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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10 |
Hello! I'm new to the forum and in the process of deciding if PowerTracks Pro is a good fit for me.
I am a trumpet player, music educator, and composer. For years, I have been wanting to find a program that I can notate in, output scores and parts, and tweak a very high quality audio output of my work. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information online using PowerTracks for such purposes.
Are there any users here that can offer their thoughts? Would the notation output be even close to that of say, Finale? Does PowerTracks allow you to draw volume changes into the midi tracks to create fairly realistic sounding recordings?
I look forward to hearing from you!
Best,
Mark
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10 |
Update: I purchased PowerTracks Pro Audio. The notation side of things isn't in depth enough for my needs. If I use it, it will be to fix up the midi outputs from another application.
Since I do have some experience with BIAB, I'm wondering now if I should upgrade to RealBand instead.
I look forward to hearing your insight!
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047 |
markmusik, Realband is more than an addon, but it is part of the BIAB software package. Using BIAB for creating music is a very powerful tool. Realband in addition is a very powerful tool. I view Realband as Power Tracks on steroids. Using BIAB for your creations, chord progressions, arrangements and then adding some kind of "scored melody" is there. The other powerful tool if your looking at original creations is/are the Melodist and Soloist tools. BIAB will at minimum create the base of what you want to do. Cover songs, your originals, your arrangements. The PG and the forum members(mentors) totally changed music world for me. I would suggest looking and listening to the demo's. This is the BIAB Pro link with demo's. http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.pro.htmEven if you have to purchase Band-in-a-Box Pro with RealBand full price, you'll never regret it. Purchasing the BIAB pro gives you all the tools, plus some amount of RealTracks and styles.Also if you just purchased Power Tracks and it does not do what you want I would call them. They do have 30 day money back guarantee. Making a guess, but they will be able to help you in a new purchase... Their numbers are bottom of the link page above. Good Luck. No not part of the staff, just an avid user.
Last edited by seeker; 05/09/14 11:28 AM.
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10 |
Thanks for the advice, seeker! I chatted online today with PG customer service and they've been nothing short of helpful. Based on my research and what you/they are telling me, I'm leaning toward purchasing BIAB/RealBand. For the orchestral/band arrangements that I do, I can see myself using it to work out ideas. Then, if I want to expand it into a proper score, I'll do that in outside software and bring it back into RealBand to tweak the output.
I'm really excited about getting involved in the PG Music forum community. Nowadays, this sort of thing is a rarity. I look forward to learning software techniques from the people here and sharing my music. I'm a Chicago-based professional trumpet player, so I will likely use it for trumpet backing tracks as well.
Last edited by markmusik; 05/10/14 08:24 PM.
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,612
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,612 |
FWIW, PT and RB share the same notation engine. So if you are looking to improve the notation by purchasing RealBand you'll be disappointed.
I have been able to print some pretty usable scores with PT/RB, but it is not the same as Finale. There are quite a few options in the notation area that may need attention for your use, and you can 'draw' volume changes .. using the piano roll window in RB.
However;
Finale is a notation software with extra DAW features, while PT/RB are DAWs with notation (and many other) extra features. There is a difference and your needs should be the deciding factor.
PT/RB notation as not been improved (updated) in many years. It is what it is.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10 |
rharv,
I was able to draw that conclusion about notation quickly upon using PT. I own a copy of Finale PrintMusic. It's great for notating, but I find that workflow is slow, thus stifling the creative process. What I really want is the best of both worlds-notation and beautiful sounding digital audio outputs.
A former student of mine uses a program called Guitar Pro 6. The notation on it is fairly basic, but it's much quicker and easier to navigate than Finale or Sibelius (much cheaper too!). I will likely purchase a copy of it for quick notation and use it in conjunction with BIAB/RB. If I need a very high quality output, I can always import the data into Finale to clean things up later.
I just discovered what BIAB soloist and melodist can do. Truly unbelievable!
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,612
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,612 |
Yeah, it's amazing what PGMusic products can do. I just wanted to point out that notation isn't improved between PT/RB. Many other things are though, so worth the investment .. if you think BiaB soloist is cool, wait until you unlock the power of RB!
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047 |
Just learned this last week from Matt. Musescore does import BIAB files into it. http://musescore.org/Tried it out after Matt's comments, works very nicely. Know almost nothing about the Musescore workflow aspects. But its a great free tool. My first scoring software was Personal Composer Prior to VS 1. Think it was $395 at that time, if my memory serves me well. Minimum of hundreds and hundreds of hours with it. BTW Matt is a trumpet/flugelhorn artist, among many other music talents.And welcome to the PG musical journey.
Last edited by seeker; 05/10/14 09:26 PM.
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PowerTracks Pro Audio
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 10 |
Thanks again, seeker! I download Musescore to take some time to try out. I've attempted to work with it in the past, but it was slow going in comparison with Finale PrintMusic. The fact that Musescore imports BIAB files is huge though!
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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 & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
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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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Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
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