Pros
- Adding an audio file is incredibly useful
- Useful new features (eg: scale diagrams, command palette)
- Easy for GP7 users to learn
- I have not experienced any bugs or crashes (yet)
- Files are cross-compatible with GP7
Cons
- No improvements in instrument sounds compared to Guitar Pro 7
Overall Impressions
As a guitar teacher who used Guitar Pro 7 every day since it was released, I’m very impressed and happy with Guitar Pro 8.
The look and feel are almost identical to GP7, but the new features make this a worthwhile upgrade.
Being able to import an audio file is an incredibly useful feature whether you want to transcribe a song, learn a song, or work on songwriting.
Once you first import a backing track or song into GP8 and properly sync it to the transcription, you’ll see how useful it is. Being able to slow the track down, loop sections, transpose the song, or just be able to jam along with the song while following the TAB makes GP8 such a powerful guitar program.
If you do a lot of transcribing or songwriting, the Command Palette is worth spending time on. I’ve been writing and editing TAB the same way for years and I’ve already found myself automatically typing Ctrl + E over and over.
Even something as simple as typing 3/4 to change the time signature instead of using the other method just makes GP8 so much easier to use.
If you don’t currently use an older version of Guitar Pro, I highly recommend Guitar Pro 8.
Should You Upgrade From Guitar Pro 7?
If you currently use GP7 or older, this version will be worth the upgrade for almost every guitarist.
When you see that the layout of Guitar Pro 8 is almost identical to GP7, it may not feel like this would be worth the upgrade.
I felt that for a while after I first opened GP8. It looked and felt the same as what I was using.
That feeling completely disappeared once I loaded an audio file and synced it.
Who is Guitar Pro 8 for?
There are three main ways to use Guitar Pro 8, so have a read through these to figure out if Guitar Pro 8 is for you:
Transcribing: if you want to transcribe music for guitar (or other instruments), Guitar Pro 8 is one of the best options. Being able to import the audio file, slow it down, and transcribe directly in Guitar Pro 8 is something that wasn’t possible in earlier versions and significantly improves Guitar Pro against other popular transcription programs.
Learning/Jamming: if you just want to play the guitar and learn songs, I highly recommend GP8. There are countless free Guitar Pro files available to download from TAB websites and GP8 has useful learning tools (covered below).
Songwriting: I’ve used Guitar Pro for my songwriting since version 5 and once you learn the basics of transcribing the music you play, it’s a great tool to have available. Now that you can import audio into GP8, it becomes a very powerful songwriting tool. You can record a track of guitar ideas, import it into GP8, and then transcribe the parts or work on other instrument parts alongside your guitar recording.
Read the full review over at Guitar Gear Finder.com