Guitar Pro 6 (PC/Mac)

Guitar Pro has now become the default app for all things plucked. Although I've not used the previous versions I'm told by my guitar teacher it's an improvement, especially in terms of sound playback and UI.

You can create your own compositions or transcriptions or load the thousands of tabs and scores available from many websites (Check out how many are on ultimate guitar just for starters.) Play it back, fiddle, fettle, it's an app with few limits.

Best thing for me is that the key is good for install on multiple machines (5 if I recall) which meant my wife and I had no problem putting it on each laptop. Buying a physical copy from Amazon was also actually cheaper than paying for a downloaded copy direct from the company that produce it!

This is the best software I've ever bought and I'm not referring only to guitar/musical stuff...
Since I have two children under two and a full time job I can dedicate very little time to guitar so first I downloaded the trial version to give it a go. I tested it out with a few funky rhythms and I was absolutely astonished: in few minutes I had complicated rhythms transcribed and the playback was spot on, even quarter tone bending sounded perfect.
I went on and bought the program and:
1) Paid less on Amazon for the actual cd that on the website for the download. Quick delivery, lovely packaging with the case now proudly showing off on my desk.
2) Despite a huge bank of data and thousands of features the program was installed smoothly and since then never crashed once on a below average vista pc.
3) Cannot believe the quantity and most of all the QUALITY of tabs you can find on line. You can learn the piece accurately and at your own tempo and then jam with the exact backing track.
What else can I say...I never enjoyed playing so much; I wake up in the morning and can't wait to pick up the guitar. This is because through Guitar Pro even an average player like me, with little time to practice and even less patience and ear can play a tune exactly the way it is, and that's what makes the difference... that's where frustration ends and fun begins.
Just one more thing, with the help of GP I was able to develope a guitar-based method to give up smoking that has worked for me and the 3 other guys who have tried it so far; only this of course makes me love this program madly.
I may sound too enthusiastic but honestly I can't find a fault in this thing...
Enjoy!!

This is quite a long review, so here is a summary if it was tl;dr for you

=== SUMMARY ===
===============

If you do play the guitar and want to practice your instrument while having access to one of the largest score banks
available on the web today Guitar Pro 6 is definitley worth it. There are literally thousands of songs available
on the web for free or commercial use. There is room for MIDI playback improvement and a few other things.
BUT for the price it is an absolute bargain.

=== SETUP & INSTALLATION ===
==============================

I started using this on Mac, but the experience should be similar in Windows too.
Installation was simple, you get the latest updates and the sound bank downloaded
immediately. This provides around 1.8GB of sounds including 791 electric guitars,
194 acoustic guitars and 119 bass guitars. After a few minutes your ready to roll.

=== INTERFACE & DESIGN ===
==============================

As the program starts, there is a lovely guitar lick that plays.
The interface is very appealing, a nice black and grey with blue icons.

The score takes up approximately 3/4 of the screen.
Tracks are grouped at the bottom of the screen.

On the left hand side is the 'Universe' Menu. This has several tabs
and resembles the FireFox browser oddly enough. It allows you to open
up to 7 different scores simultaneously. The menu tabs available are:

1. Editing - this manages notes/accidentals and score/tab editing tools
2. Chords - provides all chord diagrams to be edited and added to the main window
3. Lyrics - as the name implies, you can add lyrics to the music
4. Instruments - for instrument selection, tuning and sound bank assignment
5. Effect/Master - allows you to manage instrument effects as well as master effects

=== FEATURES ===
=================

You can start a project with an empty file or a template. Many template presets
range from single guitar to jazz trio, string quartet and double bass. The template
automatically loads the matching sounds, from there you can fill in the rest.

Add all of the common musical symbols to your score, most notable those that are
specific to the guitar and other fretted instruments.

Tablature and standard notation: Both types of notation are perfectly synchronized:
the notes capture into one get immediately reported into the other.

LIST OF NOTATION ELEMENTS
Dynamic, grace note, staccato, fade in, left-hand and right-hand fingering, brush, pick strokes,
ghost note, accented notes, muffled note, let ring, harmonics, tapping, slap, hammer-on / pull-off,
bend, tremolo bar, slides, vibrato, wide vibrato, trill, tremolo picking, palm mute, multirests,
double dotting, n-tuplets, fermata, double accidentals, left-hand tapping, rasgueado, arpeggio,
rythmic « slash » notation, ornaments, extended barré...; and of course texts, lyrics, chord diagrams

Customise score with stylesheet: Based on the classic or jazz styles, you can set 70 different parameters,
configure the outlook of your scores exactly as you wish, and get professional-level paper printouts.

=== PLAYBACK ===
==================

With 1.8GB of sounds the playback quality has vastly improved from previous versions.

During playback, the score automatically scrolls on and a highlighted cursor lets you know which note is being
played. You can adjust tempo, and play all or part of a piece in loops. The Speed Trainer will then let you play
any section of the score in loops with progressive accelerations. This is very useful to practice a solo or a
complex guitar riff. All of the effects specific to the guitar (e.g., bend, slide, ghost notes, etc.) are rendered
into the playback, as well as the various possible playing styles - pickstroking, fingerpicking or slapping, for instance.

The RSE (Realistic Sound Engine) technology includes the realistic studio recordings of instruments,
as well as some effect modelisations. You get access to over a hundred soundbanks, and over fifty effects
pedals and amps. We provide many presets for all styles, and you can also configure your own effect chains.
You can apply a mastering to the final result, with a compressor-limiter, a reverb, and a 10-track equalizer.
You can also listen to your scores in MIDI sound.

=== OUTPUTTING & SHARING ===
==============================

The Guitar Pro format has become widely known and used. You can know use all of the scores that are already available
on the web in formats such as gtp, .gp3, .gp4, .gp5 and .gpx.

You can also use:

1. MIDI input/output - This is a mere description of musical data. Guitar Pro turns it into an actual multitrack tablature.
2. ASCII Import/Export - Simple text file, one of the first ways of sharing. Guitar Pro will let you convert ASCII files into tablatures
3. WAV Export - You can convert a Guitar Pro file into an audio file, which you can play or burn onto an audio CD.
4. PNG Export - Exporting into PNG (image) will let you save your tablatures as big-sized pictures.
5. PDF Export - The PDF format is standard when you wish to distribute your scores.

=== CONCLUSION ===
==================

If you do play the guitar and want to practice your instrument while having access to one of the largest score banks
available on the web today Guitar Pro 6 is definitley worth it. There are literally thousands of songs available
on the web for free or commercial use. There is room for MIDI playback improvement and a few other things.
BUT for the price it is an absolute bargain.