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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: May 2014
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Hello everyone, This might be a nice tip for those who want a good free alternative for BiaB's built in Coyote Synth. You can download the Magic Soundfont (which gives a very full and natural sound) for free here: ftp://ftp.personalcopy.net/pub/MagicSFver2.zipYou can load the soundfont with the following 2 programs. Windows 8: Coolsoft virtual synth. http://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/virtualmidisynthWindows 7: http://www.kode54.net/bassmididrv/We use this soundfont a lot, for instance in our song London Town. The soundfont can easily be edited and improved with other seperate soundfonts on the internet. You can use the programm Viena for this, you can download this one and other interesting programms here: http://www.synthfont.com/Downloads.htmlThere is a downside though,if you want to export midi tracks in BiaB, the only way to do this is using the Coyote Synth. To export the arrangement as WAV using the Magic Soundfont you will need a different method. You will need to record the arrangement in real time with a programm such as Soundtap (not free). We hope this might be helpful, regards, Rob & Anne-Marie
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Aug 2011
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Welcome to the forum. Look forward to hearing your songs.
Thank you for taking the time to share the links.
Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Hi Jim, We've already posted 2 songs: Memories remain: http://youtu.be/NBlwI9IASsMand London Town: http://youtu.be/mDMqoTvm0lsHope you like them. There's more to come in the next couple of weeks. Kind regards, Rob and Anne-Marie
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I used to use a lot of sound fonts back in the day. They were certainly a step up from the basic GM sounds that TTS and Coyote used.
I had, and probably still have an extensive collection of fonts on my laptop.
Once I discovered some of the professional packages that used samples and compared them to the fonts, I never used the fonts again.
Cakewalk's Sound center synth (included free with their DAW's now) is an amazingly nice sounding synth that uses samples. Also the NI stuff I have is all sampled. And... of course, the real band real tracks are all waves and sampled.....
So, basically, I have not use a font now in 5 years or more since I switched to this computer I built and only loaded the samplers. I'm not knocking the fonts, because they certainly did a fine job, it's just that there's a better way for me now.
Most often I find that the real tracks play the parts I need for background things....even the pianos. If there's a part I need played specifically, such as a riff on the piano or bass, I use the Cakewalk sound center and pick one of it's samples for the instrument.
It was great fun back in the early days to scour the internet looking for free fonts and installing them to compare the sounds. I found some pretty nice piano's and some other stuff...bass guitars and such. It was actually that process of searching for a certain instrument that lead me ultimately to find Band in A Box.
That single find, ended my searching in many aspects. Now, the searching I do is to find the next song......
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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Hello Guitarhacker,
We definitely agree that the quality of RealTracks and VSTI's like Native Instruments are far better than soundfonts. Once you've purchased the Ultra Plus Pak (or higher) using MIDI instruments becomes kind of obsolete. However, every now and then a good soundfont can come in handy. In some of BIAB's (MIDI-based) urban styles for instance.
In our latest post: 'Memories Remain', we used two separate guitar soundfonts. We also used one in 'London town', but that was before we bought the Ultra Plus Pak, which in our case also ended most of our search for additional Soundfonts and vsti's.
We are not familiar with Cakewalk's Sound Center Synth (Rob bought Z3ta and Cakewalk Musical Instruments -which is very good quality and very compatible with BIAB- years ago). Can the Sound Center Synth be purchased separately? And does it have a GM mapping? (Rob has a serious RSI problem and long searches for proper sound patches is not really an option for him).
And yes, our contemporary search is for new songs. Well, the arrangements almost present themselves in BIAB with the styles and Melodist feature.
The hardest part now is finding a good singing line and proper lyrics....
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2009
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Hello Guitarhacker,
We are not familiar with Cakewalk's Sound Center Synth (Rob bought Z3ta and Cakewalk Musical Instruments -which is very good quality and very compatible with BIAB- years ago). Can the Sound Center Synth be purchased separately? And does it have a GM mapping? (Rob has a serious RSI problem and long searches for proper sound patches is not really an option for him).
The hardest part now is finding a good singing line and proper lyrics....
I think you can only get CSC with a cakewalk DAW..... but with MC6 being only $40 (It was on sale recently for $20) that would be a no brainer buy. Does it have GM mapping. NOPE. Absolutely not. It is a sampled synth. The instruments in it are all samples. It only uses midi to trigger the samples. The break down in the list of instruments is : Bass, piano, etc.... and then you click into that category and have several other options....piano's for example have the 10 or so different Steinburg piano's.... bass has electric and acoustic sub categories and a number of basses in each. It's a quick search to find, load, and try the different samples. Lyrics..... the bane of my existence as a writer..... The music to me is the easy part..... those dang words..... forever trying to find the right ones
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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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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Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed!
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