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Joined: Aug 2011
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Journeyman
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Not sure the point of this post.. a few things I suppose... Firstly, the 1st tune I've done using the newly aquired Garritan Personal Orchestra in Real Band. Very satisfied with the results, although incidental to this particular tune. But got the process down, and now understand the Piano roll and it's fuction. Time consuming to pencil in all the notes and draw volume curves etc. but I considered it all great FUN doing it !. Also, with the MIDI vs Real Tracks debate, this is an example of where I 'needed' MIDI to do the string tracks (but nothing more). And also a testament to the immense value of Real Tracks ! I could have recorded the acoustic and electric guitar, bass tracks myself... but 'why bother' ? The Real Tracks are just so darned good ! And the soloists... ah... 'HEAVEN' ! BRAVO to PG Music for a great product that allows me to create music with a laptop, an inexpensive Tascam US-144mkII interface (no elaborate outboard gear ie. mixer etc involved here) Anyway... "Beyond The Reef" (warning: Old, outdated tune, and 'Hawaiian' flavor to boot) http://soundcloud.com/mitchc-1/beyond-the-reef-hi-c6
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Very slick indeed. A keeper there for sure. I spent the whole tunes arguing with myself about drums. Yes there...nope. Great job. I struggle at times with having too much of the same. What happens here, because most of the music is very similar when it comes to a guitar like that. Add some drums to that and I could see lots of dancers. You might not need them after all, but I'd be curious as to the effect. This one needs no cowbell to speak of. 
John Conley Musica est vita
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Thanks John ! I DO have a mix with cowbell BTW, but it brought it into a whole disco area... uh... no I think I'd love to have a beer, tea, beverage of choice with you sometime ! Love your 'color' and humor !
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Ok, you can wear a Hawaiian shirt and grass skirt, and I'll wear my kilt. A decent craft beer is a wonderful thing.
(BTW let's not tell the prohibitionists that everyone drank beer of some sort or other 150 years ago, the water would kill you!)
John Conley Musica est vita
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Really pretty Mitch!
Josie
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Great stuff!
I got around to listening to your other music posts last week, and should have commented earlier - excellent as well.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Journeyman
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I really love that sort of playing, Mitch. Excellent voicing imo. I listened to some of your other tunes and they're all great. If you ever play in eastern caintucky pm me, OK? 
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Mitch, your playing is so good, and it sounds sooo good backed by BIAB, I can totally see lapsteel realtracks by Mitch. (Do you have time to volunteer?)  just excellent, your intonation is flawless.
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Quote:
Ok, you can wear a Hawaiian shirt and grass skirt, and I'll wear my kilt. A decent craft beer is a wonderful thing.
(BTW let's not tell the prohibitionists that everyone drank beer of some sort or other 150 years ago, the water would kill you!)
it might make an interesting thtread to identify various musical genres by the beer favored by its fans

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Pat, there's an old 'standard' sing along thing, "It's later than you think".
Enjoy yourself it's later than you think...
And I associate that with Labatt 50, who sponsored the Canadian Football League. The league turns 100 this year with the 100th Grey Cup game in Toronto. I have every intention of being there too! That song played for the commercial for about a decade, and they sponsored the game so on it when.
Labatt's Blue is named for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Most of the sports teams I support have been sponsored by cigarette companies and have gone up in smoke.
John Conley Musica est vita
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maybe its even later than we DRINK... 
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Journeyman
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no...its LAGER that we drink. Thus the similar song idea "In Heaven There Is No Beer" ("that's why we drink it here!"....responsibly of course) 
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Hey, thanks guys and gals for taking time to listen and comment. Sure am having fun with all this stuff, and the support here is about the best of any forum I've been on. Pat, we have great Paul Franklin RT's already but I'd sure be up for one-off projects that think might benefit from some of my noodling. Now, on to important stuff... Not much of a beer drinker but I want to get a few good Canadian brews... any recommendations ? I figure if I drink a few over the weekend, I may end up with some of John's wit & wisdom ? 
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Whiz-dumb. Hey that resembles me.
If you can get it: Alexander Keiths Labatt's Blue Molson Export or Canadian.
I know for a fact they water it down before shipping it. And brew for regional tastes. That's like a Guiness tastes different in Dublin.
John Conley Musica est vita
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No, Whiz-DOM John.. don't be modest on me now...  OK, I'll go out looking for those brews this weekend and report back. 'course if they end up watered down, you're just gonna have to send me a case of something full strength ! 
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When I lived in Calgary, I didn't care for Lebatts but loved Molson Canadian. It's available all over here in LA. Don't know about the watered down thing. I'm not some beer expert but it tastes the same to me.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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I love your playing Mitch ,always perfect pitch and classy ! I drank a lot of wine when I was in the big C .Do they still have Newfoundland Screech ? Been a long time since last time I was deported !
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Thanks Tommy ! Never heard "Newfoundland Screech" what is it or what does it mean ? So, do you think the horn tracks on 'Steelin' Home' sound OK or what might they need ? There's another thread about that track (Garritan Horns this time) http://soundcloud.com/mitchc-1/steelin-home-c6-1
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It was the cheapest wine in Canada back in 69 ! I'm not a big fan of MIDI sounds ,but what you have sounds better than most peoples. I sometimes make horn parts start and end at slightly different times to help fool the mind into thinking that people did it . I don't think you need advice from me on what sounds OK ,you already know how to make music sound great. Glad to see someone still loves Country Swing and has the skills to play it right . The only thing I would suggest is to do more of what you are already doing and post every song you ever make in the user showcase, just to show people what real talent really is !
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Thanks you guys ! Tommy, all I've done so far (in BIAB) is available in my soundcloud link in my sig. ...about a dozen tunes, mostly Hawaiian lap steel, so not too many people's 'cup-o-tea' but I've done about every genre and style of music in my 59 years. Always wanted to learn pedal steel...tried one and the pedal part would take MANY years to learn, so I opted for the non-pedal. Less confusing. Until the Garritan stuff and new features in 2012, I never, ever fooled with midi anything. But until we get Real Track strings and horns, MIDI is what I (we've) got to work with. Overall, I can live with, no, actually like, the results of the Garritan products so far. The more I learn how to 'write in' the expression on midi tracks, the better they'll sound.. but it requires MUCH time and patience...both of which I'm growing short on the older I get ! 
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
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Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
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- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
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- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
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Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
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April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
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Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
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