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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1 |
Hi All,
Happy New Year.
I am keen to get BIAB for Mac this year and start practising standards and jamming Jazz again.
But the only gear I have is a Mac and no musical instruments at all.
I am a Piano/keyboard player and what would be best to start all over again?
My last gear was KX-88, JV80 and MC 500 That was ages ago.
Question:-
Should I get a piano coupled with a sound module (like what PG is recommending a Roland Sound canvas) and the BIAB
so I can practise, jam LIVE with friends and hopefully be mobile for gigs.
OR
get a digital piano (the Casio/Yamaha) type of digital piano and a BIAB just to practise over it.
Your recommendations and inputs will be helpful.
Anything else that I miss or you may find essential.
Thanks for the help and may I wish everyone a great year ahead.
Cheers
Dho
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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,409
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,409 |
Those are personal preferences and either will work. Of course, buy a keyboard that plays to your liking and offers the features that you will use often. You will be motivated to play an instrument you like and enjoy it over one that does not play well or lacks the features essential to you.
BIAB can play midi sounds through a keyboard sound module so it can function the same as a stand alone sound module such as the Roland Sound Canvas.
I opted for a sound module because it provides the quality of the highest priced keyboards and offers many more sounds. The most basic and cheapest keyboard sounds like a million dollars from the output of my sound module. A quality keyboard, although expensive, will also sound great and it will play better than a cheap keyboard. I purchased the Roland Integra 7 which contains all the sounds produced by Roland for the last 30 years. Over 6 thousand total sounds, works as a computer interface and does not tax my computer CPU. I am not a keyboardist and tend to use existing midi files so it made sense for me to invest in just a module. Your needs are likely different.
BIAB 2025:RB 2025, 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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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 22,064
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 22,064 |
Hi DHo and welcome to one of the most friendly forum on the Internet.
I would get a Digital Keyboard that has both audio and MIDI outputs. That way you would have the best of all worlds. You could practice, play out, or jam with friends without lugging your Mac along plus you could input MIDI via the keyboard into your computer to include those sounds when using the Mac.
These are a few items I am naming off the top of my head that you may need in the future:
1-good near field monitors for your computer. Computer speakers are really lousy for music creation. With good monitors you can hear every instrument clearly.
2-If you are going to record you and/or your friends you will need an audio interface, one that will record MIDI and audio simultaneously. Remember RealBand comes with Band-in-a-Box and it is a 48 track Digital Audio Workstation. That means you can have 48 different instruments/sounds playing at the same time. The number of inputs you will need on your audio interface depends on how many you will be recording simultaneously, i.e. guitar, bass, vocal, keyboard etc.
3-If playing out you will need a good PA and possibly a keyboard amp.
4-If you are going to record vocals you will need a good mic AND an audio interface. Computer mic inputs are extremely bad for recording. DO NOT buy a USB mic!
5-If playing without the Mac you may need a keyboard amp. You could start out with no amp and headphones if your keyboard has headphone outs.
If I can think of anything else I will let you know.
The above is just my opinion and others may or may not agree.
Basically what I am saying is that you have to build you studio based on what you want to do, both today and what you think you will need in the future. But you do not have to build it all at once. A keyboard and BiaB/RT can last a while as you relearn you playing skills.
I hope this helps and good luck!
Unclear if the pianist is a total beginner or a professional jazz player?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,518
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,518 |
Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of people here that jam with BiaB at home, use it as a practice tool and to create backing tracks to use while performing for a recording at home or at a public performance. I hope you'll find the forum to be a good resource.
I need to correct one of Mario's suggestions. In item # 2 Mario mentions RealBand (RB) is included with Band-in-a-Box (BiaB). That statement is true for the Windows version of BiaB but the Mac version does not include RB.
Many people with Mac computers use Garageband. Garageband normally is not included with the basic Mac operating system but is part of an add on software group available from Apple for a nominal sum.
Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (1124) RB (1) 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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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 22,064
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 22,064 |
Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of people here that jam with BiaB at home, use it as a practice tool and to create backing tracks to use while performing for a recording at home or at a public performance. I hope you'll find the forum to be a good resource.
I need to correct one of Mario's suggestions. In item # 2 Mario mentions RealBand (RB) is included with Band-in-a-Box (BiaB). That statement is true for the Windows version of BiaB but the Mac version does not include RB.
Many people with Mac computers use Garageband. Garageband normally is not included with the basic Mac operating system but is part of an add on software group available from Apple for a nominal sum. Thanx jim for correcting this. I had forgotten that RB was not included in the Mac version. I apologize for any confusion this has caused.
Unclear if the pianist is a total beginner or a professional jazz player?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,518
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,518 |
I had forgotten that RB was not included in the Mac version. I apologize for any confusion this has caused. Sometimes it's easy to forget we Windows users do have something that Mac users don't have.  Our Mac brother-in-arms always have the option to purchase the Windows version of Band-in-a-Box (that includes RealBand) and set up their computer to run a Windows program. 
Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (1124) RB (1) 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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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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