After spending an afternoon trying to make patch changes work in a convenient way, I'm asking why instrument selection needs to be limited to the GM soundset. GM is an important starting point that gives a variety of sounds, a large number of which are not at all applicable to what BIAB is designed for. On the other hand, there are great VST and DXi instruments that can be configured to provide a very useful and specific soundset. These instruments seldom have a concept of "banks", being organized by hard drive directories, so the "select patch from higher banks option", already an unnecessary inconvenience, becomes useless. Why not allow, in the instrument selection box in the upper left-hand corner, the patch names to come from a user file instead of the GM soundset? It doesn't even need to change the way BIAB works: it could be a display-only feature, so that BIAB internally "thinks" that it's still working with the GM set. It just doesn't need to know that you renamed Ch. 8 "Harpsichord"- which one may never use in jazz, bluegrass, pop, whatever- to "DX7 Electric Piano". The idea is that the user can create a custom patchmap in their VST instrument which contains the sounds they need, and then can select them directly in the instrument window, with the appropriate program change being sent. There should be no need to interrupt workflow by accessing menus or opening a new window, simply to select an appropriate instrument. And users who are relying strictly on GM devices don't need to be presented with the option, so that it doesn't need to add any unwanted complexity to the program. With the possible exception that, if this idea were combined with a "bank select" button, it would also allow users to select higher bank patches directly from that list, instead of digging into the menus for the option.

I'm using an older version, so I'm open to hearing whether this problem is addressed with Real Tracks. Do Real Tracks offer a variety of instruments? Using BIAB for jazz, I would expect: several varieties of Rhodes and Wurly, including distorted, Dyno, and FM versions, B3 with a variety of drawbar settings, and trumpet and trombone with various types of mute. Somebody geared more to working with rock or country would require a large variety of guitar tones, while a pop-oriented user would need a big selection of electromechanical keyboards and synthesizers.

Seriously, guys, think this over hard. You need to be downright greedy for any advice that results in workflow improvements for your program, because it makes some things very convenient, while other things that should be simple are blocked by obstacles. If I were heading the BIAB 2012 development team (even if it's only one person), "Feng Shui" would be the slogan and drive for the year.