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Hi Everybody,
I apologise if this topic is in some thread, "Search Forums" seems to give the same 200 results regardless of the search phrase. Anyway, what have you found to be the best way to get voice to your BAIB masterpiece? I have heard some great sounds here and I am wondering if those have been recorded in music studios?
My present workflow is to get the back track the closest to what I want with BAIB, then play back the music through headphones and record my voice on a Zoom H2 recorder housed in a small self made portable sound booth.
Finally I use Audacity to mix the track and the Audio.
Any tips, tricks, discussions please.
Karel.
Last edited by KarelD; 12/28/13 10:06 AM.
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Hi Everybody,
My present workflow is to get the back track the closest to what I want with BAIB, then play back the music through headphones and record my voice on a Zoom H2 recorder housed in a small self made portable sound booth.
Finally I use Audacity to mix the track and the Audio.
Any tips, tricks, discussions please.
Karel. Honestly, I would be greatly surprised that anyone else would be using a similar workflow. No offense intended. For the price of a microphone (~$100) and a DAW (well you already have RB). You can be recording, mixing and mastering all in a digital audio workstation. Granted a little more money and a little more learning curve, but this brings you into the 21st century of home music studios. Having said that, perhaps what you got is working for you. How about giving us a listen to one of your productions.
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Hi Everybody,
I apologise if this topic is in some thread, "Search Forums" seems to give the same 200 results regardless of the search phrase. Anyway, what have you found to be the best way to get voice to your BAIB masterpiece? I have heard some great sounds here and I am wondering if those have been recorded in music studios?
My present workflow is to get the back track the closest to what I want with BAIB, then play back the music through headphones and record my voice on a Zoom H2 recorder housed in a small self made portable sound booth.
Finally I use Audacity to mix the track and the Audio.
Any tips, tricks, discussions please.
Karel. Karel, Sounds like a fine workflow to me! My only suggestion might be to get a DAW as Audacity appears to be more of an audio editor and may be limiting you. I use and highly recommend Reaper! It is modern, full-featured, inexpensive and has an unlimited trial to get you started. For workflow I do almost exactly the same thing because I am never going to use BIAB or RB for my mixing...I just use them to generate instrument tracks. So my workflow is like this, - write song on guitar or banjo - type chords into BIAB - try various combinations of RealTracks until I find something I like to add to my song (sometimes just a drum track...sometimes a full backing track) - export the BIAB tracks as individual WAVs - copy the individual instrument WAVs into my song folder for use in my DAW - copy the composite WAV containing all tracks into my Zoom H4n - record my vocal tracks, harmony tracks, other instrument tracks, on my H4n while listening to the composite WAV on headphones (and I too have a portable, home-made sound "booth"!!) - copy my recorded tracks to my song folder - open my DAW and bring in all BIAB tracks and all recorded tracks and mix it up In my situation, BIAB/RB are not my primary music production tools. They are important if I need a track from them but sometimes I do not so it would make no sense to base my workflow on them when I much prefer my DAW. And I certainly understand I could record directly into my DAW but for me that raises new issues I don't need/want to deal with yet. Issues like getting an interface for the computer, dealing with latency issues, singing/performing in an area that is set up more for sit-down computing, etc. And, yes, I could certainly resolve these issues but currently, this workflow works like a charm for me so I will continue to use it until it does not!
Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 12/28/13 01:01 PM.
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Thanks for your comments. You can listen to my first composition here:
[url=https://soundcloud.com/karel-balt/i-dont-know-where-i-wanna-fm1][/url]
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Thank you for your comments and taking the time to respond.
Latency is one issue and the other is the internal noise generated by the computer. I find it impossible to record directly through the soundcard for any sort of decent sound. To overcome that I chose to record the voice off line. Th Zoom H2 does a fine job of recording and the sound booth kills any significant unwanted noise. What I find a bit of a challenge at present is finding the right balance between the voice track and the music track. MAybe that is where Reaper will come in handy?
If you haven't yet, you may want to listen to my first attempt here: [url=https://soundcloud.com/karel-balt/i-dont-know-where-i-wanna-fm1][/url]
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What I find a bit of a challenge at present is finding the right balance between the voice track and the music track. What you very likely need to do is study the care, use and feeding of the Audio Compressor. Perhaps the Zoom has the ability to add Audio Compression to the vocal track after the fact, consult the manual for the device. --Mac
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Thank you for your comments and taking the time to respond.
Latency is one issue and the other is the internal noise generated by the computer. I find it impossible to record directly through the soundcard for any sort of decent sound. To overcome that I chose to record the voice off line. Th Zoom H2 does a fine job of recording and the sound booth kills any significant unwanted noise. What I find a bit of a challenge at present is finding the right balance between the voice track and the music track. MAybe that is where Reaper will come in handy?
