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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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What are your thoughts about Skype for making contact for music (or other) reasons? Any BIAB and Skype user from the Conroe, Texas or Huntsville, Texas area, please PM me.
Thanks,
cchallum
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2008
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I used it extensively during the making of my last album. I am in Australia, and the drummer and bass player(s) are all in the USA.,,actually from your neck of the woods...drummer in Dallas, one of the Bass players, Houston..the other Nashville.... In particular the drummer and I talked for maybe nearly an hour a day, every day, for a good six months...cost zero...8)... my website www.ozlandmusic.comhas the info of the making of that album, if anyone is interested... cheers Wiz
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I use Skype all the time. Not necessarily for music making, bu exchanging ideas. Mostly, I use Skype for live interviews on my Internet radio show.
And no, I'm really in your area.. Sorry.
Mike
Last edited by MikeK; 01/27/10 05:32 PM.
Cheers, Mike My Music * Asus ROG Strix G15CF 32 GB DDR4 4TB HDD + 1 TB SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB Win 11 AKAI EIE PRO Sound Interface. BIAB/RB 2024 UltraPak Build - Latest
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Wiz and MikeK,
Yes, I like what I see about Skype at the moment.....your insights are a positive for my further plans. I currently use it to keep in contact with my previous graduate students after they've graduated out of our program (and it has been awesome).
I look forward to hearing from others; of course, the price is right.....I'm also wondering who has used the land line capability (along with their thoughts about the associated monthly cost) and how pleased they are with that....and what hangups (no pun intended), if any, do they find from its usage.
cchallum
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 94
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Oh I once rang my friend, on skype, from australia ...to his mobile phone in houston...he was in an office building, I talked to him for 45 mins, as he went home....never dropped out once....going down the elevator, into the car park, then into the car phone holder....8)....it was amazing...
45 mins...and cost me 3cents australian a minute...so the whole call was like 1.25 or something...8)...insane.
and the quality, is better than when I call using a land line...
we use skype here in oz...for all our local and interstate calls...
cheers
Wiz
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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My wife's sister & her family lived & worked in Toronto for a year, and we would Skype them most weekends. Only problem was my mother-in-law came over every Sunday to see & talk to her grandkids.  Didn't cost much, except for the initial phone call to set up the time to call. The main problem was the time difference - 11am Sunday (Sydney) was 9.00pm Saturday night in Toronto, so at that stage the kids were tired & a bit ratty. A friend of mine (a muso) recently moved to the West Coast of Canada (near Vancouver) and he regularly Skypes his brother here in Sydney. It seems to work well.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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In addition what I've already said, I actually do Skype voice/video calls with my family in Germany. It's always good to see everyone and talk to them (for free, on top of that). Six hour time difference. So, when I have lunch, they are getting ready for dinner. LOL!
Mike
Cheers, Mike My Music * Asus ROG Strix G15CF 32 GB DDR4 4TB HDD + 1 TB SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB Win 11 AKAI EIE PRO Sound Interface. BIAB/RB 2024 UltraPak Build - Latest
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The skype landline subscriptions are the way to go. Not by the minute.
One year unlimited phone/video calls $60 for US/Canada .. skype to skype, of course, is always free.
The gubmint isn't liking skype, though, as they keep no records of IM's and skype-to-skype calls .. it is only stored on the users computers. Landline calls, of course, go thru the system..
Yahoo and MS, etc, keep records of IMs if needed for evidence etc
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Thanks for the responses about Skype....I recall attempting to communicate a few years ago in this manner by the Web (although it wasn't Skype I was using) but it was too slow (i.e., the audio was very choppy and the video experienced quite a bit of lag time...too much lag for me at the time). Skype is almost real-time for me (both audio and video plus the video is very good quality)....in fact, if I connect my laptop to my HD TV (which is piped into my stereo system speakers) I could just about jam with someone anywhere in the world and, with the quality of HD TVs with their huge screens, it would almost be like we were in the same room together (particularly, if they're also connected into a HD TV at their end as well...I'm just supposing here; I haven't actually done this).....i.e., I like what I've experienced with Skype at this point.
Speaking of connecting via a HD TV, one could easily pipe a band (via Skype) playing in one's living room (or wherever) to anyplace in the world that had a HD TV (at the receiving end connected to a nice speaker system) and I'm convinced it would almost be like being there live!!!
Has anyone tried another such communication product that might even be better than Skype for communicating over the Web? Just curious!!
