Perfect Guitar X

Perfect Guitar X 1.9 is shareware.  I got a positive enough response that I thought it might be worth my while to charge something for this thing.  The fee is a whopping $5.  You can't use the auto tuning feature until you register.  To register, go to my site at http://homepage.mac.com/wschubert/aboutguitarx.html.  Scroll down for complete feature explanation.

Upgrading:
Be sure to keep your old tunings folder if you have your own preset tunings created!

Features:

-customize, save, load, and delete tuning presets within the application, and add comments to each tuning

-"pick" virtual strings with the mouse or

-use number keys to pluck strings

-mute strings by clicking in or around sound hole

-strum whole chord with one click, at variable speed

-auto tuning: each string is played over and over at a user defined interval, until you click the Next String button

-6 different instrument sounds: Classical Guitar, Steel String, Electric Guitar, Electric Bass, Oboe and Grand Piano

-volume control

-mute all other strings as each new one is played with Mute Others

-Overlay string letter names and numbers on guitar picture

-Beautiful interface with multiple looks possible

New in Version 1.9.1:

-fixed a few minor interface bugs

-added variable speed to Play All button

-added Oboe instrument, since it is the orchestral standard tuning instrument

New in Version 1.9:

-support for tuning specific comments, including Album, Artist, Song, and Additional Comments, saved with the tuning.

-support for changing the octave of all the strings up or down one octave

-added Electric Bass instrument

-improved help and about window

-improved saving, adding, and deleting tuning presets

Perfect Guitar Explained:

-Guitar Picture
   Drag your mouse over the strings to pluck them.  Click to mute them.  You can also use the number keys, 1 - 6 to pluck the respectively numbered strings.

-General Settings
   Here you can select the sound played when you pluck the strings of the virtual guitar.  You can choose from 3 guitar sounds, a piano, and a bass.  The bass sound can also be useful if you prefer a constant tone to tune to - it rings until you mute it, whereas the guitars and piano all fade away.  You can turn the String Labels on and off - these provide a text overlay on the guitar naming the string notes and numbers.  You can also adjust the octave up or down 1 octave from the normal guitar octave.  This is useful for bassists, and higher instruments like mandolin, ukelele, etc.

-Auto Tuning
   This feature is disabled in the demo.  Once have registered ;-), it starts playing the lowest string over and over when you press the Start button.  You define the interval the string is played at in the box labeled "Interval (Sec.).  This interval is seconds between note plucks.  The small arrows next to the box increment it 0.5 seconds at a time.  When you are ready to move to the next string, the Next String button changes to the next higher string, and plays it over and over.  This continues until you click Stop.  

-Volume and Muting
   The Mute Others checkbox, when checked, cause each string as it is plucked to mute all other strings.  When unchecked, all plucked strings continue to ring.  To manually mute all currently playing strings, simply click in or around the sound-hole, somewhat like you would palm-mute the real instrument.  The Play All button strums all the strings from lowest to highest so that you can hear the open cord.  The Volume slider adjusts the volume of subsequently played notes to a value between 0 and 127.  Since the notes are played on Quicktime midi instruments, the Volume slider obviously increments the velocity at which notes are played.  The pop-up menu labeled "Select Skin:" allows you to select a different look, or guitar picture to be displayed.  You can even create your own pictures, by using one of the preset ones as a template.

-String Values
   Using the six pop-up menus at the top of this section, you can set the note values of the 6 strings.  Below this is a listbox where you can select a preset tuning.  Several tunings are bundled with the program.  Clicking on any tuning will load that tuning, and any comments saved about it, into the program.  At the bottom of the section are a field for naming new tunings, the Add Tuning button for saving new presets, and the Delete Tuning button for removing them.  Finally, the Show/Hide Comments checkbox shows and hides the Tuning Comments window.  This can also be accomplished from the Window menu.

-Tuning Comments Window
   This window allows you to add comments about any of the tuning presets.  At the top it displays the currently loaded tuning - the one into which the comments will be saved upon clicking the Save Comments button.  The window includes fields for Album, Artist, and Song, as well as for Additional Comments.  You can fill out any or all of these fields to keep notes to yourself as to what the signifigance of any particular tuning is.  When you click Save Comments, the comments are saved into the currently loaded tuning preset file, shown at the top of the window.

Contact me with comments/questions at wschubert@mac.com.

http://homepage.mac.com/wschubert/aboutguitarx.html