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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,664
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OP
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,664 |
I tend to work quickly and using the generic in style drum track is my preferred way to go. Often, it's a compromise. Work quickly and get good results but live with the things I don't really like about the track.
Out of curiosity more than anything else but also really not satisfied with the in style drum track.... I opted to check out the drum style that would work but also had the stems.
I picked a Nashville style with 10 stems and generated them and imported them into my DAW.
Immediately, I realized that they were in fact recorded with a mic and there was a significant amount of bleed from the rest of the kit.
Not to be deterred, I loaded the CLA drum plug and adjusted the gate. I had a reasonable isolation of the main drum. This had to be duplicated across all of the tracks.
I also realized that I couldn't get exactly what I wanted from the stems. Quite simply, what I wanted simply wasn't there. It was necessary to add a couple of instances of my Cakewalk drum synth and play the parts in with my midi keyboard. A bit of quantizing and the hits were on the beats. Doing this especially for the cymbals allowed me to delete the overheads and room where the cymbals were in the stems. This did a major cleanup on the sound and allowed better control over the cymbals high end. The song was so much clearer as a result. Huge.
In the end I have a really good, realistic sounding kit with a quarter note cymbal bell ride in the places I want along with a solid sounding kit that has nice fills. I might have to do this for everything from this point forward.
If you are not working with drum stems you really should give them a try. I think you'll have much better sounding drums.
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: Aug 2010
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Joined: Aug 2010
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Agreed that individual drum stems CAN make a big difference.
I think most guitarists can appreciate that a stereo track of drums is, in some ways, similar having all of the guitars rendered as 1 stereo track of guitars.
I'm excited to hear some of your mixes with what you're doing. Great info!
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Jun 2009
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Thanks for the info ! I don't know how many drums have stems now in 2024 ?
I know they haven't got around to adding the shots holds pushes in the stems (maybe they were added in the stereo tracks after the artist recorded the drum track ?).
I thought you could use the drum chart midi with the SforzandoVST with the Playable RealDrums .sfz in the DAW to replace any stem track that you can get right or add the missing shots etc...
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Nov 2008
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Really good write up. I had a similar experience with drum stems when they were first introduced, but ultimately decided the extra work wasn't worth it for what I was doing. Probably time to revisit. THANKS for sharing!
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,664
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OP
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,664 |
It is a fair amount of work. The question you need to ask yourself is this..... Is the song worth the effort to have a good drum sound?
To see which real drums have stems and exactly how many stems..... From inside your BB project, select the first utility track, I think it's a right click to open the menu.... Choose the real drums option and look at the column on the right side which lists the number of stems. When you click on it to select it, it populates the available utility tracks with the available stems.
Note: as I found out, you don't necessarily have to have all the stems to get a good sounding kit. Some are repetitive and unnecessary. Choose the ones you need.
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: Nov 2008
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Herb, all good tips. THANKS for passing them on. Ron
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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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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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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