TabFont
Shares rank 20 of 26 typefaces by recommenders
A font that renders guitar tabs as you type, which people say solves a long-standing problem, though critics question using a font for it and its non-standard notation.
A font that renders guitar tabs as you type, which people say solves a long-standing problem, though critics question using a font for it and its non-standard notation.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Solves a long-standing problem
“This is one of those things that should obviously exist and I'm mad I didn't think of it!”
Comment from 5 Jul 2026 in “TabFont – guitar tabs rendered as you type” “This solves like 8 problems with me.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “TabFont – guitar tabs rendered as you type”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Non-standard notation hard to read
“the inverted "D" shape is hard to parse because it's not a symmetric shape”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “TabFont – guitar tabs rendered as you type” “this is hideously non-standard. Definition of change for the sake of change.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “TabFont – guitar tabs rendered as you type”
Other typefaces people recommend
The four most recommended other typefaces, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times New Roman | 35 | 28 | 56% | 4 | — | — |
| Atkinson Hyperlegible | 23 | 2 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Shantell Sans | 19 | 1 | 95% | 2 | — | — |
| Calibri | 16 | 36 | 31% | 1 | — | — |
| TabFontThis page | 6 | 3 | 67% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The visual fingering solves this.”
“Seems like it only matches against a known set of chords, though.”
“this is hideously non-standard. Definition of change for the sake of change.”
“I don't think a font should be used to do it or is the best method to do it.”
“the inverted "D" shape is hard to parse because it's not a symmetric shape”
“I can't write out a song using this.”
“This solves like 8 problems with me.”
“This is one of those things that should obviously exist and I'm mad I didn't think of it!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.