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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I have been wondering, is the thing that drives the audio snippets biab now uses in real tracks, still midi? If so what is being done to control the slop that used to be a problem with midi tracks years ago. The reason many people liked motu interfaces back then is that they began to control this sloppy timing.
When you erase the midi track in the real tracks dialog does it have any bearing on the real tracks? Listening to the guitar and piano interact in the jazzwes real style made me start wondering if I need my ears examined or if the timing is drifting. They seem to swap places in creating a flam type execution of comming down on a beat in some places in the track on the tune Wes Groove. It doesn't exactly sound wrong . It's just something I'd like to get other opinion of.
Ron
`15 Audiophile, Toshiba17", 3Mhz, 4gig ram, 500gig HD, Win7, Tascam 122mkII interface, Tascam 16 track 8 buss recording mixer, 2 Avalon747sps,CAD VX2 mic, AKG C1000s, mac and Digital Performer.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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MIDI resolution increased as processor speed did, if that is your question. A resolution of 120 ticks at 120 BPM means about 4 ms is as accurate as you can get.
Change that to resolution of 1920 and accuracy becomes .26 ms Quite a bit more accurate!
Now we have resolutions twice that accurate available.
As for how this affects realtracks; my guess is they get chopped up no more than the number of possible chord changes, so what may appear as 'flam' could simply be the human performances. Remember, most of these tracks were recorded in separate sessions, not as a group playing together. When I get to that point of desired accuracy I go to Realband where you can slide the audio about in pretty exacting resolutions.
Just my thoughts.
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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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Quote:
I have been wondering, is the thing that drives the audio snippets biab now uses in real tracks, still midi?
I don't think the algorithm that drives RT phrase selection has anything to do with MIDI.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The ultimate test is to take 10 people and run through 3 popular songs. Then ask them.
Most people have no idea how it's supposed to sound. The day the program sounds exactly like the Oscar Peterson Trio and you cannot tell the difference will be an odd day indeed.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Newbie
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Quote:
MIDI resolution increased as processor speed did, if that is your question. A resolution of 120 ticks at 120 BPM means about 4 ms is as accurate as you can get.
Change that to resolution of 1920 and accuracy becomes .26 ms Quite a bit more accurate!
Now we have resolutions twice that accurate available.
As for how this affects realtracks; my guess is they get chopped up no more than the number of possible chord changes, so what may appear as 'flam' could simply be the human performances. Remember, most of these tracks were recorded in separate sessions, not as a group playing together. When I get to that point of desired accuracy I go to Realband where you can slide the audio about in pretty exacting resolutions.
Just my thoughts.
I'd like to add that this is just theoretically true with precise MIDI timing.
In reality there are other weird obstacles to keep audio and MIDI in tight sync. The audio itself is sent to the DA-converters in buffers. Say you had a buffer setting of 44100 samples, then audio would be 1 second behind real time (at 44.1 kHz sampling frequency). Real buffers are smaller, though. The smaller the better. BUT: Small buffers eat processor time. So we have to find a good compromise depending on the own CPU, motherboard and such. This is called "latency". And it is in the order of couple of ms. This obviously doesnt make life easier for programmers of music software.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I doubt that what is bothering you about this one style has anything to do with MIDI timing.
**Do you hear the same thing happening consistently in *other* styles - all the time?
Verbal descriptions of audio events, especially music events, cannot really do justice such that someone else can know exactly what your problem is all about.
Therefore, if you can make an mp3 example of what you hear, store it somewhere on the web where it can be accessed and place a link to it here, people could listen to the example and compare that to what the same style file is doing at their end, much better way to find out if this is an anomaly that is happening with just your setup or perhaps it is indeed experienced by all.
--MAC
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Quote:
Quote:
I have been wondering, is the thing that drives the audio snippets biab now uses in real tracks, still midi?
I don't think the algorithm that drives RT phrase selection has anything to do with MIDI.
When using RTs midi nor the style have anything to do with how things are played.The style just inserts a bunch of instruments and the tracks are generated by a different set of rules that are unique to the RTs.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Apprentice
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Apprentice
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Therefore, if you can make an mp3 example of what you hear :quote
If you have real styles you can just open the style and decide for your self. And flam to a musician is not a very ambiguous word. Or so it would seem to me. I think it was why it was adopted by midi guys.
Thanks to all for your responses.
I was describing human performances with the word flam to zero in on how it sounded. Out side of playing drums, flam to a musician familiar with sequencing to some degree, is a midi term.
Thanks to Silvertone for clearing up the midi vs audio issue. That's what I was hoping to hear.
Ron
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I was a drummer. Flam meant two sticks "almost" at the same time. They had to be darn close together, but separate if that makes sense.
Flim Flam with jam gets you in a sticky mess. Avoid that....:)
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2011
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Newbie
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Newbie
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Getting this error message....."Output driver is installed properly but is currently in use by another program."
Any help at all? Been scouring the web for answers but still haven't been able to resolve this issue. Don't need to know if any paricular progeam is to blame, just would like to know if there is a fix for this problem. Very frustrated.
George Wood
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Quote:
Getting this error message....."Output driver is installed properly but is currently in use by another program."
Any help at all? Been scouring the web for answers but still haven't been able to resolve this issue. Don't need to know if any paricular progeam is to blame, just would like to know if there is a fix for this problem. Very frustrated.
