Transcribe vrs. Amazing slow downer

[funkybass]

They are both the same price. Is there any major differences between them?

[dtiii]

I don't know about Transcribe, but Amazing Slow Downer works great. I can't think of anything that it lacks. Importantly, there is no substantial loss of sound quality when slowing down.

[christoph h.]

I prefer the user interface of Transcribe!, especially the waveform window.

[SeaK]

It´s a bit off topic but you might also want to give Slow MP3 a try - it´s a free program and can be programmed here: Slow MP3 - slow down, transpose and transcribe music

I started using it instead of Amazing Slow Downer a while back and never looked back.

[halarryus]

Is slow mp3 free?

[Kobaia]

I use both.

[sammyp]

i don't know either program that you guys are mentioning but every PC has windows media player ....has a great play speed setting function ...that's all i use ..works great - i love it!

when i started playing guitar i had to record a solo from record or cassette onto my dad's reel to reel then hit the half speed function and ofcourse everything drops an octave ...how things have changed!?

[Intenzity]

I use Transcribe, the last time I look at Slow Downer it had a haphazard interface that looked...rookie.

Transcribe is awesome, my personal favorite hands down.

And if you are on a Mac you can just use Quicktime player, it plays .wav, mp3, aiff, tons of formats, it also loops and allows you to play things at half-speed without changing the pitch. And it's free.

[NCD]

I tried Slow MP3 just now but it's bugging out. It starts at hyper speed when normal is supposed to be the max speed and even when you slow it down everything is still far too high in pitch.

Playing with the adjustments, reinstalling Java and reinstalling the player didn't help.

Looks like it's a great tool when it works as intended.

[Jack Clark]

From working with each of them myself:

For practicing with play-alongs: Amazing Slow Downer. (It lets you import, view, and select from a whole gig's playlist and does everything on the fly.) I use Amazing Slowdowner for daily practice with a list of play-along files or a CD. Transcribe! isn't as easy to use for play-along practice, although it can do it.

For transcribing by ear: Transcribe! (It has helpful wave form and piano roll windows and does everything on the fly.) I use Transcribe! for picking out notes from a tune on an audio or video file. Amazing Slow Downer isn't as easy to use for transcription, although it can do it.

For editing and saving modified files: Audacity. (It has a wave form window and myriad music file editing features.) I use Audacity for extending a 20-second audio exercise file into a four-minute audio exercise file and for dropping the bass out of stereo files I wish to save. Audacity excels at editing files and saving them as modified. Audacity isn't as handy to use for play-along practice or for transcription, although it can do it.

With all three programs set flat, there is no difference in sound quality that I can hear; all three sound excellent.

Transcribe!, Amazing Slow Downer, and Audacity will all change the tempo and/or pitch, and loop--and they all work with Youtube video files. But their features make them better for different purposes. Transcribe! and Amazing Slow Downer have trial versions, and Audacity is free period. So try them each out at various tasks and you'll see what I mean.

[ics1974]

ASD on my iphone works great for me.

[Jack Clark]

Originally Posted by ics1974

ASD on my iphone works great for me.

Ditto. The iPhone version doesn't have the "Karoake" feature of the Mac version which I've used to completely pull Ron Carter's bass out of his duo recordings with Houston Person, for example—but all of the important features of Amazing Slow Downer work great on iPhone for me, too.

[SimonH]

I use Tempo SlowMo on the iPhone, works great, few more features than ASD

[Shinbone]

I haven't tried Transcribe but I really like the play list feature of Amazing Slow Downer. It's good if you play in more than one band or want to organize song lists to practice. Also, the EQ on there is kind of handy for boosting the bass.