Members SrMeowMeow Posted December 15, 2011 Members Share Posted December 15, 2011 I just saw someone mention Band in a Box in the "what made you better" thread and looked it up online and I'm intrigued. If anyone's tried it, let me hear your experiences and reviews! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joefnperry Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 I used for a bit years ago.. i got it for cheap at a guitar show..it was the 2nd version I think. what I remember was alot of mouse clicks and 8 bit sound quality. it was ok to program a progression and hear what it sounds like with various instruments, but the instrument sounds were lacking. it is a deep program though..you could spend tons of time composing..i think it also had a notation program..its probably cheaper now..and maybe the sound quality has improved..worth it if you have the time to invest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hard Truth Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 I stopped using it ten years ago when Acid came out. It is a good choice, probably the best, if you want to work with a variety of harmonic progressions, so people studying jazz harmony will probably get the most out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orbm1 Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 The best invention since sliced bread! I am kind of glad that a lot of people don't get into BIAB, because it is the PERFECT TOOL for an aspiring producer... It let's me create backtracks for clients wthout having to HIRE musicians... I have used it for demos with no complaints from clients... Sometimes I re-record on top of the Bass track or piano track if there is a need of an specific riff... It is AMAZING and EXTREMELY POWERFUL!!! A couple of backtracks I did with it... http://www.box.com/shared/fok3xgip2r http://www.box.com/shared/mhqmr4ki9l Here is their website: http://www.pgmusic.com/index.html Pm me if you have any questions... Thanks! Omar edit: I DO NOT WORK for PGMusic.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bananashotgun Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 helped me tons in music school when i needed to learn how to play through the real book on the spot. took 2 minutes to setup a whole chart and i was ready to go. not the best sounds if you want to record with it, but if it's very flexible and easy to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orbm1 Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 helped me tons in music school when i needed to learn how to play through the real book on the spot. took 2 minutes to setup a whole chart and i was ready to go. not the best sounds if you want to record with it, but if it's very flexible and easy to use. Not anymore... Since they implemented REAL TRACKS! Check the links I posted earlier... those recordings were made with BIAB realtracks... I only edit them in my DAW... Just saying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diceman1000 Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 there is a duo locally that uses it as their entire rythymn section, less the rythym guitar, when they play live and they sound like a full, true life band... i think it's great ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hardvalve Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 Looks interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orbm1 Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 there is a duo locally that uses it as their entire rythymn section, less the rythym guitar, when they play live and they sound like a full, true life band... i think it's great ... Definitely! I use it like that as well for my Solo gigs! I create my backtracks, and I play either piano or guitar and Sing! Sounds like a full band! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rock-lobster Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 Yeah, I've used it a couple times and it's definitely built for jazz, standards and such. Really good tool for me being a music student but I haven't actually gotten the program for myself yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnhhngbfs Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 Not anymore... Since they implemented REAL TRACKS!Check the links I posted earlier... those recordings were made with BIAB realtracks... I only edit them in my DAW...Just saying... that guitar in the second demo.. is that software as well? it sounds pretty good (at least from the first 30 seconds or so) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orbm1 Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 that guitar in the second demo.. is that software as well? it sounds pretty good (at least from the first 30 seconds or so) ALL the instruments are from BIAB... from both tracks... :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nuke_diver Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 Omar that's really good. I thought it was you doing all the playing how flexible is it? I've got Garageband for the ipad which is somewhat similar but I don't feel that it has a ton of options for instruments you don't know how to play. You can make a few different automatic type options but for something say like bass you'd only have a dozen or so options before you'd repeat or have to learn how to play it yourself (and I got enough trouble with trying to learn the guitar already ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Deadbeat Son Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 A couple of backtracks I did with it... http://www.box.com/shared/fok3xgip2rhttp://www.box.com/shared/mhqmr4ki9l Both tracks sound fantastic! Nice work Omar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orbm1 Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 Both tracks sound fantastic! Nice work Omar. Thanks, but just to clarify, IT IS NOT ME playing in these tracks, I just PROGRAMMED the chord progression in BIAB, exported the tracks in DAW mode to my DAW (Ableton Live), edit, mix, and master... THAT IS IT! Omar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnhhngbfs Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 i picked up an ultrapak this morning and spent hours installing all the realtracks it came with. after figuring out the UI i whipped up two songs in ~3 hours (had lots of trouble getting what i wanted at first)this program is awesome and i feel bad for judging it on the pre-real track version i used years ago.here's what i came up with:http://soundcloud.com/jbest/cunttry-bull{censored}-render (this one is mixed straight from BIAB, i didn't export to my DAW)http://soundcloud.com/jbest/nufiber-demo (this one i mixed in my DAW)pretty nifty tool, thanks for the recommendation, omar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scuzzo Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 if you are looking for decent DAW/backing track creating software i would suggest giving Mixcraft a free trial.. it will do every thing that apples Garage band will, its a very slick package, i think it sells for 60 or so bucks but some times they do promos and stuff so the price may get a cut.. it has become my DAW of choice when i dont want to fire up Audition or any other resource hog.. i think most of the clips on my Electric Cow Bell sound clicks have been done in full or part with mixcraft.. well seems like a pretty cool package to me.. tried band in box.. did not really like that one at all.but i dug MC.