Frequently asked questions

What is Hollow Log?

Hollow Log is a personal tune archive for folk and traditional musicians. Catalog the tunes you know with their key, type, tradition and tuning, note who you learned them from, keep track of when you last played each one, and build them into sets and setlists for a gig. On a paid plan you can record a lesson or a jam straight into it, onto a tune you have or one you will name afterwards. And it goes where there is no signal: everything in your archive opens offline, and a recording made there uploads once you are back online. It suits old time, bluegrass, Irish, Scottish, Cajun and any other tune-based tradition.

Who makes Hollow Log?

Hollow Log is made by me, Erik Pendleton. I play guitar and clawhammer banjo, and I first built it for myself. I could never remember all the tunes I’ve learned or what keys or tunings they’re in without digging through a pile of random recordings and notes.

It is paid for by people who subscribe. There will never be ads, your tunes are yours, and nothing gets sold or used to train AI models. If Hollow Log ever closes, you get 60 days’ notice and your export keeps working, see terms.

If something is broken or missing, write to me at support@hollowlog.app.

How do subscriptions work?

For your first 30 days everything is included, with no card needed: as many tunes as you like, recording and file attachments. After that you are on the free plan, which holds up to 50 tunes and includes import, CSV export, practice tracking, sets, setlists and sharing. Paid plans remove the tune limit and add recording and file attachments with 10 GB of storage. Pay monthly or annually, or once for lifetime access. You can cancel a monthly or annual plan at any time from the Subscriptions page.

How much does Hollow Log cost?

The free plan covers up to 50 tunes. The monthly plan is $3 a month and the annual plan is $24 a year, which saves 33% compared with paying monthly. Lifetime is $59 once, with nothing to renew. Every paid plan includes unlimited tunes and 10 GB of file storage, and CSV export is free for everyone. If you are on a monthly or annual plan and buy lifetime, your plan stops renewing, so you are not charged for it again.

See the plans side by side, or sign in to manage yours.

Can I record a tune straight into Hollow Log?

Yes, on a paid plan. Press Record beside Upload file on any tune, set or setlist, and Hollow Log records from your phone or computer’s microphone, with the processing meant for voice calls switched off so an instrument sounds like itself. A recording can run to 100 MB, about an hour and three quarters. For a tune that is not in your archive yet, the Record page records with nothing to record onto: afterwards you file the recording under a tune you have, or add the tune, and until then it is kept on that phone or computer only. Either way it is saved on your phone or computer as you record, so it works with no signal at all: it uploads by itself once you are back online, even if you closed the app in the meantime, and plays from your phone until then. Once it is uploaded, Hollow Log makes a copy that plays on any phone or computer, and that is what Download gives you: a recording made on an iPhone plays on Android or Windows too.

Does Hollow Log work without a connection?

Yes, for what you need at a session. Your tunes, sets, setlists, practice page and stage views are saved on your phone or computer while you are online, and open without a connection, marked as the saved copy. Recording works offline, on a tune, set or setlist you have or from the Record page with no tune at all, and the recording uploads by itself when you are back online and it has a tune to belong to. Played works too: the play is saved when you are back online. Turn on Keep on this device on a tune, set or setlist and its recordings, photos and PDFs play and open offline as well, or keep them all from Preferences. Adding or editing a tune needs a connection. It works best from the app installed on your home screen. Logging out removes the saved copy from that device.

What can I record about each tune?

Each tune holds its name, who it’s attributed to, key, type, time signature and tradition, plus the tuning you use on each instrument – guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, or any custom instrument you add. You can also note who you learned it from and where, mark it as crooked, danceable, memorized or performable, or as one you want to learn, and keep intros, endings, lyrics, free-text notes and links to recordings or sheet music with it. Your list filters and searches by any of these, tuning included, so everything you play in double C or cross A is one tap away.

Can I import the tunes I already have?

Yes, on every plan. Paste a list of tune names, one per line, or upload a CSV from a spreadsheet and match its columns to Hollow Log’s fields – most are matched for you. Tunes already in your archive are skipped, instruments you haven’t added yet are created, and links to recordings or sheet music come along too. On the free plan, an import that would pass 50 tunes adds what fits and tells you what was left out.

Can I change many tunes at once?

Yes, on every plan. Press Select on your tune list and pick the tunes, or search or filter first and select everything that shows. Edit then sets the key, type, time, tradition, who or where you learned them from, an instrument and its tuning, or a status such as Memorized, on all of them together; anything you leave alone stays as it is on each tune. It’s the quick way to finish an archive you imported as a list of names. Delete works the same way, and asks first. Both need a connection.

How does practice tracking work?

Every tune in your list has a Played button. Tap it when you play the tune, and Hollow Log shows how long ago that was, with a marker that changes as the tune goes stale: after 10 days for a tune you’re still learning, or six weeks once it’s memorized or performable. The Practice page lists your tunes with the most overdue first, and every tune page has a Played today button too. Tap again the same day to undo. Practice tracking is free, and only you see it – people you share your archive with don’t.

What is the difference between a set and a setlist?

