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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I've been waiting for this version of BIAB for years--literally (I finally upgraded from 2006). The feature I wanted most was the ability to arrange songs by having complete control over the instrumentation throughout the song. Only problem is, it isn't working properly. This may very well be a bug, but since I'm a newbie to RealTracks, I need to know if there is something I am not doing right.

To see what I am talking about, set up a simple 4-bar chorus to repeat several times (I chose 3). Enter a progression e.g. C|F|Dm|G. I wanted to keep it simple, so I left the style that was already selected and chose to override with RT/RD instruments. Here's what I've got (note that I muted the Piano track):

****** Song Summary *************
Title: Untitled Song
Key=C , Tempo 100, Length (m:s)=0:48
No intro. 4 bar chorus, from bar 1 to bar 4. Repeat x4 choruses
No Melody
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Song is saved with bar changes for Volume Changes,
Soloist is saved with the song : Pop 16ths. Crusaders (135)
Style is C_FAITH2.STY (Faith 2 - Top40 Country Bluesy-R)
(PIANO--MUTED) Style MIDI Instruments are : Bright Piano (2),
(BASS) RealTracks in song: ~572:Bass, Electric, Blues BB Ev 085
(GUITAR) RealTracks in song: 573:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Blues BB Ev 085
(STRINGS) RealTracks in song: 626:Harmonica, Background Travis Ev 085
(DRUMS) RealDrums in Song: NashvilleEven8^1-SideStick,Ride
*******

Press F5 on the first bar and select Chorus 2. Adjust the Strings volume to "Change by" 30 and change the Strings RealTracks selection to "601 Fiddle, Soloist Train Ev130."
With bar settings still open, select Chorus 3. Adjust the Strings volume to "Change by" -30 and change the Strings RT back to "626."
Now click the OK button to close the Bar Settings window.

Hit play. Where is that daggummed fiddle?! And why isn't the harmonica at least louder?

Please don't respond to tell me I could be using the Soloist feature. Remember I simplified this down to the bare minimum so you could try it for yourself.

Things I have tried that did not resolve the issue:
- Turning off various "Allow" options in Song Settings.
- Turning on the "This song has playback problems..." option in Song Settings.
- Making the Bar Setting changes on the last bar of the previous chorus--thought it might sound good that way.
- Expanding to one big chorus--this fixed the patch change problem, but the volume settings still did not take effect. Oh, and it made a mess of my song, forcing me to make changes three times instead of one.
- Installing patch 312.
- And when that didn't work: installing patch 313.

So what gives? Ideas? Suggestions? Did it work for you?


Jeff (Jams)

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Hi, Jeff -

Didn't work for me either. On mine, the harmonica kept playing the whole song through (no fiddle). Also, did not see the volume spinner change at all for the second and third choruses.

I'd send an email to PGMusic support and report it, referencing this thread. Perhaps someone else could try it as well.


John

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Thanks for testing it out, John. I guess that means there is no setting I am missing. I took your advice and let the Support team know about this thread, so I want to add something else I tested.

I tried having the Bar Setting affect all choruses. The RT change worked, but the volume adjustment did not.

Still, if anyone comes up with a way to get this to work, I'd love to hear it.

I really hope they can get this one corrected soon. It is such a cool feature.

Jeff

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Quote:

Also, did not see the volume spinner change at all for the second and third choruses.




John has a great point here. It would be great if the patch name and volume spinner updated when changes occur and that instrument is currently selected. In my "one big chorus" version where the patch changes are working, it still shows the harmonica when the fiddle is playing.

Just wanted to include that for the PGMusic crew--who I hope sees this thread.

Jeff

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Oh, yeah, animated big volume spinners, bling. Gold ones with Black Numbers. With that woman from the show with the letters doing the spinning. Spinnin' wheel....there's a song there.


John Conley
Musica est vita
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