One way to practice your mixing is to record everything. We record our practice sessions because 1. guys can take a copy home and hear what they did 2. we get to tinker with the sound and mic placements 3. we may stumble onto a cool idea
This is a live mix, everyone in one room and mics bleeding all over while working on writing a song. Setting (see image below): 5 mics on drums (2 on bass drum, 1 is a subwoofer in reverse) Barry is playing tambourine, keyboard throughout, and singing <grin> Bass is causing snare ring and bleeding every mic (you can hear snare rattle at 1:05) Guitar is loud in the room so I tend to record him low, but he still bleeds My job; click management, get the tracks recorded the best I can in these conditions, mix as we go and help write Somewhere along the way I'm sure I'll be adding parts later. My strat is in the picture but I did not play anything on this take.
We used Powertracks to record this, so PG related, plus it fits the forum topic.
We'll go back and record everything individually later of course (none of this is a keeper), but it's a good way to practice the recording side as well as learning/writing/playing the songs. We have fun.
Drums may be loud, it was live after all, but I'm liking the sound we're getting from them so far. Since we'll record them first and they will be the hardest to record, I take advantage of the chance to tinker with micing them various ways beforehand.
This sounds very good. Yeah, since the days I had my first band, I ran tape most all the time. Apparently Keith Richards woke up from a blackout early one afternoon after drinking and running tape all night and Jagger asked him if he had anything. He said "let me check" and somewhere in there was the lick to Satisfaction.
Do you guys ever do that? That would be cool.
But seriously, I don't record band rehearsals but I have templates set up in my studio where I can rush in and plug in and capture every single riff or idea I have to a metronome and at least play an acoustic scratch and vocal scratch so I can go back later and see what I was doing. I have terabytes worth of riffs.
Not the same thing, but same spirit, I guess.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
When BobH and I get together we record our practices with my Tascam DR-05. I then dump it to my computer and if anything strikes our fancy we redo it this time recording it into the computer. Remember we both will be playing our acoustics. I can't post the finished songs as they are covers.
Forbidden fruit causes many jams!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
One way to practice your mixing is to record everything. We record our practice sessions because 1. guys can take a copy home and hear what they did 2. we get to tinker with the sound and mic placements 3. we may stumble onto a cool idea
This is a live mix, everyone in one room and mics bleeding all over while working on writing a song. Setting (see image below): 5 mics on drums (2 on bass drum, 1 is a subwoofer in reverse) Barry is playing tambourine, keyboard throughout, and singing <grin> Bass is causing snare ring and bleeding every mic (you can hear snare rattle at 1:05) Guitar is loud in the room so I tend to record him low, but he still bleeds My job; click management, get the tracks recorded the best I can in these conditions, mix as we go and help write Somewhere along the way I'm sure I'll be adding parts later. My strat is in the picture but I did not play anything on this take.
We used Powertracks to record this, so PG related, plus it fits the forum topic.
We'll go back and record everything individually later of course (none of this is a keeper), but it's a good way to practice the recording side as well as learning/writing/playing the songs. We have fun.
Drums may be loud, it was live after all, but I'm liking the sound we're getting from them so far. Since we'll record them first and they will be the hardest to record, I take advantage of the chance to tinker with micing them various ways beforehand.
You don't always need to seperate tracks. Bluegrass and big bands record live with everyone in the room. It can help you feel the music and gule the rest of the bandmates together.
Computer: Macbook Pro, 16 inch 2021 DAWs: Pro Tools, Logic, and Maschine plays drums, percussion, bass, steel pan, keyboard, music producer/engineer
.. but I have templates set up in my studio where I can rush in and plug in and capture every single riff or idea I have to a metronome and at least play an acoustic scratch and vocal scratch so I can go back later and see what I was doing. I have terabytes worth of riffs.
Yeah, you have to at least get the ideas down while you have them in your head. I hate not remembering ..
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
I was thinking it might spark some conversation on recording/mixing live stuff (tips, tricks, lessons learned ..) but apparently I was wrong.
/shrug shoulders/
I do enjoy your siggy tagline
To mix a live band without any isolation, everything close-miked, is no easy task. You're doing just fine.
My problem was time. We had to set up fast in the places we worked, and I had two vocal mics (condensers), live guitar and bass, and the backing tracks to mix. I had the mixer pre-wired, faders set, in a Road Runner case, and all I had to do was run cables.
We had a 2nd PA in our rehearsal room, and that helped a lot.
Yeah, that sounds hectic. Heck here we can mark the floor with tape if needed. Most stuff is still wired when we show up each week. May have to wire in a bass and/or guitar amp. That's about it.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
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We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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