Guitar Tabs - Best and Worst (Where to Find Them!)

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Don't know how to read tabs? Check this out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eH3WpWV5rbasaMU

[@UncontrolledJibe]

I have the same deal with Ultimate Guitar. You're dead on about the accuracy of solos there. Every time someone shows me the "right" tab it's usually half the work because the fingeriing makes sense. You're one of the best here. I've muddled through a few songs that even the tabs left me clueless on thanks to your breakdown.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Thanks Kevin, I appreciate the kind words, and I'm glad my breakdowns are helpful... sometimes people say I talk too much during the lesson :)

[@diverdown1982]

Dave, your tabs are the ONLY reliable source I know of! You rock!

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Thanks bro, I really appreciate the nice comment :)

[@bluwng]

Where are his tabs found?

[@martykirkpatrick6347]

Easy Q for me man..its def you..being able to watch you rip through them with accuracy, along with your easy going explanations of the nuances of the piece and other approaches to the fingerings blow away trying to learn them by myself, from a screen or on paper..I really appreciate your efforts Dave! Sorry for not visiting those sites, some I have visited before, but I will never be able to pull most of this stuff off anyway..lol!

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Hey Marty, thanks so much for the nice comment. I make these videos in the same why I prefer to learn, so to know others like like this approach, is always good to hear :)

[@noose18]

Agreed, being able to see the technique used while also seeing the tab is immensely helpful. I’ve been playing for about 20 years, I’ve never taken a lesson, and when I started I didn’t have access to anything other than tab books and CDs, needless to say I developed some improper techniques in certain aspects, and bad habits die hard, but channels like this have improved my technique no question. He’s such an easy-to-understand teacher I wish he’d do more than just solo tutorials haha Knowing how to properly practice is nearly as important as practicing, in my experience anyway.

[@philjobbins2325]

All the power tabs used to be available on a dedicated power site platform till 15+ years ago. Then the musicians union went after them and the site was taken down. Many of the tabs are exact copies of official books I have, so that’s why they are so good. A few months later a mirror site appeared and I downloaded nearly everything before it disappeared again for good. Shortly after all the power tabs appeared on the ultimate guitar site so they either did the same as me or bought the lot. I can’t understand why the lawyers don’t go after UG ! Just to correct my previous post, it was actually the US Music Publishers lawyers that went after Power Tab org.

[@CarrigansGuitarClub]

100% agree with everything you said, I remember back in the 80's and tabs where 90% inaccurate but we had no choices back then...

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Right, we had so few choices back then. Magazines or books... but nothing was free :)

[@guitarist22lespaul90]

Hi PDx, Songsterr and ultimate Guitar Tab,I notice you really have use your ears and listen to over and over, and then I write my own tab,then know how song structured, I wish would teach whole song and solo and Guitar Tab.Thank you so much.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Thank you for the comment. I agree with you that we have to still use our ears to make sure the notes are correct :)

[@AleX-ux2qz]

I actually never use tabs, that is except when I learn by your videos, ha-ha. And your tabs are really good!

[@PDXguitarfreak]

LOL thanks Alex! I appreciate that! :)

[@MartillodeMiller]

For a lot of solos you're the only source i need, for the rest of the song i download rocksmith songs which they're supposed to be accurate and extract the tab.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Hey Lucas, thanks bro. I've never tried Rocksmith, but I know I should check it out :)

[@fab.silva1119]

Ditto. Solo = PDX. Main song = Guitar365

[@JD-li1xw]

Your Tabs are the best by far!

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Thanks JD!!! :)

[@mrdf730]

After all these years still powertabs is the best format..

[@PDXguitarfreak]

For me, definitely :)

[@KevinToine]

The official tab from ultimate guitar usually is just the top rated guitarpro tab, but the difference is they charge money.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Yeah, I heard that somewhere else too. Thanks for confirming :)

[@kevinerickson84]

All the "official" tabs i avoid. They're just terrible

[@estebancuco1]

I just found this channel and I find it very interesting and of good quality, it's a shame I don't understand English very well, greeting from Colombia

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Hola my friend! Your English translates very good :)

[@estebancuco1]

Google traductor 😪😂

[@guitarhaven6807]

Great video. I also had difficulty with UG tabs as well. One has to mine multiple tabs as many are incorrect - tedious and time consuming. My idea is to create some AI software that can visually translate the discovered tab into a sound byte to determine its accuracy (according to the person searching for the music score). This would be cool!

[@guitarhaven6807]

and yes I agree with Diaz - Your tabs are spot on and you honour the original version of the score as much as possible.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Wow, yeah that would be really cool! If you ever make it happen, I'd be happy to demo it :)

[@guitarhaven6807]

@@PDXguitarfreak thanks - thinking about it making an MVP. Btw great tip on suggesting powertab. Great software.

