D'Addario admits Suno AI music in promo after weeks of denial

D'Addario, the iconic guitar string manufacturer, has finally admitted that its promotional demo video for new extended-range guitar strings was partially generated by Suno, an AI music tool. For nearly two weeks, the company fiercely denied the allegations, offering explanations ranging from low-quality exports to Autotune artifacts and AI-assisted mastering plugins from LANDR and Logic. The controversy escalated when YouTuber Rhett Shull obtained the original Logic project files and concluded in a generous assessment that Suno was likely used to regenerate an earlier recording.

Instead of releasing a new public statement, D'Addario quietly edited its original July 29th Instagram post to confess: "We got this wrong. We've completed a full review and confirmed that Suno Studio was used to regenerate the original track." The company apologized for sharing inaccurate information and for aggressively moderating comments by deleting criticism and blocking users. It also committed to requiring employee and partner disclosure of any generative AI use and to more closely reviewing all future content. The incident marks another flashpoint in the guitar industry's uneasy relationship with AI, following Fender's CEO comparing bandmates to analog AI.