Greetings to everybody in BIAB community from a fresh member...!
I am happy to see so many informative people, willing to share their valuable knownledge.
I subscribed to BIAB from a recommendation, as a friend told me that it would serve my purpose to arrange cover songs pretty fine.
So I've started making my first arrangement and most questions i had, were answered by searching this forum.
However i have one that still remains unanswered, since i am not able to locate the subject.
To cut things sort, i have finished arranging the track, but now i want to mix it.
I ve tried to do this through the mixer floating window, but changes there seem to be universal and not bar specific (I have styles and tracks changing at various bars.)
You are correct that the mixer settings affect the whole song. The next step for you is to explore F5. On any measure, you press the F5 key and you can alter the tempo, volume, patch (sound) of any track. You can also mute an instrument, or start a fade, or even change a style. . Just remember to go to another bar and change the setting back if, for example, you want to change back to normal. There’s lots more to it, but start experimenting with F5.
Later we can also talk about using a DAW (digital audio workstation). One comes free with your purchase, called RealBand. Another that I use is free, called BandLab by Cakewalk.
I think what you may eventually want is to ‘ride the faders’ like you see audio engineers do.
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
This fader riding is exactly what i meant, because i am used to mix this way in Reaper.
Bar settings (f5) gave me hard time to understand, since i feel that it is the most important thing to master at the beginning and indeed very intimidating.
I am using it and experimenting a lot, however i can't see how can i change volume for each track in specific bar. Volume and tempo you suggest are for the whole track and not for each instrument.
Yes, do what Dan said. Had we known you already know Reaper, that would have made your question more clear. Very good. BIAB is very powerful but there are some tasks that are simply easier to do in a DAW, and riding the faders is one of them, especially if you have a MIDI control surface. Those make it a dream to adjust more than one fader at a time (I use a Behringer X-Touch).
But yes, you can use F5 in BIAB to change the volume of individual instruments. In the middle left under Instrument Changes at This Bar, find the Volume Changes pull-down for your instrument, and use Change By, Fade, or Louder.
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
Just for education of anyone reading, the scale of plus or minus 127 is NOT decibels.
An increase of 3 dB doubles the perceived volume. If you even could increase dB by 127, you’d kill everyone on your block and set off seismometers in China and Iceland.
-127 to +127 is 255, or 1 less than 2 to the eighth power. It’s a binary convenience to programmers dating back to 8-bit code.
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
I use BB to choose my tempo, style, and key. I create the song as I want to hear it. And yes, I have used it to do a few covers. Several of them are pretty close to the original artist's version.
After the song is structured properly, I save and close the BB version. I then open this same file in Real Band. RB lets me generate wave files and also add other tracks that are maybe not in the style. Such things as adding a steel guitar or fiddle to the LA Hard Rock style for example.
Once I have the assortment of tracks, I export them to a folder and ultimately into my DAW as waves. Once they are in the DAW, I have all the editing tools to use plus easy automation of volume and panning. It's here that I also add my own live played guitars and keys and other things. Often, it is the live played tracks that will make your cover sound like the original if that's what you're trying to do. BB & RB are not going to know to add the things that make that cover faithful to the original.
I have found this to be the easiest and fastest way to work.
I use 3 programs. BB, RB and Sonar X1. Each one has specific strengths and deficiencies. Use the strong points to get the most from each one.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add 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.
Once you incorporate Realband into your flow(assuming you do) you'll find it much more intuitive and quick to drag from RB to Reaper.
You can go back to RB, generate a new track, and click on the track number (important; clicking the track number is what allows the drag) and drag into Reaper. Works a treat. Especially if you ever think your are done in RB, and move on to Reaper only to find you want to regenerate something. Just go back to RB, generate it and drag that new track into the current Reaper project.
Make your sound your own! .. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Still haven’t incorporated rob into my flow. Currently I am trying to get a good grasp of how bar settings works in detail and also figuring out why when changing styles mid song (only real styles) some instruments of previous style are vanishing.
Anyhow if I am unable to figure out I ll ask on a different post.
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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