Hello,

I don't know if anyone at PG Music actually reads these threads, or more to the point, even takes heed of them. Further, since I am probably so far removed from what, reading the previous comments on this forum, is the typical user, that maybe my comments don't even count. Anyway, here goes...

I bought the 2006 version of BIAB, and have used it on and off for my jazz play-along practice, and in this regard, it excels. Then for various reasons I stopped using it. I have recently started using it again after about a two-year break, and I have realised what for me as a relative newcomer are its greatest problems - how is it used, the user interface, and the learning curve/tutorials. In the meantime, I had upgraded to the 2008 version.

How is it used: The main problem is a failure to identify how will the product likely be used by various users. The product tries to cover its back by trying to be all things to all men, and ends up satisfying nobody, unless you are willing to invest the time the read all the tutorials, user guides, etc. I simply want to use the product as a play-along aid. I don't want the overhead of the huge options and features presented to the user. Better would be to prompt the user during installation what their typical usage patterns will be, and reduce the feature/option clutter accordingly.

User Interface: With all respect, the user interface seems to have been design by a software engineer for other software engineers. It is certainly not intuitive. The screen is completely clogged with feaures and options that probably no single user will probably ever use. All standard Windows applications have a toolbar option called "View", which is missing. Maybe the "Notation" toolbar option is meant to serve the same function. I can't see a great deal of change between the 2006 and 2008 versions, yet I have the impression that the latest UI has become more complex. In this respect, it suffer somewhat from the Microsoft disease - how to justify charging for user upgrades. In my case, in an attempt to simply the re-learning curve, I have downgraded back to the older version. The UI also makes use of colour codes for the Instrument Line (Bass, Piano, Drums, Guitar, Strings, Melody, Soloist). I am colour-blind and cannot easily distinguish between green and red.

Tutorials: To get back to speed, I have tried following the tutorials. Again, they give the impression of having been written by an engineer, who believes that we should progress in the straight-line sequence A-Z as the best way to learn. In lesson 2, we are prompted to load the song called " L_BOSMED.MGU", without knowing where the song is actually located. We learn that there is a Visible Metronome feature, without an explanation of how to invoke it. Further in the same tutorial, there is an explanation about the General Midi Patch List. Why should the user reading lesson 2 need to know about this level of detail? The tutorial explains that to pressing the spacebar pauses a song, and that pressing the spacebar releases it. Instead, pressing the spacebar twice restarts the song from the beginning. Also strange, the word "improvise" doesn't appear in the help index. Is it possible to display/print the notations for the improvisation versions rendered by BIAB?

Please don't get me wrong, I am also an engineer, and appreciate the technical achievements reflected in the feature list. I'm a firm believer in the concept that the project is finished, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there nothing more to be taken away.

Regards,
Paul