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Meant To Be #335248 02/07/16 04:05 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Hi - I'm back with my second song in Band-In-A-Box! This song is a celebration of my marriage, which is in its 24th year. We have one daughter in college and the other one in the high school. I find myself reflecting on how much has changed and wondering what the future will hold. I generated all of the music with Band-In-A-Box (thank you PG Music for making this life-changing software!!) and I mixed in a couple of tracks with me singing. Link in Soundcloud: Meant To Be My first experience with this forum was fantastic and I am excited to have something new to contribute. I look forward to hearing your feedback! Style _ELECROK.STY (ElecRock RealTrks guits (120 RS)) RealTracks in style: ~~387:Bass, Electric, Metal Ev 085 RealTracks in style: 691:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming AcRockBright Ev 120 RealTracks in style: 694:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ElecRockArp Ev 120 RealTracks in style: 697:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ElecRockDirty Ev 120 RealDrums in style: RockHardModernEv8^2-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Open HiHat Lyrics Watch the sun goes down you're in a wedding gown what will become of the rest of our lives Waves rolling in and out that's what its all about we'll make it up with our collective vibes Winds cause the leaves to swirl no longer boy and girl now we are more than just you and me Snow makes it all look clean as if we're in a dream time spins quietly while we don't see This is how our sweet life is meant to be Make it what we want, don't follow, we are free This is how our sweet life is meant to be Live it the way we want, just let them see Rain washes it away We live another day moving through life while we're standing still Flowers bloom in the ground our path that we have found takes us to where it should, we know it will Rivers swell and flow onward we must go savoring the moments of each twist and turn Trees grow empty now I don't remember how lots to be proud of and still to learn This is how our sweet life is meant to be Make it what we want, don't follow, we are free This is how our sweet life is meant to be Live it the way we want, just let them see, just let them see AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #335259 02/07/16 04:56 AM User Showcase
Joined: Aug 2012 Posts: 11,675 Florida floyd jane Veteran
floyd jane Veteran Joined: Aug 2012 Posts: 11,675 Florida	Adam, A good listen. A good "rock sound". The mix is good - though the vocals could up just a little. The guitars have good punch to them. As the song continues, the drums seemed to drop a shade and could use a bit of "heft" (they seem to be EQ'd to accentuate the top - could use a bit more bottom) Enjoyed the song. floyd 150+ Songs produced using BIAB RealTracks And 50 more... and some more...

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #335270 02/07/16 05:36 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2014 Posts: 4,048 The Netherlands RnAM Veteran
RnAM Veteran Joined: May 2014 Posts: 4,048 The Netherlands	Hi Adam, This is a very nice American rock sound. Very nice second post indeed. We detect sort of a radio/transistor sound to it with too much mid. The Realtracks you used could definitely have a lot more body. Are you using your build in soundcard or usb interface? Kind regards, Rob and Anne-Marie We are Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp from The Netherlands. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1gsdNLE7_Gy8qavoOplQow/videos http://rnam.net/

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #335275 02/07/16 05:53 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2011 Posts: 4,219 Florida tommyad Veteran
tommyad Veteran Joined: May 2011 Posts: 4,219 Florida	Adam, I agree with floyd. If the vocal was brought up a bit and some bottom end and volume applied to the drums it would help. This can be a really nice rock song with a few tweaks to the mix. Keep em coming. Tom

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #335297 02/07/16 09:11 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 532 Chattanooga, TN SRP Journeyman
SRP Journeyman Joined: May 2015 Posts: 532 Chattanooga, TN	Hi Adam, you have something going for you and I think if you follow the advice given above you will be on the right track. Enjoyed the rock and I am glad that you have made it to your 24th year of marriage. My wife and I have been married for 47 years and I would not want it any other way. Enjoyed listening. Sonny

Re: Meant To Be floyd jane #335303 02/07/16 09:21 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Thanks Floyd - glad you enjoyed it. I will work on the mix some more - thanks for the advice! AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be RnAM #335306 02/07/16 09:27 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Hey RnAM - you are very astute! I was playing with the track in GarageBand (never really used it before). I added the BIAB track to a microphone track and then again to an instrument track. It added some interesting crunch, so I left both tracks in there. Sounds like I need to play with the EQ more - I'm still really new to the mixing and don't really know what I'm doing yet. My mic is fed into an audio interface through usb. AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be tommyad #335307 02/07/16 09:28 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Thanks Tom - I'll get working on it AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be SRP #335308 02/07/16 09:29 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Glad you enjoyed the song, Sonny. Congrats on 47 years - I wish you many more! AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #335710 02/09/16 11:27 AM User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2013 Posts: 6,892 Davis, CA G Greg Johnson Veteran
Greg Johnson Veteran G Joined: Dec 2013 Posts: 6,892 Davis, CA	Very nice track!! Agree with others about the mix. Also, the melody, as cool as it is, could be mixed up with another musical phrase to break it up a bit. Nice job! Take care. Greg

