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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4
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OP
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Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 4 |
I am looking to buy a sound card with very high quality orchestral samples and wonder if anyone can suggest the best one to use with Powertracks 12. I believe that there is a really good one that gets the attack, decay and vibrato or whatever just right for the specific instrument. I won't say money is no object but I certainly expect to spend quite a bit.
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
These days, the sound card no longer contains any MIDI synth stuff, for the most part.
You are looking for a MIDI synth, hardware or software, that is compat with your pc system.
--Mac
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 10,153
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 10,153 |
As Mac pointed out, 'sound cards' these days are often more of 'sound chips' built onto your mainboard. That isn't to say that there aren't real plug in cards available, there are, but not like 10 years ago when you could buy a sound card from multiple different vendors and get different sounds. Today, PC's and Windows use a .dll file that contains about 4 megs of sample data. This way, no matter what computer you listen to, high end desktop, laptop or netbook, the MIDI sounds will all be the same. It used to be that you could buy a card from Creative and get one set of sounds, buy a card from Turtle Beach and get another set, buy one from Yamaha and get a totally different set. Those days are far and long gone. Sound cards today do not have ANY sounds on them. So, where do the sounds come from? They come from software, via a 'software synthesizer.' There are multiple software synths out there today that you can purchase and install on your computer, or you can buy a hardware module or keyboard. For Orchestral work, I would recommend Garritan's Personal Orchestra 4. http://www.garritan.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=154&Itemid=54With the Aria player, you can create a stand alone device that can be used with PowerTracks Pro Audio or Real Band. Please check out the Demos page here for an idea of what Personal Orchestra can do for you. http://www.garritan.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109&Itemid=63How do you get these lovely sounds out of your computer? The built in sound card on your computer isn't really optimized for audio recording work. The following is copied from Garritan's FAQs on GPO4 Quote:
What Soundcard Do You Recommend?
People ask us often about soundcards we recommend. Although we cannot recommend specific cards (each system is different), there are many good and inexpensive ones to choose from. Yamaha and M-Audio are brands you may want to research for soundcards. You rsoundcard is very important to making music with our software instruments. It is important you have something a step above a "stock" consumer grade soundcard that may come pre-installed in your computer. Such cards are not designed to handle higher quality sounds and the performance needs of the instruments.
In looking for a soundcard, be sure to look for a low-latency card. Make sure you have a soundcard with adjustable buffers so you can set the latency. Basically, latency is the time it takes to play a sound on your keyboard to when you'll hear it playing from your speakers. There is a inverse relationship between latency and performance. The lower the latency the higher the resource demands. One can often find a sweet spot between latency and performance and each system is different.[\quote]
If you were to plan on going with something like GPO, I would recommend the M-Audio 2496 Audiophile card as a very good, relatively inexpensive audio interface. For monitoring, of course, you'll need some sort of monitoring setup, like a mixer and powered speakers.
There are other solutions, as well, but I think this is a good one.
Hope this helps.
Gary
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
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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.
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Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed!
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