[@OgamiItto70]

Man, the best tabs didn't come from the internet, they came from _Guitar For The Practicing Musician_ magazine, especially early issues from the Eighties. (But even some of them were a bit off.) You look in guitar magazines nowadays and the tabs are pretty anemic.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Right on, I have so many issues of GFTPM from the '80s. I was so excited every month with the new one would arrive :) Guitar World too.

[@fab.silva1119]

I need a time machine!

[@humanbeing2420]

About 20 years ago I bought a big stack of back issues of that magazine dirt cheap from a store in San Francisco. I tore the tabs out and tossed most of the rest of the issues. So I had a ton of those tabs, and they were as accurate as tabs can be. A decade later I was cleaning house before a cross-country move and I tossed almost all of them, thinking they all had to be accessible online for free now anyway. NOPE. None of them are. Not one.

[@OgamiItto70]

@@humanbeing2420 Bummer. It was amazing how detailed they were.

[@humanbeing2420]

@@OgamiItto70 I kept Cliffs of Dover, The Mystical Potato-Head Groove Thing and Symphony of Destruction....

[@girhen]

Damn, didn't expect PowerTab on here. I used that and loved it, but it's sadly not seen an update in...12 years. Still, it's well fleshed out, and the export MIDI feature is helpful if you want to write music in there initially and get some virtual instruments going in Reaper while you record the actual instruments. I love Reaper, but don't like the piano MIDI interface.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Hey girhen, yeah I hear you about PowerTab... I'm surprised we haven't seen an update either :)

[@johndoe-lr9if]

Thanks for this. I'm surprised there are almost no review videos on songster (which is what I was searching for)

[@RSchmitt1966]

PowerTab!! I still have a huge library and use it somewhat regularly. Someone finally updated Powertab (Powertab 2.0 Beta) but I don't remember where exactly I got it. It's ok. It doesn't play some powertab files correctly but works pretty well. I haven't spent much time with it.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Hi Richard, I admittedly rarely use the playback feature with Power Tabs... I often forget it's there :)

[@drinkspecials]

I used to belong to ultimate guitar and stopped using them because not only the same things you spoke about but they would also do things in the hardest positions also you know there's different positions you can play things the flow of a solo and they would have you going all over the fret board but now I just wait for pdx to load something

[@PDXguitarfreak]

LOL thanks bro! Yeah I noticed with U-G, it's not just the missing notation, but to your point it's also the notes themselves... often wrong or played weirdly :)

[@xname662]

Of course you'r tabs are the bests!🤘🏻

[@PDXguitarfreak]

LOL, thanks bro! :)

[@xname662]

@@PDXguitarfreak 👍🏻

[@c4sb2008]

i use ultimate guitar...i play mostly rhythm. every song on my channel is from ugt . they may not be perfect but sure was fun leaning them.

[@mikehunty20]

New to online tabs, 6 months, only experience is Songsteer for Android. $6. Many of the tabs are correct, as I have been using tabs from books and magazines for over 35 years, I find the Songsteer tabs as good. Never tried the other apps. And Programs reviewed. The best tabs were the Play Guitar with... Series, As the backing tracks Are recordings of professional studio musicians in L.A. pro. Studios. Of course the best of the best was Play Guitar with Van Halen. Series is no longer available.

[@djay6651]

I've used UG for years, but even the 5* tabs can be quite incorrect. I've had versions of Power Tab for probably 15 years, also originally from Download.com. Guitar Pro is decent and I think v5 is when it included tones that weren't straight MIDI.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

I hear some decent things about Guitar Pro too. :)

[@67buzzo]

I always look around and compare tabs so I don’t start learning something not accurate...because it can be a pain to unlearn a lick..I like Ciffra Club it’s in Portuguese but their lessons are great ..

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Me too... I always gather multiple sources and pull from each the parts that sound best... and then fine tune with my ear :)

[@superunknown6560]

Don't have one bit of musical talent in me, but I have been watching your videos ever since I saw your Godzilla video. If I gave you a link to a video of my favorite local band I followed in the mid to late 80s would you review it and tell me what you think? Thx man! 🤘

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Yeah bro, no problem! :)

[@superunknown6560]

@@PDXguitarfreakWOW! How cool is this. YT - Redd Threat at Quincys pt. 1 go to the 19:17 mark Lay it down, then 2 originals Move in for the kill, The final slaughter, Bark at the moon. These guys came this close to getting signed. Tom Redd the lead guitar player used to have the story about what happened on FB don't know if it still there. Thx bro!🤘

[@Wolf2u2]

Have you tried Guitar Pro, curious how you'd rate their tab.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

I have not, but would like to :)

[@Wolf2u2]

www.mysongbook.com/ is part of GuitarPro, tabs average $1.99 to purchase & download or $2.99 per month to access but, not download for all of them.

[@martincloutier666]

I really miss my Guitar for the practicing musician collection that I lost in a flood in 2007.

