I'm trying to finish a song for my grandson's wedding this Saturday and having trouble with it. It's a straight 4/4 time signature. It's a wedding song I wrote years ago. I'm using the style -P_PHILC. I love the style.
In some measures the bass drops out for certain chords, just for that measure. Also, the style does not change from a to b like I programmed it to. It is random and there seems to be no pattern to it.
Any ideas. I'm running BIAB 2021 on an old computer with Windows Vista OS. I would love to run it on a newer system but don't have the money to. I was told by PG Music it would run fine on Vista.
P_PHILC is a MIDI style. The probable cause of the bass drops is the bass patch isn't playing in the proper octave making some notes be out of the range of the patch.
This can be corrected with editing in the Piano Roll screen or alternately change the Bass to a MST instrument or RealTrack Bass.
I created a song test file and the Style changes between A and B styles worked correctly in the test song. Save your song project, close and reopen the project and regenerate may correct the issue on your system.
As Charlie said the bass may be out of the range of the instrument that you are using. I run into this a lot with bass tracks and some of the bass instruments I use. Tell us what bass sound you are using and it would help us solve that problem.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Or if all else fails, upload the song file and let the guys dissect it. That will get you answer quickly.
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
Assuming Charlie is correct that some of the notes are below the lowest note the program expects, you can change the lowest note setting. Go to Ctrl+E > Arrange button and change from the E2 default to E1 or E0.
Depending on what the bass sound source is I would go to options/preferences/channels and change the bass octave from -1 to 0. That would raise the entire bass track one octave. As I said previously I have to raise the bass track an octave for many of my bass presets.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
its surprising - a bass part that plays fine on my GM synth needs to be raised an octave on some vst bass parts. no idea why and it confused me too.
GM sounds use the entire keyboard range regardless if said range is in the actual instrument's range. Good bass presets come in the actual bass range. This causes a problem at times.
Bass and guitar notation is an octave higher than the actual instrument sounds. This is done to eliminate ledger lines and or the grand staff. BUT BiaB writes bass parts in the actual pitch. Thus it is an octave lower than a bass notation. If your bass VSTi is expecting bass notation and you give it BiaB's actual pitch notation is will play an octave lower , thus your low notes are out of the VSTi's range.
Last edited by MarioD; 02/17/2112:22 PM.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Well, I finally just exported it as a midi file, thinking that if any notes were missing in the bass track, I could just copy and paste to fill the empty measures, but lo and behold it worked just fine...no missing bass notes. So it's fine for now. I just need to record one piano track over it and it will be done. The words "thank you" do not come close to how grateful I am for all your help. I wrote the song decades ago for a friends wedding. My grandsons wedding is almost a miracle so this means the world to me.
thanks Mario but my bass lines in GM play at the right pitch - some of the bass vsts i've auditioned played an octave lower and i had to raise them. i was trying to find a better bass sound for the intro of 'stand by me' and a midi aprt i'd played in at the right pitch on a keyboard suddenly played an octave low......maybe there's a disconnect between midi note numbers and the vsts
thanks Mario but my bass lines in GM play at the right pitch - some of the bass vsts i've auditioned played an octave lower and i had to raise them. i was trying to find a better bass sound for the intro of 'stand by me' and a midi aprt i'd played in at the right pitch on a keyboard suddenly played an octave low......maybe there's a disconnect between midi note numbers and the vsts
That is because your bass VSTi is expecting the notes to be written in bass guitar notation, that is one octave higher then it sounds.
For example if the bass plays an A (440, MIDI note 69) in a GM sound source then you will get the right bass note, that is standard notation. But your bass VSTi is expecting MIDI note 81 (an octave higher) then that is bass guitar notation, thus your GM note 69 will be played an octave lower than expected.
I have found that most good bass VSTis expect the notes to be in bass notation.
I know it can get confusing.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
thanks Mario - its not at all confusing when you explain it!
The bottom line is that if you have good bass sound sources you will have to raise BiaB's bass line up one octave. I do that prior to trying out different bass VSTis. If one has been using GM for a while then getting into the real world of MIDI sound sources can be a bit intimidating. Been there - done that - sometimes still there!
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
i know its all subjective Mario but can you recommend a good free bass sound that will play in sforzando? it would save me downloading and auditioning at random!
i know its all subjective Mario but can you recommend a good free bass sound that will play in sforzando? it would save me downloading and auditioning at random!
I don't do much in sforzando. But I can recommend Ample Sounds free P-bass:
It is a VSTi so it should work in BiaB. I won the entire Ample Sound bass collection and I can say from that that they are some of the best bass guitar sounds around.
Also you didn't specify what type of bass you want. Let me know and I can do some looking around for you.
PS - google/bing free sfz sounds and you will find a ton of sounds.
PPS - if you want send me the bass MIDI track and I will use one of my basses and send you back a MP3. Just be sure to specify what kind of bass you want, i.e. p-bass, jazz bass, upright, etc.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
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128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
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MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
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New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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