TabMaker

TabMaker is a tab editor and conversion tool for guitar, bass, ukulele, and banjo players. It best suits musicians who want to turn short recordings into notation, edit and play tabs, then share or export them. The main compromise is storage: free tabs stay in one browser, while a subscription adds cloud storage.

Overview

TabMaker brings tab creation and organization together with audio conversion, playback, export, and link sharing. It supports both tablature and standard notation. You can export tabs as PDF or ASCII text, print them in the browser, or share a link that lets others view a tab in their browser. That range makes it useful across a simple create-and-share workflow; the browser-local free library is a significant drawback if you need reliable backup or access across devices.

Key features

Audio to tabs and MIDI

The AI feature can convert a guitar riff recorded through a microphone into a tab. For file-based conversion, it accepts MP3 and M4A files up to 6 MB, processes them locally, and offers Quick Tabs, Enhanced Tabs, and Chords Only modes. Local processing is a useful privacy distinction, but the size limit makes this a better fit for short clips than longer recordings. A separate Guitar & Bass to MIDI tool converts MP3 recordings into standard MIDI files containing detected notes and musical properties, giving players another way to reuse a recording.

Playback, notation, and mobile

The browser app plays tabs with acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, or banjo sounds. The iOS app adds support for ASCII tabs and full music notation, playback, cloud saving, link sharing, and community tabs, as well as PDF, MP3, MIDI, and TEXT export. Its instrument range is broad: guitar configurations from 5 to 12 strings, 4-, 5-, and 6-string basses, plus banjo, ukulele, mandolin, and charango. This makes the mobile app particularly relevant to players working beyond standard six-string guitar, although the detailed feature set described for mobile is specific to iOS.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing, requires no registration, and keeps tabs in local browser storage with no cloud backup; ads or features may be limited. It suits occasional use on one browser, but not musicians who need a dependable cross-device library.

The Monthly subscription costs $3.99 a month, billed monthly. The Annual subscription costs $34.99 a year, billed annually. Both offer unlimited access, an ad-free experience, and cloud-based tab storage. Monthly billing suits users who want flexibility; annual billing costs less over a year for someone committed to using the service. Either paid plan is the more practical choice when losing a browser-local collection is not acceptable.

Platforms

TabMaker supports web, macOS, iOS, and Android. The browser app is the central tab workspace, while the iOS app includes cloud saving and community tabs alongside multiple export formats. Browser tabs are stored exclusively in the browser on the free plan; paid users receive cloud storage. TabMaker says it uses commercially reasonable data-protection measures. Its terms describe access, deletion, portability, and objection rights for EEA and California users. The privacy policy names Google Analytics, Google AdSense, RevenueCat, Polar, Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Sentry as service providers.

Who it's for

TabMaker is a strong fit for players who want one place to convert short guitar recordings, edit and play tabs, and share or export the result. It also makes sense for musicians using the broader instrument range in its iOS app. It is a weaker choice for users whose recordings exceed the 6 MB conversion limit or who want cloud-backed storage without paying.

Pros and cons

• Pros: MP3 and M4A transcription includes three modes and local processing, useful for trying different tab outputs while keeping that conversion on-device.
• Pros: PDF and ASCII export, browser printing, playback, MIDI conversion, and link sharing cover several steps beyond editing.
• Pros: Paid plans include cloud storage and remove ads, while the annual option is $34.99 a year rather than 3.99 USD billed monthly.
• Cons: Free tabs have no cloud backup and live only in browser storage, making the free plan unsuitable as a portable library.
• Cons: File-based AI conversion stops at 6 MB, which restricts its usefulness for longer audio.

Alternatives

Cesure is worth considering if you want a free tier with 3 saved scores, unlimited version history, and 5 AI transcriptions per month, or need Linux and Windows support; its listed paid Pro plan is 4.99 EUR per, with the billing term not fully stated.

Guitar Tab Maker is a free alternative with no account, credits, or watermarks, and supports Linux and Windows as well as mobile and web platforms.

Guitar Tabs X is an option for Android, iOS, macOS, or Windows users who want basic functionality free.

Guitar2Tabs offers unlimited demo transcriptions capped at 20 seconds each and PDF downloads on its free plan; its Instrument Pro plan costs $14.99 a month.

Soundslice may suit users focused on scans: its free plan allows unlimited slices, 2 scan pages per month, and limits each scan to 1 page and 32 bars.

TuxGuitar is a free guitar tablature editor for Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Guitar Tab Creator offers a standard editor without an account on iOS and web; a free account adds saved tabs and the advanced editor.

Fretboard is a free Linux download.

For more options, browse Guitar Tab Software.

Verdict

Choose TabMaker if you want audio-to-tab conversion alongside editing, playback, MIDI conversion, and sharing, especially if its paid cloud storage suits your library needs. Look elsewhere if you need longer audio conversions or expect a free plan to keep tabs backed up and available across devices.