PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Beginners Forum How do I add vocals to imported WAV instrumental? [Resolved]

I loaded a friend's instrumental WAV file into BIAB and it appears and plays as AUDIO. How can I now add my vocals as the AUDIO track is being used?

Regardless of the version or OS your BIAB happens to be, you have to convert the audio residing on the Audio Channel to A Performance Track and move it to any other BIAB Mixer Channel. For instance, if the style that's loaded for your song doesn't have an instrument loaded on the Strings, Melody or Soloist tracks and you don't plan to add tracks to any of them, move the Audio to one of those tracks - Example Move the audio to the Melody Track.
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To move Audio to another BIAB Mixer Channel:
At the top of the Chord Sheet on the Main Page, select Audio and from the Pull Down Menu select Move Audio to Performance Track. Note: You'll be prompted to save your project before any track can be converted to a Performance Track. In Windows version, the other tracks besides the Audio Channel can access this command from the individual channels drop down menu when you right click onto the channel and select Track Actions.

If you have a 2021 Windows or Mac version of BIAB, you can also move Audio to one of the 16 new Utility Tracks or you can record Audio directly onto any of the Utility Tracks.
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To record audio onto the Audio Channel once the existing audio has been moved to another track, select the Record Audio Button located in the Transport Tool Bar on the Main Page.
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As an FYI, you wouldn't likely want to do this, but in the "Record Audio" menu page, if the 'Overdub underlying audio' box is checked, you can record new audio that's merged with any existing audio that's already residing on the Audio Channel.

as usual, Charlie is the BIAB wizard but as usual I'm going to tell you to use RealBand.

open RB. open the wav file and it will load on track 1. select track 2, right click to change to audio mono (vocals from a single mic are mono) and you are ready to go.

click on the fx button when you've recorded your track and yo can add fx like reverb easily and simply. open the mixer and you can set the volume of instrumental and vocal easily and simply.

by all means get to know BIAB but RB is so much simpler and more transparent. and you still get all the RealTracks and styles from BIAB to add extra tracks.

I wonder how many beginners never open RB and find how much easier it is to things that in BIAB needs complicated processes

<< as usual, Charlie is the BIAB wizard but as usual I'm going to tell you to use RealBand. >>

As usual??? OK. The posters post indicates the audio is already imported and loaded onto the Audio Channel in BIAB and the question is how to move forward to add vocals to that imported WAV instrumental.

Isn't it the best "usual" response to directly answer the actual question? Wouldn't you suggest a beginner's first posted question answered by a wizard should be taken and is likely spot on?

My post addressed the poster's exact query without making any assumptions to their knowledge base of BIAB/RB products or versions. No assumptions to if it's a PC or Mac/ what audio interface, mic or other extraneous information necessary to record. My post provides the simple process to move the audio to another track so additional audio can be recorded.

Complicated is assuming the poster uses Windows version of BIAB and even has RealBand. RealBand can not be considered an answer unless the OP has that specific software. My post starts with "Regardless of the version your BIAB happens to be or OS...".

I wonder how many experts never open BIAB and find how much faster and easier having access to ALL of BIAB's features it is to things when editing in BIAB than it is in RealBand and every other complicated DAW software?

<< ...how much easier it is to things that in BIAB needs complicated processes >>

I'm not sure why you challenge a better answer than what you gave but I'll bite today..... Please explain what you find so complicated about moving an audio track to another channel in BIAB and what is different and complicated about recording audio in BIAB?

my apologies Charlie, 'the BIAB wizard' was intended to be a compliment. i realize everyone has different workflows and that BIAB is tremendously powerful and that your expertise is of great value in the forums.

my point was that as soon as you open a wav file in RB you are ready to go - everything you need is there in front of you. and i personally find RB quicker and easier to use in many situations. if the OP wanted full BIAB functionality that's a different matter but all they asked about was adding a vocal track to a wav file and opening the file again in RB didn't seem to waste any effort already expended.

let's hope the OP follows your example in learning how powerful BIAB is, but if they never open RB i think they are missing how well the two programs work together.

sorry if you thought i was being disrespectful.

