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I'm thankful for biab/rb using styles with drums included. I've never tried to do any drum tracks from scratch. Now it's time to pay the piper. I'm really sort of lost to be honest. I do have Beatcraft and Mixcraft in addition to BIAB. I want to make a drum track to use in an arrangement of American Patrol (public domain version). I've started with an 8 bar intro using a snare drum in Beatcraft. I saved the file and that's as far as I've gotten. I know that there are drum machines,etc., but I don't want to spend a ton of bucks on software and/or hardware that I won't hardly ever use. I don't think that I'm having any problems in coming up with rhythm patterns to use. I guess I just don't know how to get them on a midi track. I suppose an alternative would be to use audio loops, but I don't know how or where to get them. From what I can find in the libraries in software that I have, the styles, such as hip hop, etc., just do not fit with what I want to use. To further complicate things, BIAB does not seem to support the 2/4 time signature. I don't mind spending some time learning or even a few bucks. If anyone can provide some direction, I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Stan
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Hi Stan,
I use my MIDI keyboard sometimes to multitrack record a drum part in realtime.
First I set the Metrome for recording, of course.
MAP the Percussion Bank you are using so that you know which key is which sample or drum.
Hit Record MIDI and tap in one of the drums, typically the Kick or Bass Drum first, from beginning to end of track or piecemeal as you go, your choice.
Go back to the beginning and overdub the Snare.
Go back to the beginning and overdub the Hihat.
Etc.
As for things like drumrolls, I find it far more realistic to use soundfonts or other samples of actual PressRolls, etc. -- or just ignore rolls entirely, for MIDI often can only come up with a "machine gun" effect when attempting to put a lot of MIDI hits to simulate the Drumroll. Funny thing, nobody notices it when there are no Rolls in the file, unless of course you first point it out to them, something which the recordist should never do anyway, right?
--Mac
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Oh --
Don't forget about or overlook the Drum Grid Pattern Editor inside Powertracks or Realband either.
One can roll a MIDI Drum Pattern in seconds using the Mouse.
I've used it in the past multiple times in one piece by making new tracks for a new pattern, then Editing out the undersired pattern when I want the other to play, using Volume change commands (Envelopes) after converting each separate track to Audio.
And both programs, sharing the same MIDI engine, can do 2/4 as well.
--Mac
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Thanks, Mac. Looks like I might find what I need in RB. After my post, I did find some march audio loops and some were $39. I did listen to one for $10 that I could live with though. I'll save that as a last choice if I can't figure out how to do my own. Actually, Beatcraft is easy to enter the sounds but I have a hard time finding the drum I want to use which is only bass and snare for now. I may go on that forum also. Lot's of new stuff to learn about midi percussion for sure. Again, thanks for your suggestions.
Stan
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Stan, this is actually very simple. It only seems difficult to you because you've never done it. I just looked up Beatcraft. It appears to have everything you need including drum samples. If it can map those drums to a midi keyboard then you use the keyboard to enter the beats. Usually any piece of audio software uses GM drum mapping in addition to their own custom mapping. If you don't have a midi keyboard it appears like you can place your drum parts with a mouse right on the screen by clicking on the exact beat timing you want. This is called step entry because you're not playing the part in real time. You can usually get a better part by playing along in real time then editing it later but step entry works fine too. The easiest way is step entry. You can do step entry in Biab as well.
Here's how simple this is using a regular piano type midi keyboard. The GM drum patch is mapped across the keyboard. I don't have the mapping memorized but the kick drums and snares are right next to each other in the lower part of the keyboard, the toms in the middle and the cymbals/percussion on the right. Like Mac said start with a metronome and the kick (bass)drum. I usually do the kick and snare together but if you can't get the timing right then do one at a time. When you play it back if your timing is not that great, use "quantize". Quantize takes the track and fixes the timing according to your settings. If the bass drum is on the 1 and 2 downbeats in a 2/4 song, then you can set the quantize to a half note. That will make the bass drum machine perfect. Sometimes you listen to that and it's too perfect. Change it to a quarter note or even an eight note. That will allow for a bit of slop in the timing but not too much. Use your ears and like I said it is all really very simple. Just play with it.
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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Thanks Bob. I do have a little midi keyboard that will probably work. I also found some .dp files in rb that actually may work also. I understand the difference between what I call playing and step time. There are lots of drum kits in Mixcraft--even more than Beatcraft. I entered a nice snare intro pattern, but the bass drum sounds bad. I'm going to start practicing playing and see what happens. I have the entire score for the piece including the drum parts. Of course since it's just Pauline & me, I'll have to keep the instrumentation in the combo size. It's a really old score with 3-4 Eb alto horn parts and even alto clarinets. We have 110 in our community band and don't even have those instruments. I appreciate your words of encouragement and suggestions. I guess I can set the metronome at a slow-medium speed and then increase the tempo if needed?
Stan
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Somthing else you can do is use Biab as your drum machine. This is midi only btw, not audio Real Drums. There may be a 2/4 style that has the drums you're looking for or at least close. All you do there is save the drum track as a midi file and import that into Beatcraft. You can also edit the track right inside Biab and then save and export it. It's much easier to edit an existing drum track that's close than it is to create it from scratch sometimes. Another trick is to find a midi file on the internet that is close. Just put the names of a few songs that have that beat into google with the word midi and you just may get lucky.
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 don't seem to find any 2/4 styles in biab. After I looked, I seem to recall that the 2/4 time signature is not supported by biab. I guess that would leave cut time and/or 6/8 counted in 2, but for a march, I really want 2/4. I think there's a "scottish" march style that's in 12/8. Anyway, this will force me to learn more about percussion. I mentioned our community band; Well, we have as many as 12 persons in the percussion section at times...and I have seen as few as one. Many thanks for your suggestions and help.
Stan
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
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Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
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Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
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Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
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