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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,417
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,417 |
To my ears, everybody else's stuff sounds better produced than mine. .... Herb, I definitely like the sound of your tracks, and you've made the Top Ten on SC, that's pretty good. ...... I could've used a plugin and done more harm than good. Classes in mixing would be nice, that's not going to happen either. It's good to know most of you feel that I'm somewhere in the ballpark with my mixes, that is encouraging. I will give Ozone a trial run. Do most of you use the package that sells for $200 or Ozone Advanced that goes for $$$? Herb, what do you use?
I think I've had the hardest time getting vocals to sound good and fit in the mix. I don't want my songs on the Net at this point, but I have some throwaway tunes, I can put one on Soundclick. I use Waves Renaissance Vox and Ambience on vocals, I've never been thrilled with the results but my singing ain't much to write home about either.
Great thread, thanks to all for input!
Everybody else's mixes sound better.... it's probably psychological for the most part but.... as you learn to mix and produce things will definitely turn around. With time and effort, it's not hard to produce nice sounding mixes. I'd rather have a top ten on the Billboard.... Classes in mixing are not necessary. I never had any. Simply mix, mix, mix and then mix some more. Not only your stuff but grab some other folks stuff and mix that. There are mix contests going on all the time that post up free tracks for download..... grab them and even if you don't get in the contests, mix the tracks for more experience. POST your music in the forums for the software you use. I like to post in the more "technical" forums.... For example, Sonar has a songs forum for users of the Cakewalk line of products and the folks there are focused on the recording aspect of the music. Good ears, astute observations, and great feedback that helps you improve your craft. The User Showcase here in PG can also be used the same way..... but you probably need to ask for specific "Mixing" critiques to get in depth analysis of your production and mixing chops. You asked what I use. I use Ozone 3 and Ozone 4. I haven't upgraded nor have I considered Alloy. I DL'd the trial of ALLOY and found it pretty similar to O3 & O4. Ozone has presets based on numerous scenarios for instruments and vocals that will give you a great starting point so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Most of my custom presets are tweeks made from one of the O4 presets that I saved. One bit of advice I will offer: Less is more. Most of my tracks are recorded and remain dry. I use buss groups in Sonar and that's generally where I place the plugins I use. The master buss also has plugs that effect the entire mix..... generally one of the O4 presets and a light Studioverb2 (cakewalk) reverb. Vocals tend to get an O4 preset for vox and occasionally verb. Instrument tracks often just get some EQ and nothing else. It's better IMHO to have a clean vocal performance that shows some warts rather than to try to cover it and hide behind a bunch of FX. It's when you can clearly hear the vocals, that you can work on getting better. Melodyne is a neat fix for vocals. You can easily fix the pitchy parts and since it shows you the "blobs" as they call it, you can learn to sing better because you can actually "see" some of the bad habits you are using to try to "fake" being better. Melodyne Editor and Ozone 4 are my main 2 fx plugs. Beside them, I use a couple of cakewalk default fx for EQ & verb. But in reality, that's about all I really use on a consistent basis in my music. The main thing is to mix, study, get feedback and mix some more. Hope that helps a bit.
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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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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User Video: Band-in-a-Box® + ChatGPT = Impressed the BOSS!
Band-in-a-Box User Video Tutorials!
If you've reviewed our Support page, you've probably noticed the Videos page, which separates our Band-in-a-Box® tutorial videos by category: Overview, VST DAW Plugin, Setup, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and there's even an Archive category to go down memory lane... (You'll also find these videos on our YouTube Channel.)
It's always great to hear how other Band-in-a-Box® users create their songs, especially when they explain in detail what they're doing. Like Henry Clarke's YouTube Channel, Henry Clarke - Senior Musicians Unite! There you'll find his ALL Band-in-a-Box Tutorials playlist with over 50 videos! His top-three most watched videos include "How to Get Started with Band-in-a-Box," "How I use the Audio Chord Wizard in Band-in-a-Box," and "How to Create An Effective Solo Using Band-in-a-Box" - however he touches on many other topics and also demonstrates his own Band-in-a-Box® songs in the Band-in-a-Box Created Songs playlist!
You're guaranteed to find some helpful videos when you visit Henry Clarke's channel!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Italian for Windows is Here!
Ci siamo dati da fare e abbiamo aggiunto oltre 50 nuove funzionalità e una straordinaria raccolta di nuovi contenuti, tra cui 222 RealTracks, nuovi RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 3, Playable RealDrums Set 2, due nuovi set di "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 e altro ancora!
Tutti Pacchetti | Nuove Caratteristiche
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 French for Windows is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 apporte plus de 50 fonctions nouvelles ainsi qu'une importante de contenus nouveaux à savoir : 222 RealTracks, des RealStyles nouveaux, des SuperTracks MIDI, des Etudes d'Instruments, des Prestations d'Artistes, des "Morceaux avec Choeurs", un Set 3 de Tracks Jouables, un Set 2 de RealDrums Jouables, deux nouveaux Sets de "RealDrums Stems", des Styles XPro PAK 6, des Xtra Styles PAK 17 et bien plus encore!
Tous Packages | Nouvelles Fonctionnalités
Video: Making a Song with Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V
Take your Band-in-a-Box® project to a whole new level when you incorporate ChatGPT and Synth V to add lyrics and vocals to your song!
We wanted to demonstrate how this is done with our video, where we show you how to go from nothing to a finished "radio ready" modern pop song by combining the features of Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V!
Listen to the finished song, so you get a listen to the finished product: https://demos.pgmusic.com/misc/behindthefame.m4a
If you like it, watch the video. Either way, let's hear your comments!
Henry Clarke: Revolutionize Your Band-in-Box® Tracks with Regenerating Function
User Video: Convert MIDI Chords into AI Vocal Harmonies with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®
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