Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#577325 01/21/20 03:57 PM
User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Well I'm starting to figure out BIAB.
Used:
1717: Bass, Electric, TexasBlues & Real Drums=BluesRocks
EQ'd & Panned the drums for some separation and depth.

I added three guitar tracks and vocals.


I had a difficult time mixing this,. not sure where I messed up.
I think It needs a remix and some additional guitar fills.

In any case, any feedback you can provide would be appreciated.

Here's "Look'n For Light"

https://soundcloud.com/captainmoto/lookn-for-light-1




Last edited by CaptainMoto; 01/21/20 04:49 PM.
User Showcase
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 7,192
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 7,192
How did you "pan" the drums from a stereo file?
The bass, voice, rhythm guitar, kick and snare are fighting each other up the middle.
Trad would have the kick n snare + bass up the middle. OH's would throw the cymbals L & R.
Voice up the middle - replaced by lead solo when appropriate.
Rhythm gtr panned one side & another rhythm instruments or double take of RGtr on the other side.
The struggle in this mix is that competition up the middle. bass and kick fill in the centre bottom snare upper mids and voice in between.
IF you start your mix in mono (not the mono button but everything up the middle) and EQ things until tyhey don't overlap too much and sound good then simple panning, as mentioned, will work a treat. IF it sounds muddy and messy in mono then you need to relisten & rethink.
GOOD song by the way.


Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 2,656
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 2,656
Hello Captain,

I totally agree with what Ray wrote. Including the last line.
But I have to add one or two things (however, I think Ray covered that as well), you sing too close to the mike so it did some clipping or at least gives the impression it was doing that.
The other thing is you are singing a bit different than I know of you. Nearly more 'civilized'. And in this song I wouldn't choose for that kind of singing, but more the 'raw' you (if you know what I mean). and with a little more reverb...

Hans


Hans Berkhout
(Birchwood)
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130
User Showcase
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,940
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,940
Morning Captain,

I won't comment on your mix, you have some good advice from Ray already about that.

Good song! I like the swampy groove, and I like your lyrics.

I disagree with Hans on your vocal, I liked it and thought it fit the laid back mood of the song.

Arrangement wise I wasn't crazy about the intro, a little too abrupt.

But, overall I thought it was a very good song, a few minor tweaks and it will be a great song, enjoyed the listen.

User Showcase
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,787
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,787
Captain,

Nice!

I'll go along with the advice to pan the rhythm guitars out more...

I really like the vocal! And your soloing.

Cool song. I enjoyed the listen.

fj

User Showcase
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
PG Music Staff
Offline
PG Music Staff
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
Nicely done - I thought your vocals sounded fantastic on this, and you can't tell you had a difficult time with the mix, for me at least. I really liked the groove and thought it was decently catchy as well.

Thanks for sharing smile


Cheers,
Deryk
User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Thanks everyone for listening and providing some feedback.

Some very good observations, and good critical listening skills.

About the mix:
- Panning Drums
I made several duplicate tracks of the BIAB drums.
I treated each of those as if it was a separate element of the kit.
I applied aggressive EQ to each resulting in a simulation of Kick, Toms/Snare, High-hats and an overhead mic.
It may not be that apparent in the mix but, compared to the original drum track I believe It has more energy, which is what I was trying to achieve.
The last step was to do some very subtle panning of the High-hats and toms, the hick and overhead remain down the middle.
To my ear the drums got bigger doing this.

-Guitars
The BIAB bass is up the middle.
Driving rhythm is doubled and panned L/R but not all the way out.
There's a second rhythm guitar with intermittent hits playing against the main guitar. That guitar is EQd with more emphasis on the mid/highs and is panned slightly left.

-Lead Guitar
Lots of overdrive on the tone with focus on Low mids EQ.
That track is doubled and spread wide, L/R.

-Vocals
I used a brighter mic then I normally do.
I've got a lot of sibilance going on and I had a difficult time trying tame that.
Although it's all one track, the bridge that comes late in the song is much more aggressive with the mic pushed back further then on the verses. Its straight up the middle.


-Reverb/Delay
My guitars are always recorded with a tad of both.
Some additional delay was applied to the final tracks.
Some gentle reverb on the vocals with various levels of delay on different parts of the track.

Overall,
This ended up with a very heavily compressed sound which was not my original plan.

I'm going back to the drawing board.

Thanks again for your feedback.


Last edited by CaptainMoto; 01/22/20 05:32 AM.
User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,944
Jim Offline
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,944
I can't comment on your mix...
When I listen...
I just pretend I'm in a bar or lounge somewhere
Listening to the pickers do their thing smile
Well...
I just walked into your bar
And I'm ready to order a beer
And hear some more gooood music!