If you haven't yet, you may want to listen to my first attempt here: [url=https://soundcloud.com/karel-balt/i-dont-know-where-i-wanna-fm1][/url] Nice track, you have a good voice, but I agree that the mix between vocals and backing is a "challenge" for you. Only you know if it is worth it to you to go to a next level. If you are satisfied with the track then no changes needed, but if you want to improve the audio quality, I believe a some upgrading will do the job. But it will take effort, time and money. But you must appreciate, this advice if coming from a guy who has spent $1,000's on gear and gizmos for music making (...always chasing that elusive tone) - So I may be a little biased  . Lets see what others have to say and see where we go from here. Oh and by the way, thanks for sharing the track. Good for you putting yourself out there. 
Last edited by jazzmandan; 12/29/13 09:20 AM.
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You need to have a good look at REAL BAND... the companion program to BiaB and included with it.
First and probably most importantly, it is a DAW. (digital audio workstation) Also, you can have all the BB tracks as audio and also plenty of additional tracks for voice and other things. In BB you are track limited and there is only one track available for audio recording.
It's in the DAW where you can add reverb, compression, EQ, etc to the tracks and music in general.
It's also there in the DAW where you can easily play with the levels of the various tracks in the mix and the vocals.... to get that balance.
The biggest nit I heard in your song link was that the vocal was dry. No reverb on it. That makes it stand out and sound like it's really not a part of the mix.... kinda like it's in a totally different room from the band. It doesn't take much reverb.... just a touch to have the vocal blend into the musical bed a bit more naturally. It's especially hard to get a good balance between the music and the vocals on a dry vocal track.
Try importing your vocal track into RB's open audio tracks and work in there. With any DAW, there is a learning curve. You have to learn where everything is, how to add things you need into the tracks, set up busses and use them, and of course, what all the FX do when you turn a know or move a fader.... but that's the way it is with every DAW. It may take a few weeks to get knowledgeable, but it's worth it in the end.
I wanted to address the gear for a minute. What you have seems to be working fine. However, if this is to be a hobby that you pursue, you might wish to bump up the gear a bit to the next level. The quality of home recording gear has really improved to the point where it is totally possible to get professional results at home with a minimal investment. A nice ASIO based USB audio interface and a condenser mic can be had at a very reasonable cost. Software suite for mastering and other purposes put the icing on the cake.... My philosophy was and is to buy what I need, once I have determined that I truly need that particular device or software to get to the next level in a musical sense. That keeps me from going crazy and buying everything I see. Now days, those purchases are few and far between. Now I'm back to buying new strings for my guitars.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 12/30/13 06:30 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Herb, spot on and well said. You do get it right sometimes.
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Hi Carl,
Herb got it spot-on. I am also an amateur (not implying you are, just dodging some comments from the pro's) but my world changed when i bought a decent sound card and a condenser mic. Then you should really explore and persist with RB. I avoided it for about a year and can now kick myself for that!
You will not believe the vocals YOU can record at home if you do.....
Hang in there and explore your options!
I'm doing allright for Country Trash ....
I used to care, but things have changed (Bob Dylan)
BIAB 2026W + RB
M-Audio FastTrack C600, Rode NT2-A
Digitech VoiceLive 4
Epiphone Sheraton, Ibanez 12str, Washburn 6str, Cort 6Str Nylon
Yanagisawa Tenor Sax
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lots of good advice for you to sort through KarelD but I've noticed a couple of folks have suggested buying a condenser mic. I am pretty sure your H2 already has a condenser mic! so don't buy stuff you already have even if others like it!
and that advice also applies to RealBand...if you own BIAB you already own RealBand so giving it a try makes a lot of sense. and, as I mentioned before, Reaper is a great DAW that has an unlimited free trial and only costs something like $60 if you decide to keep it so you should try both and compare and decide what you like better!
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John is right about Reaper being a great DAW, but i always add to that why move to another platform if you do not need to. I tried own and sometimes use Reaper, Sonar, and Studio one. But to tell the truth i hardly ever open them. I find RB does just about everything i want. And if i find one issue where i need to use another program i can. But the truth is there is very little RB won't do for you, and I firmly believe that for the most part why people move to another platform is they want to. there is some reason they like that platform, workflow, familiarity, or just taste. Reaper is powerful, but never did it for me, it was far to fiddly, you have to setup everything each time, busses, and routing is so complex and powerful it is almost annoying. Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't master in RB, listen to Rharv's or ROG's work. They get professional results, in these programs. If you are recording vocals in a zoom and getting good results you would be stunned how easy it is to get the same or better in RB. Herb said it perfectly (guitarhacker) a simple USB interface and what ever mike you have is perfect. If you record by your self or with a friend one of these is perfect for the personal studio http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio...limited-edition I have the big brother to it, and the fat channel effects are so perfect for recording and playing live as well. Plug this into a USB port install the software, open RB, and setup the interface as the sound card, and build your tracks in BiaB, or directly in RB, and then pick an open track, and hit record, and add your vocal. then mix that song right there. add effects to a buss and adjust the amount for each track and mix down. Done!
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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I really love the period after a new Band-in-a-Box/Real Band release on this forum. You learn more about the software than at any other time during the year. It just so happens that, even though I have been using BIAB for many years for other purposes (at least a couple of hours every day and often more), I am now venturing into making recordings of my own trombone playing. So this topic was one I was watching and Herb's reply was just what I was after. A trombone is pitched very close to the human voice, of course, although I will probably have to watch a few other factors than might be required for a vocal.
