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TuxGuitar Review

Worth it

Should I use TuxGuitar?

Open source guitar tablature editor and player - tuxguitar.com.ar

· 1 day ago

Hobbyist guitarists and students get a capable free tab editor that opens and plays Guitar Pro files. Professionals who need polished playback and support pay for Guitar Pro instead.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 20+ public sources. The pasted URL is a parked domain, so product facts come from tuxguitar.app, GitHub, and reviews.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

TuxGuitar

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Hobbyist guitarists writing tabs
  • Players opening Guitar Pro files free
  • Linux desktop users
  • Students learning applied music theory

Not for

  • Pro musicians needing polished playback and official tabs
  • Businesses or teams, it is a personal desktop tool
  • Anyone wanting a mobile or web app
  • Buyers of the parked.ar domain expecting a product site

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

.ar is parked for sale. Download only from or the official GitHub repo.

medium

Antivirus tools flag installers. Verify downloads against the official GitHub before installing.

medium

Past CVEs include CVE-2020-14940 and CVE-2010-3385. Install current distro updates.

low

No official forum anymore. Support comes from the community only.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free and open source with no paid tiers.
  • Multitrack tablature editor and player, maintained on GitHub.
  • Widely cited as a top free Guitar Pro alternative in 2025 and 2026 comparisons.
  • Ships in Linux distro repositories like Linux Mint and openSUSE.

Cons

  • Users report sound playback problems on some systems.
  • Windows Defender flags the installer as malware.
  • Some users switch to Guitar Pro for polish and sound.
  • The pasted domain is parked and listed for sale.

Sources & method

- 14 sources - Past CVEs exist with fixes shipped in distro updates, and the pasted domain is parked, so download from official sources.

official x3review x6security x4news x1
  • CVE-2020-14940, NIST lists a 2020 issue in TuxGuitar 1.2. Debian marks affected packages vulnerable and fixed.
  • CVE-2010-3385, Rapid7 lists an undefined security weakness in TuxGuitar 1.2 from 2010.
  • CVE-2020-13132, Feedly tracks CVE-2020-13132 for TuxGuitar with exploits and severity data.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free with no paid tiers
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Audio setup problems reported by users
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Multitrack editing, skins, and plugin support
  • Support quality: 2/5. Official forum closed; community help only
  • Security posture: 2/5. Multiple past CVEs; keep updated
  • Free Price Open source, no paid tiers
  • LGPL License GNU Lesser General Public License
  • 72/100 Domain trust Tuxguitar.app, Gridinsoft scan

Pricing

TuxGuitar

$0

  • Open source tablature editor and player
  • Community maintained on GitHub
  • Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Security

Past CVEs exist with fixes shipped in distro updates, and the pasted domain is parked, so download from official sources.

  • CVE-2020-14940NIST lists a 2020 issue in TuxGuitar 1.2. Debian marks affected packages vulnerable and fixed.⁹
  • CVE-2010-3385Rapid7 lists an undefined security weakness in TuxGuitar 1.2 from 2010.10
  • CVE-2020-13132Feedly tracks CVE-2020-13132 for TuxGuitar with exploits and severity data.

What users say

Users treat TuxGuitar as the standard free Guitar Pro alternative, praising the price while reporting sound setup friction and a dated interface.

“Tuxguitar just murdered my PC.”
Reddit, r/opensource
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources. The pasted URL is a parked domain, so product facts come from tuxguitar.app, GitHub, and reviews.

Free open-source tab editor that plays Guitar Pro files. Great for hobbyists; pros pay for Guitar Pro. Official site is tuxguitar.app.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources. The pasted URL is a parked domain, so product facts come from tuxguitar.app, GitHub, and reviews.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. helge17/tuxguitar: Open source guitar tablature editorgithub.com
    official
  2. TuxGuitartuxguitar.app
    official
  3. tuxguitar.com.ar (parked domain for sale)tuxguitar.com.ar
    official
  4. TuxGuitar Reviews - SourceForgesourceforge.net
    review
  5. Tuxguitar just murdered my PC - Redditreddit.com
    review
  6. Guitar Pro to replace TuxGuitar or look for something else? - Redditreddit.com
    review
  7. No sound from tuxguitar - Red Hat Bugzillabugzilla.redhat.com
    review
  8. Windows Defender Malware? - GitHub issuegithub.com
    review
  9. NVD-CVE-2020-14940 - NISTnvd.nist.gov
    security
  10. CVE-2010-3385 - Rapid7rapid7.com
    security
  11. openSUSE Tuxguitar Moderate Security Update 2026linuxsecurity.com
    security
  12. tuxguitar.app Trust Score - Gridinsoftgridinsoft.com
    security
  13. Best Guitar Tab Software 2025 - Chordlychordly.com
    review
  14. No TuxGuitar forum any more? - LinuxMusicianslinuxmusicians.com
    news

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