I'm using the Audiophile version, and the final audio quality generated by Band-in-a-Box is still just as poor as with the WMA files. The cause is surely not in the source files, but in the post-processing the software performs when creating the mix or applying time-shifting/transposition. This includes the élastique Pro V3 algorithm and the export settings.
Does anyone know the possible reasons and how to address them? Using élastique Pro V3 for any kind of tempo or pitch stretching can generate artifacts, even when working with high-quality WAV files, especially if there are significant pitch changes. Current algorithms aren't perfect, and acoustic pianos are particularly susceptible to digital degradation. Is it a problem that the audio regeneration is too fast? Are too many transients being created when transposing?
How far are you transposing the notes from their native position? Most likely you will incur artifacts when pitch shifting by anything more than a few semitones.
Also, what year Audiophile version are you using? There have been advances in the Elastique algorithms in the past couple of years.
Last edited by AudioTrack; 11/06/2512:03 PM. Reason: Add question about version.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Try switching the RT piano out for a Midi Super Track (MST) Piano. You will then need to feed the right patch to play the piano but you may be surprised at the improved sound quality - I know I was.
Similar to Dr Dan, I usually use the MIDI transcript for the piano RealTracks I want with the Piano VSTi of my choice. I find the articulation much more pleasing to my ears in most cases.
Last edited by DC Ron; 11/06/2502:50 PM.
DC Ron BiaB Audiophile Presonus Studio One ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM Presonus Faderport 16 Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
Here are some things that I would consider if I had the same issue.
First.... Check your Realtracks and Realdrum settings and make sure that the preferences point to the correct location for the Audiophile's audio files.
The Audiophile installation to a computer's hard drive usually installs the .wma files on the hard drive. This means that files in a computer's harddrive directories of \bb\Realtracks and \bb\Drums will most likely be .wma files. This was needed in the days when computer harddrives were not sufficiently large enough to fit all the audio .wav files. The envelope icons that I have used arrows to point to are used to navigate to the correctly located folders.
With my installation, I have .wma files on my computer's hard drive. I use these during the creation process of writing songs. When I move into the production of my song, I do the following.
Freeze all the tracks of my BIAB arrangement when I have the arrangement sounding the way I like it.
Plug in my Audiophile USB drive.
Change the directory location in Realtracks and Realdrums preferences to point to \bb\Realtracks and \bb\Drums on the USB drive.
Generate the song.
Second.... Check the Export Audio settings. BIAB's audio .wav files are 16 bit, 44.1 kHz (44100 Hz) audio files. By matching the export settings to BIAB's file format, the stage is set for exporting at the best quality.
In the Realtrack settings above, you can also find a setting for the output quality of stretching and shrinking the audio files. This is the setting for controlling the quality of Elastique's pitch shifting. For the best results with the BIAB (AUdiophile), this setting should be set to 'High".
Fourth.... Under Song Settings, overriding BIAB's default settings so that the program will always choose a non-transposed chord as the first option will also help create a better quality export.
Thanks Ray. There are a few things that need to be considered when working with the Audiophile edition and ensuring that its producing the best quality sound. I've also added the post to the 'Users Tips and Tricks' forum for future reference.
I endorse DC Ron's comment. Thanks Noel. Your input and attention to detail is second to none.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Thank you so much for your help. I'll study it carefully. Before your suggestions, I was looking through the program's help and found this:
Accelerate RealTracks Generation:
This acceleration feature works automatically and uses CPU resources during playback. If you have a multi-core computer, you might not notice it, as it will use cores other than the main Band-in-a-Box thread. If you have an older computer, with limited memory, a slow hard drive, etc., or if you notice audio glitches during playback, you can disable this feature to reduce CPU usage. Tempo/Pitch Stretching Quality (Reduce on Slow Computers): This allows you to select the quality of the tempo and pitch stretching. You can select "High" if you have a fast computer, but you should select "Low" if you have a slow computer and hear dropouts during playback. Use +/- RealTracks for Generation: This option is usually disabled, but enable it if you have a slow computer. I tried selecting High stretching quality and it worked even worse, so I tried again with Low and the result improved dramatically. The setting is in a Realtracks/Settings dialog box and is easily overlooked, considering the radically dramatic effect it has on audio regeneration. Let me know what you think. Thanks again.
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