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#177828 11/02/12 12:34 AM
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Hello All. My name is Joanne and I am new to this forum. I have been dithering about buying band in a box for a while but have now decided it is the time. I am starting out on my songwriting journey and after listening to some of the original music produced using BIAB and Real Band I feel it is for me!! I am really looking forward to it and have a couple of songs ready to be worked on! My question is what package to buy that will be the most cost effective for me. I am probably only going to be writing folk, country, and maybe some praise and worship, maybe some blues. I doubt I will ever be much good at writing, say, rock, jazz or funk. What would you the forumites suggest I buy to get the most bang for my buck? I have considered just buying the PRO or MEGAPAK and then buying the individual Real Tracks I fancy. What can you suggest?

Thanks in anticipation

Joanne

www.joannecooper.co.za


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Hi Joanne,

I use BIAB for songwriting all the time. My experience is that it's best to spend as much as you possibly can so that you get the most you possibly can. You won't be disappointed. I have the UltraPlusPak.

Like you, there are a number of genres that I don't write in. The UltraPlusPak has all Realtracks, Realdrums and all styles. This means that I have the most versatile collection of sounds and tools possible for my songwriting. With so much at my fingertips, I've found that I don't confine myself to genres at all.

One of the big advantages of BIAB is its ability to mix instruments as I want in a way that suits my individual songs. I don't have to select a 'song' on the basis of a genre. Also, it's often cheaper to buy the UltraPlusPak (with everything) than to buy a few different Realtrack packs.

All the best,
Noel


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Thanks Noel. I think I will invest in that. I look forward to becoming a regular here and posting some of my original songs!


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Hi Joanne,

Buy the one that is the most you can buy.

I have the Everything Pak.

You say that you don't write songs in Jazz,Rock or Funk.

With band in a box you can mix and match different instrument styles by making up your own styles.

e.g. you can have a country bass a rock piano a jazz guitar and funk drums.

This means that you can gain inspiration from hundreds of your own styles.

Or you can just use the styles that are in Band In a Box.

You will not be disappointed whatever Pak you buy.

Regards
George


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hi Joanne!

sounds like you and I are on similar paths! I started writing songs earlier this year and bought Band in a Box about two months ago! I bought the UltraPlusPak and I am positively thrilled! still learning it but it is amazing so far. I look forward to hearing more from you. :-)

John

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Hi Joanne,

I'm looking forward to hearing your work You really won't be sorry.

Around 2006 or 2007, I was hesitant and bought the cheapest version of BIAB going because I didn't want to waste my money. Back then, it was before Realtracks were invented. Once I started playing with the program, I loved it! At the very first bargain-value upgrade option, I got everything and I've maintained that ever since. The software is a songwriter's treasure chest full of gold.

All the best,
Noel


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Thanks everybody. I bitten the bullet and bought the Ultrapak.
Regards
Joanne Cooper


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Congratulations on your purchase and welcome!

One thing that has not been mentioned yet is that if you have any questions this is the place to come. These forums have the nicest people on the planet. Many here are pro users of BiaB and RB and they are more than happy to assist anyone who needs helps.

Also be sure to view the tutorials. They are extremely helpful and will shorten you learning curve.

Good luck.


Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.

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Hi Joanne, You'll find that you have a great package! With RealTracks & RealBand as a DAW, (if you use it?)....everything you need! Regards, Joe G.

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You will not regret it! It is the most brilliant software i have EVER paid for ......


I'm doing allright for Country Trash ....

I used to care, but things have changed (Bob Dylan)

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Hi, Joanne -

Welcome to the forum and I look forward to hearing your music.

If you have any problems or questions, please feel free to ask. We're a friendly bunch here and happy to help out. Sometimes the answer might be that you need to read a section of the manual (which you should) or watch one of the video tutorials, but unlike many other forums, you WON'T get a reply like, "I wish you newbies would just read the friggin' manual".

As Peter Gannon says, "have fun!". We all do with these great products, Band-in-a-Box and RealBand.

Again, welcome!


