audio control in HyperTab

Hypertab can play two types of audio:

MIDI: included in a HyperTab song file

MP3: not included but easy to get -- see below

After you've bought a HyperTab song file, and you've found an mp3 for it, click the button below and follow a few simple steps to link the song file to your mp3.

 

MIDI audio is basically computer audio. It comes from your computer's sound card. It has a well-deserved reputation among guitar players as not sounding very good. Part of the reason is that a lot of midi files are created by keyboard players ;)

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by HyperTab's midi audio. I spent a lot of time on these files and I created them using a guitar, not a keyboard. For example, most midi files play a chord like a keyboard player: all the notes in the chord are struck at the same time. But on a real guitar, there's a few milliseconds in between each note, as your pick hand sweeps across the strings. String bending and vibrato are another unique part of how a guitar sounds, and another place where I sweated the little details.

Rhythm is very important. A lot of midi files are "quantized": they "snap to" the nearest beat or subbeat. But in rock guitar a lot of notes fall slightly ahead of or behind the beat, especially in solos. With HyperTab I worked with the original recording slowed way down to try and place each note rhythmically exactly as possible.

The midi's not perfect. There's a few guitar techniques midi can't really imitate (fret hand muting for example). And every now and then the pitch bend gets messed up. But overall it sounds pretty good. Check out the demo file that comes with HyperTab, or the video samples on this site.

I couldn't include an mp3 of the original recording because of licensing issues. And for the same reason you won't hear any mp3 audio in the video samples of the songs for sale. But it's pretty quick and easy to get an mp3 and link to it. And when you do, it sounds and looks pretty cool...

MIDI

• default format of a HyperTab file
• can be slowed down for learning
• sounds decent (see sidebar -> )

MP3

• included with demo file that comes with software
• not included with paid full-length songs but you can link to your copy of an mp3
• can't be slowed down, but sounds great
• available from a variety of sources (see below)

both (MIDI and mp3 at same time)

• interesting effect: fuller, brings out the individual parts
• lets you hear quality of mp3 sync (or problems with it)
• launch Windows Mixer directly from within HyperTab to fine-tune volume and balance between MIDI and mp3 (note: not available on Vista or Mac).

Where to get an mp3 file

audio cd: if you have a CD of the original recording, you can use either Windows Media Player (PC) or iTunes (Mac and PC) to create an mp3 file. Chances are you have either or both of those applications already installed on your computer. Open either one, open the help section, and search for "mp3".

Amazon: this is a quick, simple, and inexpensive ($1 per song) way to get an mp3 file that will work in most mp3 players, including HyperTab. Go to Amazon.com and click "mp3 downloads".

iTunes: Used to be copy-protected but changed in Jan. 2009; however I haven't got HyperTab to work with .aac files (iTunes format) yet.

Other: Other possible sources include Wal-Mart and Rhapsody.

After you get an mp3 file, come back to this page and click the "link to mp3" button at the top for instructions on how to link.