About to pull the trigger; old user (back when it was delivered on floppies). I've been reading up; love the idea of the conductor. I'll be using this live, and I'd like to use the Conductor to open/close chorus loops.....if its working.
I read thru the new features/build notes & such, searched here a bit, but I didn't see anything since spring of '11. Anybody have anything to report?
Sorry Jazaddict, the Conductor function does not work reliably (at least for me) with Real Tracks and PG seems to remain silent on the subject. I'm a long time BIAB user and fan, upgrade at every offering (now at version 2012 build 349)and use it weekly in a live standards-based jazz setting. Being able to change the number of choruses on the fly would be terrific, but the Real Track sounds are so incredibly good for jazz please don't let this relatively small issue keep you from using this great program.
Thanks for info John. Thats zzzzzactly the reason and venue (sax here) I intend to use BIAB for so I'm disappointed that BIAB support isn't responding. I've been shopping around and the Real Tracks/Drums really out-do the competition, so I'm gonna go for it.
I did a solo/duo gig w/ a Roland MC50 years back. Foot switch looping control, auto-loading sets, great box. Lotta gear though...lotta work. BIAB looks faster, easier, and with softsynths and REAL T/D great sound, so I've decided to do the solo gig again.
I'm lookin into Ableton Live (although I'm a $onar user :-/ ) for the looping thing when the venue calls for it. BUt I'm gonna sing & play guitar too, pop, some country, and jazz when the venue is right, and the open solo thing isn't right for every audience. We'll see....but I'm gonna do the BIAB thing...if they fix it, then all the better.
Hi Peter. We spoke on the phone in the late 90s, remember? Thanks for checking in.
Apparently the Real Tracks are not being properly governed by the conductor's loop commands and play out of position after loop-exit, and there's a pause or gap that interrupts the playback as described in this thread:
Considering I haven't purchased & used yet I'm a bit unclear on the specifics beyond what are reported here.....the long & short is I'd REALLY like to use a footswitch to send the note commands to BIAB songs to shut off the looped solo section while playing live.
Raintalk.....Thx for checking in....so you're saying that the 2nd chorus will repeat indefinitely in spite of the "repeat 3 times" setting until you hit the numpad 1?
Have you tried this with any Real Tracks?
I guess I'll have to quit talkin about it and get my hands dirty here; ya pays ur money & takes ur chances.
To demonstrate that Conductor does not work with real tracks create any 32 bar "standard" type song. Create and configure for a small tag ending. Pick pretty much any jazz type style.
Set drums, bass piano for Real Tracks (mute the rest for simplicity).
Set to (say) 3 choruses.
Hit Play.
Let song build and play and get somewhere in (say) chorus #2. Bring up Conductor window and select button #5 (Last Chorus). A small yellow window appears alerting that the next chorus will be the last chorus.
The next chorus (depending on style selected) will usually sound like a last chorus (simpler drum, no bass walk) but the song will not actually take the tag ending, but it will abruptly end after playing the number of measures in the tag ending.
Thx fellas. I'm satisfied that I'll be able to get the loop functioning in some capacity. Maybe Peter will act on John's specific example . I saw a 3 pedal USB on ebay for $35 straight from Hong Kong ...sc new eggs looked the same....ya never know . Thanks for the feedback.
I'm not current with the Conductor but I used to use it a lot. It works best when your song is simply one chorus with no repeats or tags because you're going to do that manually anyway. I found it was easier to make a different version of my songs just for use with the Conductor and put them in a separate directory. I still have the original versions I created in the fake book style with repeats, 1st/2nd ending and tags. That version is good for printing out fake charts but not so good for the Conductor. Think of it like big band charts. Some have repeats but most don't. They just run for 5, 7 or 10 pages because all of the the sections while similar, are not exactly the same. Drives me crazy as a piano player because I'm used to 1 or 2 page fake book charts.
Just put part markers where you want the jump points to be and it should work fine. Example, put a marker where you want to loop the intro because I like to vamp some intros, then the verse or chorus starts when you hit the numpad, same for the solo section, maybe a bridge and the ending. Now there's no formal "tag", it's just wherever you decide to put a marker. I also soon learned the hard way to keep the numbers consistent from one song to the next. For me 7 is always the ending for example.
Wow. Great tips Bob....thanks a lot. Between all u guys I have good idea what works and what doesn't. I'm pretty excited to get rollin with these nice sounding Real Tracks.
I have the conductor looping as I'd like it to......the thing I didn't get was that its a "Real Time" control of the song.
SO..... While the song is playing, say in chorus 2, I hit the "Chorus" button under the "loop" section of the conductor, the current chorus loops continuously as expected. While playing still, I hit "off" under "loop" and the next chorus is number 3 (you can often hear it go to the A part), and then it tags & ends.
So yay. I'm unclear on zzzzactly how the rest of the buttons work, but THOSE two buttons do what I want.
I am using 2018 with the conductor and i find 2 things:
1: if you jump to a section of the song too early after starting it seems to be still processing and either wont jump or may be play incorrectly after jumping.
2: there seems to be general instability at times using conductor where pausing may lock up the system or jumping may start playing the wrong part or the correct part but with the wrong instruments playing.
it is not all the time and will work well for a lot of the time but it is not consistent. this is not an issue in my home office/studio but is a real concern if I want to use this feature live.
Are there some tricks to making the conductor function more stable or am i best to export to a DAW like Ableton to gain this higher level of live control functionality?
stuthebassman69, firstly, welcome to the neighborhood.
BiaB can commence performing a song before all of the song has been generated. It's done this way so that as soon as enough of the performance is known it can start playing while the remainder of the song is 'constructed' behind the scenes.
Your issue may occur if you attempt to move to a part of the song that has not yet been finalized.
A workaround is to check the Playback Generation item in Song Settings, and see if that makes an improvement.
Let us know if this helps in some way.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Answering Peter's question, "What about using it with Real Tracks isn't working for you?"
What doesn't work for me is: if I have a file that is using a Real Tracks style, when I hit the qwerty key for, say, section 2, it doesn't jump to section two.
Last edited by jimlucas; 03/29/1812:53 PM.
Jim Lucas - 2023 BiaB (1006) Ultra+ PAK Audacity and Reaper Laptop: Samsung U2BB94DJ i7 64bit Win 10 build 19041, 8GB ram 225GB HDD
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
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2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
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This Free Bonus PAK includes:
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-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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