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To try to avoid derailing JoeV's post on 'Making it after 50'...
What were music gear or software that you came across that kicked you in the pants and opened your eyes to the possibilities? (Musicstudent's agreement on my last list entry got me thinking about this topic)
My time line:
1981: Korg Delta synth (not mine, belonged to the choir I was in)
1981: Wurlitzer Model 200 (not mine, belonged to the choir I was in)
1985: Ensoniq ESQ1 synth
1989: Ensoniq VFX-SD synth
1996: PG Music Power Tracks Pro Audio DAW
1996: SoundBlaster Platinum soundcard and a pile of soundfonts and the quest for the ultimate GM soundfont.
1999: Larrivée L-03 Acoustic Guitar
2000: Minimogue VA VSTi running on CMuzys DAW
2000: Mr. Ray's Electric Piano on CMuzys DAW
2000: Triangle I VSTi
2000: Bionic Delay VST
2000: Frohmage VST
2000: Organized Trio VSTi
2001: Tracktion1 DAW
2008: SX 1962 Custom P-bass copy (first bass guitar)
2011: Zoom B3 Bass amp and multifx simulator
2013: Epiphone Nighthawk Custom Re-issue (3rd electric guitar)/ Zoom G5 amp simulator & multifx
2017: Hammond M3 with a GSi Burn Leslie simulator (not mine, it's at our church)
2018: EZ Drummer 2
I wonder what's next?
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Hi Scott. BIAB, when they added RealTracks (something we had not requested nor imagined). About 2009, I think. That was my exact quote: This Changes Everything. PG Music used it in their promotion. But you already knew that.
Other than BIAB? I’d say 1992, Encore music notation software.
Recordings (and radio) of 1963 - Brazilian music hits the USA. I had just started playing professionally.
For instruments, 2007, Kanstul 1525 flugelhorn. Plays and sounds like butter.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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Not sure of exact years.
Mid 70s I got a Sony reel-to-reel tape recorder for Christmas that could do sound on sound and sound with sound. Spent many, many hours making multi track recordings, playing all the instruments. I learned a lot and had lots of fun in the process!
Early 2000s, getting Cool Edit Pro, my first DAW. I still have and use Adobe Audion 1.5 which is basically the same program, even though it is ancient it is still the best program I have found for recording and editing audio files, although I use Reaper for my main DAW now.
BIAB of course, also early 2000s.
Lots of other cool stuff over the years, instruments and software, but nothing I would consider to be game changers like the above.
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Don't know about the years. - Switching from drums to saxophone
- My first gig playing sax in a rock band - (This is what I want to do for the rest of my life)
- Berg Larsen 100/0 stainless steel sax mouthpiece (can you say Rock & Roll or R&B sax?)
- Wollensak reel-to-reel recorder (later Teac 4 track)
- MIDI and my Atari/ST computer
- Master Tracks Pro - the ability to sequence music and make my own backing tracks without the Teac and the degradation of bouncing tracks
- Band-in-a-Box and the ability to write styles.
- Peter Gannon calling to help me with my fledgling aftermarket business offering to convert my Atari styles to IBM format (Microsoft DOS).
- Yamaha WX7 Wind MIDI controller and TX81z
- Physical modeling synthesis and the Yamaha VL70-m which makes me feel like I am playing an instrument with my Wind Midi Controller (now a Yamaha WX5) instead of triggering a synth.
- Digitech RP355 amp-modeling/FX/Direct-box pedal for gigging with my guitar
- My custom built Parker DF522NN guitar(NN for Notes Norton)
- EV-ZXL15A powered speakers - so much better than anything I've ever used before
I've probably left something out  Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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THE moment probably came when I bought an Ensoniq Mirage and learned how to sample. I was able to be any instrument I wanted to be.
Had you not specified music, it would have been "Good god. I got married AGAIN???"
Last edited by eddie1261; 05/29/18 11:35 AM.
I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.
1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.
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BIAB, when they added RealTracks (something we had not requested nor imagined). About 2009, I think. That was my exact quote: This Changes Everything. PG Music used it in their promotion. But you already knew that. RealDrums were introduced first in BIAB 2007, also completely unexpected and revolutionary: RealDrums - We’ve added real audio drums to Band-in-a-Box! RealDrums replace the MIDI Drum track with real recordings of top studio Jazz/Rock/Country drummers. These are not "samples," but are full recordings, lasting from 1 to 8 bars at a time, playing along in perfect sync with the other Band-in-a-Box tracks. Ctrl+click on this button to open the RealDrums Settings to make global settings for RealDrums.
For example, choose a brushes style, and you will now hear lush Jazz brushes. The results are dramatically better than MIDI. They sound like a real drummer, because they are recordings of a real drummer. Adding a real instrument to the mix makes all of the Band-in-a-Box parts sound more authentic. You’ll wonder, "Why does the guitar sound more real?" It’s because the realism of the drum part has the effect of improving the overall sound.
