I thought this video was great.

One of the many reasons I love Band in a Box as a production tool (although I also play numerous instruments) is that is helps you guard against the stuff they are talking about on the video if you let it, and are careful with your mixes and effects.

For example, the Xtra styles pretty much come "pre-mixed." Listening to them, they have set the levels of the instruments about where they should go, though you can add other effects to your own taste. In the demo selections of BIAB styles, there are thousand of demos that suggest unique and interesting chord progressions. All you have to do is study them.

I use audiophile tracks, and the richness of the electric and acoustic tracks is phenomenal. Using a dynamic range meter, I can see many compositions done using BIAB audiophile achieve a dynamic range of 18 to 20, or higher, which is like Cat Stevens. You can boost the heck out of the volume and still get a respectful DR of 16 to 18. In other words there is "timbre" out the wazoo.

I spend a lot of time EQ-ing each track and then doing a final master with several high quality products on the market.

I won't name any names, but there are some people on this forum who are producing tracks in Band in a Box that are vastly superior to a lot of what you might hear on the radio, in my opinion. Vastly superior. Not just better. Way better.

People argue about "changing tastes" and all that--yada yada--but when you listen to a synth and sample driven song that is maxed out to zero with maximum compression and you check the DR on the song and see the dynamic range is 4 or 5, you just have to say a piece of crap is a piece of crap.

But is does not have to be that way. You can still create awesome music if the music is what you care about.

If you are in it for something else, you can and will produce a piece of garbage.

The happy news for BIAB users is that with BIAB, a few regular music lessons on your own instrument, and a little bit of time and patience, you CAN bring back the magic.

I know because I hear it on this forum every day.

David Snyder
Songwriter/Renaissance Man
Studio + Fingers

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