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When using real tracks guitars, the strumming stops at times for a few bars and then picks up again later. How can I stop this?

Give a specific example of a RT guitar that does this.

Guitar player is probably puffing and passing.....

Sometimes I looked back and the guitar player had a brown bottle tipped up...

It just shows to go you, Guitar players, show up for a gig and want to know where to plug it in. Like I brought gear for you....

Ovid, as silvertones said, please give us an example. Also, provide the tempo you are using.

Quote:

Guitar player is probably puffing and passing.....

Now that is really funny. Made me laugh with memories of days gone by

Is the RT Jazz? If so I do tend to lose my place at times and just sit back and wait till I figure out where I am. Seems to work.

Thanks for the quick response! I'm listening to a track right now and I have two RT Guitars goin. They both drop out for a few bars here and there? (Smokin the same shit?). The styles are _ GTR, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy EV 120 Rock & the other is: GTR, Acoustic, Fingerpicking EV 120. My BPM is 120, I'm using just A & B markers and regular song structure, nothing fancy.

Ovid,
Can you go into the "Memo" - Click on "Summary" and then copy and paste that info here. It will tell us exactly what tracks you are playing with.

What processor, memory, and o/s is this? Which version of band in a box? 2011 has 2 suggested configurations, one for slower / older computers.

Win7
BIAB - 2009.5
4 Gig memory
Found another one that dops out - 582:582:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Blues Roadhouse Ev 120

****** Song Summary *************
Title: RAG DOLL
File:RAG DOLL mandoin.MGX
Key=G , Tempo 120, Length (m:s)=3:28
4 bar intro, 96 bar chorus, from bar 5 to bar 100. Repeat x1 chorus
Melody has 2706 notes, saved patch is Voice Oohs (54)
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus,
Style is _DRDUN_G.STY (Slow Rock Ballad (85 RS))
Style MIDI Instruments are :
RealTracks in song: 539:539:Bass, Electric, Pop Sw 120
RealTracks in song: 522:522:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 543:543:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 582:582:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Blues Roadhouse Ev 120 ('B' only)
RealDrums: CountryEven16
*******************

Sounds fine here given what you've given me to work with. My computer is fast though. We need to know specs as well.

I have the same problem with Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 120 and the strumming one too. It only happens on chords where you want a different bass note though so for example a C chord will play fine but if you want C/G then the RT will suddenly drop out.

I definitely suggest the RealTracks patch update, if you have not installed this already. Some of those RealTracks have been updated this year.

http://70.38.11.52/rtpatch/realtracks01-82_update_may03-2010.exe

If that does not solve the problem, please try freezing a song (right-click on Combo and then click on "Freeze all tracks"), and send it to support@pgmusic.com. If you do this please include a link to this discussion.

I have had the same thing happen using the acoustic guitar RealTracks. However I don't think it has happened since I upgraded to 2011. I concur that it happened with chords with alt bass notes, but seem to remember it happening at other times too. I'll keep an ear out.

Hi Ovid,

I agree with Blake. It's a very good idea to check that you have all the latest updates.

Given that you have BIAB 2009.5, though, I would not download the file that he suggests without reading a little more about it first. This file might not apply to your particular situation. Rather, I suggest that you visit the following two links. If you scroll down each page, you can find detailed information about each of the listed updates. Armed with this information, you could then then decide which (if any) update applies to your situation.

Realtracks/Realdrums updates are at ...
http://www.pgmusic.com/support_windows_realdrums.htm

Band in a Box updates are at ...
http://www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm

Also ...

Check under Opt >> Preferences >> Arrange and make sure that the "Insert Breaks (silence) in arrangement" is not active.

If in any doubt about installing the update or the problem, contact PG Music using either email, the toll-free number or Live Help.

Regards,
Noel

Noel thanks for the update info and I downloaded all of the updates I needed and installed them all. Rebooted and opened 2009.5. It's still happening - but only on the guitars. The RT's are useless to me if this happens.

Could it be something corrupted in a download? I had 2009.5 and never had an issue, even on xp with 1 meg of memory. Something is amiss but what? With Win7/64 and 10 megs of memory the only issue I get is a video driver problem, and that's only on really long songs with many measures, and seems to happen at odd times. Beyond that there was 2010, 2010.5 and now 2011 so I didn't keep that version or I could plug in the external drive and run it. But I only keep 3 versions back, and then reformat the hard drives for other use.

Not to worry, someone will figure it out. That's not something I recall being reported. Lots of guitar users on the forum. (Way too many) (Ducks!)

Ovid,

If this was happening to me, there are a few more things that I'd check.

1. I'd try soloing the guitar and playing the song through as a solo'd guitar so that I could determine if it's cutting out or simply playing quietly.

2. I'd check to see if the instruments might have been told to rest for particular chords. (For example "C.bdps" is saying, "Play the C chord with instruments in the tracks for bass, drums, piano, strings and rest the guitar.")