As well as improved drum sounds, you are hearing the exact rhythms played by the drummer, including features not seen in MIDI (subtle drum rolls, variations in ride cymbal taps, complex fills etc.). And the tracks intelligently play differently at faster/slower tempos, so you hear appropriate playing for the current tempo (not seen in MIDI drums). Change tempos or volumes during playback, using the same tempo/volume controls as MIDI. And best of all, we’ve seamlessly integrated the RealDrums into Bandin-a-Box, so you just use the program as you normally do, and you will hear RealDrums instead of MIDI drums, according to your preferences.
You can fully control which styles you will hear MIDI vs. RealDrums. New RealDrums styles can be made by the user or third parties, using standard WAV files. User created styles can control fills/postfills/pattern lengths/Substyles etc. We include a huge library of RealDrums styles to get you started, and all of the RealDrums styles are available in special value PAKs. And then in BIAB 2007.5 (remember the half-year releases?): RealDrums improved! - Faster. Smaller. Now take up much less space, using WMA files instead of WAV files, still with great quality! Uses 1/10 of the space! When you install, you can either install as WMA or WAV files. Either can be used. This allows your downloads and installations of RealDrums to be much faster!
RealDrums Variations of instruments with each "play." Most RealDrums styles (starting with RealDrums set 5) contain may instrument variations ("brushes vs. Sticks", "HiHat vs. Ride Cymbal" "Percussion only" etc.). Now, by selecting Prefs-Real Drum Settings - choose different Variations with each play, you can hear a different variation each time play is pressed, so the song sounds fresh each time. One time you’ll hear it with "brushes," the next time with sticks and ride cymbals, etc.
"Favor Brushes," "Favor Sticks" settings. When selecting RealDrums styles to use for a style, BB will use your preferences for brushes and sticks. For example, if you choose "Favor Brushes," BB will always choose from among variations that include brushes (when available).
Selectable Folder for your RealDrums styles. Now you can choose any folder (e.g. e:\Drums) for your RealDrums. This allows you to, for example, conserve space on your C:\ drive.
RealDrums "Compatible song/style finder." In the RealDrums Settings dialog, there are now buttons that will, for a chosen RealDrums style, enable you to (1) play the RealDrums demo song, (2) show a menu of BB styles that would work with the Real Drum style and (3) play a song demo of various BB styles that work with the Real Drum style.
Tempo checking for chosen RealDrums styles. If you choose a RealDrums style, and the tempo is outof-recommended-range for the style, BB will inform you of that - you can still use the style of course. RealDrums styles that get chosen automatically by Band-in-a-Box will always be compatible with your song. RealDrums styles can now have 2 separate feels, with different push amounts, and custom fills for transitioning between Substyles (see above). We made a great new style that starts out in Bossa, and changes to ‘swing’ at ‘b’ substyle, with custom drum fills for the transition fills. This "BossaThenSwing" style is on RealDrums 10, and is very effective for Latin/swing tunes.
Drum Fills can now be customized to include fills specifically used when changing from ‘a’ to ‘b’ substyle (and vice versa).
RealDrums "Developer Mode."
1) People making their own styles benefit from the "Developer Mode," that outputs TXT files with information about their style-in-progress. Now they can render a batch of songs, which will all save separate TXT files, useful for analyzing their styles.
2) Bars Blocked limit increased to 2,000 bars And then in 2008, we were completely floored by the three, count-em, three RealTracks they released. RealDrums were one thing, and that seemed relatively easy as they didn't need to respond to chord changes. But RealTracks. Who can do that? Well PGMusic did and still does that: RealTracks - With the previous release of Band-in-a-Box, we added RealDrums. Now we’ve added additional "Real" instruments, including Real Pedal Steel, Real Acoustic Guitar, and Tenor Sax soloing (RealSax). These tracks replace the MIDI track for that instrument, and can be controlled just like the MIDI instrument (volume changes, muting etc.). Best of all, they follow the chord progression that you have entered, so that you hear an authentic audio accompaniment to your song. These are not "samples," but are full recordings, lasting from 1 to 8 bars at a time, playing along in perfect sync with the other Bandin-a-Box tracks. RealTracks can be built in to the style, replacing the Bass, Guitar, Piano, or Strings part, or they can be generated to the Soloist (or Melody) track using the Soloist feature. And then in 2008.5 (another mid-year release), along with multiple SETS of RealTracks, BOOM!: Faster Generation of RealTracks. - The time it takes to generate RealTracks is now three times as fast!
"Waveless" and much smaller in size, Version 2008.5 uses 1/8 of the hard drive space compared to
Version 2008! - RealTracks and RealDrums no longer need WAV files - they can use WMA natively. This frees up huge amounts of your hard drive, so that the RealDrums and RealTracks take up only 1 /8 of the space that they used to take! The handy "Archive" function will remove the no-longer-needed WAV files with a single-click. This means that the new version uses up much less hard drive space than previous versions.
