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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 28
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 28 |
Hi All! BIAB newb here. This looks like a great place to hang out, and from what I've read so far here, the people here seem to be pretty cool. Apologies in advance if this is a long post. As the title of this post indicates, I'm trying to find the best solution / application to suit my needs. I have read a lot of good things about Band in a Box / Real Band and I feel this may possibly be the way for me to go however, I only have limited funds for a music software application and I don't want to buy something that may not be suitable for my needs. Thus, I was hoping someone here with a broad knowledge base of BIAB / Real Band and songwriting experience would be able to guide me in the right direction. Here's what I have so far:
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE:
- Pretty powerful computer newly built by yours truly and running Windows 7, i7 2600K CPU, 16 GB RAM.
- ** I'm considering purchasing Kontakt 5.
- Roland 88 key MIDI keyboard.
- Limited experience using Garage Band on my old Apple rig.
MISIC STYLES I compose IN:
- Semi-classical
- Pop
- R&B
- And a little Blues.... but the majority of my music these days seems to be more R&B and Pop focused. So far I've only ever heard my music played on the piano. One day I would like to hear it played with a the backing of a band or orchestra.
1) I just need to know if you think Band in a Box / Real Band would be the way for me to go or if something like Wast West Quantum Leap etc. or similar would best suit my needs. 2) Would BIAB/Real Band be too limiting considering the styles of music I like to write? 3) Could I use BIAB/RealBand as my composition tool wholly and solely? 4) Could I use BIAB/Real Band in conjunction with any of the sound libraries or even Kontak 5 say? I have been considering purchasing BIAB Audiophile edition but this would eat up my entire budget and I fear this could be a huge expense to blow on something that may not be entirely suitable for what I want to achieve.
Thanking you all in advance for any help or guidance you may be able to offer me,
Dome.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 42
Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 42 |
To cover the first paragraph. My advice would be have a listen to some of the music being put out in the user submissions forum, by people using BIAB, many of them solely using BIAB. You'll be surprised about how good it is.
The musical styles you list are just a few of the categories available, and then there are sub-categories on these. So it would easily cover them.
And to the specific questions:
1) Not sure because I don't know the other solutions you named
2) No. It's not limiting at all. But it can cost, but then again, you pay for good quality! And some of the realtracks are played by top class musicians for BIAB so they're better than you'd find anywhere.
3) Yes
4) I think the windows version allows loops so I guess so, I use the MAC version so there are a few features only available in the Windows edition.
Well, thats my take on it.
Hope it helps a little
Greg
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
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I bought BIAB mostly to knock out drum parts in a hurry as that is my biggest weakness in music creation. Then I used it to produce backing tracks for cover songs. Then I started programming in my original work. ZOMG!11!
Two things have happened since I began using BIAB. My guitar playing has been transformed into something I had only dreamed of. It's not just a matter of practicing; I began to generate some truly unique lines that I never would have thought of on my own.
The other is that I now consider BIAB a co-composer. As far as I am concerned it makes suggestions and leads me in directions that I wouldn't have thought of, and couldn't have pursued if I had.
BIAB is a unique program. There is really nothing else out there to compare it to. The same goes for the online community. There is no other group of users which friendlier or more helpful than those you will find here. And PG Music is especially distinguished for continually developing this one-of-a-kind tool and supporting it in a way like no other company I've ever seen. I've seen a customer suggestion incorporated and distributed as a patch within two days of the request. Support is unparalleled, too.
With a 30-day money-back guarantee, you have nothing to lose. I'd say buy the most package you can afford. (I recommend the Ultra Plus Pack, unless you feel the need for the Audiophile version). Work with it for a while, check in here with questions and comments, and see where it leads you. I think you'll be astonished.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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Hi Dome,
Looking at your astated musical interests, let me tell you, Band in a Box is THE program for you!
