Now AI Answers Your Guitar Questions! (?)

Between Pleck machines that automate fret leveling and Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can supposedly answer any and all questions, a friend was lamenting that good guitar techs won’t be needed in the near future.

I’ll address my arguments against Plecks some other time, but AI and, specifically, ChatGPT caught my attention this morning because in my Google News Feed was an interesting sounding article…

Google ranked a nonsense AI guitar article!

But reading the article made my head hurt! Here’s some samples…

One of the biggest advantages of using medium gauge strings is that they’re easier to bend. If you’re playing a lot of blues or rock, being able to bend the strings is essential. The downside to this is that they’re also more likely to break.
– Fuel Rocks

The article is referring to 12 gauge strings as “medium”. Well, I say if your bends are breaking twelve gauge strings, you need to switch to bass and consider terminating your Planet Fitness subscription!

Oh, but there’s more…

if you change the gauge of the strings, the tension on the neck changes, resulting in your guitar falling and staying out of tune. Take it to a shop that sells the item and see what they’re doing (try and find a nearby shop). In general, you won’t be surprised at how little it costs and you’ll be happy with how it went.
Fuel Rocks

…even better…

Changing the size of the string has become a popular pastime for many guitarists. It is critical to perform this function as a matter of course, depending on the performance of your instrument. The neck/body of a guitar is essentially subjected to more pull and strain as a result of various string gauges. If you change your string gauge, it will not harm your instrument in the majority of cases. The difference between a hardtail guitar and an electric guitar is most likely to be in the string height or buzzing. If you’ve never used string gauge changes before, you should first seek out help and advice.
Fuel Rocks

That is a single, unedited paragraph! So, if you need a new pastime, consider the very popular one of changing guitar strings! LOL!

And remember that the difference between a hardtail guitar and an electric one is in the string height or buzzing! ROTF!

One last “gem” (added later) –

The rod size of your guitar is determined by the size of the rod. A luthier rod runs through the neck of a guitar to keep its neck from rubbing against the bridge, and the rod is a metal bar that runs through the neck. If the neck does not fit properly, the truss rod fails.
FuelRocks

I don’t know how I missed that one – but was re-reading the article and almost choked. This was too good to leave out, so I added it!

So I asked ChatGPT “How to Setup a Guitar”, and this is the nonsense I got –

I renumbered the steps in red. I’ll skip the fact that it didn’t cover checking frets for wear and level; fret ends for “sprout”, etc.; loose hardware; clean the electronics; etc., etc.

Imagine setting intonation before setting relief, setting saddle heights before relief! And “clean and polish the guitar” after the strings are on???

“Clean and lubricate the fretboard”??? Maybe I should start selling “Hanks Super-Slick Fretboard Grease”! Talk about a “fast fretboard”!

Rather than worry about AI taking our business, let’s worry about the poor guitarists who will try to DIY their own guitar stuff under this “guidance” and prepare for all the extra repair business it will cause!

I’m actually all in favor of putting as many guitar repair and setup how-to’s into the hands of guitarists, especially since many can’t afford to use our services frequently. But I don’t think we’ll have to worry about AI (artificial intelligence) taking over any time soon.

While my curiosity was boiling over, I thought I’d ask ChatGPT just how it accomplishes such amazing writing –