Anyone have a large & good collection of guitar pro & power tab files?

[carltonh]

I think there are a lot of good guitar pro and power tab files available on the internet. However, to create a good collection of good files would take a really long time. Anyone already have a good collection that could be shared?

Maybe a torrent link could be created so as to share the compilations. IMO, it would be good to create a massive collection to about 4.5 Gigabytes and it could then be very easily stored and backed up on a DVD. Maybe a little smaller, and then that leaves space on a DVD for personal files people may want to add that no one else would want.

In case some people aren't familiar with this type of software, Power Tab Editor has been around for about a decade as freeware. Guitar Pro is a good but expensive commercial program, I've never actually used it. But best option, IMO, is a program called TuxGuitar that plays both file types (Guitar Pro 3-5 & Power Tab) and can create them too, plus it is free and open source.

If there are other similar software or software file formats, let me know, but I think this is all that is important for guitarists.

Just an FYI, as best I understand it, power tab and guitar pro files are completely legal as long as they are personal creations and interpretations not for resale. They would have to be copied out of an official tab book to be illegal, more or less. However, the RIAA, or some similar organization hates it that these are openly available and legal, but threatens as if some might be illegal, though no court has ever said so. Just the written threat made one tiny community site for power tabs shut down because they could not afford a lawyer. However, many other websites exist preserving such files all over the world, including, I think, in the USA. The main problem is wading through mediocre or unfinished files to find the good ones.

[Twangmaster]

i've got a pretty good collection of both PT and GP files. If you'd like to trade some files, or are wanting some specific files, pm me and I'll see if I've got them.

and Thanks for the TuxGuitar tip. I hadn't found that one!

[bufón]

Originally Posted by Twangmaster

and Thanks for the TuxGuitar tip. I hadn't found that one!

Neither did I. Have to try it.

Thanks for the tip carltonh

[carltonh]

I didn't realize that TuxGuitar wasn't common knowledge. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Here is the website:
http://www.tuxguitar.com.ar/

I was thinking of some method more organized than everyone emailing individual tab files to each other. I set up an account at www.getdropbox.com. I'm looking at that (2 GB free account limit) and will try to see if that might be a good way to get multiple people to add files that they know are both good quality and either songs with a reasonable number of guitarist interest, or high quality lesson type tabs. I'm thinking anything from Beatles to Metallica, Robert Johnson to J.S. Bach arranged for guitar.

If people want to participate in creating a moderate size shared collection of high quality guitar files, then look at www.getdropbox.com or some other similar free network like web repository. Or maybe if someone is well off enough and interested enough, someone could spring for a "Web Disk" as I've heard it called.

This website http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/ is one of the main large repositories of files, but often has multiple versions of each song. I think that if you want to add a song to this group as I'm thinking of it, then make sure that you are choosing the best one, if there is a quality difference.

One question to ask: Does Guitar Pro not read Power Tab files? I know Power Tab does not read Guitar Pro files. If not, then that makes TuxGuitar the "compatibility king". Otherwise people would only look at one file type or the other and possibly not know that there is a better transcription in the other file type. That said, I'm not sure TuxGuitar is 100% compatible with every Guitar Pro 5 feature, but I haven't had any problem .GP5 files since TuxGuitar version 1.1 came out. Most Guitar Pro files are older .gp_ versions anyway.

[Twangmaster]

I know the power tab archive was shut down some time back, due to 'concerns' about pirating. google the acronym OCILLA or check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OCILLA Some of the tablature that was on there has reappeared on various sites, i.e. ultimate-guitar. Overall, i think you may be playing with fire here, at least until the lawyers get their cut...

One thing about Lawyers, If they didn't exist, we wouldn't need 'em, and you gotta be suspicious of anyone whose profession is to protect you from people of that same profession. Don't get me going on those guys.

Thus the reason i'm a bit 'protective' about tabs that i've collected and/or developed. I'm just a poor working stiff, and can't afford to pay the price for my own interpretation of another persons art. To me, that's sorta like paying Da Vinci for a Crayon drawing of the Mona Lisa! Especially when i'm giving the crayon drawing away at no personal gain.