John

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There's a manual? Videos? ha, ha -- the only way to learn is to pick a song you want to do in BIAB and start doing it. Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!

As you get stuck, the manual can be useful -- but you will be better off asking questions here. Don't get me wrong, manuals and videos are great, but in my opinion, if you try a bunch of stuff first, the manual will make more sense.


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This forum should be used as a last resort AFTER you have perused the Manual, the Help files and the online FAQs.

This forum is a wonderful resource, but consider what would happen if *everybody* demanded forum attention as suggested.

Lots of helpful users here, please think about the amount of time and effort they put into helping others and try to help them help you.


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I can't help but to support what Mac says here. I've had some questions that I posted answered with kindness and support, only to find out at a later date, that the manual had the answer to begin with. Shock, huh? LOL!

Anyway, welcome to the community Joanne!!! You'll end up loving the people here. I can guarantee that. I'm not of much help, because I am using BIAB in the most simplistic way:

- I have an idea
- pick a style I think that will fit my idea
- enter chords
- pick RTs
- once happy, I render individual WAV files
- import into my DAW
- if I so choose, record whatever instrument I want to play live
- save, export as MP3 and show it to the world.

As simple as it gets

Cheers,
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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Sorry, my opinion is that a lot of times the manual is the last resort. Most manuals are really good -- if you know how the program works. If I have a problem with how something works in the computer world, I google it first. Now, if you could query the manual or on-line help by using a google type query, then I would agree with you.

You all are free to say I am wrong, but I just can't see myself ever agreeing with you on this point.


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Google is most certainly your friend. Can't disagree with that one, Kevin.


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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Thanks all for the welcomes... I am expecting my Ultrapak plus to be delivered on hard drive by the end of the week. I live in South Africa so am hoping there won’t be any snags with customs etc...Our broadband here is not great so to download 60 gigs of data would have taken me the rest of my life. I have printed out a version of the manual for 2011 which I found on the net so I am perusing that. I have a few original songs that I am going to try and put some backing to as soon as I get my stuff!!! I like Mike’s simple approach and I think that is what I will do….I am also looking forward to using the program to recognize chords in an MP3 as I have a lot of Karaoke files and often get the request…late into the gig to say “Can you play “Sweet Caroline”…so being able to get the chords from the mp3 on the fly will be great…


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Hi Joanne,

I find the Audio Chord Wizard an amazing tool but it's not really designed to work on the fly. While it does a brilliant job interpreting chords from audio files, it is not perfect. Often timing and pitch issues within the file can lead to chords that need tweaking. It would be a good idea to play around with this tool before unleashing it in public.

All the best with your songs!

Noel


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There are so many features to this program, many people get intimidated by it and don't know where to start.

I recommend that new users get acquainted with the program by listening to the demo songs for a LOT of styles... all of them if you have the time. Turn off the melody as you listen. Chord patterns aren't protected by copyright, and a lot of songs use the exact same chord patterns.

If you listen to a thousand or more demo songs without the melodies to put a different spin on the chords, you're bound to hear many songs that are either exactly like, or very close to other songs you want to record.

And even if you aren't trying to recreate covers, it's a good way to get inspired. Many people start with a demo song and rearrange it to meet their own needs. No need to get bogged down in feature shock. Play with what's already been created for a while.

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Thanks Pat. I am looking forward to it and hope I will not find it too intimidating...I do find cakewalk/sonar very confusing and have long ago given up trying to work it out. I have had some success with putting styles to my own compositions with a very basic Yamaha keyboard. I am hoping that this will be just a simple but far more professional sounding. Noel..I do expect the audio chord wizard to not be perfect..…I have tried a chord recognition tool that comes as a plugin for Winamp. It is not great but it can do the trick IF I know I can sing the song very well. I mostly just need to know the key of the song, some basic chord changes and I can wing it. Most of the times I do requests is when it is late at night, the crowd is rowdy and don’t care too much about perfect guitar playing….


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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
  • RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
  • SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
  • iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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  • MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
  • MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
  • Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
  • Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
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  • SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)

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