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Hello Everyone

Been Lurking around the forum a few day's trying to learn a little about BIAB system Before i purchase it
this Really seems the way to go for what i want to do...and that's have an economical version of a Band...say a 2 piece Gig...outside of my 5 piece Band..

i Did a 2 piece gig in the pass with a keyboard player and we built a lot of our own music and also purchased some from a place called tri-tunes....they were all midi's...we would mute the melody line and get them in our key and sing along....being midi's most sounded like they were constructed on a carnival Ride if that makes sense...lol

But the keyboard player i was working with Moved to another city and our 2 piece kinda vanished
i had a bunch of our music as midi files and purchased a keyboard a yamaha mm6 had some of our songs on a flash drive and soon found out that using our old tunes wasn't going to be as easy as i thought....some sounded good.....but others sounded like it was playing the wrong instruments...and since the original songs were built with a korg 01w Board....i figured i had a clash with midi numbers being different on both keyboards....i play guitar...this was all new to me....lol

Bought some software hoping to be able to change some song key's and change midi numbers...i got the sony studio 8 and 9 software...this didn't help me at all i feel i wasted my money....i found the area to change key's on the midi....would type in new key....and it wouldn't change it...

so i'm hoping BIAB will be the answer to me being able to build some songs and do another 2 piece project
again...i have a couple of questions if you guy's would be so kind to answer

1. some of the song style's i will try to build will be what's called swamp-pop this is kinda a blues feel type music and has some horn section work in them...can BIAB give me some blues feel music and Horn's?

2. After a song is Built can you store it on a hard drive and say play it through a lap top on a Gig?

this is all i'll ask for now since i don't have the program yet.....but it looks to me this would be the way to go for a couple of musicians to get work in our depressed economy...

thanks
Randy

Hi, and welcome.

Blues feel, oh yes. Horn section is possible using MIDI but to my knowledge is not yet available in RealTracks. It has been requested on our Wishlist.

Yes, many users here gig with the program using a laptop, or else they create MP3s for use with an iPod or similar player.

welcome to the forum, Randy!

Sounds like one of the obstacles you've dealt with has been MIDI. PGMusic's suite of programs will let you use your existing midi, and there's plenty of help on the forum to talk you through the learning curve.

But the REALLY cool thing about this product is that you can bypass MIDI altogether now, and generate backing tracks for your solo act that can be played from your PC or even from an MP3 player.

If blues is (are?) your music of choice, Band In a Box comes with more blues styles than you'd have time to play on ten gigs. (not all swamp rock/ blues, but there are some of those too)

Keep reading the forum for the next few weeks and wait for an announcement of a new release. New releases are typically introduced with a temporarily reduced price. Early December is when the new version is usually released, so you're here at the rightr time.

Swamp pop. LOL.

Swamp people, gator hunters, boar hunters.

The new reality show, Cajun jammers. Gotta work up the tune before the end of the show.

I can write it now, the fiddle player is hung over and his wife want's him to hunt gator. But he's got better things to do. Learn an old tune from some guy over yonder. Pole da boat. Eat jerky. Drink rum from a barrel. On the Bayou. Blow that jug brother...

Ok so now post a tune as a throw down, and maybe we come up with some backing track examples, what tune and what key?

I feel a request for a swampify button in the box...

cajun, welcome to the forum and, particularly, to biab.

if a friendly, down-to-earth forum is important to you during the learning curve then/than you've come to the right place. it's like a big, happy family so check any ego or attitude at the door before kickin' your shoes off and layin' back. we all learn from each other so, very soon, you will be contributing to the synergy of the group.

again, welcome aboard!

Hi Randy,

Another welcome to the forum, this time from "just maybe" a neighbor as I am from South Louisiana.

Lot of good people here always willing to assist and give free advice, but remember you get what you pay for

. Just kidding of course we have some very sharp and accomplished BIAB and for that matter even a more general knowledge on everything musical here, present company excepted of course.

After reading your questions above and being very familiar with Swamp Pop I can tell you right now that the horn section you are looking for is not available in Real Tracks, but as Matt mentioned it is possible with midi. But the rest of the backing for those Swamp Pop tunes can be built with many of the blues/pop genre styles available. And yes you can store and play back, that is exactly how I use BIAB a couple times each week.

PS: Where are you located?