3. Then I check to see if some individual bar settings might have crept in. These are usually seen by red squares around a bar number (on the chord sheet). I'd actually reset these just to make sure. To reset, click on the chord sheet, press F5, and then down the bottom of the dialogue box that pops up, click "reset all bars". Then regenerate the song and see what happens. (I'm certain you already know this but it's very important to always regenerate the song so that changes can be accommodated with the new settings. I mention it for people whom might be new to BIAB and are reading this thread.)

4. If the problem persists, I reset to factory settings (under the Opt. menu), restart BIAB, regenerate the song and see if the problem is still there.

Hope this gives some food for thought.

Regards,
Noel

Thanks again Noel.

If this was happening to me, there are a few more things that I'd check.

1. I'd try soloing the guitar and playing the song through as a solo'd guitar so that I could determine if it's cutting out or simply playing quietly.
I tried that and it was still cutting out for 2 bars at a time.

2. I'd check to see if the instruments might have been told to rest for particular chords. (For example "C.bdps" is saying, "Play the C chord with instruments in the tracks for bass, drums, piano, strings and rest the guitar.")
Insert breaks in arrangement is NOT checked. Should I do asomething else?

3. Then I check to see if some individual bar settings might have crept in. These are usually seen by red squares around a bar number (on the chord sheet). I'd actually reset these just to make sure. To reset, click on the chord sheet, press F5, and then down the bottom of the dialogue box that pops up, click "reset all bars". Then regenerate the song and see what happens.
Reset all bars but this didn't help either.

4. If the problem persists, I reset to factory settings (under the Opt. menu), restart BIAB, regenerate the song and see if the problem is still there.
I might have to do this I guess. Does this change anything in BIAB? Are all of the styles etc. OK?

Thanks again!

Hi Ovid,

I have summarized what you have so far tried in case you do need to contact Support. Simply copy and paste the link for this thread into an email. Support will then be able to read what has been suggested and what you have tried. This will be much easier than having to explain it over the phone, etc.

Quote:

Win7
BIAB - 2009.5
4 Gig memory
Found another one that dops out - 582:582:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Blues Roadhouse Ev 120

****** Song Summary *************
Title: RAG DOLL
File:RAG DOLL mandoin.MGX
Key=G , Tempo 120, Length (m:s)=3:28
4 bar intro, 96 bar chorus, from bar 5 to bar 100. Repeat x1 chorus
Melody has 2706 notes, saved patch is Voice Oohs (54)
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus,
Style is _DRDUN_G.STY (Slow Rock Ballad (85 RS))
Style MIDI Instruments are :
RealTracks in song: 539:539:Bass, Electric, Pop Sw 120
RealTracks in song: 522:522:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 543:543:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 582:582:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Blues Roadhouse Ev 120 ('B' only)
RealDrums: CountryEven16
*******************

Quote:

I downloaded all of the updates I needed and installed them all. Rebooted and opened 2009.5. It's still happening - but only on the guitars.

Quote:

1. Try soloing the guitar and playing the song through as a solo'd guitar so that I could determine if it's cutting out or simply playing quietly.
Quote:

I tried that and it was still cutting out for 2 bars at a time.

2. Check under Opt >> Preferences >> Arrange and make sure that the "Insert Breaks (silence) in arrangement" is not active.
Quote:

Insert breaks in arrangement is NOT checked.

3. Reset the chord sheet: press F5, and then down the bottom of the dialogue box that pops up, click "reset all bars". Then regenerate the song and see what happens.
Quote:

Reset all bars but this didn't help either.

NOTE: Resetting will be fine (under Opt >> Preferences). Your previous settings will be saved and if you need to return to them, you can simply use Opt. >> Open Preferences to load the old settings back in.

This is a rather puzzling problem. I suspect the fact that you get 2 bars of silence (and not 1, 3, 4 bars) is important. I find myself wondering if maybe there is a base file (or section of base file) for that particular style that does not have any audio contained within it.

How are you running BIAB? Is it running entirely from your hard drive, entirely from the USB drive or some on the hard drive, some on the USB drive?

Regards,
Noel

P.S. If you want to "quote" pieces text, simply highlight the section that you want to quote, copy and paste it in your reply between {quote}"i.e. paste here"{/quote} where the curly brackets { } around "quote" and "/quote" are replaced with square brackets [ ].

Mellowstu and Ovid:

What is the date of the file RAcG17.ST2 in your bb folder?

It says Date created 12/20/2009. Got an idea?

Re: What is the date of the file RAcG17.ST2 in your bb folder?

Wow, I just thought about something. I remember Realtracks saying it could not find RAcG15.ST2 (15 not 17) So it could not play that realtrack. BIAB sometimes loads realtracks that it cannot find and then they don't play.

Does anyone think it would help if I reloaded something?

Hello Ovid,

That is an old file. The latest file is 01/06/2010.

