Slowhand Video Instructor vs Transcribe!- Thoughts

[Chris Loeffler]

I reviewed Slowhand earlier this year (link) and found it to be surprisingly useful in learning songs. In a nutshell, it allows you to import any video from YouTube or Vimeo, create loops from sections of the video, zoom and pan to get a magnified view of the guitar part or fretboard action, and slow it down to as much as 1/4 the speed without changing pitch. They released a Mac version a month or so ago that they sent me a copy to evaluate (I didn't write a new review as the app is essentially the same, with a few tweaks to appease Mac users).

 

I've received quite a few emails from people asking about how it compares to Transcribe!. While I haven't written a formal review of Transcribe!, I was a user for a while and figure it'd be easier to just compare/contrast here.

 

TL/DR-

Slowhand- Easy to Use, Intuitive Design, Perfect Audio/Video Sync, Professional Software

Transcribe!- Lots of Experimental Features Beyond Video Zoom/Pan/Slowdown, Clunky/Unfinished Design,

 

A Bit More Detail- Transcribe! has a few more functions around guessing notes and even creating transcriptions, but those don't necessarily work well (I didn't find them to be accurate in denser audio files and most of the time it would have been easier to write out myself). Slowhand is much more refined and easy to use for the specific function of learning from video performances. I had Slowhand working in minutes and didn't need a manual; it took a lot more time to figure it out in Transcribe! and the video/audio sync was a bit janky (the video is in a separate window from the rest of the software, and looks like a beta).

 

[Chris Loeffler]

I also received an email from Slowhand with a preview for the upcoming community/project share site they're building, and it looks pretty sweet for those who want to get canned projects or import and share projects with other users.

 

http://www.slowhand.com/slowhand-community-and-project-share-site-on-track-for-late-fall-release/

[1001gear]

 

I use the video functions for forensic stuff like checking sports calls or the odd "magical" phenomenon video on Youtube and for that it works to my satisfaction. For learning music, the audio portion of the software is more than ample.

 

Transcribe for Windows uses Quicktime which Apple has now abandoned. There is a new version for Win10 only that uses a different and open source video player. (It's not QuickTime) seems to be the primary improvement.