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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 728
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How I Write and Produce Songs with BAND-IN-A-BOX: PART 2 - BASIC MIXING This is a new blog post on BASIC MIXING with Band-in-a-Box. This article was previously posted on the BIAB Fourms but not on my BLOGGER.COM page. If you have not read this article before or just need a refresher on getting started with mixing, please check it out. Questions and Comments welcomed. Thanks, Bob
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Songwriting
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,058
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Joined: Apr 2013
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Nice article. Enjoyed it and it has good information, especially for novice producers.
Charlie
BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,574
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,574 |
Good to know I'm doing things right now. Having said that, I realised I need to be more disciplined. Sometimes I let my solo instruments go centre. :-) Do you sometimes mix in mono as well? I read a lot about that, I guess mixing in mono first to get a nice level before panning.
Windows 10 Home 20H2 Build 19042.487 BIAB 2021 (Build 818) Intel(R) Core(TM), i3-4160, CPU @3.60 GHz RAM 16 GB, 64 Bit X64-based processor Zoom UAC-2 (USB 3 interface-built in midi) VoiceLive 3 Extreme, Sputnik Valve Condenser Mic
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Songwriting
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Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 218
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 218 |
Thanks Bob, just a question about mono and mixing. I am trying to produce backing tracks for a solo acoustic guitar/vocal. I have a single JBL Eon powered speaker but sometimes use a Allen and Heath mixer. Should I be following your suggestions re panning even though my sound is coming through only one speaker which I would presume you would have to call mono?? Cheers
BIAB 2022 UltraPAK Xtra packs 1,2,3,4,5,6,13 2019 and 2018 49pak Asus Zen Book UX533F 1TB ssd Windows10 pro, 16g i7 64bit Allen and Heath Z10fx mixer Alesis V25 controller
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Songwriting
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,058
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Joined: Apr 2013
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One speaker is always mono.
BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 728
Journeyman
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OP
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Joined: Dec 2003
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I never mix in mono. I mix in Sony headphones 99% of the time. Then when I think I have something I can live with I listen on a set of Mackie HR824s. I haven't found any benefit to mixing in mono but some folks claim it works for them. Whatever works for you, right? If you're listening through one speaker however it would seem your mix should be in mono also. Play with the panning while listening and move it from extreme left to right to see what difference it makes. It's all about listening and keeping what you like. It's a very subjective activity. Be sure to take good notes. Unless you're tracking and mixing every day you'll forget what you thought sounded good three months ago. Also, don't "piddle" your song to death. If you keep screwing around with it you'll end up not knowing what sounded good. I know it's time consuming, but when you find a mix you like, live with it for a few days. Give your ears a break and listen afresh. I'm always amazed at how a mix sounds the next day. You can't get around this step. It's like baking a cake, it's takes as long as it takes. And no matter how good you think the final mix is, a year or two from now you'll be thinking "Wow, that guitar is just too hot!" Happens to me every day.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 728
Journeyman
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OP
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One more tip on mixing and listening. I learned from producer, Jim Mason (Poco, Firefall) to listen to your final mix on everything, car, TV, boombox, earbuds, etc. His favorite thing to do was go out into the hall outside the control room and walk around and listen from there. It's so weird sometimes what cuts through the walls and open doors. If you've ever been surprised to hear your song on something you didn't test it on, you know what I'm talking about. Sometimes I flinch when I hear a mix...usually after it's been made into a CD.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 7,664
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 7,664 |
I agree. My "down and dirty method" involves two devices: 1.) The car. Bass and drums right? 2.) The speaker of my phone. Can I hear the vocals loud and clear??? I have found that if it sounds right in these two places I am 90 percent there most of the time. As a corollary I have found that if the only thing you use are headphones, God help you.
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2003
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David, can't imagine you only using headphones. But apparently you did... once. B
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Songwriting
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Man!!! Dang it!! I have GOT to come back to Colorado and sit around that campfire with you Buford. The medical straw you are burning out there gets stronger every day!!! I can smell it from here. Maybe for next year's song contest it should be "Songs I Wrote When I Didn't Have the Rocky Mountain Highs."
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 728
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 728 |
Man!!! Dang it!! I have GOT to come back to Colorado and sit around that campfire with you Buford. The medical straw you are burning out there gets stronger every day!!! I can smell it from here. Maybe for next year's song contest it should be "Songs I Wrote When I Didn't Have the Rocky Mountain Highs." "What we're dealin' with here is a complete lack of respect for the law." ~Sheriff Buford
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Songwriting
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Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414 |
Thanks for sharing, Buford! A very informative article indeed. It's nice to see such a clear and concise explanation of headphone mixing. I use a very similar process myself
Last edited by Deryk - PG Music; 09/06/17 04:45 AM.
Cheers, Deryk
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Songwriting
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 8,987
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 8,987 |
Like finest wines, this forum only improves with age!
So glad that Bob has joined us.
Donny
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Songwriting
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6,576
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6,576 |
Good article.
While there are plenty of different ways to go about it, I like the way you present a simple framework and explain all your choices.
It's easy to get the reader lost in the woods with too much information and too many choices. You've managed in a very short space to get the first-time mixer on the right track.
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Songwriting
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 5,063
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Joined: May 2008
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"Be sure to take good notes. Unless you're tracking and mixing every day you'll forget what you thought sounded good three months ago."
"Also, don't "piddle" your song to death. If you keep screwing around with it you'll end up not knowing what sounded good."
Wise words! I've been guilty of both but I'm trying to do better....the piddling is the hardest to kick....
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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® 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."
Happy Easter! Holiday Hours...
2024 is well underway - it's already Easter Weekend!
Our Customer Service hours this weekend are:
Friday, March 29: 8-4
Saturday, March 30: 8-4
Sunday, March 31: closed
Regular hours resume Monday, April 1st - no joke!
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!
Video: Volume Automation in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®
Video: Audio Input Monitoring with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®
Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!
We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!
Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.
You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.
See the Melodist in action with our video, Band-in-a-Box® 2024: The Melodist Window.
Learn even more about the enhancements to the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024upgrade/chapter3.htm#enhanced-melodist
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