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I have a Tascam Porta3 Recording Mixer that I used exclusively before DAW. It was THE ultimate tool for analog work. The belts were new and no signs of "keystoning" of the head when I last used it. It was a valuable piece of gear in it's day.
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Quote:
The multitrack cassette is a rather poor sounding technology that I for one will never miss...
Tape hiss (yes, even with Dolby), limited high end, wow, flutter, limited bass response, in many instances the pitch changes as the takeup reel gets larger with tape, the loss in overdubbing, all of these anomalies have been solved via pcm digital recording. ....
That's why its headed out the door here. Doing some cleaning up and re-arranging in my music room at home. That floppy based keyboard from another thread was part of it as well. Technology marches on. That old board sure taught me a lot about sampling and sequencing .
I'm sure I copied all the MIDI sequences from those (176) floppy disks to a hard drive around here somewhere, so it's pretty much useless now.
That hard drive is still useable though (although it may be a 100 meg drive if its the really old one laying here)
Gotta start swapping out drives now and see whats on each one. 16 or 17 years of digital recordings takes a few drives to keep track of. I should probably get another terrabyte external drive and replace quite a few of them. Always something to do here.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Bob, I kept my Tascam 246. Beautiful machine. Sits in my "studio" for mood lighting. Fun times but I sure don't miss all that bouncing down tracks. BIAB makes computer recording fun for me. It's the next best thing to having live musicians with none of the hassles. And all of the computer DAWs and plugins available now - many free - it was overwhelming at first but fascinating once I got into it. I still get frustrated but I got frustrated with the Tascam back when too.  When I looked at some newer stand alone recorders I didn't care for those itty bitty screens. I think computer recording has done what Tascam originally did and that is bring home recording to the masses - only even more masses now. 
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Mine was a Yamaha MT-50, I wore the heads out on that thing & took it everywhere there were folks willing let me set up 4 mics  Before that it was 2 cassettes decks & a Radio Shack mixer, before that it was Stereo Panasonic Reel-To-Reel that I used a piece of film negative over the Erase Head to do overdubs... I miss the one-kob-per-function way of doing things, just reach over & give 'er a spin! 
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
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Bob at first I thought you were joking, just making a comment about modern life. But, if you're serious, you do know how to arm a track in Real Band, right? It's dead simple. Plug in your instrument, arm a track and hit record. That's it. Same as the Tascam. If you want three other friends over to record live with no overdubs then get an interface with 4 or more 1/4" inputs. Don't worry about plugins, EQ, midi, effects or mastering. Just use 4 tracks and the mixing faders and create a 2 track stereo mix. Just like the Tascam. If RB is too complex for you then use the freebie Audacity. If you want to be brave and innovative use an analog tape plugin to give you that great, crappy, noisy tape sound. Actually, you don't even need that, run your audio outputs through some old yard sale amp or tape deck and record it back into RB. Be happy.
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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Just to go kind of old-school, I recorded this little song intro with my iPhone and it's internal microphone in my kitchen, iPhone mic pointed toward sound hole, about 10" away. 4 tracks: an arpeggiated chord, two tracks of simple plucking the bass note, and a little modal melody on the 4th track. Used internal reverb and delay build into Garageband. Again, this is a 5$ application. https://soundcloud.com/rockstar_not/4-track-record-acousticCheap 60$ acoustic guitar BTW, at least that's what I paid for it used on Craigslist. New they were around $300. -Scott
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Bob, Quote:
Bob at first I thought you were joking, just making a comment about modern life.
You had it right the first time. My tongue was firmly in cheek, except that I was serious about wishing I’d held on to the old Tascam 244 and about how much recording I’d accomplished on it.
So far, my favorite DAW has been Sonar 4 PE. It’s very intuitive and easy to use, but unfortunately mine is 32 bit only. It won’t even install on a 64 bit system. On my last PC I had Win 7 64 on the C drive and XP 32 on the D drive and I had it set up as a dual boot system with Sonar running on XP. It worked great until the MOBO fried.
I got a new PC custom built earlier this year and I intend to add another drive for XP 32 so I can install Sonar 4 PE, but I haven’t done it yet. I’ve looked at RB and I’ll probably give it a whirl at some point before bothering to add XP. RB looks fairly intuitive and the ability to generate tracks is a definite plus.
In the thread, I was also wistfully remembering the “good ole days” of recording on a dedicated unit. I didn’t mean to give the impression that I’m a Luddite.
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See, you had me worried there buddy. 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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Just checked a stack in the garage and yup, I've got a TASCAM PortaTwo which I was given by a customer, and which I never used. Why? Before that I had a TEAC 2340-SX SimulSync four-track reel-to-reel deck which I mixed through a TASCAM M-106 desk onto whatever cassette deck I had at the time. With an outboard Dolby AN-60 I could get up to 10 mono tracks with what was, up until the mid 1980s, acceptable noise levels. Got a bunch of material with great (well, to me) vocal harmony work, but no drums--which is why I got Band-In-A-Box in the first place.
I also have a Korg DDM-1 drum machine which was supposed to take the place of a drummer, but I still had to program it and dump sequences off onto cassette. What a pain. By the time I got the PortaTwo I had already embarked on my digital journey with BIAB v. 7 and Passport's Master Tracks Pro. It hass been another kind of struggle as I learn to work with audio in the digital domain, but it is an infinitely more elegant process. It's still not easy, but the results are fantastic compared to what I was able to produce on my own with tape. The journey has been a lot of fun--when not trying to pull my hair out because this or that doesn't behave as expected.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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About 20 years ago when I was in Chicago, we had an 8 track Fostex reel-to-reel that was hooked to a 2 track mastering reel. Somehow you could sync the two if needed.
We had a nice board to mix with, but not being able to save settings .. ouch
Sure you could get a really good mix set up and move sliders easily .. but the next time you wanted to work on it, it was a crapshoot if anybody did anything else in the mean-time.
Digital convenience for the win (IMHO).
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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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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XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!
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Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2025!
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This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
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We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
Check out all the 202 New RealTracks (in sets 456-467)
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
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Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac!
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This Free Bonus PAK includes:
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-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
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-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
- Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
- Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
- Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
- Playable RealTracks Set 4
- RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
- SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
- 128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
- Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
- Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
- RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®!
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 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.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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