Tempo stretching quality enhancements.
Now the RealTracks sound great over a much wider tempo range, typically -15 and +40 beats per minute from their original tempo.
Stereo panning is now available for the RealTracks.
Automatic prevention of audio clipping. (New Float mixing and Peak Limiter added.)
RealStyles available - These are styles that include all "Real Instruments," with no MIDI. Up to 7 Real Instruments all at once in a single style!
Improved transitions for RealTracks eliminating Pops/Clicks.
Right-click menu is available for each part in Band-in-a-Box (bass, drums, piano, guitar, strings), allowing you to quickly assign RealTracks (or RealDrums), MIDI SuperTracks, or loops to that part along with other functions like mute, solo, save as WAV file, etc.
RealTracks browser dialog shows comprehensive information about the RealTracks, including name, genre, feel, tempo, type, demos, and preview. Lists can be sorted or filtered by any column.
Easily save a style (.STY) with RealTracks, directly from the main screen ("save what you hear" as a style).
RealTracks Rests and Shots - RealTracks work for rests and shots.
Endings are now present in RealTracks.
Name of RealTracks or RealDrums display at the top of the screen for each part.
Save Single Track - Right-click on a part to save that single track to disk as a WAV file.
RealTracks demos now present in RealTracks - demos folder, and can be opened from the StylePicker.
RealTracks Preview function to hear how a RealTracks will sound, without losing your current song.
Time Shift RealTracks - Ability to time shift a RealTracks by certain amount, to achieve more laid-back playing for example.
Variations of RealTracks can be made, for things like a simpler type of soloing, or certain variations.
RealTracks can have multiple Substyles - For example, the Jazz Acoustic Bass plays "2"’ feel in "a" substyle, and "4" in "b" section.
Soloists can solo over different chords than the chords of the song - For example, the Metal Guitar Soloist can have a tonal center controlled by the user, different than the song chords. So that the Metal Guitar can be soloing over a G chord, while the chords of the song are G F G Bb, for example.
"Crescendo" Soloing can be generated for some RealTracks that have the intensity of the solo building up with the flashiest part of the solos played as the solo builds.
Musicality of the solo phrasing improved, phrasing much closer to human.
RealTracks button added to Soloist dialog, with color coding to allow quick access to RealTracks.
RealTracks folders now have descriptive names - Instead of cryptic names like RacG001, they have names like "Guitar, Electric, and Soloist Cowboy Ev 165"
Bass track can now play RealTracks!
StyleMaker lists RealTracks names on the main screen.
Non English versions will work with the newest RealTracks without a new translation of the Soloist list (Default.SOL file).
Archive and Install WAV buttons to control the use of the WAV files for RealDrums and RealTracks. WAV files are no longer needed as the program can use the much smaller WMA files. If you prefer to use WAV files (slightly higher fidelity and slightly faster operation), these commands provide the option to install or archive the WAV files on a global or folder by folder basis. As Matt said, it was totally unexpected and was truly revolutionary.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA BB2024/UMC404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/MixBus/Notion/Finale/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com
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Piano: age 7 & the Beatles around that same time
Guitar: age 14 add electric and an amp a few years later
Tascam Porta-One : 80's
Cakewalk Music Creator : 90's
Band in a Box : 2005ish
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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1972 - 1953 Kay Jazz Master blond upright bass. It resulted in 35 years of playing in bluegrass bands (and one blues group). 1974 - Sound on sound reel to reel tape recorder. Hey, I can do this home studio thing! November 2011 - BiaB. Well, Janice I think I found a way we can re-enter the music making world and try out those genres we could never get the band to do Bud
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It was about 1970, I guess. First time I ever got to play my Les Paul out of a Marshall Super Lead 100. I was in heaven for that gig. (prior to that, and after, far as that goes, cuz I just had the Marshall for that gig, I was having to put up with my VOX Super Beatle and not caring for it too much)
Fast forward a few years. By 1973 I'd been studying and playing classical guitar for about a year. I managed to swing a deal on a Jose Ramirez 1a Concert Model. Man-o-man, what a guitar. I owned it for 30 years and finally sold it when I began building my own guitars.
No real "This Changes Everything" that was music related until I began to wake up to the power of the DAW back in about 2000. I had already owned a copy of BiaB for a couple of years by that point, but I just used it mostly as a backing tracks program, and it was very useful for that. But being able to do my own recording at a quality that rivaled that of top-notch studios, well that was definitely revolutionary to my way of thinking.
And really, since then things have been evolutionary more than revolutionary. Some cool stuff has come around since then -- including the later BiaB editions! -- but still it's been stuff I've been able to assimilate without getting my socks blown off.
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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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