Guitar pedals and humans have had a somewhat one-sided relationship in the past four decades or so . We turn them on and off by stepping on their faces , allowing them to have a voice only when jolted to life at our whim . For so long , pedals have been slaves to our will , working in their little signal chain gangs like convicts cracking rocks and building our walls of sound . However , as technology advances , the population of our pedalboards is starting to become more intelligent .
Our pedals are starting to interpret our individual input in a dynamic way . Some pedals are starting to listen carefully to our commands and some even translate our input into their own unique language . These smart stompboxes are reading our touch sensitivity and tonal range , adapting to our individual idiosyncrasies and attempting to build a more interactive relationship with us . In the past , this phenomenon was limited to touch sensitivity and the criteria for a good overdrive was based on it ’ s somewhat sympathetic nature to our picking nuance , and while this still holds true , there ’ s now much more going on in the brains of our little electronic friends . Let us explore .
It ’ s Alive ! Pedals that Use Artificial Intelligence words by : Fletcher Stewart
Thinking Tone Machines
Guitar pedals and humans have had a somewhat one-sided relationship in the past four decades or so . We turn them on and off by stepping on their faces , allowing them to have a voice only when jolted to life at our whim . For so long , pedals have been slaves to our will , working in their little signal chain gangs like convicts cracking rocks and building our walls of sound . However , as technology advances , the population of our pedalboards is starting to become more intelligent .
Our pedals are starting to interpret our individual input in a dynamic way . Some pedals are starting to listen carefully to our commands and some even translate our input into their own unique language . These smart stompboxes are reading our touch sensitivity and tonal range , adapting to our individual idiosyncrasies and attempting to build a more interactive relationship with us . In the past , this phenomenon was limited to touch sensitivity and the criteria for a good overdrive was based on it ’ s somewhat sympathetic nature to our picking nuance , and while this still holds true , there ’ s now much more going on in the brains of our little electronic friends . Let us explore .
34 TONE TALK // It ’ s Alive ! Pedals That Use Artificial Intelligence