AI, which generated this image in seconds, can obviously do amazing things. But can it actually replace human creativity?
Technology has always disrupted the music biz, but we’ve never seen anything like this.
AI has me deeply thinking: Is guitar (or any instrument) still valid? Are musicians still valid? I don’t think the answer is as obvious as I’d like it to be.
As a professional musician, I’ve spent the vast majority of my days immersed in the tones of tube amps, the resistance of steel strings under my fingers, and the endless pursuit of musical expression. Each day, I strive to tap into the Source, channel something new into the world (however small), and share it. Yet, lately, a new presence has entered the room—artificial intelligence. It is an interloper unlike any I’ve ever encountered. If you’re thinking that AI is something off in the “not-too-distant future,” you’re exponentially wrong. So, this month I’m going to ask that we sit and meditate on this technology, and hopefully gain some insight into how we are just beginning to use it.
AI: Friend or Foe?
In the last 12 months, I’ve heard quite a bit of AI-generated music. Algorithms can now “compose,” “perform” (with vocals of your choosing), and “produce” entire songs in minutes, with prompts as flippant as, “Write a song about__in the style of__.” AI never misses a note and can mimic the finer details of almost any genre with unnerving precision. For those who are merely curious about music, or those easily distracted by novelty, this might seem exciting … a shortcut to creating “professional” sounding music without years of practice. But for those of us who are deeply passionate about music, it raises some profound existential questions.
When you play an instrument, you engage in something deeply human. Each musician carries their life experiences into their playing. The pain of heartbreak, the joy of new beginnings, or the struggle to find a voice in an increasingly noisy and artificial online world dominated by algorithms. Sweat, tears, and callouses develop from your efforts and repetition. Your mistakes can lead to new creative vistas and shape the evolution of your style.
Emotions shape the music we create. While an algorithm can only infer and assign a “value” to the vast variety of our experience, it is ruthlessly proficient at analyzing and recording the entire corpus of human existence, and further, cataloging every known human behavioral action and response in mere fractions of a second.
Pardon the Disruption
Technology has always disrupted the music industry. The invention of musical notation provided unprecedented access to compositions. The advent of records allowed performances of music to be captured and shared. When radio brought music into every home, there was fear that no one would buy records. Television added visual spectacle, sparking fears that it would kill live performance. MIDI revolutionized music production but raised concerns about replacing human players. The internet, paired with the MP3 format, democratized music distribution, shattered traditional revenue models, and shifted power from labels to artists. Each of these innovations was met with resistance and uncertainty, but ultimately, they expanded the ways music could be created, shared, and experienced.
Every revolution in art and technology forces us to rediscover what is uniquely human about creativity. To me, though, this is different. AI isn’t a tool that requires a significant amount of human input in order to work. It’s already analyzed the minutia of all of humanity’s greatest creations—from the most esoteric to the ubiquitous, and it is wholly capable of creating entire works of art that are as commercially competitive as anything you’ve ever heard. This will force us to recalibrate our definition of art and push us to dig deeper into our personal truths.
“In an age where performed perfection is casually synthesized into existence, does our human expression still hold value? Especially if the average listener can’t tell the difference?”
Advantage: Humans
What if we don’t want to, though? In an age where performed perfection is casually synthesized into existence, does our human expression still hold value? Especially if the average listener can’t tell the difference?
Of course, the answer is still emphatically “Yes!” But caveat emptor. I believe that the value of the tool depends entirely on the way in which it is used—and this one in particular is a very, very powerful tool. We all need to read the manual and handle with care.
AI cannot replicate the experience of creating music in the moment. It cannot capture the energy of a living room jam session with friends or the adrenaline of playing a less-than-perfect set in front of a crowd who cheers because they feel your passion. It cannot replace the personal journey you take each time you push through frustration to master a riff that once seemed impossible. So, my fellow musicians, I say this: Your music is valid. Your guitar is valid. What you create with your hands and heart will always stand apart from what an algorithm can generate.
Our audience, on the other hand, is quite a different matter. And that’s the subject for next month’s Dojo. Until then, namaste.