A set is a reusable group of tunes you play together – a medley you’d call by name. A setlist is the running order for a specific occasion, and it can contain both sets and individual tunes, along with the event date, venue and your own notes for each slot. The same set can appear in as many setlists as you like.

Can I share a setlist with my band?

Yes. Every setlist has a private stage link that opens a stripped-back, print-friendly view of the running order. Anyone with the link can read it without creating an account, which makes it easy to send to bandmates or put on a phone or tablet on stage. If a link gets shared further than you intended, reset it and the old one stops working.

Can I attach recordings or sheet music to a tune?

Paid subscribers can attach audio recordings, images, PDFs and tab files to any tune, set or setlist, and rename them once they are there. Audio plays back inline, images open full size, and PDFs open in a new tab, so the recording you learned a tune from can live alongside the notation. Tab and notation files from TablEdit, Guitar Pro and MuseScore, along with MusicXML, ABC, MIDI and plain text tabs, are kept with the tune and download to open in their own program. Recordings and files are yours alone: people you share your archive with do not see them. Free accounts can still view and download files, but not upload new ones.

How do I keep my entries consistent between tunes?

As you type into fields you have filled in before – tradition, tunings, who you learned a tune from and where – Hollow Log suggests values already in your archive, including close matches with different spelling or capitalization. Choosing an existing value keeps your filters and searches working instead of splitting one workshop or teacher across several near-identical spellings.

How does tune sharing work?

Invite another musician by email from the Sharing page. Once they accept, they can browse your tunes read-only, and your archive appears under Shared with me in their menu. They see what you have written about each tune. They never see your recordings, the files you have attached, or your practice history. On any of your tune pages they can choose Add to my tunes, which copies the tune into their own archive with you as Learned from, and Tunes in common shows the tunes you both play, side by side with your keys and tunings. You can remove their access at any time; copies they made stay theirs. To share a single setlist instead, send its stage link.

Is Hollow Log accessible?

We build for it and we measure it. Every page works from the keyboard alone: a skip link jumps past the navigation, focus is always visible, and nothing relies on hovering, which matters on a touch screen where hover does not exist. Controls carry names a screen reader can announce, including the icon-only buttons, and each page has one heading that says what it is. Text meets the WCAG AA contrast minimum in both light and dark themes, tap targets grow on phones, and the layout holds from a 320px phone upward without sideways scrolling. These are checked automatically rather than by eye, so a change that breaks one shows up as a failing test. If something does not work for you, email support@hollowlog.app and tell us what you were trying to do.

Is my data secure?

Hollow Log never sees your password: sign-in is handled by Auth0, or by Google if you sign in that way. Card details go straight to Stripe and never reach us. Everything travels over HTTPS, and attached files sit in private storage that opens only through links that expire within the hour. Nobody else can browse your archive unless you invite them, and you can remove their access at any time. We never sell your data. The Privacy policy has the details.

Can I export my tunes?

Yes, on every plan, free included. Export your tunes, in Preferences, downloads your whole archive as a CSV: every tune’s details, instruments and tunings, the sets and setlists it belongs to, and its links. It opens in any spreadsheet, and you can import it back into Hollow Log with links and notes intact.

What happens when my 30-day trial ends?

Nothing is deleted and nothing is charged: the trial needs no card, so there is nothing to cancel. Your account moves to the free plan. If you have more than 50 tunes, every one of them stays in your list: the 50 you edited most recently stay open, and the rest are locked, which means you can still read, export and delete them but not edit them or mark them as played, and you can’t add more until you choose a paid plan. Recordings and files you added stay playable and downloadable, but you can’t add new ones. You can still export every tune as a CSV. If any of this applies to you, Hollow Log emails you before the trial ends and tells you on your tune list in its last week, and the Plans page always shows how many days are left. During the trial you have 1 GB of file storage, and 10 GB on a paid plan.

What happens if I cancel my subscription?

You keep paid features until the end of the period you’ve paid for, then your account moves to the free plan. Nothing is deleted. If you have more than 50 tunes, every one of them stays in your list: the 50 you edited most recently stay open, and the rest are locked, so you can read, export and delete them but not edit them or mark them as played, and you can’t add more. Files you attached stay viewable, but you can’t upload new ones. You can still export every tune, not just those 50, as a CSV. Subscribe again and every tune is open again.

Can I get a refund?

Yes. If you ask within 14 days of a monthly or annual payment, whether it was your first or a renewal, we refund that payment in full. For lifetime it is 30 days from the day you bought it. Email support@hollowlog.app from the address on your account; you do not need to give a reason. A refund ends the plan it paid for and your account moves to the free plan, with nothing deleted. The Terms page has the full policy.

How do I delete my account?

Go to Profile and choose Delete account. You’ll see everything that will be deleted, with a link to download your tunes as a CSV first, and you’ll be asked to sign in again and type your email address to confirm. Your tunes, sets, setlists, attached files and sign-in are deleted straight away, and any subscription stops renewing. A lifetime membership ends with the account and is not refunded. Copies in our encrypted backups are deleted within 90 days.

Need more help?

If you have additional questions or need assistance, please contact us at support@hollowlog.app.