ThadzTabz

About ThadzTabz

ThadzTabz turns your iPhone and Mac into a guitar tablature studio. Write your own parts on a fast, snap-to-grid editor, open Guitar Pro files in seconds, and hear every note played back with realistic sampled guitar — then slow it right down, loop it, and practise until it is under your fingers.

It is built by a guitarist for guitarists: songwriters capturing ideas, players learning songs, and teachers preparing material for students. Everything lives in one dark, distraction-free workspace with scale and chord libraries a tap away, and your whole library syncs privately through your own iCloud.

Platforms: iPhone (iOS 17+) and Mac (macOS 14+)

Price: Free — no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, no ads

Core Features

Pro Tab Editor — A six-string, snap-to-grid editor with bars, bar numbers, rhythm stems, repeats, time signatures, and tempo. Tap to place a note, drag to move it, pinch to zoom
Real Guitar Techniques — Bends and releases, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, vibrato, palm mutes, harmonics, and dead notes, all notated the way guitarists expect
Guitar Pro Import — Open Guitar Pro 7 and 8 files (.gp and .gpif) straight from Files, Mail, Messages, or AirDrop, with tempo, tuning, and bar structure carried across
Realistic Playback — Hear your tab with eight sampled guitar sounds, from studio steel and nylon to 12-string, jazz, clean, and overdrive, with a scrolling playhead and a count-in
Practice Tools — Slow playback down to 0.1× or push it to 3×, loop the piece, and turn on spoken note announcements to learn a part by ear
Chord Charts — Build song charts with sections, chords per bar, and strumming patterns, including presets for Pop, Folk, Island, and Reggae. View a song as tab, chord chart, or both
Scale & Chord Libraries — Seven essential scales in any key with fretboard and tab views, plus around 50 chord diagrams with fingerings, all searchable
Tunings & Capo — Standard, Drop D, D Standard, Open G, and Open D, with capo up to the 12th fret
iCloud Sync — Your tabs sync automatically between iPhone and Mac through your own private iCloud
Made for Mac Too — A native Mac app with keyboard shortcuts for import, export, and playback
Privacy First — No accounts, no analytics, no ads. ThadzTabz makes no network connections of its own.

FAQ — Getting Started

What is ThadzTabz?

ThadzTabz is a guitar tablature editor, viewer, and practice tool for iPhone and Mac. You can write your own tabs and chord charts, import Guitar Pro files, play them back with sampled guitar sounds at any speed, and look up scales and chords — with everything synced across your devices via iCloud.

What platforms does ThadzTabz support?

ThadzTabz is available on iPhone (iOS 17+) and Mac (macOS 14+). Your tabs sync automatically across devices signed into the same Apple ID.

How do I create a new tab?

On the My Tabs screen, tap + in the top-right corner and choose New Tab or New Chord Chart. Enter a title and tap Create. New tabs start in 4/4 at 120 BPM with 8 bars, all of which you can change in Score Settings.

How do I add and edit notes?

Tabs open locked so you cannot change them by accident. Tap Edit, then use the tool palette:

Choose Add Note and tap the grid where you want the note, then pick a fret
Drag a note to move it to a different string or position
Touch and hold a note on iPhone, or right-click on Mac, for Note Options: Edit Fret, Add Technique, or Delete Note
Tap Done to lock the tab again

How do I change tempo, time signature, or the number of bars?

Open the tab and tap Score Settings. You can set the song artist, tempo in BPM, time signature, and add or remove bars. Tuning and capo are in the … menu under Change Tuning and Set Capo.

How do I make a chord chart?

Tap + > New Chord Chart. Add sections such as Intro, Verse, and Chorus, then give each bar a chord and a strumming pattern — choose a preset or build your own from down, up, mute, and rest strokes. Use View Mode in the … menu to show a song as Tab, Chord Chart, or Both.

FAQ — Guitar Pro & Files

How do I import a Guitar Pro file?

On iPhone: Tap the import (down-arrow) button at the top-left of My Tabs and choose the file. You can also open a .gp file from Files, Mail, Messages, or AirDrop and choose ThadzTabz.

On Mac: Choose File > Import Tab… or press Cmd+I.

You will see Import Complete when the tab has been added to your library.

Which Guitar Pro versions are supported?

ThadzTabz imports Guitar Pro 7 and 8 files (.gp and .gpif). Older .gp3, .gp4, and .gp5 files are not supported — open them in Guitar Pro and save as .gp first.

Why were some tracks or notes not imported?

ThadzTabz is a six-string guitar tab editor. Tracks for other instruments, such as bass, drums, or seven-string guitar, are skipped, and the import summary tells you what was left out. If a file has no six-string guitar track at all, it cannot be imported.

Does ThadzTabz show standard notation?

No. ThadzTabz is deliberately tab-first: you get tablature with rhythm stems underneath, without a standard-notation staff.

How do I export or share a tab?

Open the tab, tap the … menu, and choose Export Tab (on Mac, Cmd+E). Tabs export as a ThadzTabz JSON file that another ThadzTabz user can import, and that doubles as a backup.

FAQ — Playback & Practice

How do I play a tab?

On iPhone: Rotate to landscape and tap play. Playback uses the full width of the screen, so it is only available in landscape.

On Mac: Press Space to play or pause and Esc to stop.

Can I slow a tab down to practise?

Yes. The speed slider runs from 0.1× to 3.0×. Turn on loop to repeat the piece, and use the count-in to get ready before the first note.

What are note announcements?

ThadzTabz can speak each note as it plays, which helps when learning a part away from the screen. Announcements are available at normal speed and slower, and switch off automatically at faster speeds.

Can I change the guitar sound?

Yes. Choose from eight sampled sounds, including studio steel, studio nylon, 12-string, jazz, clean electric, and overdrive.

Which scales and chords are included?

The Scales tab covers Major, Natural Minor, Major and Minor Pentatonic, Blues, Harmonic Minor, and Melodic Minor in any key, shown on the fretboard and as tab. The Chords tab has around 50 chord diagrams with fingerings. Both are searchable.

FAQ — Data & Privacy

How does iCloud sync work?

Your tabs are saved on your device and synced automatically through your own private iCloud database. The cloud icon at the top-left of My Tabs shows the status — tap it to sync immediately. There is nothing to set up beyond being signed into iCloud.

Do I need an account?

No. There is no sign-up and no login. Sync uses the Apple ID already on your device.

What data does ThadzTabz collect?

None. ThadzTabz has no analytics, no advertising, and no third-party services, and it does not request access to your microphone, camera, photos, or contacts. Your tabs stay on your device and in your private iCloud account. See the Privacy Policy for full details.

How do I back up my tabs?

iCloud keeps your library backed up and in sync. For an extra copy of an important tab, use … > Export Tab to save it as a file.

How do I delete a tab?

Swipe the tab in My Tabs and confirm, or open it and choose … > Delete Tab. Deleted tabs are removed from your other devices too.

FAQ — Troubleshooting

I cannot hear playback.

Check the following:

Your device volume is up and any Bluetooth headphones are connected as expected
On iPhone, the device is rotated to landscape — playback controls appear in landscape only
The tab contains notes after the start marker
Restart the app if the sound still does not play

My Guitar Pro file will not import.

Make sure the file is a Guitar Pro 7 or 8 file (.gp or .gpif) and contains at least one six-string guitar track. Files from older Guitar Pro versions need to be re-saved as .gp first.

My tabs are not syncing between devices.