# What happened to all the Ultimate Guitar tabs?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2016, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204 "2016-01-05T05:53:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/1 "2016-01-05T05:53:18Z")
Whenever I would google a tab for a song, something from Ultimate Guitar would pop up toward the top 9/10 times. Now, _nothing_ comes up in Google except a link to Ultimate Guitar search, not to the tabs themselves. This change had to have happened in the last month or so… Any idea what’s going on? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/2 "2016-01-05T07:47:43Z")
Google’s changed their search algorithm, or UG has implemented norobot scripting on all their other pages, would be the two most likely answers. ---
**Author:** ![upend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@upend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/upend)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/3 "2016-01-05T12:59:45Z")
presumambly that’s A Major change, in the algorythym ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/4 "2016-01-05T14:08:49Z")
You can expect to see minor adjustments in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/5 "2016-01-05T15:31:03Z")
So I need to modulate to a different key? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/6 "2016-01-05T15:33:37Z")
That’s just flat wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/7 "2016-01-05T15:36:15Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Google’s changed their search algorithm, or UG has implemented norobot scripting on all their other pages, would be the two most likely answers. So, you’re saying someone changed the coda? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/8 "2016-01-05T15:39:08Z")
How much longer can we continue to minor diminished supply of chord puns??? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/9 "2016-01-05T15:45:21Z")
I wouldn’t fret about it. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/10 "2016-01-05T16:20:03Z")
I think it was part of Google’s recent initiative to eliminate copyright infringers from the results page. Online guitar tabs are legally just like pirating the CD. Unless you buy the printed book of tabs that was licensed by the band or record label. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/11 "2016-01-05T16:20:08Z")
I like the way this thread is progressing. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/12 "2016-01-05T16:33:40Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Online guitar tabs are legally just like pirating the CD. I disagree. I don’t know anything about the legality of such sites but I can assure you there is a vast gulf between someone’s guess at the chords and burning a pirated CD. As someone who occasionally uses such sites I can relate that the songs “transcribed” are rarely correct. And anyway it’s just the chords, not all of the musical notation. If I was to guess, I’d say it’s more an infringement to post the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/13 "2016-01-05T17:13:55Z")
You people are nothing but treble. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/14 "2016-01-05T17:17:33Z")
I know that most of the drum tabs I used to look at got taken down a few years back. There was an announcement posted on the site to the effect that it was a copyright issue. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/15 "2016-01-05T17:21:42Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > I can assure you there is a vast gulf between someone’s guess at the chords and burning a pirated CD. As someone who occasionally uses such sites I can relate that the songs “transcribed” are rarely correct. Absolutely. A significant proportion of online tabs are laughably wrong. It seems that anything beyond, say, a minor 7th chord is too harmonically subtle for your average internet tabber, so they’ll just throw in the nearest chord they know that sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/16 "2016-01-05T17:23:23Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > I disagree. I don’t know anything about the legality of such sites but I can assure you there is a vast gulf between someone’s guess at the chords and burning a pirated CD. As someone who occasionally uses such sites I can relate that the songs “transcribed” are rarely correct. And anyway it’s just the chords, not all of the musical notation. If I was to guess, I’d say it’s more an infringement to post the lyrics. I agree with your disagreement. Several years ago, many tab sites closed down for a while, apparently due to threats from the publishing companies. I assume this was legally settled at some point because the sites have all popped back up. I agree that someone listening to a song and then printing their guess at how to play it is not a copyright infringement. And yes, most are either a little wrong, or a lot wrong. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/17 "2016-01-05T17:51:42Z")
**Moderator Action** Let’s move this to CS, where all of our guitar players hang out. Moving thread from General Questions to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/18 "2016-01-05T18:14:36Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I like the way this thread is progressing. Eh, seems like everyone’s just stringing him along. That’s just the tenor of this board, though. You couldn’t pick a worse group of people when it comes to this sort of thing. …guitar. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/19 "2016-01-05T18:24:46Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > **Moderator Action** > > Let’s move this to CS, where all of our guitar players hang out. > > Moving thread from General Questions to Cafe Society. You rang? Yeah, I tried to confirm the chords of some song recently and it would pop up, but force me to sign in or buy something before I could see it. I hate that. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204/20 "2016-01-05T18:26:25Z")
Yeah, folks will just keep picking at it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-ultimate-guitar-tabs/742204.md?page=2)