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I have found this forum very useful for nuts and bolts of learning BIAB and Real Band. I joined the BIAB yahoo group and it seems like I can find some already done cover tunes there (some pretty good some not so much) I realize this being a PG Music supported forum the use of cover music is not acceptable....just from my perspective I would think that is the primary use of BIAB....maybe I'm wrong. Are there any other sites that any of you know of where people share and help work on backing tracks? I know there are a lot of commercial entities that create backing tracks but I only use them as a last resort.
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In the USA at least, the problem with copying cover tunes is primarily the melody, and secondarily the harmony and 'hits' that make the song recognizable. The demos by PG Music are often the same chord progression as a known song (in fact, it's a fun challenge to guess which song) but they contain a completely different melody and no 'hits'. Chord progressions are not copyright-able, so if you write your own melody to fit, that can be posted here. Just avoid using anything that would be clearly recognized as "oh, that's such and such a song". This includes but is not limited to key, tempo, hits, melody, harmony, title, etc. to be safest.
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As a quick example I did a Zac Brown tune that if you know it then it would be recognizable but it has none of the signature licks that I would add in live performance. It took a while using the ACW and picking proper style and instruments but once I figured out that the drums were Nashville2beat it fell together pretty quickly. I would gladly share it for anyone interested and then could possibly get feedback if I missed something.
Thanks for the links
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Yeah checking out the links and they have a lot of the same songs as I found on the yahoo group. The guitarband guy has some pretty cool ones that are already converted to mp3 so you couldn't change key or tempo easily. He had a limited number of .sgu files. The other links had a lot of songs but pretty much really old or ones I didn't recognize. I am starting to realize that people must work on these on their own for the most part. I'm starting to get some really pretty good results on my own.......just every now and then I get totally baffled. ...especially with ACW.
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Have you tried loading midi cover songs into RB and change tracks to RT/RD and VSTi.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I have done several midi tunes in Sonar using Sampletank and Jamstix. The problem with a lot of the midi tunes is they sometimes are a little too precise. I think if you have too much going on it starts sounding too karaoke. Because I have a guitar synth I can cover a lot of the signature stuff and my fiance plays keyboards so we can cover a lot of territory just using BIAB basic instrumentation.
I haven't found the need yet to pull them into RB yet. I have tried RB a couple of times and am still climbing the learning curve on it. So far ACW has been one of the coolest tools that I didn't even know existed.
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SolidRock:
thanks for the links, very helpful.
DE
Win 10, 64 bit, love my Lenovo T420, BIAB 2019 (613), RB 2019 (2)
Short term memory is getting shorter.
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Realband > Open > midi just mute the midi tracks you don't want, select an empty track below the midi tracks and > Generate > realtracks/drums You can also highlight any bars in a blank track > Generate > MultiRiff 
Last edited by solidrock; 10/31/15 02:54 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Thanks for that. I'll give it a try. There are a lot of midi versions out there. It should make it easy because I don't want an exact replica of the song. I'm happy with decent drums, bass, and rhythm guitar.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Following the links in this post (solidrock) I trie the guitarband.com and being impressed with a lot of the titles, I went ahead and paid my $25 (£16) and purchased the SGU collection.
And have to say I am disappointed with the quality therein and the reasons being,...
There a lot of duplicates
Some are unfinished to the extent that only the initial chord is inserted
Some, if not most, are unrecogniseable, despite the fact that they are intended to be used with a live guitar player.
I will only be able to use these as "work in progress" files to improve on at a later date.
