PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows The Wes version of Django in a Box

Hello I'd like to know please if any of you have tried the transcriptions of Wes'solos that are available from the Django I A B.

I'm still a bit fuzzy on how BiAB is implimented to make the information available. Does it run smoothly, I think some of the tracks are actual recordings of Wes tunes that you play along with. Is that accurate? They'd have a lot of publishing hoops to navigate unless I'm missing something. The more I learn the more I'm swept away by Wes' playing. No Blues comes to mind first.

Does anyone know if it's included in the transcriptions and do they include the comping during Winton's solo?

I does not seem very expensive I'm just worried I might be missing something about the product.

Thanks for your time.

Ron

Yep, the website is anything but clear or cleanly explanatory as to which product(s) does what.

But the EASIEST way to figure out "what's what" or different between the HDR versus the TBR (or HWR and TR) is to simply download ALL the DEMOS and then you can figure out the "what is what" (for Django products HDR and TBRs or in Wes's case HWR and TR's).


The other product(s) he has fro sale are simply VIDEO captures of BIAB playing the lead sheet and the guitar fret board for that lead/melody.

As far as buying, let your conscience be your guide. To this day it is NOT clear if he as the rights, has paid the fees, or has permission from the owners (whoever they are) to sell these products as they exist.

Django (DIaB) songs/files and this applies to the Wes Montgomery files as well (as far as I can tell):

1. The TBR files (in Wes's case the "TR" files) are SONGS (mgu's) that have all the chords and melody but strictly as MIDI only. There are no MP3 audio files (but eh songs do load up RT's for rhythm and bass - usually). Melody is always, and obviously, MIDI only. IMO you really need to have a good GJ guitar sample/patch for lead or a good nylon string sample/patch because (MOST) steel string patches don’t sound like "right" or like a GJ guitar or "Django. Because MOST, not all, steel string samples/patches are usually trying to replicate a Martin, Taylor, etc. or bluegrass, folk "sounds" - NOT "that" unique GJ guitar sound, which, yes comes from the GJ player's technique and hands not necessarily the instrument. Hence, these DIAB TBR products are cheaper to buy because there are no audio files provides

2. The HDR files (again in Wes's case they are called HWR files) or "songs" - you get a BIAB .mgu, and BIAB .bt1 (BIAB file needed for the audio portion) and an MP3 that gets loaded, and turned into a .wav by BIAB, when you first load and play a particular Django .mgu (song).

The MP3 does it contain the entire original Django recording for a given Django song for a given year or "take." You ONLY get the part where he solo's and if part of that particular melody line is played by chording, by Django, you get that "solo" piece as well. I assume this is the case for Wes Montgomery files as well- I don't know with certainty in Wes's case.

The MP3, if played by itself in an MP3 player, is as long as the song so itself so it may contain a lot of "silence" at beginning, middle or end - depending.

Like the TBR, the HDR .MGU's have chords and melody throughout. If you silence the BIAB AUDIO track/"part" then all you get is MIDI (or MIDI + RT's if you, or the song, loads them for bass and rhythm etc.) to include the entire LEAD and MELODY lines that Django is (would be) playing at that time in the silenced audio.

So you can see and hear the notes as Django is playing them and as transcribed to MIDI - again the transcription is pretty accurate.

If you actually load a patch for the MIDI part of the guitar lead so you can hear melody up until the bar(s) where Django solos it will play "right along" with Django in-time (you need to have very low latency ASIO going - or you get not so nice "doubling") from this you can hear that the MIDI (including bends) is pretty accurate.


EDIT- cleaned up some obvious grammar and spelling errors ( I swear I get my "lysdexic" every day)

Good Luck
Larry