Band-collab.net (http://www.band-
"I had something that let my band continue to be creative, even during the work week, even if a member or two moves away", says Thomas, "I wanted to share this neat tool with the world. If there's one thing the internet hasn't revolutionized as much as it should have, it's creativity - and this is the missing piece". Indeed, the web has done many great things for left-brain creativity - a quick web search for "online project management" shows a wide array of useful and ingenious pieces of software - but musicians are given very few simple tools to enhance the creative process itself. That is, until now.
Band-collab.net now also includes a web-based digital audio workstation, WebDAW™, for working on song ideas over long distance. This simple flash-based applet allows users to upload recordings of their part to a virtual project. Each track can be moved forward or backward in time, attenuated or panned to achieve the right mix. This is a much quicker and more compatible alternative to heaving hefty multi-track files from different software programs. However, where the advanced features of a desktop DAW are needed, band-collab.net does gladly facilitate the needed file transfers, and uploaded files are conveniently kept in the musicians' workspace.
Band-collab.net also allows quick creation of the web's most popular way of exchanging guitar tablature, so-called "ASCII tabs", using a built-in ascii-tab generator. This is in line with band-collab.net's philosophy of enhancing the way musicians already work rather than adding new barriers. This generator is built right in to the forums and can also be used to create and save tabs in the band's space.
Asked what makes band-collab.net different from other sites out there designed for open musical innovation, Thomas replied, “Band-collab.net is based on the way real bands create music. Sites designed for open collaboration have their niche, but one of the great lessons of the internet is that social norms don't suddenly change when technology is applied. We give tools that can enhance the creative flow the musicians already perfected on their own."
