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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 583
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 583 |
I've been listening to the new demos and am very impressed. I'm sure I'll upgrade, as usual, next week. But for the life of me, I can't see how one would use the wonderful soloists on live gigs, when all the players I work with solo themselves. I'm on guitar and work with 3 different horn players and 2 keyboard guys, who all solo very well. We're using BIAB as the rhythm section. I've never used a BIAB solo on a gig. Do others use this feature on live gigs? I can see the advantage in a recording situation and for demos, maybe. For me it's a learning tool and pleasurable listening.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
There are many features in BiaB to satisfy the many different ways that different people want to use the program.
I just ignore those features that I don't want to use. Its good to have them, though,just in case, never know what the future may dictate.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333 |
I play keys.
A couple of times I have rolled a track with a short solo and I comp, especially if it's fast and I'm trying to keep my fingers moving.
Works great,
Later
Ray no John
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021 |
I play bass. I use the feature on every song. It is strange though for a bass player to play solo.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333 |
Um there are a lot of jokes about that, in many versions....
This guy goes on vacation to a tropical island. As soon as he gets off the plane, he hears drums. He thinks "Wow, this is cool." He goes to the beach, he hears the drums, he eats lunch, he hears drums, he goes to a luau, he hears drums. He TRIES to go to sleep, he hears drums. This goes on for several nights, and gets to the point where the guy can''t
sleep at night because of the drums. Finally, he goes down to the front desk. When he gets there, he asks the manager, "Hey! What''s with these drums. Don''t they ever stop? I can''t get any sleep."
The manager says, "No! Drums must NEVER stop. Very bad if drums stop."
"Why?"
"When drums stop...bass solo begins."
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,724
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,724 |
I also play solo and have never used the soloist feature, because like you I play my own solos. However as anyone who does solo gigs will attest to having the same instrument solo on every tune for a gig lasting over one hour can become be a bit cumbersome and even repetitious. So in the past (before RT Horns, Harmonicas, Fiddles etc) I would shy away from gigs lasting over an hour, hour and a half. But since the addition of RT's I have no problems with booking and playing gigs as long as 3-4 hours. I may even do some tunes without a guitar solo at all, but most of my play-list include me soloing along with a few of the RT. I.e., me on guitar from bar 32-52, trumpet from 52-71 etc. The RT's not only take some pressure of off the one person performance but they also add spice to the gig.
Not sure if this answered your question but I hope it helped.
Later,
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 85
Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 85 |
I haven't used BiaB live, as I have sequenced up my own backing tracks using Reaper and soft-racks of virtual instruments (Reason and VSTs).
However, the principle is the same as what Danny C. is discussing. I do MOST of the solos myself, either via guitar, or sometimes I do a credible trombone or trumpet impersonation with my voice. Sometimes I'll see members of the audience do a double-take when they realize that "horn" is me. lol
Anyway, I DO have a little bit of solo piano work sequenced up during certain songs, just to trade off and break things up a little.
I'm an accomplished enough soloist to "carry" the evening, even for 4hr gigs, but that added spice of a piano helps keep things fresh.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,251
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,251 |
Quote:
I'm an accomplished enough soloist to "carry" the evening, even for 4hr gigs, but that added spice of a piano helps keep things fresh.
Ditto. The dobro and steel guitar RT's ain't too shabby either. It's good to be able to play most of your own solos but when you add in RT's on an instrument you don't play on a solo or two, it spices up the mix.
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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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XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
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Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!
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