Band-in-a-Box^® 2021 Video: DAW Plugin New Features!

MAC

DAW Plugin 3.0 New Features
2021

New Features in Version 3.0 (included with Band-in-a-Box^® 2021)

49 of your problems solved! Check out the list of 49 requests fulfilled in Band-in-a-Box^® 2021 DAW Plugin 3.0.

The Band-in-a-Box^® 2021 DAW Plugin offers great new features including enhanced audio rendering, support for displaying two chord types, the ability to change audio output channels, and we've added table view buttons. Now you can Import MIDI markers and tempo map, export chord markers as a MIDI file, generate all ungenerated tracks, and much more!

Audio Rendering Enhanced
Rendering is faster.
The default bit depth rendering is 24 bit.
The highest quality tempo stretching setting for élastique is used when rendering. You may be using a lower quality setting for playback in order to increase performance, but this is not necessary when rendering to an audio file.

Preferences dialog reorganized with tabs
The Preferences dialog has been organized with tabs for General, Rendering, Folder Locations, and Audio/MIDI Settings.

Global chord display options
You can use the new option in the Preferences dialog to set chord display globally.

Chord Builder dialog
We've added the Chord Builder, where you can hear and enter chords by clicking on the root, extension, and other chord options.

Volume sliders
You can easily change the volume for each track with the new volume sliders. Click on a speaker icon on the track table and drag the volume slider.

Dedicated synth for MIDI playback
The Plugin now plays MIDI notes through a default synth (Apple DLS Music Device on Mac). For example, if you right-click on the chord sheet to preview chord progression, you will hear the chord played as a MIDI piano note.

Clickable MIDI and audio channel buttons to set channels
You can click on the MIDI and audio channel buttons on the track table to change the channels.

Set folder path for saved tracks for that instance
When you save the song into a new directory, the Plugin will ask if you want to move all the saved tracks into that directory.

Preview chord progression as MIDI
To preview the chord progression as MIDI, right-click on a bar on the chord sheet and select Preview Chord Progression from the menu. To stop the preview, click elsewhere on the chord sheet.

Options to store and load chord progression in chord sheet context menu
The new options in the chord context menu allowa you to store the chord progressions and load them later.

Hide the top of the plugin
You can hide the top of the plugin with a new arrow button to the left of the [Tracks + Chords] button. This will save space that you may not need to see.

Button in preferences to open plugin log of green/yellow messages
The [Open Plugin Log] button has been added to the Preferences [Rendering] dialog. When you click on that button, you can see the list of green/yellow messages.

Custom chord font options
You can now select the font for the chord sheet. Open the the Preferences dialog and use the Chord Font option.

Line between Generate and Custom buttons
A line is now drawn between the [Generate] and [Custom...] buttons to separate the two visually.

Style mix enabled by default
The Preferences option to include a mix of the style tracks is enabled by default. Note that when the style mix track is disabled, it will be excluded from generation. You can enable/disable the style mix track by using the "+" button or right-clicking on the track.

High-quality tempo stretching option for rendering
There is a new option in the Preferences dialog to use the high-quality tempo stretching for rendering tracks. [Preferences > Render > Use High-quality tempo stretching]

Load Chords from MIDI File option added to chord sheet context menu
We've added an option to load chords from MIDI file to the chord sheet context menu.

[C7] button to export/import chords
There is a new [C7] button at the bottom right corner. You can drag it to the DAW to export chords in a MIDI file. Right-clicking on it allows you select items to include in the file. The menu also includes an option to load chords from a MIDI file.

Click status message area to bring any open bb window to front.
If you click on the status message area at the bottom of the Plugin window, any open Band-in-a-Box^® window (e.g. StylePicker, RealTracks Picker, etc.) will appear in front of the Plugin window.

Set output channels for tracks with audio
There is a new option that allows you to essentially setup "multi-channel output". That means that instead of having all audio output going to channels 1 & 2, you can route output to other channels like 3 & 4, etc. You can access this feature by clicking on the blue audio output display next to the track description which appears after you've generated it.

Copy/Paste to/from Band-in-a-Box^®
Plugin now supports copy/paste special to/from Band-in-a-Box^®. Paste Special from Band-in-a-Box^® to the Plugin using the "Paste Special" option in the chord sheet context menu or with command+shift+V.
1. Copying from the Plugin to Band-in-a-Box^®
- Highlight the bars of your song in the chord sheet and use command+C or right-click "Copy" to copy the region.
- Go to Band-in-a-Box^® -> Edit -> Paste Special to paste the contents from the Plugin into Band-in-a-Box^®.
2. Copying from Band-in-a-Box^® to the Plugin
- In Band-in-a-Box^®, go to Edit -> Copy Special -> Copy Song(s) to Text on clipboard or File(s) -> OK-Copy to Clipboard
- In the Plugin, use command+shift+V or right-click "Paste Special" to paste the contents from Band-in-a-Box^® into the Plugin.
Using commandl+shift+V to paste will paste not only the chords but the entire song. If you want just the chords then you can use command+shift.

Global bar offset for sync playback
You can now set a bar offset value to delaly playback in the DAW by a certain amount. Press the [Sync] button and enter a value for Bar Offset. For example, a value of 10 means that when you play through the DAW, the Plugin will not begin to play until bar 10, which helps if you have your whole music project delayed by 10 bars.

Export Chords option added to chord sheet contextual menu
You can use the new Save Chords to MIDI File menu option to export chords.

Part markers included in Copy/Paste
When you copy and paste chords, part markers will be included.

Display two chord types
The Plugin can display two chord types in the chord sheet. Press the [Chord Display] button, go to Also show..., and select a chord type.

Set action for new session
You can now set the action to perform when starting a new session. [Preferences > General > Action for New Session]

Set default style
There is an option to set the default style to use when starting a new session or saving a song with no style. [Preferences > General > Set Default Style]

Save with default style
Saving song with no style will save with the selected default style.

Generate all ungenerated tracks
The Plugin can generate all ungenerated tracks. Press the [Custom...] button and select All Pages (Ungenerated tracks only).

Table view buttons
Table view buttons [Tracks + Chords], [Track Table] and [Chord Sheet] have been added so you can switch to display both the track table and the chord sheet, the track table only, or the chord sheet only.

Change audio output channels
You can now change audio output channels for an audio track. To do this, press the [+] button on the track table and go to Set Audio Channel(s).

Select MIDI channel
You can now select a MIDI channel for a MIDI track. To do this, press the [+] button on the track table and go to Set MIDI Channel.

User friendly file names
There is a new option for "User friendly file names" of rendered tracks. [Preferences > Rendering > Simplify File Names]

Export chord markers as a MIDI file
You can now export chord markers as a MIDI file [Hold shift while dragging from the chord sheet] with options to include a click track or block chords [Preferences > General > Chord Export Option]. Block chord voicings can be changed by editing bbpluginchords.txt.

Import MIDI markers and tempo map
You can now import MIDI markers and tempo map to the chord sheet. Just drag a MIDI file onto the chord sheet.

Yellow flash for status messages
The Plugin will show a yellow flash for status messages to highlight actions.

Tempo and time signature info
Tempo and time signature info are now included in the fold/unfold feature.

Highlight bar during playback
The option is added in Preferences dialog to highlight bar only during playback. [Preferences > Rendering > Highlight Bar From DAW]

...and more!