New York Times bestseller list. For more information, visit www.Reba.com.
This Sex Pistols 50th Anniversary Marshall stack might be the most punk guitar amp ever
Marshall is celebrating 50 years of the punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols with a limited-edition pink-and-yellow JCM800 Half Stack.
Inspired by the pink-and-yellow colour scheme of the band’s seminal – and only – album, 1977’s Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, the Sex Pistols 50th Anniversary JCM800 was developed in close collaboration with guitarist Steve Jones.
It offers up 100W of raw British valve tone, and comprises a JCM800 head paired with a 4×12 1960A cabinet with Celestion G12T-75 speakers, helping capture the “aggression and clarity that defined the band’s sound”.
Each unit is built at Marshall’s Bletchley, UK factory, and comes clad in the same pink-and-yellow colourway as that landmark Pistols record, and features a custom 50th Anniversary badge, making it “as much a collector’s piece as a stage-ready weapon”.
Credit: Marshall
“The JCM800 became a defining voice of British punk,” says Steph Carter, Culture Marketing Director at Marshall. “Working with Steve to reimagine this amp for the band’s 50th Anniversary has been a powerful tribute to the sound that changed everything.”
“I’ve been using Marshall for a long time now and the 800 series for me are my workhorse – always reliable, always consistent,” adds Steve Jones. “I like to keep things simple, as the saying goes. It’s only rock ‘n’ roll.”
Matt Young, President and CEO of Bravado, the Sex Pistols longtime merch partner that was a key driver of the collaboration, adds: “With Never Mind the Bollocks, the Sex Pistols embodied the zeitgeist of punk rock’s sound and aesthetic in a game-changing way.
“This collaboration with the band and Marshall celebrates that moment in a loud and irreverent way and we think musicians and collectors all over the world are going to love it.
Available from 17 April 2026, the Sex Pistols 50th Anniversary JCM800 Half Stack is limited to just 81 units worldwide.
Learn more at Marshall.
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Yuichiro Yokouchi, founder of Japanese guitar manufacturing giant FujiGen, has died aged 98
Yuichiro Yokouchi, founder of Japanese instrument manufacturer FujiGen – one of the world’s largest guitar manufacturing firms – has died aged 98, a statement on the brand’s social media confirms.
Since its foundation in 1960 – first as Fujigen Gakki Seizo before rebranding as FujiGen in 1989 – Yokouchi’s company has been an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for some of the world’s largest guitar brands, including Fender Japan, Ibanez, Orville by Gibson and Greco.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our founder, Yuichiro Yokouchi, at the age of 98,” reads the statement on the official FGN Guitars Instagram page.
“With the ambition to become Japan’s finest guitar manufacturer, he named our company after Mt. Fuji – an enduring symbol of the highest standard. Through his dedication and vision, he realised that ambition, laying the foundation for our company to become a world-class guitar manufacturer representing Japan.
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our customers and players around the world for their continued support, which has been an essential part of our journey together. We remain committed to honouring his legacy through our craftsmanship and pursuit of excellence.”
Born on September 18, 1927 – and raised in a farming family with no formal training in music or business – Yuichiro Yokouchi’s introduction to the music world came when a friend, Keikichi Watanabe, and businessman Yutaka Mimura, invited him to manage an ailing violin company in Kiso, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
“I’m planning to acquire a company affiliated with the Suzuki Violin Company in Kiso, Yokouchi, would you be willing to manage it?” Mimura asked Yokouchi [per Fuzzfaced.net].
The business plan ultimately fell through, but it planted the seed in Yokouchi’s mind that an instrument company was where his future lay.
Yokouchi subsequently partnered with Mimura to start a musical instrument company, reaching out to violin maker Shiro Suzuki, brother of Shinichi Suzuki, founder of the legendary Suzuki Method of music education.
Encountering difficulty pinning down an affordable factory space in Matsumoto, Yokouchi had the idea to repurpose a 100-square-meter cow shed from his family’s farm. To make this happen, he had to sell his cows. “I had to sell all my cows from this farm to start this business,” he once said in a NAMM interview.
Yokouchi started as Vice President, later becoming President in 1969, and then Chairman of FujiGen in 1986. Steering the ship, he nurtured the company into a guitar manufacturing juggernaut. According to Guitar World, his OEM factory was producing over 15,000 guitars per month.