It may not seem as "cool" as a raging fuzz or a complicated modeler, but this programmable wonder can unlock literally thousands of tones lurking within your existing rig.
RatingsPros:Clear and noise-free. Easy operation after an initial learning curve. Fantastic programming and preset options. Cons: Might be too busy for a player with simple EQ needs. Built-in tuner might be tricky to use in performance. Street: $269 Source Audio EQ2 sourceaudio.net
| Tones:  Ease of Use:  Build/Design: Value:  |
Good EQ pedals are very powerful tools, if not the most glamorous. So it might come as a surprise that the original DSP-driven Source Audio Programmable EQ, released in 2011, is among the company's best-selling products. It has high-profile fans in David Gilmour and John Mayer, among others. But in general it enjoyed a fraction of the recognition enjoyed by the company's excellent reverb, delay, or modulation units.
Rarely content to sit still, Source Audio has reimagined the Programmable EQ as the EQ2. The new version effectively doubles the fun while streamlining the interface, adding stereo inputs and outputs and a wealth of bonus features, including a hidden tuner.
The heart of the pedal is 10 fully adjustable frequency bands—ranging from 31 Hz to 16 kHz—that each enable 18 dB of boost or cut. Like many Source Audio designs, the audio is super high-quality. But the unit is also super flexible—enabling simultaneous use of two entirely independent frequency curves when used in stereo. There's also a parametric EQ mode, four stereo or eight mono onboard presets plus 128 MIDI-accessible presets, a 12 dB boost, external expression pedal and tap switch input for additional parameter control and filtering effects, preset scrolling, and an utterly ridiculous number of extra EQ-shaping options when connected to Source Audio's Neuro editing app for Mac and Windows.
Finished? Not quite. There's also an onboard noise gate, a dynamic limiter, and myriad options for connecting and routing the two essentially independent channels of 10-band EQ. Don't confuse this thing with your old scratchy-slider EQ pedal—this thing is loaded with creative potential.
Novel Graphic
If you're most comfortable with simple analog interfaces, you'll need to get in a slightly different head space to make the most of the EQ2—and there is a learning curve. But the EQ2 is well designed from an interface perspective, and programming and operation quickly become second nature once you get into it. Most essential functions can be performed with ease right on the unit itself using the encoder knob. But the Neuro app adds exponentially more flexibility to the pedal once you get comfortable with how it works.
The encoder knob enables selection and adjustment of individual frequency bands and access to deeper functions. New presets can be saved—and old ones selected—via a small push-button to its left. A mini-pot-sized output/boost control doubles as an indicator lamp, lighting up when the unit is engaged. Connection options include dual inputs and outputs, MIDI in and thru, and jacks for the external controller, 9V DC power supply, and USB connectivity. Impressively, it all fits in a brushed-aluminum box just 4.5" x 2.75". The onboard tuner is definitely a bonus, though it's activated via a footswitch-hold maneuver that I might be a little concerned about using mid-gig without accidentally triggering some other function.
Band Wagon
Keep in mind that while Source Audio refers to the EQ2 generically as a “stereo EQ," you can also think of it as two independent EQs. You can route separate EQ profiles to the front of two amps, utilize both EQs in front of and after the pedals in your amp's loop, or as an EQ/solo-boost pedal in the FX loops of two different guitar amps, to boost both simultaneously.
The EQ2 is fantastically flexible and has great range. And sometimes the myriad functions can obscure the fact that the EQ2 simply sounds great. It's clear, transparent, and extremely low-noise, and the dynamic limiter and noise gate are effective at more extreme EQ settings, too, so you can feel confident about exploring the limits of its tone-shifting capabilities without blowing up speakers or listeners ears.
The Verdict
Many players don't know just how valuable an EQ pedal can be. And for newbies that want to toy with a single, radical EQ shift in a set or song, the EQ2 might be more powerful and complex than what they need. For anyone curious about the vast potential of EQ, however, the EQ2 can be a stunning product. It sounds clear and clean. The basic tweaking and preset functions are easy to use. And the roster of bonus features for deep divers is head spinning. For any guitarist looking to tap into the hidden potential of their amplifiers, guitars, and pedals, the EQ2 could well be a revelation.
Watch our demo:
