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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6 |
I have been using BIAB for 6 years now, and cannot find a tutorial or guide to record guitar trough the computer's mic input. I have been following some instructions,but cannot get rid of the "lag". Can someone give me a step by step instruction on how to do this please?
I have a normal laptop with a normal sound card. - I do not have ASIO either
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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You don't mention which VERSION of BiaB you are using, but there are sme great answers and tutorials for this problem in the BiaB FAQ pages.
Link to FAQ support pages is at the bottom of my posts in the .sig area, good idea to bookmark the FAQ page for your version as well as to use the "ctrl-f" on the page to find FAQs relevant to a keyword of your problem, saves having to pour through all of them.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,731
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Standard laptop sound card is going to be a challenge. Kind of like racing the Indy 500 in a Ford Taurus!
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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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 103
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Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2011
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Here is a tutorial on recording live with your guitar in BIAB. BIAB .... Realtime/Live Guitar Through External Mic Jack
HP 17 2.5GHz seventh-generation AMD A12-9700P quad-core accelerated processor
2TB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive
12GB DDR4 SDRAM
Windows 10 Home (64bit) w/DTS Audio
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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You are an ASSET to this community, Brother Bomberomusician!
And, I might add, a purty swingin' good cat to boot.
So now I know that there are TWO of us modern jazzers stuck down heah in The Land of No Bop Gigs. *grin*
Keep holdin' the torch high, my brother, keep hope alive.
Straightahead, and thanks for the wonderful things you are doing here.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 103
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Apprentice
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Posts: 103 |
Hey... thanks for the kind words Mac. I love Jazz, this forum, and of course Band-In-A-Box 2011 ! 
HP 17 2.5GHz seventh-generation AMD A12-9700P quad-core accelerated processor
2TB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive
12GB DDR4 SDRAM
Windows 10 Home (64bit) w/DTS Audio
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6
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OP
Newbie
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Hi Bomb, thanks for the amazing video tutorial, I have tried it and still there is this lag between my own playing and BIAB's song that I have used as a basis to jam with when I play it back.
I have BIAB 2009, 64 bit computer with Intel(R) CPU U7300 @ 1.30GHz I have 4 Gig RAM...?
and thanks for everyone's contribution, but still not there!!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 317
Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Posts: 317 |
Bombermusician, very well done. Both the video and the guitar playing. Thanks for taking the time,DennisD
There are only 3 kinds of musicians: those that can count, and those that can't!
PC AMD A4-5300 APU 3.4 GHz, 8gb RAM, 1T HDD, Windows 10,
Reaper 4.77, BIAB2018, PTPA12, RB2018, Roland VS-880 DAW
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2002
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Quote:
Hi Bomb, thanks for the amazing video tutorial, I have tried it and still there is this lag between my own playing and BIAB's song that I have used as a basis to jam with when I play it back.
I have BIAB 2009, 64 bit computer with Intel(R) CPU U7300 @ 1.30GHz I have 4 Gig RAM...?
and thanks for everyone's contribution, but still not there!!
Zepi, that is presumably called "latency" and it one of the first things you have to overcome with recording to a backing track. You generally get past it by optimizing your input hardware and its driver. First try using a ASIO driver on the input versus the MME. You will have to be sure BIAB is not using ASIO since only one ASIO can run at a time. Perhaps Bomb, could comment on this topic suggest how he handles latency. For my setup (not a laptop) I invested in some fancy gear and said goodby to latency long ago. Good luck.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2003
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To me you're beating your head into the ground for nothing. This input is a Mono input for a mic and this input is very poor. Once you get it working you'll say why'd I bother. If you want and end to your issues & do some decent recording buy an interface meant for the job.I also don't agree with robh's example either. It's more like bringing a horse to the Indy 500.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 103
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 103 |
Quote:
Quote:
Hi Bomb, thanks for the amazing video tutorial, I have tried it and still there is this lag between my own playing and BIAB's song that I have used as a basis to jam with when I play it back.
I have BIAB 2009, 64 bit computer with Intel(R) CPU U7300 @ 1.30GHz I have 4 Gig RAM...?
and thanks for everyone's contribution, but still not there!!
Quote:
Perhaps Bomb, could comment on this topic suggest how he handles latency. For my setup (not a laptop) I invested in some fancy gear and said goodby to latency long ago. Good luck.
I don't have any latency issues. I didn't have to adjust anything.
I just pressed the record audio button....
Also remember like Silvertone stated. Recording through the mic jack only gives you MONO.
HP 17 2.5GHz seventh-generation AMD A12-9700P quad-core accelerated processor
2TB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive
12GB DDR4 SDRAM
Windows 10 Home (64bit) w/DTS Audio
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 103
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 103 |
Quote:
Bombermusician, very well done. Both the video and the guitar playing. Thanks for taking the time,DennisD
No problem Dennis.Just trying to return the favors and help when I can. 
HP 17 2.5GHz seventh-generation AMD A12-9700P quad-core accelerated processor
2TB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive
12GB DDR4 SDRAM
Windows 10 Home (64bit) w/DTS Audio
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 134
Apprentice
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Apprentice
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Posts: 134 |
Other ways to do things. It's true ... you can't expect to have the program play backup tracks and record in the same time without a powerful audio interface. And its also true that the quality of what you record will be hugely diminished by the rinky dink mic that will connect through your onboard audio card ... although you can get USB mics and even a USB mic adaptor for high qualify mics if you have them.
So, if you have none of that? If you have a sound module for midi, hook that up to play your BIAB arrangement; download a free audio editor like Audacity if you don't already have one; put your mic input to the Audacity program; start BIAB looping with the sound module; and record to your hearts content. Later, chop the different takes and import them back into you BIAB track.
Or, don't have a module? Render you BIAB project to wma and place it on a iPod or the like, or burn it to CD. Play either through your personal or home stereo while you record in Audacity again.
Or, play along to BIAB and don't worry about the lag (AKA latency) ... you shouldn't be hearing it as you are playing, but only when you play it back. Right? (I can't imagine you can't do the following in RealBand ... but since I've never used it I can't say for sure ... but you can do it in any other DAW). Export your files or open the project in RealBand (or another DAW). Turn of the 'snap' feature that only lets you move the files in the project in set beats ... and slide your recorded track until it syncs up ... and then turn the snap back on. Everything will stay exactly as you conceived it when you played/ recorded it form here on out.
DAWs have powerful features that make some things really easy ... but there has always been many ways to skin a cat.
Prado
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2006
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See the issue here is where the music is mixed at. When you have existing tracks, and are adding new tracks then have to cross paths somewhere. And every road they take requires time. If you play the guitar into a line or mike input, it take time for the music to pass thru the AD/DA convertors, and reach tha program, and while that is happening the music in the existing tracks has already headed to the exit to hit the speakers. That means going out of the sound card. So the incoming guitar has to go from the input to the convertors and to the software a be recorded and exit back to the sound card and out. All the existing tracks have to do is the output, so the new tracks need to travel twice as far.
A good interface will use it's driver setup to allow all this to happen at it's software mixer, an internal program that is written into that driver. This introduces compensation to the process and allow them to meet and sort of catch up, and you and the speakers hear them all at the same time.
Built in cards do not have drivers that are really capable of this type of process. You can use third party drivers like ASIO4All, and others, but it is a piece of duct tape on the problem. A solid recording interface or sound card with drivers written for this becomes the heart and soul of the system.
John's horse just can't keep up!!!
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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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 6
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
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Posts: 6 |
Hi,
Thanks to all for your valuable contributions, I have come to the realization that one cannot record properly on a standard 64 bit laptop with standard sound cards etc.
It breaks my heart, but what can one do?? - invest in proper digital hardware I suppose.
Thanks again for all your input!!
Zep
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