Import ASCII or plain-text tab into Guitar Pro

ASCII tab places fret numbers along text lines that stand for strings. It can communicate approximate order, chord shapes, string choice, and bar divisions when carefully aligned. Guitar Pro officially lists ASCII among its supported import formats.

There is no universal ASCII standard for exact duration, voices, tuplets, grace timing, repeats, dynamics, or techniques. Characters such as h, p, /, \, x, ~, and parentheses vary between authors. Horizontal spacing can suggest time, but proportional timing collapses when fonts, tabs, or multi-digit fret numbers shift.

Work on a copy in a plain-text editor with a monospaced font. Keep each guitar block as six consecutive lines ordered consistently from high string to low string, with stable labels, dash characters, and vertical barlines. Remove commentary, lyrics, chord names, and counting lines that split those six lines.

Align simultaneous notes vertically and give 10, 11, and other multi-digit frets enough columns so later events stay aligned. Standardise line endings and plain ASCII punctuation when smart quotes or decorative Unicode characters appear. Preserve headings separately so useful section names are not lost.

Use File > Import > ASCII Tab and start with a short passage that exercises the source: one chord, one single-note run, a multi-digit fret, a barline, a rest-like gap, and at least one technique symbol. If those fail, revising the text pattern is faster than repairing an entire imported song.

Check string order and tuning immediately. A visually familiar shape can become the wrong pitch if the source uses drop tuning, seven strings, capo-relative numbers, or an unconventional line order. Set the destination instrument correctly before spending time on rhythm.

Set tempo, time signature, pickups, and bar boundaries from a reliable recording or published score. Enter note values and rests bar by bar, watching Guitar Pro’s duration checks. Use ties for sustained notes and another voice only when parts genuinely overlap independently.

A text row of evenly spaced numbers does not prove equal eighth notes, and a long run of dashes does not prove a measured rest. Count attacks against the recording, start with the rhythmic skeleton, then place the imported pitches onto that verified structure.

Replace ASCII hints with Guitar Pro’s explicit hammer-on, pull-off, slide, bend, vibrato, palm-mute, let-ring, dead-note, harmonic, accent, and grace-note tools. Decide what each symbol means from the source legend or recording instead of assuming one author’s slash or x convention.

Compare the finished passage at slow speed, inspect standard notation and tablature together, and verify chord attacks, sustains, repeats, endings, and section transitions. Keep the original text alongside the .gp file as provenance. If most rhythm and technique must be rebuilt, that is a limitation of the source format rather than a failed import.