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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Jul 2002
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,750 |
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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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Dec 2003
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It doesn't bother me either.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Jul 2015
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Joined: Jul 2015
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"As long as they do it well" What he said.
The majority of professional bands use backing tracks in part or all of their shows. All that stuff Rick said was nothing new to me.
I think the first place I really listened to this was in Tucson. Andy Timmons was doing demos for Messa Boogie and playing to his albums with the guitar part removed. Andy was running Pro Tools on a laptop. My interest at the time was to take on stage studio effects we could not produce live so the live stuff sounded like the record.
We always use a click track in the studio. Using backing tracks with a live drummer requires a drummer who can play to a click track.
I think backing tracks enhance the music when well done.
Billy
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2017
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Joined: Apr 2017
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Really, who gives a damn?
I was watching Christian artists use backing tracks live 50 years ago about the time that PA systems started getting good. This one guy touring with Hal Lindsey was really good at it. He and his songs were forgettable but the way he cued everything with a footswitch into a REVOX r-r while he was talking was most impressive. That church had just installed its $100,000 wireless PA, the first I ever heard that actually worked as designed. 1973 IIRC.
Ain't nothing new here.
BIAB 2026 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia/Tahoe, M1 & M5 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, Logic, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScore/Notion/Overture
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 22
Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 22 |
I think it's fine for producing music or playing free gigs but I'm not paying to listen someones recordings..period I caught on to all that a long time ago when watching a keyboard player play the impossible. I got ten fingers and I'm a decent keyboard player but NOBODY is that good. Yeah, it makes for a good show but if I'm paying I want to see what you can do just yourself. I remember long time ago watching Jessi Colin Young at a summer jam and he stepped on his chord and unplugged himself. What a wonderful Pop and Spark it made and watching him reach down and plug back in was extremely satisfying. Nice to know I'm getting the real deal. 
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
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It had to be 35 years ago because I have been running my company for 32 years and this event happened while I was on staff with a big company at a staff retreat.
We were being put up at a pretty swanky condo/hotel complex at Myrtle Beach. I went to the bar and there was a band playing there. Basically, two guys on stage. One playing the guitar, the other playing the bass and both singing. However, it was a full band sound.... strings, piano, drums, along with vocal harmonies, guitar switching tone from solo to rhythm, and even the lights were synced to the music.
My first thought was they were running tape.... So on the break, I spoke to the guitarist about the missing instruments and he explained that they were both studio musicians who put this "band" together to play the MB house gig. It wasn't tape. He showed me a computer... it was an old 286 dos machine.... state of the art at the time. Running Cakewalk sequencing and sending the midi to various midi modules for the other instruments. It also ran the guitar processor, the vocal harmonizer, and the lighting processor, all synced to the music. It took them a few days to a week per song to get the parts in and debugged. This was amazing technology for the time. Some time later, I met a local musician who was an early adopter of Cakewalk sequencing and I had a chance to spend more time with him asking questions about how it all worked. He's turned me on to some pretty cool stuff through the years.
Maybe this whole backing tracks thing explains a few of the concerts I went to sounding as good as they did considering what I was actually seeing on the stage. Heck... even Queen did this in the Bohemian Rapsody vocal layering part in the center of the song..... they'd dim the lights considerably and turn them back up after the vocal harmony part was done.... Even ZZ Top...I've seen them live 3x..... when there's 2 cats on stage with bass and guitar, and you hear a second guitar part and the sequencing that they have in some of their songs.......Can't say that I blame them though....
Personally, I don't care if you're using tracks.... as long as the whole show isn't a farce (Millie Vanillie for example)
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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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Sep 2021
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Newbie
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Newbie
Joined: Sep 2021
Posts: 2 |
I’ve been to concerts where extra musicians were hidden behind a curtain. I can see them doing that to not detract from the presence of a band.
I wasn’t sure what Beato was going to say. But I was happily surprised.
hello1
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Nov 2003
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 621 |
Some bands using backing tracks for, say, filling in that keyboard part that they don't have enough people for and Motley Crue or Kiss faking it and miming because they can't play or sing anymore are two entirely different things. Let's not get the two confused.
Byron Dickens BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency. https://soundcloud.com/athanorsoundlabs
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…
Heck... even Queen did this in the Bohemian Rapsody vocal layering part in the center of the song..... they'd dim the lights considerably and turn them back up after the vocal harmony part was done....
Well, the band also left the stage and changed costumes during that break. There was no attempt to hide the fact that the middle section was a recording. I saw them five times while Freddie Mercury was still alive.
BIAB 2026 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia/Tahoe, M1 & M5 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, Logic, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScore/Notion/Overture
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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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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 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
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