The post Yuichiro Yokouchi, founder of Japanese guitar manufacturing giant FujiGen, has died aged 98 appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Review: Madison Cunningham’s ‘Ace’ Fuses Nylon-String Nuance and Electric Bite
The most popular guitar fair in Europe: Guitar Summit in Mannheim, Germany
By Carlos Martin Schwab
Following the death of Musikmesse (which was more significant than NAMM for many years), several guitar trade shows emerged in Europe. Guitar Summit is the most important one. Let’s take a closer look at it.
Organized by the German magazine Gitarre & Bass since 2017, this fair was designed as a 360° event that combines a trade show with a music festival, workshops, and masterclasses.
Over time, the fair has continued to grow: in its 2025 edition, it welcomed over 11,300 visitors, featured more than 470 international brands spread across the venue’s different levels, and hosted over 100 workshops, masterclasses, and live concerts during the three-day event (September 26–28).
The fair is usually divided into themed areas that help organize the large number of booths. The booths are spread across four floors, including specific areas for electric guitars, acoustic guitars, basses, and the popular “Pedal Show.” In 2025, innovations in digital modeling and the presence of independent luthiers in the Boutique section stood out in particular.
Silent Fair
This trade show describes itself as a “Silent Show.” This concept is one of its cornerstones and sets it apart from traditional music trade shows (such as the former Frankfurt Musikmesse or NAMM), where the constant noise can often be overwhelming. Here’s how it works in practice:
Equipment testing with headphones: The golden rule for exhibitors is that open-volume amplifiers are not allowed at the trade show booths. If you want to test a guitar, bass, or pedal, you do so almost exclusively through high-quality headphones. This allows you to hear the instrument’s true nuances without being distracted by noise from the neighboring booth and lets visitors hold conversations at a normal volume without having to shout.
Silent stages: Even the workshops and demonstrations held in the middle of the exhibition halls use this system. The audience receives wireless headphones as they approach the stage, and the musician plays and speaks through a monitoring system, so that only those wearing headphones can hear the performance. This allows multiple stages to operate simultaneously on the same floor without acoustic interference.
Soundproof rooms: For those who need to feel the sound pressure of a real amplifier, the event offers specific solutions: Ampfinity, a special area where you can test selected amplifiers and speakers using a professional switching system, often in isolated booths, and soundproof cabins installed at some large booths where you can close the door and play at full volume for a few minutes without disturbing others.
Nighttime concerts (the exception): The Silent concept applies primarily to the exhibition area during the day. At night, the event moves to the Mozartsaal, where rock, blues, and metal concerts are held using traditional sound systems at festival volume.
The “Silent” concept aims to protect attendees’ hearing health (preventing tinnitus after 3 days at the show) and ensure that the focus remains on sound quality and technical discussions between manufacturers and musicians.
Musicians I saw there: Andy Timmons, Tosin Abasi, Misha Mansoor, Plini, Alex Skolnik, Mike Dawes, Billy Sheehan, Michael Weikath & Sascha Gerstner (Helloween), Sacha Dunable (Intronaut), Mattias Eklund (Freak Kitchen), John Browne (Monuments). It’s also common to run into Europe’s most popular guitar YouTubers.
Some of the items on display that caught my eye:
Fretlook: Fret markers, neck side markers (glow in the dark) and body decals – fretlook.com
Franck Bichon: Removable shoulder pad for guitar strap – https://bgfrance.com/en/bg-rocks-straps-and-guitar-accessories/461-comfortableremovable-shoulder-pad-for-guitar-straps.html
Dan’s Guitar Store: Precision playing picks – https://www.dansguitarstore.com/precision-guitar-picks-explained
Plick The Pick: Ergonomic picks – plickthepick.it
Tonewood Amp: A device that uses an acoustic guitar’s own body and soundhole to create a range of enhancement effects – tonewoodamp.com
Valeton: GP-5 pedal multi effects processor – valeton.net/product/gp-5
Maytrem: Fully customizable guitar vibrato system that can bend chords in harmony – maytrem.com
More info at guitarsummit.de/?lang=en
Iron Maiden have finally been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
It’s been a long road, but British heavy metal veterans Iron Maiden have finally been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Bruce Dickinson and co are part of the 2026 cohort of Rock Hall inductees, which also includes Oasis, Billy Idol, Wu-Tang Clan, Joy Division/New Order and Phil Collins.
While many have argued for Iron Maiden’s induction for years – owing to the indelible mark they’ve placed on the world of heavy metal for the last 50 years – the band themselves have repeatedly alluded to the fact they’re not bothered about receiving the commendation.
Speaking to The Telegraph in 2023 after Maiden were snubbed from the Rock Hall inductions, frontman Bruce Dickinson said: “We don’t give a monkey’s. Because the people that get us are not the people that run the music business establishment, whatever that is. Because that is largely run by people that can’t make a living doing anything else.”
“I don’t want to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Dickinson added.
And on a spoken word tour in 2018, Dickinson had even stronger words. “I actually think the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an utter and complete load of bollocks, to be honest with you,” he said [via Consequence of Sound]. He even told The Jerusalem Post in 2018 that he’d “refuse” an induction if offered.
But despite the band’s prior criticism of the institution, 2026 is finally Iron Maiden’s year.
“We’d like to thank the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for including us (and former members who were all part of our story) in the 2026 roll call of inductees,” says Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood.
“Iron Maiden have always been about our relationship with our fans above anything else, including awards and industry accolades. However, having said that, it’s always nice to be recognised and honoured for any achievements within the music industry too!”
He goes on: “It also seems appropriate for the band to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year as we continue our 50th anniversary celebrations with our Run For Your Lives World Tour visiting the Americas and beyond.
“We would also like to congratulate our fellow 2026 inductees and extend our gratitude as ever to our fans for their loyalty, perseverance and support for over 50 years now! See you all, somewhere on tour.”
But Iron Maiden aren’t the only 2026 Rock Hall inductee with members sceptical of the institution. Oasis – who made waves in the music world in the past couple of years with one of the most widely anticipated tours ever – also join the Rock Hall this year.
But in a new post on X – which we read as ever so slightly sarcastic – Liam Gallagher writes: “I wanna thank all the people who voted for us. It’s a real honour ever since I was a little kid and singing in the shower I’d dream about one day being in the RnR hall of fame. It’s true what they say anything is possible if you have a dream.”
I wanna thank all the people who voted for us it’s a real honour ever since I was a little kid and singing in the shower I’d dream about 1 day being in the RnR hall of fame it’s true what they say anything is possible if you have a dream LG x
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) April 14, 2026
The 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on 14 November.
For more info on this year’s inductees, head to rockhall.com.
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Epiphone unveils the all-new Futura Series – seven classic Gibson shapes with metal-ready pickups and colour-shifting finishes
Epiphone has unveiled its all-new Futura Series, pairing “iconic shapes with all-new attitude”, offering up a number of “killer new features not yet seen before in the Epiphone or Gibson lineup”.
The lineup comprises seven models spanning Gibson/Epiphone’s classic body shapes – there’s a Flying V, SG, ES-355, Firebird, Explorer, Les Paul and an RD – each sporting a striking new Chromashift colour-shifting finish, plus newly developed ProBucker Ignite pickups.
Those fresh ProBucker Ignite humbuckers appear to be aimed squarely at metal players, offering “clarity and punch for lead and rhythm without ever getting muddy”. They’re also wired for push/pull coil splitting plus additional phase options, meaning a “huge range of tones” is available via the Futura Series.
Further features present on each Futura Series guitar include ebony fingerboards with Super 400-style pearloid inlays, bound Modern C neck profiles and 10”-14” compound radius fingerboards for “super-smooth playability across all positions” of the neck.
Each guitar also sports Grover locking Rotomatic tuners with kidney buttons, a LockTone bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece, and Posi-Lok strap buttons. All Futura Series guitars feature a 24.75” scale length, but the RD Custom bumps that up to 25.5”, thus increasing string tension and positioning it as a great instrument for drop tunings.
Also, by going for a Futura RD Custom you could follow in the footsteps of a line of rock and metal greats, including Dave Grohl, Lee Malia of Bring Me The Horizon, Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic, and the Nameless Ghouls of Ghost…
“The Futura Series opens new worlds of possibility for players who don’t stand still – they’re built to move, pushing feel, sound, and style forward in a way that’s undeniably bold by design,” says Lewis McKinney III, Brand Manager of Epiphone.
