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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 5
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Joined: Jul 2006
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You know, I have to say that, if not for Band in a Box, this music wouldn't be possible. I absolutely love it. Okay, enough off-topic talk. Fair Warning: The following is evangelical Christian music. So, if you are a Christian, this will cause a general feeling of Unfathomable Euphoria, and Open Worship. And if you're not a Christian, you will wish you were! You've been forewarned. And, if this music isn't your Style (see what I did there?), I have several new tracks to share. Just ask! As for the Style used, I'll paste it here: _FPBNTSW.STY 2 SwFgerpickGuitars wBand[120RS]
Brent Mason fingerpicking swing 8ths guitar w. older fingerpicking guitar, complement each other producing a warm, full sound. Pop swing el.bass & NashvilleSw8 RD. (El.Bass, Ac.Guitar, Ac.Guitar, Drums=NashvilleSwing8^2-SideStck,Ride)With that, I added: Soloist: ~1112:Fiddle, Background CountrySwing Sw 110
Melody: ~950:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm CountryBoogieA-B Sw 110After generating it a couple of times until I liked the results, I exported each part to separate WAV files, and imported them into Cakewalk Music Creator 5, where I mixed them with my single vocal. I only had to do a little volume automation with the RB tracks. In this case, it all worked out wonderfully. It's very Southern Gospel, which isn't representative of most of the songs I've written over the years. Still, I absolutely love what Real Band has done with it. That violin solo really stirs me! Thanks so much, PG Music! The MP3 is posted at Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_6KFlB8KTRATEFKYzFQc08wWEk/view?usp=sharingThanks again, and I hope you enjoy it. Richard Allan Stauch
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Joined: Sep 2010
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Hi, Richard. Nice song! You didn't mention what sort of feedback you were interested in (if any), so I'm going to take a chance and make some un-asked for suggestion. If that's not what you wanted... sorry for my presumptuousness, and just ignore what follows.  To my ears, the vocal is buried in the mix, and the lead guitar is always in front. I'd suggest adjusting the mix to bring the vocal to the forefront, as it's the most important. The guitar never seems to let up - having it sit out for a while would add some contrast, and make it welcome when you bring it back in again. BiaB has a harmony generator (Harmony | Audio Harmonies and Pitch Tracking...). You might consider using it to add harmony to your chorus for some extra punch. Finally, at a bit over 6 minutes... well, I could see as a praise song some people might consider that a bit short, so I guess I should stop while I'm ahead.  Anyway, don't let any of this give the impression that I didn't like the song! I'd just like to hear it with the vocal more in front. Give that BiaB guitarist a chance, and he'll solo in front of you all day long!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 3,615
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Hi, Richard. Nice song! You didn't mention what sort of feedback you were interested in (if any), so I'm going to take a chance and make some un-asked for suggestion. If that's not what you wanted... sorry for my presumptuousness, and just ignore what follows. To my ears, the vocal is buried in the mix, and the lead guitar is always in front. I'd suggest adjusting the mix to bring the vocal to the forefront, as it's the most important. The guitar never seems to let up - having it sit out for a while would add some contrast, and make it welcome when you bring it back in again. BiaB has a harmony generator (Harmony | Audio Harmonies and Pitch Tracking...). You might consider using it to add harmony to your chorus for some extra punch. Finally, at a bit over 6 minutes... well, I could see as a praise song some people might consider that a bit short, so I guess I should stop while I'm ahead. Anyway, don't let any of this give the impression that I didn't like the song! I'd just like to hear it with the vocal more in front. Give that BiaB guitarist a chance, and he'll solo in front of you all day long! I agree with David. Plenty of room to play around with. Great effort. Rob
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,883
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ditto.
MC5 is a great DAW. I used MC4 for quite some time and then MC5 for a short time before jumping to Sonar.
The mix is fairly loud and present. The comments about the guitar and vocals are spot on. EQ the vox a bit brighter as well as bumping the levels a few dB higher so they will cut through a bit better. Harmony would work well on the chorus.
Bump the vox up to the front.... use envelopes on the guitar and let it play fills and solos. Basically, a rule of thumb to mix by is: If the singer is singing, no one in the band should be soloing. The singer is the star, no one should be in the spotlight when the singer is working it.
The song had a very strong Dire Straits feel due to the tracks you used for the lead and rhythm guitars.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 06/03/15 02:03 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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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,936
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Richard,
Welcome to the Showcase...
David has given you some good pointers. It is sometimes possible to have a lead running under a vocal, so your first move should be to re-balance that... vocal (and lead if you keep it) - basically swap their volumes (so to speak). (Later in the song the vocal seems to get a bit louder).
A good Christian number. I can imagine a choir coming in on the chorus...Good first post. Keep 'em coming...
floyd
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,888
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Hi Richard,
welcome to the showcase.
I wonder why this is your first post as
you already registered in 2006.
Nice song. David and Floyd gave some good advice.
Enjoyed the listen. I like that Dire sound.
Guenter
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 7,052
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I'll have to agree with the others. To me, the vocal sounds very good but is hard to hear. It makes an arrangement more exciting and offers relief to the listener to bring instruments in and out, build and bring down again. That guitar is really sweet but gets overwhelming. I think the song could be very good with some editing. Enjoyed it as is but could be improved! Take care. Greg
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 16,163
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One thing you might want to consider is to always use a
reference song. When I get ready to mix I play a similar
style song that I like at the same volume. I then switch back
and forth as I mix and later as I master to try and
approximate the sound of the reference.
Welcome aboard.
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 277
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 277 |
Nice tune and i agree that David has some good ideas that you can use to bring the lyrics forward.
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Nice song and arrangement. Well written lyrics. Thanks for posting. Enjoyed listening.
Charlie
BIAB 2026:RB 2026, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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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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Holiday Weekend Hours
It's Victoria Day Long Weekend in Canada. Our Customer Service hours are:
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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.
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- 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
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- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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- 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)
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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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Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
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