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L Bass Offline OP
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Dear BIAB Developers,
So, I was interested in getting a Mac for my next Laptop. But, I am a regular user of BIAB and wanted to check if there were any major differences. FYI, I am a musician in a trio, who occasionally will use BIAB as a single performance. I mean, BIAB, real-time in front of real people. But using BIAB in front of people needs some special options. It looks like some of these options are not available for the Mac. This is strange to me. For instance, I use Hot Keys to Start and Loop songs as if I am in a band, play the head, solo in the middle. I then hotkey to go to ending and then... out. Simple commands like Ctrl NumPad 2 starts the song and loops the middle without searching for mouse menu items. I do not need a mouse to find this command and I need not search for it real-time. I was told, these Hot Keys do not exist in the Mac? Please... BIAB, this is not acceptable. Also, I use some Real-time VSTs to make my Songs more rich in sound, such as Amplitube in BIAB for PC. This VST makes a guitar sound like a real guitar. Again, I was told that VST plugins are not avail for BIAB for Mac. Every Mac I know uses VST plugins for DAWs and performance environments. But, why not BIAB for MAC? BIAB Developers,... please, lets pull some equality in for BIAB for MAC so that it becomes a real program for real users, please.
lb

Last edited by L Bass; 03/10/14 10:04 AM.
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Hi lb. I don't know if all you say about the Mac version is correct, as I don't have it. Perhaps you've already checked on the BIAB for Mac Product Forum? But did you know that you can put Windows on a Mac using Parallels or Boot Camp, and then run the Windows version of BIAB? Peter Gannon has said this is what he uses to develop BIAB.


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Matt, Thanks for your reply. Yes, I know about Parallels, but,... I am a simple person. I use more than one program for my single performances. ITunes, Ableton, Logic, etc... Switching back and forth is not an option for me Real-time in front of real people. Real things go wrong in front of real people. Sorry, but thanks.
lb

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Why not stay with PC if it does what you want? I've been using BIAB/PC for almost 17 years with no problems except for those caused by myself. Later, Ray


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Ray,
There are always reasons for changing and not staying the same. We all grow and we all change. I also have been using BIAB for 15 years on PC platform. But,... things are changing. Environments and performance platforms change. I am changing... and I am not staying the same. Consequently, my performance software is BIAB, but a number of other More Mac oriented software packages such as Ableton Live and Native Instruments! It would be great to use a Mac with them as well as BIAB at the same time!
Thanks for your dialog.
lb

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I am finding more and more BIAB options that are not available in the Mac Version. It would be nice to know if they are coming soon. For instance, The Conductor Window. If I am playing live music in front of live people, I often need to ad-lib and go to different sections of the music like a real band. The Conductor allows me to do that seamlessly within BIAB. I was told that this option is not available in the Mac version. Also, there are hot keys associated with the Conductor looping technology so that you can loop the "Jamming" verse and then hot key to go to last verse or "Head" then out. This does not seem to be available in the Mac version. Is this true? Also, I have many songs that may jump from a middle chorus to a tag ending, such as tagging for coda. This is in BIAB but not the Mac version! It seems like the Mac version is nice to have at home, but not flexible enough to use in front of real people. Hey Mac developers, I have been trying to dialog with you though support, but there is no way to send info to you, only here. When will these features be available in the Mac version, please?

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Again, I'm not certain you are correct on some of these, especially the coda (which is called a Tag in BIAB), but I don't know as I don't have the Mac version. Plus, the Mac version always runs behind the PC version on development, but we can be reasonably assured they are working on 2014 for the Mac now and we don't yet know what's in that.

I suggest you post in the Product Forum under the BIAB for Mac forum, and ask about these specific topics. Once you are certain one way or another, come back here and post a new thread with those specific requests.

I'm not trying to be critical, as I like your approach, to be sure before making a purchase. Of course, there is the 30-day money back guarantee where you could try it out yourself and see.


BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Matt, Thank you for your note. Yes, I have posted in the Mac forum and there has been no response. I have called BIAB support twice to confirm these issues and they have been confirmed. No one is telling me what is going to be in the next version. There is no way for me to find out. Also, I cannot purchase a 30-day trial of the Mac version, because I do not own a Mac. This was all research before I invested into a MacBook Pro 1Tb machine which would be very expensive. I just do not want to invest in a great machine and find out that my Live BIAB Performance is in jeopardy with the new software. Looks like my dream of using some great Mac music software in tandem with a Mac version of BIAB will have to be put on hold. But, thank you for answering and trying to help.
lb

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