Good news, everyone!

StringScales 3.0 is live, and it is the biggest release since 2.0 shipped. Three big things happened since then: the chord progression player grew into a full backing track editor, we built an experimental microtonal world for the adventurous, and the regular scales page got a long list of improvements you have been asking for.

One small change worth knowing before we dive in: a few features used to ask you to sign in first, like the full set of 3nps and CAGED positions and all the instruments. Not anymore. Everything is now open without an account. An account is only for what an account is actually for: saving your progressions, custom boards, and settings so they follow you across devices.

From Chord Player to Full Backing Track Editor

In 2.0 we introduced the chord progression player. Since then it has grown into something much bigger: a real backing track editor where you build the track, shape the sound, and jam over it while the fretboard follows along.

• ✅ Build progressions bar by bar with drag-and-drop chord blocks you can reorder and resize.
• ✅ A proper chord editor with the diatonic chords of your scale one click away.
• ✅ Scale annotations: mark which scale to practice over which part of the track, with automatic scale suggestions, and the fretboard switches along during playback.
• ✅ See the next chord coming: upcoming chord tones light up before the change hits, so your fingers can get there in time.
• ✅ Real band sounds: a synth bass, comping patterns, and drum grooves instead of a lonely metronome click.
• ✅ Scrub, seek, and loop: drag the playhead anywhere in the track, loop the part you are working on.
• ✅ Save and reopen your tracks on any device with a free account.

This is the practice loop we always wanted StringScales to have: pick a scale, build a track around it, and improvise with the chord tones and scale shapes lighting up under your fingers in real time.

The Microtonal Playground (Experimental)

This one is for the curious. What lives between the frets?

The new microtonal section lets you explore tunings that divide the octave into 19, 24, 31, 41 or 53 equal steps instead of the usual 12, plus the Kite guitar and just intonation, all on the same interactive fretboard you already know.

• ✅ Explore microtonal scales with the honest snap error shown for every note.
• ✅ Import your own Scala (.scl) files or generate moment-of-symmetry scales.
• ✅ Build a completely custom fretboard: place your own frets in cents wherever you want them, refret per string, or go fully fretless.
• ✅ Microtonal backing tracks with chords you will not find in any songbook: subminor, neutral, supermajor, and friends, composed from each tuning's own thirds, fifths, and sevenths.
• ✅ Save your boards and tracks and pick them back up later.

Fair warning: this corner of StringScales is experimental and evolving, so expect some rough edges. That is exactly why we want you in there. Tell us what breaks and what you want next.

The Scales Page Got Sharper Too

The core of StringScales kept improving alongside the big features:

• Focus mode: strip the page down to just the fretboard when it is time to practice.
• Pick your fret count: view 12 or a full 24 frets.
• Out-of-position labels: see how notes just outside your current position connect to it.
• A real audio overhaul: retuned samples, a tighter synth bass, and a concert pitch setting if your band tunes to something other than A440.
• Progressive metronome: set a start and target tempo and let it push you a little faster each round.
• Dozens of fixes to scale descriptions, mobile behavior, and settings that now reliably stay the way you left them.

Final Thoughts

3.0 is the version of StringScales we set out to build: a real backing track editor at its center and a microtonal playground at its edge. Thank you for all the feedback, bug reports, and ideas that got it here.

• 👉 Try the backing track editor
• 👉 Explore the scales

See you inside!

Kevin Founder, StringScales