PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase “Hey, What Nashville Studio Did You Cut Those In?”

I will go to the punch line first, then discuss my love of Real Band and Band in a Box. I recently submitted a bunch of songs for a mentoring session at a Nashville group I belong to, and the response was “Hey, those songs sound awesome man! What studio around here did you record those in? You had some heavy hitters playing on there, obviously.”

Uh, well….I said my phone was ringing and I had to go.

One song recently done with that “super band” that seems to have gone well is “ Bright White Horses” and can be heard on the link www.soundcloud.com/david-snyder-gigs.

I use this link for demos to venues and other professional uses, and also for band practice. It is also the lineup for my next album. Almost every song has been produced using a combination of Band-in-Box /Real Band and live instruments.

People ask why I use Real Band as a DAW and I say “Because it syncs with Band in a box files and is a great recording system. Why not?” (Thanks to Herb Hartley for turning me on to these amazing tools.)

There is another reason: Real Band brilliantly lets you use the Finale Aria player as a VST for midi files, and I happen to own the Garritan sample libraries for Jazz and Orchestra. This means that in post production or in real-time I can play sampled violin or piano notes (on a Steinway piano or a Stradivarius violin) inside of Real band, and when I am done I push a button and I have the score.

A few elements I have found useful in production that will often make you sound better than if you went to a 42 track studio.

1.) Use BIAB or Real Band as a bed for basic tracks and then add in some live acoustic or electric, or piano. You have to add in some live stuff. Like shakers for example. And acoustics. It is fine to play along with Brent Mason but you can’t let him do it all.

2.) Remember that your goal is production—which means PARTS. Real Band lets you select with the swipe of a mouse certain measures where you want to add a violin solo, or piano, or what have you. But don’t run everything all at once. Make liberal use of the fader and mixer recording tool options.

3.) It is critical to use EQ and compressor and Reverb and other effects inside each track to boost the signals and make them meaty before you export. IK Multimedia has some great basic EQ’ing and compression tools, and the Scarlett line from FocusRite, which come free with the audio interface, work great, because you can adjust them in real time with no hiccups. The Scarlett line works extremely well with Real Band. (I also almost always do a global gain change boost in BIAB tracks before adding effects.)

4.) Invest in Ozone 5 mastering software so you can sweeten it all in post production. It is a crucial final step. If you do all of this, you will be hard pressed to tell the difference between a Band in the Box driven production and a professional $3,000 studio demo or even a professional album production-- to me it is often a lot better. And the drummer actually shows up and doesn’t call in sick.

5.) Consider a program like Guitar Pro that allows you to compose drum tracks that you can add as secondary drum tracks underneath Real Tracks. If you listen to the radio a lot, you will hear a mixture of kit drums and electronica. Guitar Pro allows you to create all the organic sounding fills and pounding electronic you may need to supplement Real Drums (even in country, just go to Billboard.) Same thing with Garritan. Use the Aria Player VST in Real Band on a midi drum track, do a few drum rolls on your keyboard, run them through the jazz drums on Aria, add some compression and you are all set. You’re live.

6. They said to talk about your composition. In Bright White Horses, I am playing two live acoustic guitars and one electric (a Tele) against a Band in a Box backdrop using the _Sugar Style as a bed. (I think this only comes in UltraPak.)This is a great writing style, with congas and simple acoustics. I build by bringing in the Nashville 8s drum set only after verse two. The style also has syncopation, which pushes the momentum forward. A good mindset to fall into.

7. On the Tele, I am running a line out from a Super Champ XD tube amp (a great little recording amp with built in amp models and effects) straight into the audio interface, getting a nice clean signal. Then, I look at that track to see if I need gain changes or reductions anywhere (if so, use audio effects gain change.) Then I go to Amplitube where I have a fleet of virtual amps and pedals. Choosing the amps and effects is the last step, and since I recorded clean, I can always change them later.

Well, I am one happy camper with Band In a Box and Real Band. The more you study it, you see the possibilities are limitless.

I hope the music link works. Let me know if it does not and I will try again. Have fun out there. Just though I would share some of the stuff I have learned.

Hope you enjoy the tunes.

David Snyder
www.reverbnation.com/davidpsnyder
www.soundcloud.com/david-snyder-gigs
https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidPSnyder

Great to know David that you are enjoying biab and realband.

Another very popular program that people talk quite a lot about on the forums is Melodyne.

All the best
Musiclover

Real tracks are like discovering another planet.
Good work rob.

welcome to the world of people who love this software!

I look forward to hearing more from you!

(PS: do you live near Herb? There are several people from NC on the forum.. I'm In Winston-Salem)

Hi David. Listened to a few. You have some very interesting ideas and do fabulous backings.
I like. Cheers.

