Hi Ray This song is a real gem Absolute Pro Level Just listened to this song with a friend of mine And he was so excited... You have a new fan ;-) Fantastic work Ray Many greetings Andi ;-)
Love that piano opening. Love that organ!!! Nice bite. Delicious guitar work. Haunting BGVs. Cool. Good clarity to the vocal. I wanted the drums to be SLIGHTLY louder (but, I will admit that that "70's snare" cut through the mix incredibly well)
Impressive ending. I enjoyed all 8 minutes of that. (8:08 - could that be a sign?)
Thanks for making it, Ray. I really enjoy how you progress with your projects. Very educational. This is a wonderfully beautiful result. Bandi plays a great piano, and, man, I REALLY REALLY REALLY dig that bass. Excellent taste!! There is so much goodness in there and you have it perfectly mixed. Outstanding. I also enjoy he sparce use of the Bandhi singers. Cool video, too. A real gem, my friend.
Enjoy whatever happens! marty
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub Band in a Box, Reaper, Cakewalk, Ozone 12, EZDrummer
Absolutely loved the piano! The lead guitar perfectly does just enough to earn its place. The backing vocals are killer!
Your mixing has elevated to a really high level. You used to be (several years ago) a bit timid with your mixing. But now, you just put it all out there in a well-organized, most enjoyable experience.
This is just so cool in more ways than I have room to mention. Unquestionably, this is my favorite of yours. It has everything a listener could want. The tension and release are transfixing. The perfect energy in the exact proper places. There's drama and anticipation. Well, you get the idea.
Hi Ray This song is a real gem Absolute Pro Level Just listened to this song with a friend of mine And he was so excited... You have a new fan ;-) Fantastic work Ray Many greetings Andi ;-)
Thanks Andi, This was a case of subtraction...I had lots going on and needed to cut away stuff to get to the core.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Love that piano opening. Love that organ!!! Nice bite. Delicious guitar work. Haunting BGVs. Cool. Good clarity to the vocal. I wanted the drums to be SLIGHTLY louder (but, I will admit that that "70's snare" cut through the mix incredibly well) Impressive ending. I enjoyed all 8 minutes of that. (8:08 - could that be a sign?) Extremely Well Done. fj
Thanks Floyd, Long one I know but that was the natural flow as I was constructing it. The drums were REALLY problematic. It was a "multi stem" set but the OHs were in mono so It was near impossible to use them to reinforce the kit without skewing the stereo image. I was trying for 801 but arrived at the angel #.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Gorgeous opening on this . . . that piano is so compelling out of the gate . . . really sets the mood. Terrific mix . . . masterfully balanced. Some really subtle harmonies that sing . . . nice fills on the guitar panned . . . the gospel BGV resonates . . . So much to like here . . . lots of ear candy. Killer stuff!
Ray...very complex. compelling and complete mix....super work with the piano parts as well as the other instruments and vocals...great listen and super production!
www.soundclick.com/firesong BiaB 2024, Steinberg Cubase Pro 13, Wavelab 11.2, SpetraLayers Pro 10, Audacity, Steinberg UR44 Interface, Yamaha Genos, Roland FP60 and FP10, Windows 10
You are who you are because you do what you do because of what you believe.
You polished and finished this one in fine fashion! Pink Floyd vibes all over the place! You are doing a really great job adding your own instrumentation, played professionally all the way! Your vocals (I know you didn't used to want to sing on your tunes)are a great fit for your songs and you do a great This sounds really good to me!
Anyway, is there anyway you can list the pianos you used, and other stuff. I like them!