I have always wondered why so many of the people on this forum use DAWs other than Real Band. I guess it is a question of the level or degree of mixing you require but at least here is someone recommending Real Band for we beginners to try for our first mixes.
I have to confess I have never previously had any use for Real Band because the mix I get for combined Midi and RealTracks out of Band-in-a-Box itself is excellent and I can drop out any instrument I choose. All the members of my bands get really great sounding backing tracks for practicing purposes and all my small bands use Band-in-a-Box produced lead sheets and arrangements - even down to the harmony parts. It really cuts down on rehearsal time, I can tell you.
And now to the next phase of my Band-in-a-Box experience.
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Yeeeowwweee guys. That is a ot of information. Thank you all so much. I am going to spend the next couple of days just trying to digest and folow up on all your advice. I have played a little with RB and don't find it intuitive, but that is probably resistance to change syndrome, so I will make an effort to start liking it.
Yes, the Zoom mic probably has everything required for now and it even interfaces directly with USB as it stand. There is just so much noise. What I understand from this discussion is that the a solution would be to get an external sound card with a USB interface?
Thank you all once again, i'm no even more exited about BAIB than I was before!
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......I have played a little with RB and don't find it intuitive, but that is probably resistance to change syndrome, so I will make an effort to start liking it.
Yes, the Zoom mic probably has everything required for now and it even interfaces directly with USB as it stand. There is just so much noise. What I understand from this discussion is that the a solution would be to get an external sound card with a USB interface?
..... Every DAW takes time to learn how it works..... stick with it. I choose to use Sonar (Cakewalk) simply because I have used it for so long, I know where everything I need is located, and it works for me. Each DAW has certain things it does better than the others and whichever one fits your workflow best is the one you will settle on in the end. BTW: The Cakewalk MC6 DAW by itself is $25 right now.... super price. MC is considered by cakewalk to be a "beginners DAW" ... that said, I used MC4 for many years and turned out some impressive music that was signed by several film & TV libraries...so don't discount it because it's called a beginners DAW. http://store.steampowered.com/sub/32067/?snr=1_7_15__13Before you buy anything else.... work on understanding and learning Real Band since you already have that one. More about the zoom recorder. While it works for now, you mentioned it's noisy. Using a condenser mic with a music specific audio interface should make a huge difference in the noise levels. With even a middle of the road interface and low end (price wise) condenser mic, there should be no noise that you can easily hear. One of the mistakes people make with mics is singing too far away from them. This allows the mic to pick up too much of the "room sound" in the recording. They see pics of the pro's singing in a studio and back 2 to 3 feet from the mic and think that's how they need to do it in their bedroom studio. Not necessarily the case. You have to remember that the studio is likely dead quiet, and sound treated to reduce the "hollow room" sound common in many home studios. The big studio is also using a mic that costs thousands of dollars and has a superb sound quality to it. My studio happens to be the corner of a room that gets shared with other activities, and it has no sound treatment other than the carpet on the floor and the furniture in the room. My mic is a fairly decent Rode NT-2A but it's certainly not a high end Neumann. I sing close up to it with a pop filter about 1" away from the capsule. While a nice condenser is my preferred mic of choice for studio work, if you only have a nice dynamic mic (SM-57 or SM-58 for example) they will work well with the interface for vocals. The condenser tends to work much better for acoustic guitars and mandolins and such things, than the dynamic mic. just my 2 cents
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 12/31/13 06:46 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Another issue is while recording a vocal on the zoom 2 how are you monitoring the music? Are you playing a guitar at the same time, are you listening through speakers? headphones? this information helps us help you.
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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Yeeeowwweee guys. That is a ot of information. Thank you all so much. I am going to spend the next couple of days just trying to digest and folow up on all your advice. I have played a little with RB and don't find it intuitive, but that is probably resistance to change syndrome, so I will make an effort to start liking it.
Yes, the Zoom mic probably has everything required for now and it even interfaces directly with USB as it stand. There is just so much noise. What I understand from this discussion is that the a solution would be to get an external sound card with a USB interface?
Thank you all once again, i'm no even more exited about BAIB than I was before! Is the noise being introduced by the mic or coming from the room?
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that is the real important question John. If we knew that we might be able to give the right answer. I am thinking it might be room noise due to distance or space.
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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Thanks again fro sharing your experiences. When I mentioned noise, I wasnt referring to the mic, but somehow the pc introduced noise levels. I think I might have found the source. I disabled the onboard mic!. I tried some of your advice and ran the vocals through RB. I have no idea what I'm doing, so thank you for bearing with me. Is this an improvement? https://soundcloud.com/karel-balt/i-dont-know-where-i-wanna-be
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Hi guys,
No, the noise is definitely being generated by the PC! Direct recording into any DAW will not work on this Laptop (Lenovo B560)
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
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.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- 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
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- 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
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
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