Re: Meant To Be Greg Johnson #335772 02/09/16 04:16 PM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Hey Greg - that makes sense to me. It could use some other element to add some depth. Not sure if adding something to the beginning and/or end would work or if I should try to insert some kind of a break in the middle. I'll try some different things to figure out what works. Thanks very much! AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #336687 02/15/16 07:52 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	I re-recorded the song and tried to mix it properly - please let me know what you think this time around! I did it differently this time and now I will have more control and be better able to tweak it based on your feedback. Used Ableton Live instead of Garage Band Exported each track from BIAB and brought each one separately into Live Did not apply any effects in Live - the tracks are as they came out of BIAB Recorded the vocals and the harmonies directly into Live (I couldn't export/import cleanly, so I had to sing it again - oh well!) Adjusted the volume of each track - not sure if this is the proper mix, but at least I can easily adjust any of it now. Boosted the master volume - it kept coming out too low Panned it more over to the left speaker - leaving it centered seemed to skew it to the right speaker for some reason. Please check it out and let me know what you think: Meant To Be I really appreciate your feedback! Adam Last edited by aruchman; 02/15/16 07:54 AM. AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #336696 02/15/16 08:44 AM User Showcase
Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 674 Fort Worth TX, USA Beagle Journeyman
Beagle Journeyman Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 674 Fort Worth TX, USA	Hi Adam, This is a nice tune, very "hooky" chorus! The vocals are buried and muddy and need some adjustments there. Overall, the mix is heavy in the mids and could use some thinning out there. Stucture-wise, I wanted to hear the chorus after the "second verse" instead of after the third. Nice work! Keep working! Scandalous Grace Beagle Soundcloud Beagle Facebook

Re: Meant To Be Beagle #336727 02/15/16 01:01 PM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Thanks for the feedback, Beagle. I thought I fixed the vocals in this re-mix, but I still don't quite know what I'm doing when it comes to mixing and am very glad to get your feedback. Interesting note on the structure of the verses and chorus. I'm still new to songwriting and am learning as I go. Thanks for the observation. I will certainly keep working on it! AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #336889 02/16/16 04:31 PM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	OK - I finally figured out how to update the EQ. I lowered the mids, boosted the lows and I also boosted the volume on the drums a bit. I hope you like the new mix - please let me know either way, so I can correct it if needed or know that it is good. Thanks!! AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #337051 02/17/16 03:42 PM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	I need some help understanding how to set the pan between the speakers. For some reason, I start out on a Mac and it sounds like the music is mostly coming out of the right speaker. I panned it to the left a bit and it sounded good. Then I pushed it up to Soundcloud and listened on both my phone and a PC, where I found that it sounded like it was mostly coming out of the left speaker! I just set it to be in the middle (louder on the right on the mac) and re-published. It sounds wrong on my mac, but good on my phone and my pc. How is it to all of you?! Also, I did re-mix it and hope to hear some feedback. Thanks very much!! AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #337063 02/17/16 05:47 PM User Showcase
Joined: May 2008 Posts: 5,063 Kentucky USA Sundance Veteran
Sundance Veteran Joined: May 2008 Posts: 5,063 Kentucky USA	Hi Adam, I enjoyed listening and I like your song. "time spins quietly while we don't see"...love that. You've got a good vibe going and a nice voice too. Before you export your RT's to your DAW make sure they are panned center in BB or Realband so you can pan however you like in your DAW of choice. Your Mac panning everything left is not normal. You might want to ask about that on the BIAB or Realband PG product forum and the guys will help you figure out why that is happening. To learn mixing - check out The Recording Revolution. (I have no affiliation with the site other than Graham's the best practical - follow along see it done, hear how it sounds - teacher I've found. And many other people here share that opinion.) Josie Beck Youtube Channel Josie Beck Soundcloud

Re: Meant To Be aruchman #337080 02/17/16 10:59 PM User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2012 Posts: 7,428 Originally Missouri ... Now Al... Al-David Veteran
Al-David Veteran Joined: Dec 2012 Posts: 7,428 Originally Missouri ... Now Al...	HI Adam ... Good to have you with us here on the PG Showcase. Good take on the soft rock sound. Very nice lyric ... catchy. would like to have the vocal and drums a little more forward in the mix. Still, it was a great listen ... thanks! Alan & Di BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaksWin1116GB DDR5Rhyzen 9745xAT 2035 MicPeavey Nashville 112 AmpIbanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops

Re: Meant To Be Sundance #337534 02/21/16 11:00 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Thanks Josie - glad you like the song. You are right - the tracks were not centered in BIAB, so I will do another pass after centering them and exporting. Also, I will check out the other forums and the Recoding Revolution - I took a quick peek and it does look like a great resource. Thank you so much for the guidance!! Adam AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

Re: Meant To Be Al-David #337535 02/21/16 11:01 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey A aruchman OP Enthusiast
OP aruchman Enthusiast A Joined: May 2015 Posts: 44 New Jersey	Thanks Alan & Di. I'll keep working on it - thanks!! AdamRuchman.com (Visit for all of my audio and videos!)

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