I realise this is only my opinion, but I thought I should air it here.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I write aftermarket styles for BiaB and that has taught me a lot about the program, it's uses, it's strong points and it's weak points. I love BiaB and think there is a touch of genius in the minds of the developers. However, styles tend to be a little more generic that what is required for cover versions. And there is a good reason for that. At the request of one of my customers, I did a style for Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel." It has a signature guitar lick that is very identifiable. The style turned out well, but the problem was that every other song I tried that style out on sounded like "Don't Be Cruel". But I also play in a duo http://www.s-cats.com and we've been working the same area since 1985. I make my own backing tracks, often cover tracks, sometimes our own arrangements and BiaB is a big part of that. And to last that many years in a competitive market, we must be doing something right. I use MIDI styles, export to a sequencer like Power Tracks Pro, and then add the signature kicks and licks in the sequencer. MIDI allows me to match the comp instruments to the kicks and licks instruments because they are the same synth patch. MIDI also allows me to combine different styles and change the instrument sounds so that there is continuity throughout the song. MIDI also allows me to change the dynamics of the song to be a live performance balance instead of a recording balance, and there is a difference. For example, boosting the snare drum on the 2's and 4's, increasing the crash cymbals, and a few other things like that, add the punch in a live performance that the Real Tracks and even the Karaoke tracks you get from other vendors don't give you. There are other tricks with the bass, horn stabs, and so on. Your ears will tell you. That extra crack of the snare drum will sound out of balance on a recording, but live it sounds dead without it. (I also might mix a little high timbale on some of the snare hits to get the crack of the drum shell.) True, MIDI tracks don't have the same tone as the Real Tracks, but IMHO with good MIDI sound modules, they can sound up to 99% as good, and with hundreds of times more editing power, you can actually make the MIDI track sound better for live performance than the Real Tracks. Of course, that depends on your MIDI synth(s), your skills, and your ears. It's more work, but if you are lucky enough to be able to play that song hundreds of times in front of an audience, it's worth it. And here is something I learned, the audience doesn't care if the tone isn't quite right, they respond to the expression more than the tone. I've been asked "How do you make backing tracks that sound better than karaoke tracks?" so many times that I wrote a web page about it. http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.html Check it out, take what you like, and leave the rest. Now don't get me wrong, I like the Real Tracks too, but each method is good for different uses. If I were to write a songwriting demo to send to Nashville or LA, I'd probably use mostly Real Tracks or a predominantly Real Track mix. You can use a crescent wrench as a hammer, but a hammer works much better. Insights and incites by Notes
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Journeyman
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And have to say I am disappointed with the quality therein and the reasons being,...
There a lot of duplicates
Some are unfinished to the extent that only the initial chord is inserted
Some, if not most, are unrecogniseable, despite the fact that they are intended to be used with a live guitar player.
What - a backing track that has only one chord? In my experience the cover backing tracks that can be downloaded are mostly pretty bad and you can do a lot better by inputting the chords yourself. I also find that you can get quite close to the cover sound using the thousands of PG and other midi styles especially substituting RT styles and tracks. I think it is most important to imitate the original performers overall style rather than the individual cover sound. I guess it depends on how much of a perfectionist you need to be. Tony
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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And have to say I am disappointed with the quality therein and the reasons being,...
There a lot of duplicates
Some are unfinished to the extent that only the initial chord is inserted
Some, if not most, are unrecogniseable, despite the fact that they are intended to be used with a live guitar player.
What - a backing track that has only one chord? In my experience the cover backing tracks that can be downloaded are mostly pretty bad and you can do a lot better by inputting the chords yourself. I also find that you can get quite close to the cover sound using the thousands of PG and other midi styles especially substituting RT styles and tracks. I think it is most important to imitate the original performers overall style rather than the individual cover sound. I guess it depends on how much of a perfectionist you need to be. Tony Exactly my feeling. There aren't many covers that can't be approximated in BIAB/RB. I did a version of Nights In White Satin that is incredible. Of course, nobody wants to hear it!  Regards, Bob
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What - a backing track that has only one chord?
Tony
It must be the song Land of 1000 Dances!
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64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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What - a backing track that has only one chord?
Tony
It must be the song Land of 1000 Dances! Or "Born In The USA"
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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If nothing else, I can use the chords already input, with the exception of those with one chord of course, and tweek them so they sound half decent.
Never mind, you live and learn.
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I used RB and pulled in a midi file.......worked great only issue is when it did the chord chart it pulled it from the honky tonk piano so the chords were all over the place. When I tried to use a guitar real track using the chord chart it sounded way too complicated. I had to simplify the chords and this seemed to calm down the guitar. When I used ACW with the original song it got the chords closer than the midi file I used. So I guess the jury is still out on which way works the best.....I guess it depends on the midi file. Thanks again for all the advice I am really starting to get some great backing tracks.
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Yes it can be a pain, even a single midi track with held chords that was generate in RB to some chords when you open it in RB it detects different chords. You can right click on the Chord Window > Custom Midi Chord Wizard: 
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Hi PEdwards2932 Just wondering what sort of backing tracks you are doing? I've been putting together backing tracks for my guitar playing and singing using BIAB. I'm only using them on streetjelly.com at the moment and I don't try to follow the originals too closely. Following comments on this forum, I've simplified mine a lot and I must admit that I'm starting to take far more notice of what songs I choose to play now than I did before. My favourites are going and I'm replacing them with classic crowd pleasers and 2010 - 2015 songs... That's been the hardest lesson for me to learn so far. I find my vocal effects unit has taken a lot of the complexity out of the newer songs. Hardtune, harmony, delays etc are just a button press away. What's been your experience so far. Playing to the discipline of backing tracks has certainly improved my playing and performance. 
Last edited by lambada; 11/02/15 06:27 PM.
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