Later,

Randy, welcome to the forum. I travel a lot with work and some road gigs so I am mostly a lurker on the forum. This forum is the best I have ever been associated with, the members are very williing to share their knowledge on any subject including BIAB! They have helped me out a number of times. BIAB is a very useful tool for me in a number of ways.
If I am doing a singles act it becomes my backup band.
When I have to learn either a guitar solo or a vocal (in the 16 piece swing band I also play in), I input the chords into BIAB burn it to a CD, then sing against it while driving. Works great.I am sure you will enjoy it. Gotta go back out and shovel snow, 5 inches yesterday, another 3 inches today!Hope the roads are better tomorrow as I have a swingband gig out of town.DennisD

Guy's

thanks for making me feel so welcomed Right off the Bat.....this makes me want to buy the BIAB program even quicker now....and i wanted it pretty bad before i came here....lol

Shout out to Danny in south La....hiya neighbor...Danny i was Born in Morgan city la...but now call Kaplan la home....its about 20 minutes south of lafayette la...married a lady from this area pulled up stakes from morgan city and here i am....lol been here about 13 years now...country living i love it..

this program is really amazing...i was listening to the accompanied Realtrack's and was floored....my Brother play's steel guitar out of this world and he is gonna freak when he hear's what the steel can do on here....and to boot it's paul franklin...one of his idols
we got to hang with paul a bit in st louis at a steel guitar convention and he and my brother hit it off....great guy and outstanding musician..

one other question...we talked a little about horn section's can mostly be done by midi
can i lay down my own horn section's into BIAB through an outside source...say like my keyboard or i have a GR-33 sythn i hook to my guitar.....just wondering..

thanks again
Randy

Randy,

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can i lay down my own horn section's into BIAB through an outside source...say like my keyboard or i have a GR-33 sythn i hook to my guitar.....just wondering..

You would want to use Real Band for that, but lucky for you it comes bundled with BIAB.

Check out some of the RB vids to see the possibilities.

http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.demos.htm

Here is a old friend of mine that passed in 05 playing steel guitar .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3044bRlvII&feature=feedlik

Is there a package that you can get all the Realtracks with it?....just went and listened to a lot of them with the links that were privided...simply amazing....my brain is going into over drive thinking what i'll be able to do with them....even original music going through my head now...and i'm usually a cover playing type kind of guy....lol

Get the Everything Pak. You will not be disappointed. A great program and a great bunch of folks to hang with here.
Welcome aboard.

check out the videos here including the user created ones

http://www.pgmusic.com/videos.bbwin.htm

Cajun,

There is a learning curve with Biab. Once you "see" how to set up a song, chords, style, layout etc, you will find Biab is the perfect tool for creating backing tracks with. It is much more powerful then people realize. Watch some video tutorials while waiting for it to arrive. It is a hands on type of approach to using the basics.

The Real Tracks are incredible. You have great sounding musicians and riffs to accompany your chord changes and they "follow" how the changes are laid out in Biab. It is like hiring professional musicians to sit in on a session or make professional sounding backing tracks to play or sing along with.

Feel free to ask away here when you get stuck on something. We were all beginners at one time ourselves. Welcome to the forum.

Trax

What they all said. Welcome, welcome, and -- while Trax is right, and there is a learning curve, it's not all that steep for the basic functions. Input some chords, pick a style, and click "play", and just that much will show you the beginnings of BIAB's huge potential. It's finding out all the details that is both fun and incredibly useful for your music, and this is just the best place to hang out online.

i think i'll take silvertones advice and get the everything pak...my wife mentioned to go ahead and take the money from savings to go ahead and get the program...hot dog and i didn't even mention that...lol...i loves my wife..hehe

and get this...this must be a good omen...the wife an i had dinner at a place that usually has a one man Band....and i even sat in with the guy who used to have the gig from time to time...well guess what the other guy walked away from the gig to go down the street to make a few more bucks...and marko offered me the one man gig...haha

that will be an every friday night as long as i want at a mexican Restaurant.
i told him, marko...man i don't even have my music ready yet....he told me the gig is mine when i want it..

i hope PGMUSIC is open on saturday cause i'm ordering this program when i wake up

Randy

Randy, Big sale starts in a couple weeks??? You may want to wait just a bit.

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Randy, Big sale starts in a couple weeks??? You may want to wait just a bit.

Double ditto!!!

Don't buy now! It's just a few weeks. HUGE difference!

ok...you guy's let me know when the sale is on...where will i get the best price..PG website or someplace else....i seen musician's friend sells BIAB also...but you guy's have been using this product for sometime...i'm sure ya'll will steer me to the best purchase point

thanks for the heads up jazzmandan

can't wait for the sale....i feel like a kid at christmas waiting on his favorite toy...lol

Randy

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where will i get the best price..PG website or someplace else

The PG website.

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...being midi's most sounded like they were constructed on a carnival Ride if that makes sense

This is a very common perception among people who don't understand midi. You're assuming that a midi file automatically sounds cheap just because it's midi. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sound quality of a midi file is completely dependent on the synth you're playing it through. A Korg 01W is an antique, man. It sounds like crap for acoustic instruments, it has some decent synth sounds and a couple of decent electric piano's but that's it. Playing a midi file with one on a gig? No way, especially the drums, they're very weak.

