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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 37
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 37 |
Hi...
I have been enjoying using Band-in-a-Box immensely. Thanks to all who've made it such fun. But I seem to have reached a sort of transition point. I have CDs with instrumental versions of my songs but people listen and say "That's great but where are the vocals?" And you know, I've been scared to ask this question, 'cause I'm a French lit. graduate and I know someone's going to say "You gotta get a Hasseldorf multiport phonic recorder with J78 overdrive reciprocal adapting sequencer" or something of the sort. But I guess I can't put this off any longer. I have to know how to put vocals on my songs without somehow getting lost in the technology woods. Coward that I am, I thought maybe I could just take my Band-in-a-Box instrumentals minus melody line to a commercial studio and sing along or hire a singer to sing along. But that's not taking the bull by the horns. So if anyone can recommend a simpleton's way forward, hey, you have all my gratitude...
Long live the music,
Chris
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333 |
When the audio track was first added they used the cheapest mic you could get.
If you use the Vsc Dxi synth, all you need to do is to plug in a mic to the mic in port and test it. There is a record audio button. You should load a song you know, save it as singtest then cut out all but the first 10 singable bars save it again, and press the record button. Make sure the meter shows input, you might have to tinker with that in windows to ensure the microphone slider is all the way up and that u are just using the soundard's mic. Sing along. Then look at all you can do, boost volume, add reverb, auto harmonies, etc.
Nothing hard about it really. Use headphones so you don't get the audio from the program bleeding into your mic.
When you decide to take the plunge the best thing is to get a small mixer for 60 bucks or so, and use some good headphones a nice mic and off you go.
Then you get GAS or Gear Acquisition Syndrome, and buy an Audix Mic, a vocal harmonizer with the bells and whistles, 500 dollar earphones, ...just kidding, sort of.
Actually I thought I couldn't sing at all, and now that I have the Bose, the audix mic, the Bose mixer I figure I'm a bass baritone Frank Sinatra...in my delusional state. Where's my pills?
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 37
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 37 |
Thanks for your time, John. If I could press a button to deposit a bottle of cognac on your doorstep, you'd have it. I might have extra questions for this forum later but you've shone a bright light on the path for me.
Chris
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992
Expert
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Expert
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992 |
chris..
i gotta say several things mate..
1. a persons biggest enemy can be lack of confidence.,
so take the attitude i can do this.
so what if your worried bout criticism..have confidence.
also understand this is supposed to be FUN !!
there will ALWAYS be folks that criticise no matter how good the vocallist.
my attitude is i do my best with vocs and if i fail n get arrows
in my back i accept it and move on and try better on the next song.
but i learnt decades ago if i worry constantly bout critique..
i would never get a song done. worry can kill creativity etc etc.
2. just go at it gradually developing vocal technique.
and play to your vocal strengths.
look at neil young...or leonard cohen...both good examples
of people with therir own vocal style WHO DO THEIR OWN THING/style of vocs.
can leonard sing like a mezzo soprano ??..nope.
but he has his own lower register style.
the key to it all is working round ones weaknesses and developing ones vocal style.
and playing to voc strengths.
3. use something like realband where you have lots of traks you can experiment with
lots of vocal takes mate. experiment lots with comping together the best vocal takes.
over time youll thus start to realise what works and what doesnt.
what do you have in the way of gear ??
any mics ?? mic pres ?? sound device ??
if you have no gear , to save me lots of typing read my tips in the tips n triks section as to el cheapo gear
n recording with no money.
for example you could get a cheapo dynamic mic for 50 buks into a cheap sound interface that has a mic pre built in.
but above all HAVE FUN AND DO IT WITH CONFIDENCE.
sure youll fail..EVEN THE BEST FAIL sometimes.
if a voc part dont work belting it out..try softer or whispery n see if that
works and vice versa.
the key to the whole thing is to work around ones voc weaknesses
AND JUST GET IT ON AND DO IT.
i wish you every success mate n god bless.
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992
Expert
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Expert
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992 |
chris..
forgot to add.
the hardest thing is the first vocal trak cos one has no voc reference.
so lay down a scratch trak and then sing against it.
often i find my vocs turn out better this way mate.
in any song try double tracking the vocals.
this can realise a denser vocal result.
anothe trik is to put one vocal in level down from the main lead vocal
n put a bit of echo/chorus on it.
read up on google various triks for produceing vocs.
theres lots of em. and the term VOCAL CONDITIONING.
all the best.
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 37
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 37 |
Thanks for all that. I hear your passion and humanity and generosity clearly. Actually I'm not afraid to sing as such. It's the technical stuff that had me apprehensive, and John C. gave me good advice on that. Nonetheless your tips are very welcome and I've copied them for a future reminder. I reciprocate your good wishes and hope you are succeeding in whatever you are busy at.
Chris
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900 |
You don't need anything fancy at all to get the vocals down, if you have the backing trax already. All you need is a mic and Audacity (it's FREE). Well, that deals with the basics. Of course, the more you want, the more you need...
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 928
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 928 |
Quote:
Thanks for all that. I hear your passion and humanity and generosity clearly. Actually I'm not afraid to sing as such. It's the technical stuff that had me apprehensive,
Yeah, I thought from your first post that that was what you were asking about.
As mentioned above, get something to record into, like Audacity ... a great free program.
I happen to use Mixcraft Acoustica:
http://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/
Don't forget, that BiaB also comes with a sequencer included - Real Band.
The only other thing you need is a microphone.
The MXL 990 plugs directly into your USB port:
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pro...WELAID=26021004
You're all set.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333 |
At the simplest there is an audio track in Band in a Box. For a beginner it's easier to pull off. Just remember that if your song is abc.mgu the abc.wav file in the same directory is just the audio. You can then render the whole thing from there.
I'd suggest that for starters. Lots of level of complication are available, exporting to RealBand or some DAW. But to start with put the song in your key and do a verse. Watch the sound button, the wave form. Use the Audio option to kill it and redo it. Get it close, add some reverb. After a few tries you can try the TC helicon harmonies to suit your voice. Don't stick in a lead in for 6 bars or the preview is cumbersome. Honesty, Band in a Box ships with Folksongs in a folder,go the the Children's folder and do something like She's coming round the mountain. Muck with the style. Put the song in a special directory C:\users\you\mysongs . That keeps things in order when you look in there.
Later you can go into Audacity. Pay attention to mono or stereo.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!
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Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2025!
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This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
Check out all the 202 New RealTracks (in sets 456-467)
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
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This Free Bonus PAK includes:
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-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
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-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
- Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
- Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
- Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
- Playable RealTracks Set 4
- RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
- SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
- 128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
- Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
- Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
- RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
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New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
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Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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