627 - Experimental backing tracks, Fender vs the entire planet, and robot rock stars

Chasing Tone - Guitar Podcast About Gear, Effects, Amps and Tone

Chasing Tone - Guitar Podcast About Gear, Effects, Amps and Tone
627 - Experimental backing tracks, Fender vs the entire planet, and robot rock stars
Jul 22, 2026
Wampler Pedals

Brian, Blake, and Richard are back for Episode 627 of the Chasing Tone Podcast - Experimental backing tracks, Fender vs the entire planet, and robot rock stars

Brian has been experimenting in his secret laboratory and reveals that AI-generated backing tracks are getting scarily good. The guys explore how far this technology has come and their conclusions may surprise you. This leads to a deep and heartfelt conversation about why playing music matters, why it can never truly be replaced by technology, and whether robot rock stars performing on stage could actually become a thing. There are also some sad farewells to Jennifer Finch of L7 and Wayne Charvel, who both passed away.

Brian has been renovating his studio with LED-lit pedal shelves and proper sound panels, and he has some new Bigler pickups to try. Meanwhile, the Fender legal saga has somehow gotten even worse - they're now going after Thomann, Yamaha, and an Australian secondhand guitar retailer. The guys are genuinely baffled and discuss whether Fender have managed to pull off the most spectacular act of brand self-destruction in guitar history. Richard has a PRS-shaped solution.

The Rolling Stones have a new album out and Richard highly recommends it, Anthrax have a cracking new single, and the World Cup halftime show featured Madonna flanked by two footballing legends dressed as Teletubbies. Richard reveals that an Iron Maiden guitarist was fired for listening to the Eagles on the tour bus, and the guys debate the merits of mystery pedal boxes.

Headstock Socks, The Defenderiser, Eastern European Clown Music, Brad Womp, Breaking the Fourth Wind...it's all in this week's Chasing Tone!

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Episode Artwork 627 - Experimental backing tracks, Fender vs the entire planet, and robot rock stars 58:23 Episode Artwork 626 - We were wrong, Blake has beef, and the world's greatest nonsense show ever 41:20 Episode Artwork 625 - Hot industry gossip, scary British villains, and Strymon level up. 53:27 Episode Artwork 624 - Two decades in the pedal trenches, pitch-shifters, and the JHS Dumble nut crumble 1:05:22 Episode Artwork 623 - Brian's birthday flamethrower bonanza and Stratgate continues. 54:49 Episode Artwork 622 - So you want to be a guitar YouTuber? Start here... 45:49 Episode Artwork 621 - String secrets, Brian gets a surprise gift, and sniffing out the fakers 1:06:18 Episode Artwork 620 - New guitar day, Seymour Duncan's Telecaster, and the story that just won't quit... 1:05:27 Episode Artwork 619 - 40 Watts of Fender dilemma and do you have to be rich to start a band? 1:18:19 Episode Artwork 618 - The all new Fender agenda and will the real Josh Scott please stand up? 1:06:42 Episode Artwork 617 - The maple-topped Martin Dragnet, Hellbent for Denim, and songs of death in the key of A 1:02:16 Episode Artwork 616 - Taste the Pain with special guest Michael Beinhorn - a look into the production of some absolutely massive albums 59:41 Episode Artwork 615 - Random amp joy, the great Kindle swindle, and Telecaster heresy 50:33 Episode Artwork 614 - Are two heads better than one? The great stereo amp debate and the magic number of knobs! 52:19 Episode Artwork 613 - Who is the world's smallest pedal builder, and has Blake finally submitted to the dark side? 1:07:00 Episode Artwork 612 - Travis Feaster plays the blues, LED fretboards, and there is fuzz on the internet 1:01:04 Episode Artwork 611 - Pointy-headed guitars, vintage cabs, and German ambient weirdness. 52:07 Episode Artwork 610 - Are gigantic pedalboards back in fashion and what is the cure for a bad band practice? 1:08:51 Episode Artwork 609 - You can't put handlebars on an amplifier, the world's most expensive guitar, and happy birthday to the Telecaster! 1:05:17 Episode Artwork 608 - Vintage amps, Wooden samplers, and Fender's bender agenda 1:01:42 Episode Artwork 607 - Brian invents a new form of reverb and are guitar magazines dead? 1:04:54 Episode Artwork 606 - The Art of the Stompbox, Blake has ghosts, and Brian falls down another rabbit hole 1:03:20 Episode Artwork 605 - We are the weird ones and is this the ultimate collection of gear ever? 1:01:52 Episode Artwork 604 - Brian drops some more big hints, confuses everyone, and is a kind of chilled out entertainer 59:38 Episode Artwork 603 - A royal declaration, a new guitar is needed, and Brian is a workaholic 37:57