[@tps607]

thanks man...the only way to go

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Hey bro, thanks! :)

[@tps607]

@@PDXguitarfreak Dave, what's up with the phone number comment?

[@creepymccreepers]

I use a combination of tabs videos of players who make covers looking for the actual artists play through videos and then I use my ear as the last and final test

[@Mctugeye]

Ultimate is the worst all their guitar tabs a so inaccurate I hate when it comes up first in my search. I used to use guitar magazine back in the early 90s and they were actual tabs as written by the band's . Wish I had kept all those books they were like $40 per book of 6 songs but they were official. But ultimately I haven't found a tab site that was accurate

[@kevinwatkins3856]

I was also going to mention “Guitar Player Magazine”. There weren’t many tabs per monthly magazine, but what they did have, we’re always “spot-on” in my experience. But I discontinued when they stopped print and went website. Don;t know if they still exist on-line. Will have to check.

[@ak-vu8uv]

I really wanna get ultimate guitar life time membership but sadly I missed the chance to get it and it sucks

[@xname662]

I use songsterr,because i cam hear what its the tab,andi know if are wrong or not.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Yeah the playback feature is nice!

[@xname662]

@@PDXguitarfreak Yeah,better than ultimate guitar,or sometimes i use the ear,👍🏻

[@standodge5536]

Half the KZbin channels contradict the playing, one person pays it like this while another plays it like that. Its super annoying! Then you got people following the Metallica tab books playing guitar on the bass parts....That really burns me up!

[@Nukeboy93]

On point!

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Thanks! :)

[@humbucker2006]

Do you make your TABs available as downloads? Agree with others, they are very high quality. Do you sell them? I'm tired of cutting & pasting from your videos :) --mike

[@Yelliwj]

Are Power Tabs available for Mac?

[@bradybingham7605]

Bro their official tabs are driving me insane

[@fonesrphunny7242]

I just use Google, download whatever I find and usually go crying shortly thereafter. Just downloaded a GP file for "Ace of Spades" and the guitar was one semi-tone off literally half the time. I also vividly remember another tab that asked for a low F-tuning. Yes, that's 11 semi-tones tuned down. I really don't understand how people come up with such horrible tabs.

[@creepymccreepers]

Man there are always missing parts in tabs

[@ou8126]

I prefer ur tabs!

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Thank you, Razor!!!!! :)

[@alcoustic5297]

👍

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Thanks bro! :)

[@fab.silva1119]

Best source for tabs? Steve Lukather homepage 😉

[@muleblues71]

you can comment on the official, they usually fix them. They fucked up the ramones song, wanna be be sedated. I commented and they corrected it. bought the lifetime deal a few years back for $35

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Yes, fair point. I've actually left comments about the U-G Official tabs, and they've asked for my input. I definitely commend them for that. Even if they fixed all of the wrong notes, I think they still need to improve their formatting of solos. Rhythm parts look good though, in my opinion. :)

[@dylandoge1627]

I just buy the Hal Leonard books they’re better then 90% of all of the tabs on internet

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Hey Dylan, thanks for the comment. I've had some good experiences with those too :)

[@sawt00th]

You can grab a free trial to www.guitarinstructor.com which is owned by Hal Leonard and download as many tabs as you like in your trial period 😉

[@andrewbevan4662]

..there are some major mistakes in a lot of official tab books ..

[@Marioelf-Family]

ULtimate Guitar also bans people for no reason like me I did nothing and got banned

[@Marioelf-Family]

@Whatsapp me+❶❼⓿❻❾⓿❻❾❽❹❾ Your a bot

[@djrickysmith]

I'm actually the sound engineer.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

The sound engineer for one of the websites I referenced?

[@djrickysmith]

@@PDXguitarfreak No .. meaning FOH guy for live bands. Sorry for the confusing comment.

[@markslima1557]

Thanks very helpful, always great videos. But I'm frustrated that it is so much harder to find SHEET MUSIC, with NOTES and RHYTHMS - I feel like TAB notation (and culture of) discourages more professional musical skills in guitar players. Guitarists should be expected to read and comprehend sheet music just like any other musician, rather than dumbing down. Just my opinion, unleash the flame wars on me! :) Again - I'm not slamming your channel, your videos are very helpful and detailed. But atypical.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

Hey Mark, I didn't take that the wrong way at all. I think most tabs are missing the rhythm/timing component, which is so important. While I can create tabs with Power Tab, I haven't figured out how to make the sheet music notation that it makes automatically, into the proper format. :)

[@markslima1557]

@@PDXguitarfreak Yo thanks for the reply! Again I'm a fan of your videos because they are extremely accurate as much as possible. There is an effort to capture the nuance of the performance w/ guitar idiosyncrasies which most TABs miss - they are usually crude interpretations of a recording. :)

[@Mctugeye]

Songster is actually the better one.

[@herbie6721]

SONGSTER TILL I DIEEEEEEEEEEE