There’s a variety of colour-shifting finishes on offer, too:
- Epiphone Futura Les Paul Custom – Twilight Shift, Firestorm Shift, Midnight Ember Shift
- Epiphone Futura RD Custom – Midnight Ember Shift, Twilight Shift, Firestorm Shift
- Epiphone Futura Explorer Custom – Dragonfly Shift, Firestorm Shift
- Epiphone Futura SG Custom – Nitro Shift, Midnight Ember Shift, Dragonfly Shift
- Epiphone Futura Flying V Custom – Solaris Shift, Quicksilver Shift
- Epiphone Futura ES-355 – Firestorm Shift, Dragonfly Shift, Midnight Ember Shift
- Epiphone Futura Firebird Custom – Firestorm Shift, Quicksilver Shift, Midnight Ember Shift, plus Guitar Center-exclusive Glacier Shift
Each Futura Series guitar is priced at $899 / 849. For more information, head to Gibson.com.
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Song Cage Launches: A NO-AI Songwriting Canvas For The Pre-DAW Phase of Writing
Press Release
Source: Song Cage PR
Song Cage – A new browser-based tool gives songwriters one place to capture lyrics, chords, melody, and song structure, with context-aware chord reasoning, a modulation panel that maps the way back home, and built-in tools for breaking writer’s block.
Song Cage, a new browser-based songwriting app, launched this week with a distinctive design philosophy: no generative AI anywhere in the product. Every chord suggestion is deterministic music theory, labeled by its functional role and explained in plain language given the surrounding chords and the melody underneath.
Song Cage is designed for the pre-DAW phase of writing, the space where a songwriter sits with an instrument and a notebook, developing an idea before any recording begins. The app combines four layers (lyrics, chords, melody, and song structure) on a single canvas with two interchangeable views. Sheet view feels like a notepad, letting words flow naturally. Timeline view snaps every word onto a beat grid with syllable-level precision, so prosody can be shaped directly on the grid.
Key features include:
Context-aware chord suggestions. Every suggestion is labeled by its functional role (diatonic, borrowed from a parallel mode, secondary dominant, tritone substitution) and hovering reveals the reasoning for why it works given the surrounding chords and the melody beneath. Named progression patterns such as the Pop progression, 50s progression, and Andalusian cadence are flagged automatically.
Modulation with return routes. The modulation panel includes a Key Map showing harmonic distance to every key, pivot chords for smooth transitions, and full cadential routes (V-I, ii-V-I, tritone substitutions, extended paths). Unique to Song Cage, the panel also surfaces return routes, so the songwriter can take a harmonic journey into a distant key and find the way back home without getting stranded.
Lyric writing tools for writer’s block. A Words panel that follows the cursor offers rhymes grouped by syllable count, slant rhymes, synonyms, a Word Collider that pairs words from two semantic pools via a random bridge word, and semantic drift chains for wandering through an idea space.
Multi-user collaboration. Songs can be shared with up to five editors via email invitation or share link, with background sync across devices.
Guitar-first design. Real chord shapes on a mini fretboard, capo awareness, voicing carousel, and strum preview on every chord block. Piano voicings include voice-leading optimization.
“I built Song Cage for the thing I actually do with an instrument in my lap, before I hit record,” said Steve Canfield, founder and developer of Song Cage. “Nothing in this tool generates music for you. Every suggestion is real theory, and everything is aware of everything else. Change a melody note and the chord rankings reshuffle. Place a chord and the suggestions for the next slot recalculate. The craft stays in the user’s hands; the tool just makes the reference books live in the same canvas as the writing. The UI is designed for quickly getting ideas out without friction.”
A native iOS and Android capture companion, for recording voice memos and sending lyric and chord fragments to an inbox in the desktop app, is in development and expected for release later in 2026.
Song Cage is available at songcage.com. Free and paid tiers are offered, priced in line with comparable songwriting tools.
ABOUT SONG CAGE
Song Cage is a browser-based songwriting canvas for the pre-DAW phase of music writing. Designed and developed by Steve Canfield, it combines lyrics, chords, melody, and song structure on one grid, with built-in writer’s-block tools, context-aware chord reasoning, and multi-user collaboration. Song Cage is the no-AI alternative in a category dominated by generative tools.
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