TabMaker

TabMaker is a browser-based tab editor with conversion, playback, and sharing tools. It is a good fit for players who want to turn short guitar recordings into tabs and work with them in one place. The main compromise is storage: free work stays in the browser, while subscriptions add cloud storage.

Overview

TabMaker covers tab creation and organization for guitar, bass, ukulele, and banjo, with both tablature and standard notation modes. Players can listen to tabs, export them as PDF or ASCII text, print them in a browser, or share a viewable link. That range makes it useful from drafting through sharing, but local-only free storage is a real constraint for anyone who needs a dependable backup or wants tabs to follow them between devices.

Key features

Audio conversion

The AI generator can turn a guitar riff captured through a microphone into a tab. It also 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 practical privacy advantage for file conversion; the size limit, however, makes the feature better suited to short excerpts than longer recordings.

A separate Guitar & Bass to MIDI tool converts MP3 recordings into standard MIDI files with detected notes and musical properties. This gives players a way to reuse recordings in MIDI form as well as tab form.

Playback, exports, and mobile instruments

Browser playback uses acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, or banjo sounds. PDF and ASCII text exports, browser printing, and link sharing cover common ways to keep or pass along a tab without requiring recipients to edit it. The iOS app adds ASCII tabs or full music notation, PDF, MP3, MIDI, and TEXT exports, playback, cloud saving, sharing, and community tabs.

The mobile app lists a wide range of instruments: guitars from 5 to 12 strings, 4-, 5-, and 6-string basses, 5-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, and charango. That breadth is useful for players outside standard guitar tunings, though the listed breadth applies to the mobile app rather than proving identical instrument support everywhere.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing, requires no registration, and keeps tabs in local browser storage. There is no cloud backup, and ads or features may be limited. It is suitable for trying the workflow or keeping disposable drafts, but not for a library that must survive a browser change or device failure.

The Monthly subscription costs $3.99 a month, billed monthly, and provides unlimited access, an ad-free experience, and cloud-based tab storage. It suits users who want the backup and prefer a monthly commitment. The Annual subscription costs $34.99 a year, billed annually, with the same stated benefits. It is the lower-cost option over a full year for someone prepared to pay annually; both subscriptions replace the free plan's local-only storage with cloud storage.

Platforms

TabMaker supports web, macOS, iOS, and Android. The browser-based workflow is central to its editing and conversion tools, while the iOS app has a specifically described set of export, playback, saving, sharing, and community features. It is a cross-platform option, but free tabs stored only in browser localStorage should not be mistaken for cross-device cloud access.

Who it's for

TabMaker is best for players who want to draft or organize tabs, convert short guitar recordings, hear parts back, and share readable results without assembling separate tools. Its free tier can suit casual use when browser-local storage is acceptable. Players who depend on cloud backup should budget for a subscription; anyone focused on longer audio recordings should weigh the 6 MB conversion ceiling before choosing it.

Pros and cons

Pros: Combines tab editing, audio-to-tab modes, MP3-to-MIDI conversion, playback, exports, printing, and link sharing in one product.

Pros: Processes MP3 and M4A tab-conversion files locally, and the free plan needs no registration.

Cons: Free tabs live only in browser storage, with no cloud backup.

Cons: Audio-to-tab files are capped at 6 MB, limiting the usefulness of file conversion for longer recordings.

Alternatives

Guitar Tab Software is a broader directory for comparing tab tools. Consider Cesure if you want a free tier with 3 saved scores, unlimited version history, and 5 AI transcriptions monthly, or a free trial before deciding on its paid plan. Guitar Tab Maker is worth considering if a free, no-account tool with no credits or watermarks matters more than TabMaker's paid cloud storage. Choose Guitar Tabs X if you want a mobile-focused option on Android or iOS, or also need Windows support. Soundslice may fit better when working with scans is central: its free plan includes unlimited slices but limits scans to 2 pages a month, 1 page, and 32 bars per scan. Guitar2Tabs is an alternative for demo transcription, with unlimited demos capped at 20 seconds each and PDF download on its free plan. TablEdit is a paid alternative with a lifetime registration option for Windows or macOS. TuxGuitar is a free guitar tablature editor if you want a no-cost alternative on Android, Linux, macOS, or Windows. Fretride is another option for iOS or macOS users.

Verdict

Choose TabMaker if you want tab editing, short audio conversion, MIDI output, playback, and sharing together, and are willing to subscribe for cloud storage. Its strongest reason to choose it is the breadth of that workflow at $3.99 a month or $34.99 a year. Look elsewhere if you need free cloud backup or routinely convert recordings larger than 6 MB.