Jim
†=☮&♥
User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 8,217
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 8,217
+1 to what Dave said. Loved the groove and really good vocal. Well done


Scott Collingwood
https://soundcloud.com/scottt709
https://soundcloud.com/spiritlevel-ca
https://www.youtube.com/@SpiritLevel-ge3hm/
Jim #577598 01/23/20 01:56 PM
User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Jim,
Pull up a seat, first one's on me.
Thanks

User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Thanks Scott,
I'm waiting for the operating room to become available for a bit of surgery.

User Showcase
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 3,157
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 3,157
Hello Captain,

This is a very orthodox Rhythm & Blues.
Your vocals fit this song very much.
Very nice groove.
Your guitar is also very cool.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Shigeki,
Thank you for your comments.

About the groove.
When i built this song I laid down the driving guitar first and then found drums to support it.
I think that's a key feature in the groove.

Moto

User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 3,357
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 3,357
A good groove and an excellent vocal- I like the way you bring it down for the last verse.
Minor surgery will crank the light levels on this- its worth tweaking!

Robert

User Showcase
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 313
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 313
This is the kind of blues I like.
I agree with the comments on the panning.
While writing I'm listening to you got your way.
Leonard Cohen would be proud! Like it a lot!

F

User Showcase
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 5,626
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 5,626
CaptainMoto, I love this blues number! Kind of puts me in mind of a couple of early CCR tunes (mainly "Feelin' Blue" off the Willie and the Poor Boys album). Love that hanging note to start the solo off! Great tone on the guitars! Thanks, Torrey

User Showcase
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 2,060
D
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
D
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 2,060
Captain Moto,

You’ve gotten some great advice already, by those far more savvy mix-wise than I. My only preference would be to bring the rhythm guitars up just a little bit and/or maybe sitting the vocal back just a bit. The lead guitar is sweet, as is the vocal—nice!

Kind regards,

Deej

Deej56 #578088 01/27/20 05:42 AM
User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Robert,
Thanks for listening and providing your comments.

Fred,
Leonard Cohen...oh my.
That's quite a compliment.......I can only dream.

Torrey,
Thanks you've put me in a class of greats...I'm humbled.

Deej,
I'm working on it.
Thanks

Last edited by CaptainMoto; 01/27/20 05:47 AM.
User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,958
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,958
Like Dave we like the swampy groove...a lot!

Love what Jim said also:
"I just walked into your bar
And I'm ready to order a beer
And hear some more gooood music!"

Yeah, we'd go in too!

We love the blues and loved this...

Cool vocal and guitar...kudos

J&B

PS: Something you may or may not want to experiment with some time. Locate the actual audio file for the RD you are using. They are all located within your BiaB file structure. At the end of the file are samples of each sound in the kit for that RT. You can cut out the snare sound and place it in a new track in your DAW and then copy it it to appear under each snare hit in your RD track. Now you can put effects on just the snare track. Unless you have a "groove track" feature you will have to align the hits since the full kit is played by a human smile Meaning that even if you copy and paste them to the right part of each bar they will not be perfect. My DAW, Logic Pro X, has a groove track function and it automatically and immediately aligns all the hits. I often do this with the snare and sometimes the kick. FWIW!


Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks!
Our Videos
User Showcase
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
Expert
OP Offline
Expert
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 1,749
J&B,
Thanks for that.
I didn't know that was possible.
More to learn.

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!

Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!

We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!

Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.

Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.

There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!

Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!

Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.

If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!

Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!

We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!

There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.

When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.

Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.

Happy New Year!

Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.

Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!

Season's Greetings!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!

The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.

Team PG

Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window

In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.

Watch the video.

You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!

Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe

This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.

Watch the video.

You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!

Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®

With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!

These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!

This Free Bonus PAK includes:

  • The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK: -For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles. -For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles. -For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
  • MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
  • MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
  • Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
  • Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
  • Playable RealTracks Set 5
  • RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
  • SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
  • Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)

Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:


  • 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
  • FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
  • MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
  • MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
  • Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
  • Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
  • RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
  • SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)

Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!

Forum Statistics
Forums57
Topics85,739
Posts795,613
Members39,946
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
Newest Members
LaneWright55, Diddlysquat, pun61, smitoz, Jonnyfartpants
39,945 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 191
DC Ron 117
Noel96 114
DrDan 103
rsdean 102
dcuny 90
Today's Birthdays
Ariloum, colly, dedou83, jlewis67, matzemu, Mike Levin, zakbosco
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5