Amazing Slow Downer is the reference transcribing tool and it earns that: the widest speed range here, named loops, foot-pedal support, one-time purchase, no account. JamCrate is a different shape — a library of songs rather than a file player, with the tab and the markers stored next to the audio, free, and with a phone player. What JamCrate gives up is the extremes: it slows only to 0.5× and never speeds up.
What Amazing Slow Downer is good at
Amazing Slow Downer has been the reference for this job for over twenty years, and it still is. Its speed range is the widest of anything here — 20% to 200% on the desktop — it loops seamlessly with named loop presets you can recall, and it supports USB foot pedals and MIDI controllers, so you can keep both hands on the instrument. It is a one-time purchase, it needs no account, and it runs on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
If your workflow is one file at a time — open a track, work out a part, move on — there is nothing wrong with it, and its range will go places JamCrate will not.
Where it stops fitting
The shape of the tool is a file player, not a library. There is no tab or chord view, no notation, no way to keep the audio, the chart and your notes about a song together, and no phone companion beyond the separate mobile app. The desktop version also cannot open Spotify or Apple Music streams, and each platform needs its own licence — the Mac licence does not cover the iPhone.
None of that is a defect. It is a different product for a different job: it is built for transcribing, JamCrate is built for having a library of songs you practise and play.
What JamCrate does instead
- A library, not a file. Songs live in one folder you own, each with its audio, its tab and its markers side by side — and the folder is self-contained, so it works from a USB stick.
- Tabs on screen while it plays — txt, chordpro, PDF and Guitar Pro files, auto-scrolling with the music.
- Markers and solo loops: press M where the solo starts, and two nearby markers become a loop chip you can drill.
- A phone player with no app store: open the set on a phone in the same Wi-Fi, or keep an offline copy of it on the device.
- Free, no account, nothing uploaded, and the same loudness for every track — a mastered backing track and a home jam recording arrive at roughly the same level.
The trade-offs are real and worth stating: JamCrate slows down only from 1.0× to 0.5×, it never speeds a track up, it has no note or chord detection, and it is macOS only.
Side by side
| Amazing Slow Downer | JamCrate | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.95 one-time for Mac, $14.95 for iOS — separate licences per platform | free beta |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, iOS, Android | macOS 14+ |
| Speed range | 20%–200% desktop, 25%–200% mobile | 50%–100%, pitch preserved, no speed-up |
| A/B looping | yes, with named loop presets | yes, plus fragments and setlists |
| Tab or chord view | no | txt, chordpro, PDF, Guitar Pro, auto-scroll |
| Foot pedal / MIDI | yes, USB HID pedals and MIDI controllers | not yet |
| Note / chord detection | no | no |
| Phone | separate iOS/Android app, separate licence | browser player over Wi-Fi, offline copy supported |
| Account / cloud | none, licence key | none |
Facts about the other tools come from their own sites: pricing · features · remote control
Which should you pick?
Pick Amazing Slow Downer if you need to go slower than half speed, if you need to speed a track up, if you want a foot pedal today, or if you work on Windows as well as a Mac. It is the more capable transcribing tool and it costs less than one year of most subscriptions.
Pick JamCrate if what you actually want is a place where your songs live: audio, tabs and markers together, all at the same volume, with a phone player for the practice room. It is free, so the comparison costs you nothing but the download.
Questions
Is JamCrate a drop-in replacement for Amazing Slow Downer?
No. It covers the practice use — slow down without changing pitch, loop the hard bars, keep the tab on screen — but it does not go below 0.5×, it cannot speed a track up, and it has no note or chord detection. If you transcribe professionally, keep Amazing Slow Downer for that and use JamCrate for the library.
Can I import the tracks I already use in Amazing Slow Downer?
Yes — they are ordinary audio files. Point JamCrate at the folder and it copies them into the library, keeping the originals where they are. Files JamCrate manages are copies, so nothing is moved out from under the other app.
Does JamCrate cost anything?
No. It is a free beta for macOS 14+. There is no account, no subscription and no in-app purchase, and nothing about your library is uploaded anywhere.
Try it on a track you already own
JamCrate is a free beta for macOS 14+. Import a folder, mark the hard bars, take the tempo down to 0.5× and keep the key.
Download for Mac Try the player in your browser
About 20 MB · Universal build · signed and notarized by Apple · no account, nothing leaves your Mac.
Prefer Homebrew? brew install --cask vitas/jamcrate/jamcrate