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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I'm running BIAB 2021 (latest version) on a cheapo HP Pavilion Slimline 400 PC desktop and it works fine (also on low end HP laptop) - I really have no complaints. I mostly use it for making Mp3 backing tracks for solo gutar (country and jazz standards). I sometimes, but rarely output to Reaper - mostly just output as an Mp3 from BIAB and play them off my tablet or phone. While I have no complaints about the sound quality of the files I'm getting, I'm curious if there's a way to improve it via some sort of external sound card or module. I mostly use Real Tracks so a midi module doesn't really enter the picture (used to use one years ago). I assume the sound card on my PC is integrated into the motherboard and doubt there's even a slot for a better one. Not sure if there's any room for improvement - just thinking out loud. Any thoughts?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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While I have quite good audio equipment for audio production, I’m not sure you need anything more than what you have if your goal is only to play back MP3 or WAV files you make in BIAB. Laptops have decent enough sound chips because most people expect them to have good sound for playback of music. My older laptop sounds just fine for listening.
Now, if you are doing recording, that’s another matter. You could try a Presonus or Focusrite interface for not too much. The smaller ones are even bus-powered so you just power them by USB. My one experience with an HP desktop was that they stripped it down so much that there weren’t any slots, power, or even space inside for expansion. A USB interface like a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 would be the way to go.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The playback sound quality output from your motherboard sound card is likely as good as what you can achieve with an inexpensive external sound card. The weak link for your internal motherboard sound is the mechanical connection of the output jack. Over time it can become noisy and / or have an intermittent connection. External sound cards can be roughly divided into three groups, consumers, audiophiles and musicians. Consumer sound cards like +++ THESE +++ mostly duplicate the features of your motherboard sound card. You bypass your computer jacks so they can't mess up over time due to wear and tear. Audiophile hardware is typically divided in separate components like D/A convertor, preamp, amp and speakers. Musician hardware concentrates on the quality of the sound input, blending the computer output and input signals together so the sound from both is in sync. This +++ REVIEW +++ of the Focusrite 2i2 Generation 3 demonstrates the focus on overall sound quality. I believe most will advise you to get a music based audio interface. My advise is to get a consumer grade interface that replaces the computer jacks. That way when the output jack goes bad it is easily and cheaply replaced. For audio playback, that's really all you need. Note: Looks like Matt and I were typing at the same time.
Last edited by Jim Fogle; 07/13/22 12:55 PM. Reason: Clarify thoughts
Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Jim is right; there are few things I hate in audio equipment more than mini headphone jacks.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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FWIW, I use external sound modules because I find sometimes the PC audio outputs suffer from hum.
Provided that's not a problem, most modern PCs seem to have surprisingly good sound quality.
The sound quality from an external module may be a little better but for live playing I doubt it's of huge significance.
A module is also usually another box + plug-top + some cables to carry around, lose, break, whatever.
I think recording is almost always better through a module.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts
BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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if you are playing off your tablet or phone the sound quality is determined by that device. you may 'hear' a better sound from your laptop with an external card, but the music you create in BIAB stays in the digital realm all the time up to and including the transfer to mp3. so the mp3s will be of the same quality as the original biab files and only leave the digital realm and enter the world of audio when you play them.
so as long as you are not recording the end result will be as good as your phone or tablet - not limited by the soundcard on the laptop.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Jim is right; there are few things I hate in audio equipment more than mini headphone jacks. And I have to chime in here. A USB to Audio interface is the only way to get decent audio out of a computer. The headphone jack is prone to static and perhaps even a ground loop hum and, depending on the computer, might not even have full audio bandwidth. Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Been there, done that. Don't ever rely on the 3.5mm miniature jack for something important. It's no going to be your friend.
BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Jim is right; there are few things I hate in audio equipment more than mini headphone jacks. And I have to chime in here. A USB to Audio interface is the only way to get decent audio out of a computer. The headphone jack is prone to static and perhaps even a ground loop hum and, depending on the computer, might not even have full audio bandwidth. Notes ♫ I agree 100% with the sentiment and 90%+ with the whole. I 100% agree that mini-jacks are pretty awful. I implied that other outputs from a PC may be useful, but I think RCAs are as bad or worse. HDMI may be better as the connector generally mates solidly, but then you have to get from HDMI to something useful at the studio/stage end of the chain, and while one's paying for that, one might as well buy a USB to audio module. For a modest cost good audio output, a small USB to audio module is undoubtedly the way to go. I mostly (90%+) agree with the "USB to Audio" part, in particular I've been disappointed in the past by internal cards. That same hum problem again, and not always just from ground-loops, but sometimes picked-up noise just because they're inside the box with all that digital electronics. But other connections like Thunderbolt, the earlier Firewire and Ethernet are available and may well be appropriate. I think most or all of those are more expensive than USB, though. FWIW, I have four USB modules (including my mixer) and one Firewire module. They've all performed very well. The particular problem of earth-loop hum, is that a setup can work fine several times over, then somewhere you'll have a hard to track-down problem, because there's something different with the cabling. Someone's amp plugged in a different branch, someone else's new PC, different earthing in this venue and so on. External boxes seem to pretty much eliminate most of that. The mini-jack has one big advantage, though. It's already there and if/whilst it's working well, anything more may be an unnecessary cost. Caveat emptor.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts
BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Did you ever jostle a connection from a mini jack to a PA? Sounds like thunder. Bad form on a gig.
Beating a dead horse even further, it’s not even the right signal to send to a PA or powered speaker. The mini jack is after a volume control (a rheostat that can introduce noise of its own) and it makes the voltage vary. At full volume, it’s more than a line-out signal, so you have to back it off but there’s no way to know without measuring the signal if it’s about right.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Did you ever jostle a connection from a mini jack to a PA? Sounds like thunder. Bad form on a gig. Absolutely, and in comparison to the cost of one's instrument, mic(s), PA, cables and other ancillaries, a USB to audio module is small beer. If one's busking with a 10W mini-amp, not so much.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts
BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2021
Posts: 62
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Hello Skip Ellis,
my soundcard is not activated and I have no external one.
I'm using hdmi cable with a samsung soundbar to get 7.4.1 atmos sound.
With hdmi u don't use cheap soundcard dac's and u can connect any avr to get hifi.
Maybe that helps?
Last edited by Uwe Schwarz; 07/14/22 09:01 PM.
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User Video: Band-in-a-Box® + ChatGPT = Impressed the BOSS!
Band-in-a-Box User Video Tutorials!
If you've reviewed our Support page, you've probably noticed the Videos page, which separates our Band-in-a-Box® tutorial videos by category: Overview, VST DAW Plugin, Setup, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and there's even an Archive category to go down memory lane... (You'll also find these videos on our YouTube Channel.)
It's always great to hear how other Band-in-a-Box® users create their songs, especially when they explain in detail what they're doing. Like Henry Clarke's YouTube Channel, Henry Clarke - Senior Musicians Unite! There you'll find his ALL Band-in-a-Box Tutorials playlist with over 50 videos! His top-three most watched videos include "How to Get Started with Band-in-a-Box," "How I use the Audio Chord Wizard in Band-in-a-Box," and "How to Create An Effective Solo Using Band-in-a-Box" - however he touches on many other topics and also demonstrates his own Band-in-a-Box® songs in the Band-in-a-Box Created Songs playlist!
You're guaranteed to find some helpful videos when you visit Henry Clarke's channel!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Italian for Windows is Here!
Ci siamo dati da fare e abbiamo aggiunto oltre 50 nuove funzionalità e una straordinaria raccolta di nuovi contenuti, tra cui 222 RealTracks, nuovi RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 3, Playable RealDrums Set 2, due nuovi set di "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 e altro ancora!
Tutti Pacchetti | Nuove Caratteristiche
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 French for Windows is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 apporte plus de 50 fonctions nouvelles ainsi qu'une importante de contenus nouveaux à savoir : 222 RealTracks, des RealStyles nouveaux, des SuperTracks MIDI, des Etudes d'Instruments, des Prestations d'Artistes, des "Morceaux avec Choeurs", un Set 3 de Tracks Jouables, un Set 2 de RealDrums Jouables, deux nouveaux Sets de "RealDrums Stems", des Styles XPro PAK 6, des Xtra Styles PAK 17 et bien plus encore!
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Video: Making a Song with Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V
Take your Band-in-a-Box® project to a whole new level when you incorporate ChatGPT and Synth V to add lyrics and vocals to your song!
We wanted to demonstrate how this is done with our video, where we show you how to go from nothing to a finished "radio ready" modern pop song by combining the features of Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V!
Listen to the finished song, so you get a listen to the finished product: https://demos.pgmusic.com/misc/behindthefame.m4a
If you like it, watch the video. Either way, let's hear your comments!
Henry Clarke: Revolutionize Your Band-in-Box® Tracks with Regenerating Function
User Video: Convert MIDI Chords into AI Vocal Harmonies with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®
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