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RealBand
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Until recently, if I wanted to bring a BiaB project into RB I would convert the BiaB tracks to audio files and open them in RB. This did what I needed with relatively little fuss and allowed a great deal of control.
However, I just bought a TC Helicon Voiceworks Plus to hopefully snazz up my vocal tracks and it seemed like a good idea to open BiaB files directly. Since I'd be experimenting at first and not actually saving a project there is no real need to convert to audio first.
Unfortunately RB does not seem to recognize my VST settings for different tracks. I have to load the settings separately. Is this the intended behaviour? If so I think I'll make this a wishlist item because those settings really make the song and really should be imported along with the rest of the info. Do you all agree?
BiaB 2013 b366, RB 2013 b4, WinXP Pro SP3, Toshiba M70, 1.8GHz 2GB RAM 100GB HD. Focusrite Saffire 6 USB, Ketron SD2. BiaB Wiki
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RealBand
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You don't mention if you're working with SGU or MGU or a mixture of midi and RT. If they are all midi, convert all of the BIAB tracks (if midi) to a MID file and import that to RB. Personally I'd rather trust in converting to audio tracks and then importing for sure the "sound" - I'm a skeptic of "one button does all" - too much code!!!!  Yes I agree, all of the changes should be imported at this point in time - but I haven't noticed because I go to RB first and then insert Vst "stuff". SO because of that I would never notice if the vst stuff transitioned or not.  Ian I notice you have 349b in your signature - I tried 349b and I had to revert to 349 because of the stuttering caused. I'm now fine with 350. I wonder if that could be a problem for you - just a thought but you're pretty savy when it comes to upgrades.
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RealBand
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Joined: Dec 2002
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Quote:
Unfortunately RB does not seem to recognize my VST settings for different tracks.
This doesn't surprize me, the compatiblity of BIAB files with RB has always needed some improvement. For example F5 setting in BIAB do not transfer to RB. Been aksing for this for a very long time. So don't hold your breath if you move this to the wish list forum. 
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RealBand
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Dan
It would be definitely a big step forward if all of the BIAB chord window entries
could be transitioned to the RB Chord Window . . . . and have the ability to be
tweaked at that point in RB.
Ian
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RealBand
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OP
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Quote:
You don't mention if you're working with SGU or MGU or a mixture of midi and RT.
All of the above. The particular song I tried was a cover of Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction. I havr a mix of RTs, midi and audio. The midi guitar is set in BiaB to a sound font player and an amp simulator. These are the settings that don't seem to transfer to RB.
Quote:
Personally I'd rather trust in converting to audio tracks and then importing for sure the "sound" -
I'm a skeptic of "one button does all" - too much code!!!!
Yeah, this is how I generally do it. This time though I just wanted to tweak the vocal track on an experimental basis. I don't need all the audio tracks so I was hoping to play with it as is.
Quote:
I notice you have 349b in your signature
I just haven't changed my sig yet. Thanks for the reminder.
Paul
BiaB 2013 b366, RB 2013 b4, WinXP Pro SP3, Toshiba M70, 1.8GHz 2GB RAM 100GB HD. Focusrite Saffire 6 USB, Ketron SD2. BiaB Wiki
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RealBand
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 826
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2008
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Quote:
Quote:
Unfortunately RB does not seem to recognize my VST settings for different tracks.
This doesn't surprize me, the compatiblity of BIAB files with RB has always needed some improvement. For example F5 setting in BIAB do not transfer to RB. Been aksing for this for a very long time. So don't hold your breath if you move this to the wish list forum.
Well it is a shame that all the settings don't transfer it would make the direct import feature even more useful. I will try the wishlist though. PGM have responded to wishes in the past so who knows...
BiaB 2013 b366, RB 2013 b4, WinXP Pro SP3, Toshiba M70, 1.8GHz 2GB RAM 100GB HD. Focusrite Saffire 6 USB, Ketron SD2. BiaB Wiki
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RealBand
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 826
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Joined: Feb 2008
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Quote:
Dan
It would be definitely a big step forward if all of the BIAB chord window entries
could be transitioned to the RB Chord Window . . . . and have the ability to be
tweaked at that point in RB.
Ian
+1 here.
BiaB 2013 b366, RB 2013 b4, WinXP Pro SP3, Toshiba M70, 1.8GHz 2GB RAM 100GB HD. Focusrite Saffire 6 USB, Ketron SD2. BiaB Wiki
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RealBand
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Joined: Jul 2000
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I remember having his problem at one time and the solution was not obvious. In RealBand open the Chords Window > Click on a Bar and choose Options. This action will open a Dialog Panel with a number of Options. The important option is "Auto Interpret Chords. I choose Never as I have had on occasions suspected that the original Chords to have been overwritten.
I have just experimented with loading a file into BIAB and then loading the same file into RB. The chords were loaded accurately bearing in mind certain differences in expression.
The Chords can be changed in RB and the changes should be recognised on Generation.
I have taken a Screen Shot of the two Chord Windows but have forgotten how to post this in the Forum. Help??????
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RealBand
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Real Band is not another version of Biab. It's a completely separate audio midi sequencer that PG has managed to graft some Biab functions into.
There has been a lot of discussion about this during testing over the years. As a full DAW, RB does much, much more in the way of mixing, mastering and editing than Biab ever could. The whole point of moving your project into RB is to take advantage of that so no, a good engineer would not care about those things being ported over from Biab because you're going to change most of it anyway.
For me at least, all I use Biab for is to audition styles and Real Tracks because the RT generation times are faster in Biab than they are in RB. I don't bother tweaking the song to death in Biab when I know I'm going to be finishing it up in RB because RB has much more to offer in that regard.
Those who are real experts in Biab need to change their thinking when it comes to RB. RB lays out your tracks in a linear fashon. Don't bother changing styles at bar 32 in Biab and then complain that doesn't port over to RB when you can see bar 32 right on your screen with RB. Just pick a different style in RB select bar 32 on a blank track and generate the part there without having to wipe out your original part at bar 32. With 48 tracks to play with you can pretty much do that an much as you want. Same with all the different VSTi's. Don't bother setting all that up in Biab, just use Biab for the basic song using your one favorite GM synth. Save the VSTi's for RB because again, with 48 tracks you can set up 3 or 4 different synths to play the same midi part at the same time and then mix/match them to your hearts content. You can't do any of that in Biab.
With Biab every time you change styles or synths, you've wiped out what you already did so you can't listen to those tracks side by side in real time for comparison or even play them both together for effect. Learn to take advantage of what RB offers and forget about worrying that your completly tweaked Biab song doesn't open up perfectly in RB. It's not supposed to.
Bob
Last edited by jazzmammal; 05/08/12 08:32 AM.
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RealBand
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Joined: Oct 2008
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Thanks for your post, Bob. Your comments are very informative and helpful in reminding of some main differences.
Stan
Cornet Curmudgeon
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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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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- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
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- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
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April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
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Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
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