Again thanks,
cchallum
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
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Over at Kara-Moon they have been experimenting with "ninjam" for jamming back and forth over the web.
It keeps track of the 'loop' being used so people hear the audio sync'd, although a few seconds later.
As far as jamming on skype, if you thought MME latency was bad ... well it would be a struggle, even though it seems in 'realtime'. However the HD TV concert idea is pretty inviting. That would be cool to broadcast a performance over skype.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Many music instructors nowadays offer VTC as an option for conducting lessons.
So, physical distance is no longer an obstacle.
I've used Skype a few times to talk with my kids but their overseas connection is not great and the sound drop-outs are a big pain.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Bandwidth ... gotta have plenty of both, down and upstream to make it a flawless experience. Never had a dropout, neither video nor audio.
Cheers, Mike My Music * Asus ROG Strix G15CF 32 GB DDR4 4TB HDD + 1 TB SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB Win 11 AKAI EIE PRO Sound Interface. BIAB/RB 2024 UltraPak Build - Latest
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I skype my brother on occasions, i just open iit and if his icon is green click call and there the old buzzard is.
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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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Skype doesn't seem to be eating a lot of bandwidth here. I host conference calls while streaming video and running a bunch of coding software .. all on a DSL connection. That is the one thing that really impresses me. It does need a *steady* connection though. If your internet connection is sporadic, or hiccups a bunch, it will drop calls. I know people with this issue, but I also know someone who travels around using it as the main communication system, and has had pretty good luck in most places.
South Florida can be sporadic, and some rural areas..
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I use Skype to help end users with computer issues and training. I use a free program called "Teamviewer" which lets me take over the other computer, move the mouse, open files, play BIAB, etc. I am able to talk with my client while helping them learn a program by showing them in real time how to do things inside the program. It works great and is much better then having them watch a DVD about the same process.
I just hope the gov doesn't start clamping down on this. It's too cool and free and something in the back of my mind is screaming, "The Goverment is Coming"!
Ed
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Beside using PC to PC communication via Skype, I also use Skype to call people on their mobiles or landlines who don't have a PC (i.e my 85 year-old mother). Most calls cost 2c/minute. (For some countries and Mobiles in UK for example, the per minute charge is higher.) But the rate is governed by the destination and NOT by your location. So if I call my neighbor in Canada, the rate is 2c/minute, even if I call him while I'm on holiday in Mexico or Jamaica, etc.
I have an account with Skype and I make a payment for $10 at a time. When the balance drops below $3, Skype automatically hits my credit card for another $10 (and immediately notifies me). That way, I never get cut off in the middle of a conversation.
The quality is always excellent, except if the WiFi signal is weak or high speed internet is lacking...
2008 Gibson ES-339 Custom & 2010 Les Paul Traditional. Fender SCXD Amp
BIAB/RB 2015 UltraPAK + Ketron SD2
Windows 7/64 Intel i5 3550 PC, Tascam USB144MKII
Behringer X1204 Mixer
Bose Companion 3 and/or L1 II w/T1 + SM58 MIC
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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A final couple questions:
1. Does anyone know of software that does similar things as Skype but that does it better?
2. I have a standard Logitech webcam that's about a $60 webcam; is there another that is impressive and should be looked into if one wanted the highest quality audio and video but that still permits near real-time video and audio (I have a DSL line with 356 Mps down and 256 Mps up and Skype does quite good on this setup)?
Thanks in advance,
cchallum
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I know people that have digital video cameras that allow hookup to the computer and use over skype, that might be an option too. I think recent versions of skype allow you to pick the video device.
Actually I had a nice conversation with Mac today, he was on cell phone and I was on skype!
I bought the one year subscription, as it was much cheaper for me than paying by the minute. We have a small network of people that use skype for communicating every day. We go through a lot of minutes.
The conferencing aspect is my favorite. I've been able to talk with Oren in BC Canada, and a band in Denmark at the same time when we were doing some work for them. It was a big help to be able to discuss things with them and hear them play play parts they wanted us to notice, etc.
It was much better then having them try to describe it!
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Quote:
Actually I had a nice conversation with Mac today, he was on cell phone and I was on skype!
Well, I was on landline and not the cell, but we did have a nice conversation and rharv sounded nice and clear and as realtime as it can be.
I didn't know he was Skypin'...
That's a clear connection.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I use an SM57 thru an ART TubePre into the laptop for Skype.. helps with the clarity compared to the laptop mic.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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