George Wood
Hi George,
This copy and paste taken from the pgmusic BiaB FAQs page should help:
Quote:
76. I get a message that a MIDI driver is "...installed properly but currently in use by another program", even though there are no other programs open.
This error will often refer to "Roland VSC", "GS Wavetable", or "No MIDI/Sound Output". First, you will want to find out if you are using ASIO or MME drivers (Opt. | MIDI/Audio Driver Setup | [Audio Settings] - Audio Driver Type)
If you are using MME drivers and the error is referring to a driver other than the 'Roland VSC', see this FAQ topic instead.
If you are using ASIO drivers, you may get this error if there is a conflict between the ASIO driver and a (non-DXi/VSTi) software synth selected in your driver setup. This happens on some computers when using the ASIO4ALL driver. To resolve the problem, make sure that the GS Wavetable and other software synths aren't selected anywhere in your setup. In other words, select a driver other than a software synth in the Band-in-a-Box MIDI Driver Setup dialog (output driver), and in the Windows control panel | Sounds and Audio Devices | Audio (MIDI Playback). Usually if you are using an ASIO driver in Band-in-a-Box, you will also be using a DXi/VSTi synth. Leave the "Use DXi Synth" box checked. You just need to select a different output driver, it won't affect the sound through your DXi synth. Ideally, select a driver for a hardware synth on your sound card or the MIDI OUT port on a MIDI interface.
If you are using MME drivers and the error is referring to the Roland VSC (the older stand-alone MIDI synth), see this FAQ topic instead .
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I was never a drummer and that's still what it means. Referencing music in general It means just about too close to call but you can still hear it.
Ron
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Enthusiast
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I'm sorry to put this question here but I've looked and looked and can't figure out how to start a new topic.
PowerTracks Styles run VERY slowly on my Dell DIM3000 (Celeron 2.4GHz, 512MB memory). The computer can't keep up and often the sound is distorted and the computer won't respond to the stop button for 1 or 2 minutes. Do I need more memory or just a real fast computer?
Last edited by larrymagee; 01/30/11 08:06 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I wouldn't take that computer to any speed contests. I doubt adding more memory is going to help either. And you mean RealTracks, Powertracks is another program marketed by PG music, at least I'm guessing that's the case here.
In version 2011 there is a way to NOT speed things up, but Moses and that computer want out of Egypt, so to speak.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Quote:
I'm sorry to put this question here but I've looked and looked and can't figure out how to start a new topic.
PowerTracks Styles run VERY slowly on my Dell DIM3000 (Celeron 2.4GHz, 512MB memory). The computer can't keep up and often the sound is distorted and the computer won't respond to the stop button for 1 or 2 minutes. Do I need more memory or just a real fast computer?
512 is barely enough for the Operating System alone.
If the Operating System is XP, Service Pack 2 or better, you might get a bit better results by adding nother 512 of memory at least to the thing. I wouldn't go more than 2gb total and don't forget about the DDR situation: Ram sticks should be added properly in the right amount per stick so that the machine won't be forced to use the ram in Single Density mode, which would mean that would think you've got more ram available by the "odd" ram-count, but in reality you'd be taking a performance hit.
Of course, a faster computer would load RealTracks even faster.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Enthusiast
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Thanks John and Mac - I was referring to real tracks. Mac, the computer has two memory slots. Are you saying they should both contain the same type and amount of memory, like a 512 MB board in each? I was looking at a maybe adding 1 GB board to bring it to 1.5 GB but I don't want the performance hit you are talking about.
Or I may bite the bullet and treat myself to a new fast computer.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Quote:
Thanks John and Mac - I was referring to real tracks. Mac, the computer has two memory slots. Are you saying they should both contain the same type and amount of memory, like a 512 MB board in each? I was looking at a maybe adding 1 GB board to bring it to 1.5 GB but I don't want the performance hit you are talking about.
It is very likely that, if you bought the computer with XP installed as the OS, that this computer's motherboard is designed to use "DDR" memory.
DDR memory can read and write twice per single clock cycle, which means that your present 512 is doing its best to act like 1g whenever it can, which is most of the time.
Installing DDR memory without paying attention to the motherboard mfr's directions on how your BIOS and motherboard deal with DDR memory will usually force the BIOS to automatically revert to Single Density Mode - which means that if you install an odd amount of new RAM in there, it may *look* like more but be performing like much less. For example, attempting to add together one 256m in one slot with a 1g in the other will read out as around 1.2g, but since it must revert to Single Density Mode and thus be read or written once per clock cycle, you not only don't gain much in the way of storage capacity, you take a speed hit as well.
If your machine has two slots in it and both are currently full to yield that 512m figure, a not uncommon situation, then you will have to accept it that the two original ram sticks must be removed and placed on the shelf. Buy two matched sticks of a larger value and install them instead. Two 1g sticks would be a good thing here. That would perform like 4g of actual memory. RAM prices are pretty low right now compared to what we've seen in the past, so I wouldn't worry about losing out on those two original sticks and their 512m at all here.
Quote:
Or I may bite the bullet and treat myself to a new fast computer.
That's really a much better idea in the long run. The Celery chip is another bottleneck when Realtracks are your goal, plus consider the "future-proof" factor of a new or even newer machine and perhaps the money spent on new RAM sticks would stretch farther when put with some more money to purchase a newer machine in entirety. Prices are looking good these days. Consider at least a dual core machine, which seem to be loading realtracks with better speed than single core.
--Mac
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thank you, Mac. You are most helpful.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
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