Ample Sound has released AGL, AGM and AGT v1.5.0, which adds a built-in Tablature Player Panel.
The Tab Player can load and play several prevalent guitar tablature file formats. Users can load, display and playback any specific track inside a tablature file. When used in DAWs, the Tab Player also allows users to export the tablature as an audio file.
The Tab Player supports all the fingering, looping, chords, techniques and other markers in the loaded tablature. Supported techniques include: Strum, Natural Harmonic, Artificial Harmonic, Hammer On/Pull Off, Trill, Bend, Tremolo Bar, Legato Slide, Slide In, Slide Out, Vibrato, Tremolo Picking, Palm Mute, Popping, Tapping, Let Ring, Staccato, Dead Note, Grace Note, Ghost Note, Accentuated Note, Fade In, etc.
As a built-in function, the Tab Player works seamlessly with the Ample Guitar instrument engine, which has extremely customized guitar playing logic so as to model a real world guitar being played. The Tab Player can even judge on its own to automatically add some refining techniques when it thinks it is appropriate, such as slapping on strings or body, or other realistic and indispensable noises.
Strumming is an important factor of guitar playing. By taking advantage of the Ample Guitar Strummer engine, the Tab Player can not only mingle different techniques into strumming, but can also alternate between strumming several strings (i.e. multiple notes) simultaneously and strum at a particular string (i.e. one note).
Apart from authentic playback, the Tab Player can also improve an imperfect tablature with a few mouse clicks. For example:
- If the tablature has some flaws in velocity, the Tab Player can set the overall velocity in percentage terms. Also, some swing can be added on the velocity.
- The Tab Player provides a time swing parameter to make the playback of the original tablature more human.
- The Tab Player can utilize the Strum Time feature of the Ample Guitar Strummer to control the strumming time in the tablature. (Strumming Time means the time to finish a chord strumming).
- If the original tablature somehow did not have sustain information written in it, users can simply use the Hold Pedal function in Ample Guitar to achieve the desired sustain result.
In general, the Tab Player can somehow improve the overall feeling and effect of even a very trivial and crude tablature.
The Tab Player builds a bridge between prevalent guitar tablature files and professional DAWs. Ample Sound want to provide users on all DAWs and plug-ins the possibility to use and take advantage of guitar tablatures.
The Tab Player now supports GP3, GP4 and GP5. They will support more tablature formats in the future. The Tab Player is now available in the latest version of AGM, AGT and AGL (i.e. the acoustic Ample Guitars). The electric Ample Guitars (AGF, AGG and AGP) will include this function in near future, together with some other major improvements.
Changes in AGL AGM AGT v1.5.0 and AGF AGG AGP v1.3.8:
- fixed a bug when MIDI events are not properly handled according to their timestamps, which could cause some malfunctions on MIDI event timing, especially when used at large buffer size.
- updated the tuning presets for AGF and AGG.
- fixed a bug that AGF, AGG and AGP could crash on a particular sample on Mac.
- updated the Ample Sound Standalone to use the last-time-used audio device on every start; added a keyboard (space key) control to turn on/off the Tab Player.
The Tab Player Demonstration Video:
Hotel California (original music by Eagles)
Wish You Were Here (original music by Pink Floyd)
