TimingJudge

Product Description

Timing Judge is a VST3 plugin designed to help guitarists analyze and improve their timing accuracy while practicing or recording.

Instead of relying only on feel, a metronome, or repeated playback, Timing Judge detects guitar note onsets and compares them against the DAW tempo, beat grid, or imported MusicXML/TAB score. It shows whether your notes are early, late, missing, extra, or close to the target timing, giving you clearer feedback on how accurately you are playing.

Timing Judge is especially useful for guitar players who want to practice rhythm parts, tight 16th-note picking, triplet-based patterns, palm-muted riffs, repeated low-string notes, legato passages, and full-song timing consistency.

The plugin is designed to be placed before an amp simulator in your DAW signal chain:

Guitar DI Timing Judge Amp Sim.

This allows Timing Judge to analyze a clean DI signal while you still hear your normal guitar tone through your amp plugin.

Main Features

Real-time guitar timing analysis.

Timing Judge analyzes incoming guitar audio and detects note attacks in real time. It measures the timing difference between your playing and the expected beat position, then displays timing error in milliseconds.

You can see whether your playing is ahead of the beat, behind the beat, or close to the target.

DAW tempo-based timing detection

The plugin reads timing information from the host DAW, including BPM and musical position, and uses that information to judge your playing against the musical grid.

Supported reference grids include:

Quarter notes.

Eighth notes.

16th notes.

16th-note triplets.

This makes it useful for practicing both straight and triplet-based rhythm patterns.

Timing score and judgement system.

Timing Judge converts timing accuracy into a clear score and judgement display.

The plugin can show:

Last timing error.

Average timing error.

Current score.

Average score.

Judgement such as Perfect, Great, Good, Normal, Bad, or Miss.

Hit count.

Matched, extra, and missing note statistics.

This gives players a more objective way to understand timing consistency over time.

MusicXML / TAB Timing Mode

Timing Judge can load .xml or .musicxml files and display guitar TAB information directly inside the plugin.

In TAB Timing Mode, the imported score becomes the timing reference. Instead of only judging against a fixed grid, Timing Judge can compare your detected guitar notes against written TAB events.

This is useful for practicing real riffs, songs, and arranged guitar parts rather than only simple metronome exercises.

TAB mode supports:

MusicXML / XML import.

Track selection.

TAB display inside the plugin.

Current playhead position display.

Bar tracking.

Note matching against written TAB events.

Visual timing feedback for matched, early, late, missed, or unplayed notes.

Multi-channel onset detection.

Timing Judge uses an audio onset detection system designed for electric guitar DI signals.

The current detector includes multiple detection channels and filters for different playing situations, including:

Pick attack detection.

Legato-style onset detection.

Low-string sustain rejection.

Low-string repeated note handling.

Palm-muted rhythm support.

Chord and low-frequency sustain filtering.

Cooldown logic to reduce false double triggers.

This is designed to make timing detection more useful for real guitar playing, where note attacks can vary greatly depending on string, articulation, muting, gain, and playing style.

Advanced calibration controls.

Timing Judge includes adjustable controls for tuning the detector and timing analysis.

Current controls include:

Sensitivity.

Reference grid selection.

Input latency / manual timing offset.

Auto offset estimation.

Pick channel weight.

Legato channel weight.

Low-string veto strength.

Low-string lock strength.

Cooldown amount.

TAB width and height controls.

These controls allow users to adapt the plugin to different DI levels, interfaces, playing styles, guitars, and practice material.

Timing distribution display.

The plugin includes a timing distribution histogram that shows how your timing errors are spread over time.

This helps you see whether you are generally:

Playing ahead of the beat.

Playing behind the beat.

Centered around the beat.

Inconsistent from note to note.

This is useful for diagnosing timing habits that may not be obvious by ear.

Debug CSV export

Timing Judge can generate a CSV debug file containing detailed timing and detection information.

This file can be useful for:

Troubleshooting detection issues.

Improving the plugin during beta testing.

Analyzing timing results in more detail.

Sending feedback to the developer.

During the beta period, users may be asked to send this CSV file when reporting problems or providing test feedback.

Current Status

Timing Judge is currently in Beta / Early Access.

The current version is available for:

Windows.

VST3-compatible DAWs.

There is currently no macOS version, but macOS support is planned for a future release.

Because Timing Judge is still in active development, detection behavior, scoring, UI design, MusicXML/TAB handling, and calibration options may change in future versions.

Recommended Use

Timing Judge is recommended for:

Guitarists practicing rhythm accuracy.

Players working on 16th-note picking.

Players practicing triplet rhythms.

Metal, rock, fusion, and progressive guitar rhythm practice.

Recording practice before tracking final takes.

Comparing takes objectively.

Understanding whether your playing is early or late.

Practicing with imported MusicXML / TAB material.

For best results, use a clean electric guitar DI signal and place Timing Judge before amp simulators, distortion plugins, or heavy effects.

Copy Protection

Timing Judge uses a simple offline serial number system.

After purchase, users enter their purchase email and license key inside the plugin to activate it. No online activation is currently required.