Quote:

BIAB seems like the real tracks are back in the speaker box not out front as much .More like listen to a radio .The horns and trumpets sound fine but the drums and bass sound weak as far as the thickness goes . I don't know how else to exsplain this .Is there something in BIAB that can ajust these real styles ?




Hi Greg,

You are describing a classic Gain Stage problem, in which your computer sound device is not driving the line input of your PA hard enough. That is typically described as a "thin" sound.

Don't know what you are currently using for a sound device or soundcard, but whenever I attach my computer to an external amplifier to use with programs such as Band in a Box, I always visit the software mixer applet for that sound device, locate the Master output fader and the Wav output fader - and turn both of them all the way up. This is because Line Level audio needs to be DRIVEN. Attempts to get the desired gain after that stage, such as turning up the physical volume at the PA, won't cut it. Or as I teach in Recording and Sound Reinforcement engineering classes to the beginners, "Always drive a line, never try to suck gain out of a line."

There is also the situation where you may have a PA input that is at Pro Line Level (+4dBu) but the sound device of the PC is likely Consumer Level Line (-10dBv) -- which is often a Balanced input while the PC soundcard is quite often an Unbalanced Consumer Level output. Read, "less voltage" there. This may not be a problem at your end, all depends upon what your soundcard and PA system are - and possibly how you have it hooked up.

It is possible - and actually proper - to have BiaB playback sound as rich and full, for the most part, as the arranger keyboard. And that can be done with the "regular" offering as well as the Audiophile version.


--Mac