David,
Welcome
What an interesting read and yes BIAB is one hell of a programme.



Richmac says it all for me

Alyn

David,

It's good to see you coming here to the forums. Good song.



Pat, yup, he lives in Raleigh. David works with NSAI and is the driving force behind the Raleigh chapter of the Nashville Songwriter;s Association, which is now just over a year old. We have some pretty decent writers in this Raleigh group. 3 of us in 3 consecutive months got on the "Ones to Watch" list with the stuff we are writing. David, another really talented writer named Mark and myself.

It's good to see folks get BB/RB and really dive in and do some good stuff like this.

Take a look around the community and, if you haven't yet, listen to some of the productions. There are literally thousands up thousands of hours of experience (from around the world) represented here with not only BiaB but with many pro level DAW's, Izotope products and other effect/mastering software...and to ice the cake you will hear great writes, an array from many genres of fine lead and harmony vocals and many examples of members mixing their and other's playing with RT's and RD's.

www.janiceandbud.com

that's exciting stuff Herb! Congratulations and good luck to all of you! And I'm happy to see you evangelizing the best software in the world for song writers!

Raleigh's a bit far for me, or I'd join y'all. Do you know if there's a chapter closer to WS?

Hi David,
welcome to the forum!

Guenter

Absolutely!!

A quick search of their site for Regional Chapters located this: http://nashvillesongwriters.com/winston-salem-piedmont-triad-nc

Right there in town. And as of this writing... only a few days away. This Thursday.

Hello David,

Welcome to the forum.

I read your info and found it extremely interesting!
I will surely give Ozone 5, Scarlett and Garritan a look to find out it's possibilities.

I listened to "bright white horses" and indeed, the production is very well done! Solid song!

Looking forward to you highlighting a song now and then

Fred

David,

Welcome to the forum.

It might be more informative/helpful if you listed the RealTracks that you used and what instruments you added yourself so that potential users might get a sense of BIAB and if anyone listening might want to emulate your outcome.

Also, since most here are songwriters, it is generally appreciated if a lyric is posted.

This, of course, applies to one song in particular (not all at once). That also helps to focus comments on a particular target.

Looking forward to what's to come...

floyd

Welcome to the Forum David. Listened to several of your songs on your site and enjoy all the songs.





Wow. I did a search and it looks as though Winston-Salem is nearly as close to me as any of the SC chapters. I have a friend in Florence, SC I haven't seen in a while who was/is a member and invited me to several meetings in times past. I was never able to make one but realize now he must have wanted a travel partner. Don't know which chapter he was a member of but all chapters listed in the search were several hours drive from Florence.

He was always very enthused about NSAI and the benefits he felt he got from being a member and attended meetings regularly.

They have one of the most extensive video libraries I've ever seen in an organization catering as they do to educating songwriters about the business. Literally hundreds of hours of video seminars recorded and hosted by some of the bigger names in the music business. Writers, producers, artists, record co execs, publishers, and more...all talking in depth on their particular area of expertise and how it relates to the business of country music.

This alone is worth the cost of membership for new folks and it's a good brush up for more seasoned writers as well.

Might be time for a Florence, SC group.

If you're a member of NSAI, you can establish a NSAI chapter in your area. Attend a few other chapter's meetings and talk with the leaders there and contact NSAI about establishing a local chapter. I'm sure you'll get good advice and assistance. Having another local writer on board with you will make the job of starting a chapter easier to deal with.

If you're not a NSAI member, you can still form a local songwriter's group. I've been affiliated with several such non-NSAI groups in various towns along the way. You still meet good folks and some outstanding writers.

Hey,

Thanks for all of the wonderful feedback folks. I hope my enthusiasm was not too over the top.

I sure do listen to a lot of stuff on here and there are some great artists using BIAB including those on this forum. I will be sure to post lyrics next time as well as get more specific on tracks I used, and those I added. My amazement right now is with the technology and the possibilities. I have been playing guitar A LONG TIME, with a long history of session work, but my mind really is blown with the sounds you can get coming line of out a tube amp (with a direct box) straight into RB, and then post processing with Amplitube and other effects, stirring in RealTracks as the "band." My jaw drops open. Mixing your own instruments with the RealTracks, of course, opens limitless possibilities. Well, thanks for the encouragement to a "Newbie" folks and I will be listening your stuff closely as well and sharing more. Thanks for welcoming me so warmly to the tribe.

Sincerely,

David

Hi David,

Don't sweat it, we all feel the same way about Real Tracks around here.

I've only listened to Bright White Horses. It has a Brit rock vibe to me - which I really enjoyed. Great job on the arrangement too.

Hope you jump in and make yourself at home.

Josie

David,
I listened to "Bright White Horses" also. It's a very good write.
I hope RB/BB sets your creativity free as it's done for so many of us.
SD