You can fix this by installing the realtracks01-82_update_may03-2010.exe update patch:
http://www.pgmusic.com/support_windows_realdrums.htm#RealTracks01-82

If you already installed that, perhaps you installed to the wrong location. Try again, and pay close attention to the 'select destination' screen.

Quote:

Re: What is the date of the file RAcG17.ST2 in your bb folder?

Wow, I just thought about something. I remember Realtracks saying it could not find RAcG15.ST2 (15 not 17) So it could not play that realtrack. BIAB sometimes loads realtracks that it cannot find and then they don't play.

Does anyone think it would help if I reloaded something?

I checked my folder and i don't even have RAcG17.ST2, RAcG14 is the highest i have in that group. I swear i have already installed the latest real tracks update. Would that even contain the files i have missing or have i just managed to lose them somehow?

Hello mellowstu,

Quote:

i don't even have RAcG17.ST2, RAcG14 is the highest i have in that group.

If you don't have the RealTracks to begin with, then the update won't help. Whether or not you should have that file in the first place, depends on what Band-in-a-Box version and package you have... Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 120 is from RealTracks Set 23.

If you aren't sure whether you have it, you could contact us to find out.

Ovid,

Try disabling fast generation of RT. (Prefs-RealTracks-[checkbox]"speed up generation of RealTracks." Does the problem persist?

If the issue is solved, you can disable speedup setting for a specific song only, by using Edit-Song-Settings "speed up generation of RealTracks."

If the problem persists despite the above, let us know.

Ovid,
I played the demo that you sent. When I play it, there are no dropouts, all of the guitar strums play fine (543 dreamy, and 422 fingerpicking).

Perhaps it is some issue unique to version 2009.5 and the updated versions of those specific RT's (ie maybe the original version of the RT's play fine in 2009.5, but the updates ones - which were updated in 2010 - require 2010 or higher).

Perhaps the solution would be (other than upgrading to 2011), to revert to the previous versions of those RT's. I'll ask support to mail you the older files for 543:dreamy as a test.

Hello Ovid,

Quote:

PG sent me some files to load into BIAB. I did as instructed and The MISSING STRUMS are still missing! I'm freezing the song and sending it to PG. Will this never end? I guess PG didn't work out the bugs. (quoted from a different thread)

In the file you sent "Missing Strums Demo.SGU", there are two instruments that we are interested in, when played with Band-in-a-Box version 2009.5

Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 120 | #522 | RAcG17.ST2
Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 120 | #543 | RElGt040.ST2

I might know what the problem is - are you hearing endings in the middle of the song? Here is an example of what I mean - does what you're hearing sound something like this?

RT #522 ending

Thanks so much for your response! Yes, Thats exactly what I hear. It does sound like a single strum ending.

Quote:

I might know what the problem is - are you hearing endings in the middle of the song? Here is an example of what I mean - does what you're hearing sound something like this?

RT #522 ending

Thanks again for your response. I'm very interested to hear what you think I should do next. You have pinpointed the problem exactly.

Andrew - I'm sorry but I saw your post late - I don't know if you got my post. But yes when the GTR drops out it's with a strum like an ending. You said you might know what the problem is. I'm hearing endings in the middle of the song and then a few bars of silence and then it picks up again.

Hello Ovid,

Here is a small patch that should fix the issue with those RealTracks for BB2009.

NOTE: This will create a folder in your bb folder called "realtracks_shipping_st2_backup" with the original RealTracks in it. If/when you upgrade your version of Band-in-a-Box, you should copy those files back into the main bb folder.

Let us know if that did the trick.

Now that's custom customer support.

Quote:

Hello Ovid,

Here is a small patch that should fix the issue with those RealTracks for BB2009.

NOTE: This will create a folder in your bb folder called "realtracks_shipping_st2_backup" with the original RealTracks in it. If/when you upgrade your version of Band-in-a-Box, you should copy those files back into the main bb folder.

Let us know if that did the trick.

I loaded the patch as you instructed and I'm sorry to say that I've tried it several times with old and new files and the strums are still missing on Rhythm Dreamy 120 (set 27) as well as several others. Do you want me to freeze the track again and send it to support again? It still sounds like there are endings in the middle of songs and then it picks up again 1-2 bars later. Was this patch just for Rhythm Dreamy 120 ? Or was it meant to fix all? Please help to fix this, it's been a long time now.

We'll make a patch of the BBW.EXE program for version 2009.5 - that should fix the issue. Hopefully out within a week.

(note that this issue doesn't affect BB 2010 or BB 2011)

Quote:

Was this patch just for Rhythm Dreamy 120 ? Or was it meant to fix all?

It was intended to fix the ones you mentioned, and identify what the problem is.

There is now a Band-in-a-Box 2009 build 288 update patch that should fix it for all.

Thanks Andrew.
There are 2 downloads on that patch, should I install both (the RealTracks and RealDrums specific updates as well?).

"RealTracks updates" is just a link to the RealTracks updates page. You can download those if you wish, but it sounds like you already have previously, and the main one you're interested in is the small build 288 patch.