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RealBand
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 41
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OP
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 41 |
Hi to all,
First, a bit of context:
I'm a sax player (tenor and alto), 30 years' worth; been using Biab for about 5 years and RB for 8 months. I'm in the middle of my first recording project (no previous experience with other music software, MIDI or audio). I can do some basic recording and mixing but there's still enormous amounts for me to learn.
My current puzzle (and there have been many) is about how to EQ MIDI tracks independently: I can't figure out how to route individual tracks in order to treat them with desired effects - in this case, making the piano a little brighter.
Any tips/help/references to appropriate sections of the RB manual would be greatly appreciated.
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RealBand
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,808
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First start with a superior synth to reproduce the midi better. You should never polish a turd. A bad sounding synth will remain so for the most part. Next try placing a multiband EQ on the FX bin for the track place a spectrum anaylizer in the second slot something like Span http://www.voxengo.com/product/span/ and take a look at offending freqs and ones that are diminsihed. make the adjustments in the EQ and then bounce or render that track to a wave track and it is locked in. This has worked well for me. I also will take the same effects and give the master output a last look and try to even out the frequencies.
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB/RB 2026, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 11 , Presonus Audiobox USB96
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RealBand
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Joined: May 2000
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T get the FX to affect only one track (instead of all tracks running off the synth) you need to initiate another instance of the synth for the track you want add the FX too.
If you are using 'reroute all MIDI to DXi' you go to the tracks DXi area and open another instance of the synth.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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RealBand
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 41
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 41 |
Many thanks to both of you - Robh and rharv - for your prompt replies, the first being food for further thought and possibly action down the track a bit and the second being pertinent to my immediate problem. It'll all have to wait till tomorrow, however, 'cos it's very, very late now in Melbourne, Australia.
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RealBand
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,913
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Joined: Jan 2002
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Clinton: What synth are you using for the various tracks? As rharv points out, you need to use a unique instance of the synth on each track (and I would assign unique midi channels to them as well) where you have a MIDI part.
Also, as robh points out, as soon as you are happy with a midi track, record it's output to a stereo .wav track and use that .wav track as where you apply effects. Turn off the corresponding midi track, of course.
Also, as a mixing tip: If you have lots of instrumentation going on including the piano, sometimes it's best to subtract out the low frequencies of the piano rather than to try to add to mids/highs for the piano. Apply a little panning to that track and that might be just the trick to get it to stand out in the mix.
The problem with an 'all hands on deck' piano part, when mixed with a band, is that the piano covers frequency content across most of the spectrum that the rest of the band is playing in. Let each part do it's part. Acoustic guitars are also guilty of this; sometimes the best thing to do is simply cut the lows on an acoustic track that's in a mix and voila, it becomes 'brighter' without boosting anything. The mud gets removed from the mix.
-Scott
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RealBand
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 41
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 41 |
Scott (or is it rockstar_not - I'm not familiar with forum etiquette),
Your mixing tip re backing off the lows makes good sense and it is not something that had occurred to me thus far - thankyou.
As to your question, my synth is the plug-in version of the one that gets bundled with Biab: VSC DXi. It seemed (and still seems) sensible to follow the path of least resistance with regard to technical stuff I know little or nothing about, and the sounds of the basic rhythm section instruments are OK for my present purposes.
Which is not to say that I intend to remain technically ignorant and unaware of alternatives, more a question of first things first. Suggestions and pointers-in-the-right-direction are welcome.
Language like "a unique instance of the synth" is a bit daunting to me but rharv's correct assumption about using 'reroute all MIDI to DXi' and directions about where to look (thanks again rharv) got me over the line, and the job got done.
Curious though, now that I can apply effects to MIDI output, why would I be wanting to convert to WAV and treating the resulting audio track instead? I'm thinking that keeping things flexible for as long as possible is, generally speaking, a good thing.
As for distinct channels for each MIDI track, I'm in the habit of doing that on account of having had a really terrible time with MIDI channels left set to 0 when I first started with RB. All sorts of unpredictable and wildly frustrating behaviour was going on which diminished greatly when I decided on "every track different, NO zero". Is this typical, or possibly just to do with the particular way I was going about things?
Clinton
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RealBand
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,629
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,629 |
You asked "Curious though, now that I can apply effects to MIDI output, why would I be wanting to convert to WAV and treating the resulting audio track instead? "
Using too many 'unique instances' of synths will eventually put quite a load on the system.
Every time you use a unique instance you are literally running another synthesizer inside your computer.
Just be aware of how many you have running, and if you do start to get glitches, converting these to audio will lessen the load a little for the system.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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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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Holiday Weekend Hours
It's Victoria Day Long Weekend in Canada. Our Customer Service hours are:
Saturday, May 16: Closed
Sunday, May 17: Closed
Monday, May 18: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Regular hours resume Tuesday, May 19th!
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Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
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Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
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- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
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- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
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