[cshude]

Well, folks- as some of you may know, my recording software of choice is PowerTracks Pro Audio from www.pgmusic.com . After the crash of my laptop, I had to revert to my older one after fixing it. I re-installed the software on the "new" laptop and went to the website to see if there were any patches/updates to install. Lo and behold, they just came out with a new version with some really cool new features, such as:

--- RealDrums - a whole bunch of drum loops that are actual .wav recordings of a real drummer playing real drums. The sound quality and feel, as a result, are outstanding compared to most MIDI drums you hear. Those of you looking for good drum loops to practice to or to use for recording, this is definitely a way to go.

---- Chord Rendering - can't find the chords to that song? Open it up in PowerTracks and click a couple buttons and it will figure out the chords for you.

There are a bunch of other new bells and whistles that I haven't had a chance to check out yet, but I'm pretty excited about it. As before, you've got a lot of advantages over the freebie programs out there. With PTPA you have full MIDI support, up to 48 tracks with up to 16 chained effects, full VST support, basic music notation software built-in, and tons of other stuff.

Oh, and the best thing about it: $49US. That's right. And you can download a demo to try it before you buy it and they have a 30 day money back guarantee.

By the way- I don't work for the company nor do I get anything out of this. Just trying to let people know about a fantastic program for a great price.

[Aunt Doty]

I looked at it and it does sound like good deal. Thanks for the info.!

[cshude]

I threw together a quick little ditty on it so you can hear a sample of the drums. The drum track was created in literally 30 seconds. You can hear it on this thread:
http://www.guitarforbeginners.com/fo...950#post126950

[eddiez152]

Chris,

That recording was great. Fantasic software, gonna check this out.

[knight46]

Thanks for the heads up Chris, I'll be looking at it today.

[737blues]

Here's another heads up. If you own Band in a Box, you can buy PowerTracks 12 as an upgrade for just $29 USD, I Just got mine installed. It certainly looks complex after using Audacity free, but I really haven't had a chance to play with it yet. Looking forward to it.

[eddiez152]

If you already have band in a box, but add Power Track, which one would your be using, It seems like Power Track has much more to offer. Or do they need to run with each other.

[cshude]

They are independent programs that can work together. I know some people will create some of a song in BIAB and export it to another program and work on it from there. I know that Rockerbob occasionally does basic drum work in BIAB and then exports it out.

737- It didn't take me long to get accustomed to the user interface- it sure isn't fancy compared to some of the programs out there, but it's easy to use and to find what you're looking for. Probably the coolest thing for the beginning user is to be able to play with different effects in real-time to hear the difference while the song is playing.

[fly135]

That's looks pretty cool. Uh oh, GAS coming on...

[Nutty]

Wow cshude! I just had a look at this program and it's seems to have everything I dreamed of ever being able to do. I just watched their video and it does it all for you (adding harmony, doing notation, chords, etc). I've downloaded the demo, but I don't know how to begin using it. I'm gonna find out though. (I'm still struggling with Audacity at the moment.) Oh, I think I'm actually drooling thinking about me actually learning and using this program.

Thanks for the tip.

Nutty

[Nutty]

I tried and I tried. I really did try, but I couldn't hold back. I bought it this morning. I figure with the 30 no hassle refund policy, I can't go wrong. I have the software, but it may take up to 2 weeks to get the user guide.

Thanks for the recommendation cshude.

Nutty

[cshude]

Have fun with it- there is so much stuff on there that I haven't gotten around to learning even after 2 years, but it's still user-friendly enough to just jump in and start recording right off the bat.

For the latest version, they also added RealDrums, which are real studio recordings of pro drummers- you can set the tempo, add fills/different parts for songs, etc. It really helps add to your songs.

Another really cool program from the same company is Band In A Box- just punch in the chords for the song and the style and it will take it from there. Cool for making backing tracks, etc. I don't have that program (yet), but have heard a lot of good stuff about it.

[allthumbs]

I fumbled around with it but, I will have to read the manual before I make a decision.