Transposer

good
key review info
application features
  • By raising or lowering the pitch of a song you can practice in your ideal key!
  • (1 more, see all...)

I don't know how to begin writing a review on a software so simple and small as Transposer 2.0. First time when I saw this program, it brought a smile on my face and after also seeing how simple it was and then noticing the version; I asked myself how v.1.0 looked. Cutting off the funny talk, Transposer is one clean and simple software. It pitches and it stretches, but I must admit, to my big surprise, it does this very-very good.

The Looks

As simple as it is, Transposer has an almost perfect look. Absolutely nothing futile and also, nothing needed that's not there. A metallic grey finish of the UI, easy readable buttons, the title of the song loaded, a play and a help button. For the variable-window we have also a very simple and easy-to-use design, with semitone transposing and tempo percentage shown. It really can't get simpler than this!

The Works

First of all, I must say that Transposer works with pre-recorded material; mp3 and wav, that is. So absolutely no support for real-time, DirectX, VST or anything like this. Simple, remember? One bad thing is that ?drag and drop technology? isn't supported either so you have to open and locate files strictly from its ?Open Song? tab.

Once the track is loaded, Transposer quickly detects the tempo (maybe it reads BPM to subsequently alter the song) and then starts playing. It's now up to the user to tweak the semitone transposition and/or the tempo. I have tested all the combinations between the 2 variables. I mean high pitch + unchanged tempo, high pitch + high tempo, high pitch + lower tempo and so on. They all work the same. More than this, it seemed to me that no matter how much you alter these 2 parameters, the time needed by Transposer to process data is almost the same. This is a good proof of good programming!

Depending on the values you entered in the required fields, the track is changed accordingly. From slightly 1-semitone or 1-2 % variations to funny squirrel-talk, Transposer does his job perfectly. Getting the sound you want is just a matter of seconds and preserving it (by saving to mp3 or wma) is a matter of registration: Transposer won't let you directly save what you've done unless you register.

You can be sure that Transposer produces good results. I tried both music and vocals and it works just fine. Don't be disappointed if that metallic drum rattle noise is produced as you try to slow down a track way beyond the earthly limits: all software do so! It's just in the nature of actual technology. Regarded as a standalone utility, the Transposer works perfectly and means exactly nothing to your system's resources, which is another good thing.

The Good

Foolproof-simple. Extremely easy to use and very well-working, which is rather rare, especially in the small-software area. More precise than one could ever initially think. A very good basis for a DX plugin for the ?big name?-host software.

The Bad

In my humble opinion, 23 USD is just a bit too expensive for such a one-purpose program, but in any case, not at all a ripoff. When minimized in the taskbar, the right click of the mouse is inactive as well as task-switching by means of repeated clicks on its tab. When the drag-n-drop will be featured in Transposer, it will surely be even better!

The Truth

A simple program (how many times I've said this?), working perfectly, quite versatile. Nothing fancy, just a piece of code that does its own business the way it should do it: fast and efficient. Definitely to be bought if you don't plan major investments in more expensive hosts or almost-all-in-one programs!

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user interface 3
features 3
ease of use 4
pricing / value 2


final rating 3
Editor's review
good
 
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