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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1 |
I'm currently singing/ playing guitar for a living mostly to nursing/convalescent homes. I'd love to have accompanyment and after seeing and hearing BIAB 2009.5 demo I'm drooling to get it but I need to check first to see how "easy" it is to really use and can it simply play with me by adding a laptop to my mixer. I am a guitar player with limited computer point and click skills...i don't even have a usb port on my yamaha mixer for a computer. I don't have a laptop either so I'd need to find out if windows or mac makes a difference other than personal preference. I currently have windows xp simple home computer.
welcome all replys
thanks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,037
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,037 |
Welcome, We have a number of players here who travel the Retirement Village circuit. Ask yourself this, will you performance be enhanced with the addition of drums, piano and bass. If the answer is yes then you should begin the process. Your connection between tlhe laptop and your mixer will be simple audio cables from the headpone out jack of the laptop to the board. If you have a home PC then you will want a laptop PC. The home PC will be where you lay out all your arrangements. I use a single portabee USB 500 G external dirve so I just move the drive between my laptop and home PC. Teh external drive has the entire BIAB application and all your arrangements in one place. Is it easy? Well it does require some apptitude with software based music applications. And the learning curve can be steep, but given how much it can add, it can be worth the effort. Good Luck,  Dan
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 311
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 311 |
Of course you could record your backings using BIAB and then put them on a CD - either wave files or high quality mp3s. This way you would not need to take a computer round and it might even be more secure as your computer could crash and need a reboot! Never a good feature during a performance! If you have a minidisc player or ipod then that's another method too.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,511
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
I have an entire page explaining how I do it, from the creation of the songs to using them on stage: http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.htmlFeel free to take what you want and leave the rest. Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,751
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,751 |
in addition to Notes Norton's input user mac on these forums has great proven ideas on biab's use in live performance including the benefits of using the Conductor feature
Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface
casio wk-7500
biab & realband 2025 everything pk both with Current builds
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 537
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 537 |
A Mididisc player is the way to go. you can set a Mididisc player to pause. CD's, MP3's Ipod's that I have used you have to hit the stop button between songs. Not good if you are a distance from the player. A foot switch is the key to pause and play. I also have a remote that I can type in any number song I want from a distance. Great for request.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 583
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 583 |
To me, the advantage of using a laptop live with BIAB is that you can edit on the fly, especially when my horn player shows up and prefers different keys to play in. I change them on the spot and the number of choruses, if needed. And for vocals, with the scrolling lyrics, that eliminates a book, stand, light, etc... That's worth a lot. But I wonder, too, what happens if the computer crashes? I'm waiting for the solid state drives to come down in price so I can make it the primary laptop with the other as a backup. I've tried CDs and mp3s, but still prefer the laptop. By the way, my laptop has two audio outputs. Didn't realize that when I got it. I run both outputs through a mixer then into two sets of powered speakers. Talk about a big sound!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 537
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 537 |
Another good thing. With a Mini-disc player-recorder you can also change keys. But I agree, a computer is the way to go. Maybe having a mini-disc in line as a backup would not hurt.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055
Productor Musical
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Productor Musical
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055 |
Yes, you right. Decision on laptop running BIAB or players (mini disk, mp3/mp4 players, iPOD, etc) depend of type of live performance and even of music styles. Some live shows or gigs don´t let you much room for change anything, if you must stick to scheduled time, you have go song after song, for example, radio or TV, band competition or even a live recording that is ideal scenario for backing tracks playing from a mini disk or any player of your choice. "Band in a Laptop" is great if you need to change keys, styles,lyrics, tempo, number of chorus (jazz soloists with modal attitude  ) or even to select songs on fly, the ideal way for take adventage of outstanding BIAB live features, specially the Conductor useful tool. I would think of both things, BIAB running live in my laptop and my show songs backup "canned" in my iPOD or CD.
Gabriel Arellano,
Nucleox Music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,616
Expert
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Expert
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,616 |
My .02
Using BIAB live has many advantages such as being able to change the key, tempo, style, choruses, etc. Being able to switch drums from sticks to brushes 'on the fly' has been a lifesaver for me on many occasions. I still bring a MP3 player with my songs in case of a computer failure but have not needed it yet (Knock on wood). One time, BIAB lost it ability to play audio so I had to switch from RealDrums to Midi. I was not happy but got through. A System Restore after the gig brought the audio back.
A disadvantage is when using RealTracks. They take about 8 - 10 seconds per RT to generate. If you use several in a song, you can do the math. To speed up the process you can 'Freeze' the song, which makes an audio file. The song will load and play instantly, regardless of the number of RTs. However, once frozen, the advantages mentioned above don't apply.
R
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,751
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,751 |
rachel Quote:
Being able to switch drums from sticks to brushes 'on the fly' has been a lifesaver for me on many occasions.
how do you switch drums from sticks to brushes 'on the fly'
Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface
casio wk-7500
biab & realband 2025 everything pk both with Current builds
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,616
Expert
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Expert
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,616 |
I just have several arrangements of the same song - sticks or brushes or both. I use my own customized styles that have a/b as brushes and c/d as sticks. Depending on the audience and noise level, I choose the one that fits best.
R
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
Quote:
I just have several arrangements of the same song - sticks or brushes or both. I use my own customized styles that have a/b as brushes and c/d as sticks. Depending on the audience and noise level, I choose the one that fits best.
R
That's what I do also. I keep both songs in the same folder for a set, but mark one by including a "-br" for brushkit at the end of the songtitle.
In this case, "on the fly" doesn't mean in the middle of a song that's already playing...
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055
Productor Musical
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Productor Musical
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055 |
I can note "on the fly" is the right wording acceptance instead "on fly" I was using. Thanks. Despite I have many years trying to improve my english, always there is something new to learn and fix, therefore, and please! any advise or correction is always welcome.
Gabriel Arellano,
Nucleox Music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
You are doing it well, mi amigo.
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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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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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- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
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- 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)
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