It's true that the Real Tracks are one way to get away from midi but midi is still very important for a lot of songs and to sound good you have to have a good synth. By that I mean a good synth, not a freebie like the Roland VSC or even the Coyote Forte for $40. Those are ok, they're not too bad but compared to the Ketron SD2 or my Roland Sonic Cell they sound like toys at least to me, YMMV. I just took delivery of a new Kurzweil PC3, you should hear what some of my midis sound like through that, you wouldn't believe it. You already know you need to spend some bucks for good quality equipment like a guitar and amp plus good cables and the rest. Same for a midi synth if you're going to gig with it.

Everything else everybody has said is right on but I wouldn't worry about waiting a month for the big Xmas sale because PG usually will make it right if you've just bought the package a few weeks before the new release but don't take my word for it, just call sales and ask about that.

Bob

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Everything else everybody has said is right on but I wouldn't worry about waiting a month for the big Xmas sale because PG usually will make it right if you've just bought the package a few weeks before the new release but don't take my word for it, just call sales and ask about that.

Bob is so correct on that. PG's customer service is second to none, and I'm used to Disney World, Sweetwater Sound and Zingerman's Deli (here in Ann Arbor). Give Sales a call and see what they can do for you.

Funny you should mention Disney World. My daughter just texted from there. Seems she won an American Idol contest there and is sitting in hair/makeup getting ready for tonights show (proud papa) ..

Her friends sent pics of her signing autographs. I had to smile.

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Seems she won an American Idol contest there and is sitting in hair/makeup getting ready for tonights show (proud papa) ..

Wow so cool, we can say we knew her when..., oops can't say that..., guess we can say we knew her Dad.

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[.... PG's customer service is second to none,

I just got a message from Justin at Reaper about a conversaton I am having with Ralph at JamStix. And if you recall Peter at PG Music personnally fixed my Chord output problem recently. Do I sound like I'm dropping names

or is this all just great customer service.

Saw more pics on facebook with her on stage and her image on multiple HUGE screens behind her. Very excited for her. I'm sure she is having a blast. Wish I was there. It just sorta happened while she was down there with friends.

/sorry; thread jack

rharv,

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Seems she won an American Idol contest there and is sitting in hair/makeup getting ready for tonights show (proud papa) ..

That's great rharv! I remember her video that you sent me link to a while back. She's definitely a very talented singer and she's prettier than a speckled pup.

Good luck to her. Let us know how it goes.

rharv, that is tremendous! Hope she has a blast.

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I just got a message from Justin at Reaper about a conversaton I am having with Ralph at JamStix. And if you recall Peter at PG Music personnally fixed my Chord output problem recently. Do I sound like I'm dropping names or is this all just great customer service.

Y'know, I was just discussing name dropping with Brian @ IK Multimedia, Andy at Camel Audio, and Urs at U-He. We all agreed that Steven @ DNR Collaborative is too humble to do it much.

< / lotta time at KVR forums >

rharv it's your fault. Congrats. I wonder where she got the talent! (Ducks LOL)

Funny I pictured you at about 26 to 28.

Probably because you have a guitar and it's sort of dark.

Lots of pickers seem to do it with the lights on.

My heart goes out to any man with a daughter. After 3 sons I got me a hum-dinger. Boys were so easy to raise! Anyway, mine leaves home in 2 weeks, working 2 years in England. It's going to be so noisy, because I'm home alone all day and don't have her to yell or wake up or, or, or...

Missed it by about 20 years John

I have 2 daughters, both wonderful in their own way. I couldn't imagine one moving that far away.

Randy You have a P.M. e.l.c.

Leon....did you get the pm i sent you?

Jazzman

let me clarify what i mean when i said some of these midi's sound Bad....don't get me wrong...i know midi's can be outstanding sounding...i've even done full gig's with just midi's..

but what's happening with some of these...and i don't know why is....some sounds seem to be off....for instance....on the drums where i think it should be a Ride cymbal playing on drums.....i have a cow-bell
very annoying to hear through out the song..

others come out sounding like they were created in very low unnatural sounding key's

some sound like...the Bass is going in one direction....the drums in another totally backwards sounding..

so the only thing i could think of is this...i'm playing these midi's through a yamaha mm6...the midi's i'm playing...i know where built on a korg 01w....these midi's have also been copied a few times and passed down thats how i got mine...so that might be a problem...i don't know...

but i was thinking the midi numbers could be different....whats a Ride cymbal midi number for the korg 01w
could be cowbell for my yamaha mm6....its the only thing i could think of....because i'm in my infant state of trying to learn some of this stuff...its really a miracle i knew that a midi instrument is grabbed by this embedded number inside the song as its played on your keyboard..

Ran

above post was sent for JAZZMAMMAL....lol sorry we have some jazzy guy's on the forum