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 I've been thinking about buying this; I used it for awhile about 10 years ago and found it useful for composing. One of the things I didn't like was that when you set up a chord chart and generated an arrangement, you couldn't save that exact arrangement. IOW, you could save the chart, but every time you played it you'd get a slightly different arrangement. Does anyone know if that has changed? The other thing I'm interested in is how the Mac version compares to the Windows version? I switched to mostly Macs about eight years ago and use them for all my recording (Logic Pro and PreSonus Studio Artist). I run Win 7 on my MacPro using VMware, but prefer to use Mac software unless there's a compelling reason to use the Windows version. Thanks for any replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karma1 Posted December 16, 2011 Members Share Posted December 16, 2011 My ex-girlfriend is a jazz vocalist and she's been wanting to record a CD of standards. I was thinking that something like Band In A Box might be a way to go for backing tracks rather than adding the expense of hiring studio musicians. Is this a workable idea, and if so, do you have to pay royalties on songs you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Deadbeat Son Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 EXTREMELY flexible, as it has TONS of styles with MIDI instruments and Real tracks!!! You have to remember that real tracks are PROFESSIONALLY recorded tracks that follow WHATEVER progression you type in... Riffs could get repetitive, but with all the STYLES and variations, you hardly notice it... check the demos in their website, you will be amazed! NOT cheap to start, as it is a little expensive, but the updates are reasonable... Thanks, but just to clarify, IT IS NOT ME playing in these tracks, I just PROGRAMMED the chord progression in BIAB, exported the tracks in DAW mode to my DAW (Ableton Live), edit, mix, and master... THAT IS IT! Omar I understand that; I just thought the programming was very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 First a qualifier: I write aftermarket style and fake disks for BiaB -- but I was a fan of BiaB before I started writing aftermarket products http://www.nortonmusic.com I love BiaB. It's not an end-all tool, but it greatly reduces the time it takes to make a backing track. Export as a MIDI file and do some editing in a sequencer like Sonar, Cubase, Power Tracks Pro, etc., and you can make something truly wonderful. It's also the ultimate practice tool. I don't like the Real Tracks, because you can't edit them and turn the good output of BiaB into something excellent. See http://www.nortonmusic.com/midi_vs_loops.html for an explanation. Here is a backing track I made with BiaB, mostly General MIDI sounds and a couple of hours of tweaking: http://www.nortonmusic.com/mp3/Sweet_Home_Chicago_M128.mp3 It's 12 bar blues so it doesn't infringe on anyone's copyright, and I have it ripped at a lower bit rate than I use on stage and mono so it downloads quicker. To read how I did it, go here: http://www.nortonmusic.com/freemp3.html To read how I make and use backing tracks on stage go here: http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.html You can preview my aftermarket styles here http://www.nortonmusic.com/styledemo.html The samples are done using a computer sound card and ripped at a very low bitrate, so the instrument sounds themselves sound a bit cheesy. If you play them back on a better synth, they will sound like your synth, not the sound card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nuke_diver Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 I find the BIAB and mixcraft intrigue tools. I worry about them being time sinks though. While I'm glad I got PT and the Mbox to record with I don't use much of the plugins as I thought I might for that very reason. I need to spend my music time playing and practicing and if it helps with that I'm interested but if it becomes a exercise in programming I wouldn't use it much. I'll read your stuff Notes and probably add some additional questions to the experts here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnhhngbfs Posted December 17, 2011 Members Share Posted December 17, 2011 man, this is cool. i'm finally learning how to play in a country style thanks to this program and it's built in guitar display. i never thought i'd see the day i started playing country (i'm a hard rock/metal kind of guy). i'm having so much fun with this, it's bringing me out of the rut i have been in for quite some time. i've started exporting the midi and mixing the realtracks from BIAB with vst synths in FL studio (fl was my main backing track program, and i did all of my sequencing manually there, it was a very tedious process). i'm also venturing off into making my own styles and messing around with the more advanced features. just wanted to say thanks again! i haven't been this inspired since i started writing my own songs years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Smilin' Bob Posted December 23, 2011 Members Share Posted December 23, 2011 Do you have rights to the tracks you generate with biab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted December 24, 2011 Members Share Posted December 24, 2011 I can't speak for the tracks generated with the stock "PG Music" styles, but as far as my aftermarket styles at http://www.nortonmusic.com - anything you generate with my styles is yours to use without paying royalties to me. Of course you cannot give the styles themselves away, but if you create a tune with my styles, you don't have to answer to me. It's written in the license http://www.nortonmusic.com/copyrite.html As far as I'm concerned, my styles are tools, and although I don't want you to give the tools themselves away, anything you construct with those tools (without giving the tool away) is yours to do what you want with it. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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