Yep... use a DAW. Easiest way to work with audio no matter how many tracks you need.

Oh no Bob, I was not offended or put off by your remarks. Sorry for the misunderstanding because I was a bit excited to hopefully engage you and others because I reached the same conclusion as you; That the task is simple. Only adding a vocal track to a WAV file. You, Herb and others automatically take this task to RealBand or another DAW and I would encourage them to do it in BIAB. You guys say it's easier to do even basic editing in a DAW but you don't say why. You say BIAB is convoluted and complicated. I don't find it to be and it would be good to know your experiences.

Obviously a DAW is more advanced than BIAB audio and there's many cases a DAW is the right tool for a particular project. But I'll offer the reasoning that the advanced features of RB and third party DAWs are overkill for many types of BIAB projects and that remaining within the BIAB program is a better, more efficient, faster and productive workflow than what I believe is unnecessarily rendering and exporting individual tracks from BIAB to RB or another DAW.

Some examples where BIAB is the better option are:
. BIAB Beginners. I'm unaware of any BIAB technique that's more complicated than the process used by many users of creating tracks in BIAB, saving and opening the project in RB to audition and add additional tracks and then exporting that to yet a third DAW for more processing. Even starting in BIAB and exporting individual tracks for basic editing, comping, cross fading, gain staging, fade ins, fade outs, transitions and adding and building additional tracks is needless. All of these tasks can be done in BIAB and all a beginner has to learn is where these techniques are located and how to activate them. Most are done by making selections or checking a box in a drop down menu. That's far easier than learning basic BIAB plus learning another software. BIAB has two Audio Editors and they are very robust and easy to understand and use tools.
. To users that purchase the lower priced packages. Doing tasks in BIAB gives them more bang on the dollar and offsets some of what they lose by not having huge quantities of RealTracks and other content. Even though they have less content, knowing these processes exist and the techniques to use them allows them to create more complex arrangements and make the best use of the BIAB content they have.
. Any basic audio editing. Cut/paste, normalize, trim intros and endings, fade ins and fade outs etc...
. Users that create backing accompaniment tracks. It's easy to create more advanced and complex arrangements and enhance styles with additional instruments, add soloists and add imported audio all within BIAB and have instant feedback to changes in an arrangement plus instantly undo changes, correct poor chord phrasing which are tasks that are quick and seamless to complete in BIAB many times in less time than it takes to render and export tracks or to save a project and have it open and create tracks in RB.
. Songwriting and developing song ideas. It's great as inspiration strikes to test if an particular instrument will work in a song or hear harmonies you create on the fly and get instant feedback and also have instant undo, instant regeneration, fast BIAB style changes and regenerations. Again, BIAB can create and generate songs that are a lot more advanced and complex than just what one gets by selecting a style, inputting chords and hitting play. Even if a song project is moved at some point to a DAW for further processing it makes sense to create a demo in BIAB that may contain a dozen or more tracks and a dozen or more instruments to 'hear' how a production will sound before committing to exporting tracks. It can also save time and is non-intrusive to breaking up the creative thought process.

These are advantages created just from the Audio Channel and Audio Editor in BIAB. A user can expand their productivity and inspirational arranging exponentially from here by learning how to employ or create MultiStyles and use the RealTrack Medly Maker.

A properly constructed song completed using these tools and techniques in BIAB will be indistinguishable from one using similar tools in a DAW. That said, even songs that are intended for more professional use or commercial release will certainly fare better with the advanced features offered by post processing with a DAW but the basic pre-production and developing songs can be done in BIAB without sacrificing or interrupting the inspirational workflow.

For simple stuff, I disagree. It's a total waste of time to open up RB or Sonar to cut/paste to correct 3 bad chords or to trim an intro or ending. Or waste time using a DAW to fix an abrupt intro or ending of a soloist at the beginning or end of an instrumental piece or to a riff throughout the song. These type tasks can be completed in BIAB before you can even open the DAW and get the asio working...

I agree with you Charlie, that's exactly why we added editing features and Utility Tracks to Band-in-a-Box. That said, for those who are more comfortable with a DAW workflow, that's probably the best way to go.