Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
|
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992
Expert
|
OP
Expert
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992 |
tips...021. A REAL RECORDING SESSION WITH POWERTRACKS.(cont.).
ok..at this point we have basically built the skeleton of our song in ptw. what i would suggest is , as a basic concept, keeping tracks 1 to 16 for the song bed traks/skeleton. and traks 17 onwards for the song up front/lead tracks and icings. before starting the next major phase. recording the leads and icings for the CEFE band , i would like to add some general tips to think about. as follows. (these i will be adding to over time, and updateing this post as i think of more points.) 1. recording runs the whole gamut of emotions. some days youll be ultra happy. other days frustrated as hell..lol. just take it all i your stride. some days the recording gods will be in your favor and other days not. just dont burn yourself out. 2. a major piece of advice i can give is.. dont go overboard on effects. "everything in moderation". its ok..lol....i fall into traps like get a new piece of gear i want to use EVERYWHERE..lol. its called being human. 3. dont CONFUSE the listener. for example study the great engineers of the past on great records. notice all the subtle things they do, and write them down. for example,...think of this RULe (but break it if it makes sense on a song.). largely ..ONE SPECIAL EFFECT AT ONE TIME. for example notice ?? on some big record ?? how sometimes the drums are quite dry ?? and in certain places for the sound picture , some vocal effect is introduced at various times ?? notice also, while this one effect is occurring in its time slot , how everything else is supportive ?? this is all part of picture painting. 4. notice in ptw's various effects how pg have set up already patches for certain instruments ?? REALLY SPEND TIME, going thru all the various effects. and their presets, .like.WOW...what will "hot plucked bass" do for me. or "attack drums"..or.."ratty guitar"...(<<<once used that one to create an animal effect.. think outside the box !!.)..or "guitar slap"...or .WOW.. "guitar echo plex" or ."guitar trails"...or.."ambient double"... or ...."wide slow sweep"...or ...some of the tremelo settings... or...many of the others and the real time effects. 5. really go thru the various ptw tips of the days, the help files n pdf's and videos. pg have provided a wealth of info as well as lots of FAQ's. make sure also u understand all the different menus, and features and what they do. (i'll be covering some triks with some of them in later posts.) 6. get into backing up your song project seq's religiously. (a seq basically contains EVERYTHING relating to the song includeing all tracks and settings.) if you religiously have all songs in their own unique song folder within a parent folder called "songs". you can also religiously back up "songs" to one or more dvd's at regular time points . 6. sometimes , like the custom CEFE band song we are doing in these posts. you might not want to hear the metronome. i typically turn it off if ive created a custom clik track as per this CEFE case. (ie...OPTIONS>>>METRONOME>>>make sure recording and playback are unticked. ) 7. notice for midi tracks u can achieve higher resolution. (OPTIONS>>>RESOLUTION and select a higher number.) 8. if your a newbie to midi. do yourself a favor and get a book explaining midi and also soak up all the midi info. one COMMON PROBLEM that baffles people is they see midi data on a track. they have an external midi module hooked up to the pc, for example via some midi usb or other protocol device but get no sound out of the midi module. often this is simply resolved by ensureing the midi receive channel on the external device matches the midi channel that shows on the track in ptw. some fancy midi gear requires various parameters to be set up also. (thus u must consult the manual for the gear in question.) a simple example of a possible problem. a track in ptw shows a midi channel setting (CH in classics view of 3 lets say. ). but the external midi module isnt set to CH 3 receive. these are common issues to be aware of. 9. notice ADDITIONAL WINDOWS IN PTW. like the guitar tuner plug in, and the MIDI MONITOR. for example. i bet lots of people havent spent some time with midi mon. but it can be USEFULL. also in tracking down midi problems. (click on its help and learn all about it !!.highly usefull.) 10. you have a singer that has problem staying in tune. heres a solution to try. after his/her first take when u realise u have a problem. to help the singer stay in tune. record the singers notes note for note on a seperate track , from a synth into sound card line input mimicking the vocal notes. then play this track back to the singer in the singers phones, while the singer re does the vocal track. it might just help staying in tune. use a distinct patch , mebe simple piano notes for example. ie.a patch where the notes are quite "pure". 11. dont be too ready to put yourself into a heavy bank loans position. for gear..this COULD stress you out. been there done that. and REALLY EXPLORE all possibilities with your current gear. in countries like mine consider diy to overcome high retail prices n taxes on gear n also buying used gear. its wonderfull what 5k will buy u these days. get CRAFTY with your purchases. for example on the net youll see lots of diy schematics. for example a mic u can build for a few buks outta a panasonic capsule. 12. as your adding recorded tracks and mixing useing ptw's mixer keep your eyes like a HAWK on PTW's output led's. n bring your faders down accordingly. aim for a mix no higher than -3db. also .if useing a fancy sound card with its own metering. monitor it ALSO. 13. if your starting out try and record as much different variety and instruments as possible. this is what i did years ago. this experience is invaluable and imho is better than takeing theory lessons. hands on is a very good teacher. record everything and anything u can. 14. really spend lots of time learning mic positioning. for example , the venerable guitar amp. try micing it close up. try putting the amp on a chair and micing it. face the amp into a corner of a room...and mic the wall reflections. when the amp is blasting. ie..EXPERIMENT with everything and anything. 15. try "re amping". (but watch for feedback probs.). solo a guitar track and send it out to a different guitar amp , and get a friend to twiddle with settings on the amp while u listen over monitors in your control room. mebe for something "grungy" try sending a vocal track or a keyboard track out to a guitar amp with a touch of distn for a different "flavor". just think of all the variable possibilities in conjunction with ptw's built in fx. mebe u have a reverby bathroom somewhere. send a track out to it via a speaker, then experiment with a mic in the reverby bathroom (or stairwell ) or whatever. (i'm just trying to get you to think about possibilities for extending your fx palette. the speaker in a reverby space is an old trick...lol,.) 16. be leery of midi THRU on devices. it can cause a problem. lets say for example, you have a few external midi modules being driven from ptw. instead of daisy chaining them useing midi thru's. consider getting a midi splitter box with a number of midi outs on it. so each out goes to midi in of a module. (more to come).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Video: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 German for Windows is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!
Wir waren fleißig und haben über 50 neue Funktionen und eine erstaunliche Sammlung neuer Inhalte hinzugefügt, darunter 222 RealTracks, neue RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, abspielbare RealTracks Set 3, abspielbare RealDrums Set 2, zwei neue Sets von "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 und mehr!
Paket | Was ist Neu
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."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums66
Topics81,634
Posts735,267
Members38,522
|
Most Online2,537 Jan 19th, 2020
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|