Thanks David, Original set of RTs: BIAB STUFF with those that made it to the final cut emboldened: RealTracks in style: 908:Bass, Electric, SmoothBallad Ev16 065 (replaced with a Knockhoffner, round strings , finger style) RealTracks in style: 3099:Organ, Rhythm AmericanaSlow16thsMike Ev16 060 RealTracks in style: 3436:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm BritPsycPopBalladArpHiPhaser Ev 065 - (replaced with a squire through a Yamaha FX500 sweet swirl preset) RealTracks in style: 3435:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm BritPsycPopBalladArpVibChorus Ev 065 - (replaced as above but using the "chord Clouds" preset). RealTracks in song: 1883:Piano, Acoustic, Soloist Country12-8John Sw 065 (only a couple of two or three note phrases as it was awful and very tinny) RealDrums in Song: PopRock16ths^ (7 stems as I wanted just the snare in some parts and had to address a pretty awful modern kick click too). RealTracks in song: ~2504:Piano, Acoustic, HeldChords 060 RealTracks in song: 1602:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm Pop16 Ev16 065 (this provides most of the piano "solo" that follows the guitar. RealTracks in song: 3538:Vocals, BackgroundSoloist GospelCoolSoulful Sw16 075 (supposed to work at 60bpm but I had to use tuning software to reduce the wayward vibrato and bring it into almost tune) RealDrums in Song:PopRock16ths^01-a:Snare, HiHat, b:Snare, Ride RealTracks in song: 3348:Guitar, Electric, Soloist HazyBallad ev16 070 Cheapie lap steel through a Pignose 100 was added. NB: the question about Pink was asked by BBC DJ John Peel, supposedly in jest as they were there to do a "Peel Session". During the intro & outro the two main piano parts are stereo and were superimposed while during the majority of the song they were panned away from each other.
Last edited by rayc; 05/22/2310:24 PM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Ray, Gorgeous opening on this . . . that piano is so compelling out of the gate . . . really sets the mood. Terrific mix . . . masterfully balanced. Some really subtle harmonies that sing . . . nice fills on the guitar panned . . . the gospel BGV resonates . . . So much to like here . . . lots of ear candy. Killer stuff! All my best to you, Deej
Thanks Deej,
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Ray, You polished and finished this one in fine fashion! Pink Floyd vibes all over the place! You are doing a really great job adding your own instrumentation, played professionally all the way! Your vocals (I know you didn't used to want to sing on your tunes)are a great fit for your songs and you do a great This sounds really good to me! Thanks, TB
Torrey, You're too kind.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
It's a great achievement that immediately immersed me in the atmosphere of Pink Floyd. And if we could go back like when we listened to Dark Side of the Moon with our adolescent wonder. Thank you for this bath of youth. Laurent
WOOOOOW!!!!! I guess I'm late to the party. Just had an 8 minute trip to the dark side of the moon and got a great contact high!!!! This is my favorite of yours so far Ray!!!! What are the tracks? (missed the earlier version(s)?). Take care. Greg
The soothing ocean waves go so well with the wonderful piano. It’s mesmerizing.
Wow, Ray, you’ve done a terrific mix of the BiaB tracks and your performances and Fran’s mastering aced it. That open/airy feel is hard to achieve and you nailed it. That piano is top of the bar in chops and tone for the song.
We like the gospel bgv’s and are reminded of Ruthie Foster’s excellent vocals.
Bravo!
J&B
PS You said, "his was a case of subtraction...I had lots going on and needed to cut away stuff to get to the core." True that! The old adage that perfection is when there is nothing left to take away.
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
I must admit that I didn't look much at the video because I got so absorbed and lost in the sound. That was great. I don't have the musical vocabulary to articulate my thoughts but the music was complex but not overwhelming. I like the descending bass line in certain parts== that was just a little thing (of the many things) that stood out for me. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!
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.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.
The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.
The Master Volume is now applied at the end of the audio chain for consistent levels and full-signal master effects.
Tablature now includes a “Save bends when saving XML” option for improved compatibility with PG Music tools. Plus, you can instantly match all track heights with a simple Ctrl-release after resizing, and Add2 chords from MGU/SGU files are now fully supported... and more!
Get started today—first-time packages start at just $49.
Already using PowerTracks Pro Audio? Upgrade for as little as $29 and enjoy the latest improvements!
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean