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Post your own Tips and Tricks here
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992
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OP
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992 |
tips...029. A REAL RECORDING SESSION WITH POWERTRACKS.(cont.). ok...folks we are now up to trak 34. with 6 spare ones for "song sprinkles". (plus we have blank traks that we have left in our earlier recording work on bed tracks etc etc and other tracks.) thus ,remember when i said try and do a song in 40 traks ?? as you can see this song will prolly be comfortably done within 40 traks. heres why i'm pretty firm on this max 40 trak belief of mine. the answer is cos ni find i'm fooling myself if i need more traks. let me explain. typically i find that if i need more than 40 tracks, i'm compensating. ie..trying to polish something that mebe wasnt a good tune to begin with. thus if i need more than 40 traks this is a clue to me that ive screwed up. and believe me ive done major lulus...its called being human. i just keep in the back of my mind all the time that great records of the past were done with way less than 40 traks. for example those great rok n rol records recorded "off the floor" in the 50's to mono that became hits.
now you can record "off the floor" useing ptw. particularly a great guerilla recording idea if u have a very slow old computer. i urge u to try it. it can be lots of fun, and youll learn a lot bout mic positioning. what this term "off the floor" basically means is that everyone . ie....the whole group is recorded "live" at once. how would u do this in ptw ?? pretty simple actually. in main tracks view (also u can do in classics view.!).. right clik over the midi plug icon on a trak and select stereo audio. its THAT EASY. then record live off the floor. but let me warn you. you need ace musicians n singers that really jive together. your main PROBLEM will be correct mic positioning on everyone to achieve a good sounding track as well as a nice sounding room. as well as possibly some creative mic leakage. its not for the faint hearted....lol. if u want to cheat a bit...one thing you can do is just record the band firstly on a stereo trak then the lead vocs n lead instruments on seperate traks.
what do i mean by the term "sprinkles" ?? sprinkles can mean anything that improves the song. it might mean useing something as simple as a tamborine.. right thru a whole violin section or mini orchestra for example. it can also mean doing additional fx to improve the sound picture. sprinkles .in essence are what makes the final house seem very pretty. a good corollary is my wife n i sometimes go out on a sunday.. and suddenly my wife says .what a pretty house....lol. ie..the house stands out from the rest. paying attention to the sprinkles idea might just make the song stand out like the house.
now i would like to pass on a tip on sprinkles. and its not an original tip. its one a engineer once passed onto me in a big studio. he said...over time, try and build in a notebook, and by your own research an itemisation of every single instrument u can think of includeing all orchestral instruments that can think of. a difficult task of course.. but with things like google today... one could build up a huge list of instruments i am sure to make it a bit easier. why did he tell me that ?? the answer is that we all get locked into what is familiar. mebe by useing something unfamiliar in a song , it might add to the song. for example a guitar band like CEFE might just use guitar sounds. but if they extended their thinking mebe some orchestral instruments might add to this song. OR..instead of the same old zillion notes a second guitar break,,, mebe record a rok violinist for the guitar break. mebe a harp might be usefull as a sprinkle . or some special unusual softsynth sound that lifts the song. in summary a "sprinkle" is anything that makes the song more interesting. in summary try and build up a list of lots of different instruments or sounds u could use as sprinkles. ptw itself could help u build sprinkles. remember when i mentioned earlier that ive used ptw to create odd ball sprinkle sounds out of common household items by morphing useing ptw effects ?? these last 6 tracks tr's 35 to 40 is where u could experiment with these types of ideas.
in summary after all the major traking is completed. take a break and a rest, then come back to the song and listen with fresh ears. and write down all your ideas for sprinkles that might make the song sound better. i dont have every answer...but heres a weird tip. i find at this stage that listening to the song play back on tiny speakers seems to help form my next step sprinkle ideas. what i do is play the song and sit casually in another room... trying to put myself in the mind of a casual consumer listener. dont ask me why. but i find that this way i often hear lots of song or production flaws as well as any sprinkle ideas. honestly i cant explain why it seems to work. it just does. or i'll make a test mp3 of the song... (i'll cover mixdown etc later.) and put it on continuous play so...while im doing say a crossword in another room , i hear the flaws.
(more to come.)
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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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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."
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