Like many others, I originally purchased Band in a Box long ago with an eye towards using it to create recordings, etc. This it does well, but by far the most value that I have gotten out of this wonderful program is educational in nature. To put it simply, Band in a Box reperesents an extremely cost-effective way to ge the kind of PRACTICE that we used to only be able to experience by playing with at least a few other musicians. But in the case of Band in a Box, those musicians always play in Tempo, always play the right chords, and are at YOUR beck and call as to how many times to repeat a certain piece or how many choruses to take, or even suggesting WHAT to play when it comes to the improvised solo.
Then there are the other hidden gems inside the program, such as the Ear Trainer, which can really expand your abilities to hear and identify intervals, chords and thus scales -- and this from only using the Ear Trainer maybe ten minutes or so a day, treating it like playing a computer game, which is what it is.
If you are serious about your playing and looking to expand your abilities and horizons:
Just. Do. It.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,226
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Hi Dome and welcome, I agree with what everyone else has said thus far, especially the listen to what has been done with BiaB in the “User Showcase” forum. Check out all the different genres of music that is being done with BiaB. RealTracks (RTs) are very nice and I do use them. They are snippets of music recorded by professional musicians that you can use in your music. They are not static loops. These snippets will follow your chord progressions. Give a listen, as they are excellent and very unique in what they do. Although I do use RTs I use the midi side of BiaB more often. BiaB is based on General Midi (GM). If you use the GM sounds in your soundcard, and/or some very inexpensive soundsource the midi will sound very poor. If you use a good midi soundsource like the Keyton SD2 http://www.amazon.com/Ketron-Orchestral-...ords=ketron+sd2 it will sound much better. However I do not use GM. Kontakt is my main soundsource and you can get some very exceptional sounds using it. I have many third part sounds that I use in Kontakt. For me it was the way to go. For keyboard/piano sounds Kontakt is far better than any GM synth IMHO. I start virtually all of my songs in BiaB then transfer the song to my DAW for finishing, mixing and mastering. I use Sonar however BiaB comes with a very good DAW in RealBand that will do everything that I have mentioned. Also unless you have “golden ears” and a super near field monitor system you may not be able to tell the difference between the Audiophile edition and the others. If you do then god bless you, I don’t! If you have any questions feel free to ask. This forum has some of the nicest and most helpful people on the planet! Many are pros! I hope this helps - MarioD
Whenever I get something stuck in the back of my throat, I dislodge it by drinking a beer.
It's called the Heineken Maneuver.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,706
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Quote:
Hi Dome,
Looking at your astated musical interests, let me tell you, Band in a Box is THE program for you!
Just. Do. It.
--Mac
I had a little private chuckle when I read Mac's reply above, as that was nearly word for word what he advised me 8 years ago. My only regret is that I did not find the software and the people on this forum sooner.
Your fun is just starting, oh yes, welcome to the forum!
Later,
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 392
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 392 |
Ditto what everyone else has said.
I didn't sense from your post that you intend to produce music for commercial release to the public...but rather as a writing tool. In the latter context, I can't imagine that there is another program anywhere near the price of BIAB that would come even close to its capabilities for your purposes.
IF you ARE planning to master and release your music commercially then MAYBE you should bite the bullet and get the audiofile version.
But assuming pro mastering I don't think there is 1 listener in 100...maybe 1000 who could tell the difference so I would conserve budget for other purposes.
It's SO funny that the pro labels go to extremes in producing tracks which are massively released on MP3s which are WAY dumbed down in sound quality and/or are played on pretty cheapo car sound systems!!
Trust me...there IS a learning curve...more so for the casual users like me than for power users who can dive into the manual and tutorials
But you will find that there is OUTSTANDING and generally very prompt user support on this forum and I have had excellent results from the on line chat support offered by PG.
Bottom line, I don't think you can do better than BIAB and given the refund policy, your only risk is time.
Regards,
Jim
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I have a Soundcloud friend who uses Garage Band. Part of the issue she has is being new to music in general, and the other part is the learning curve of Garage Band.
Now, that as framework, let me say this. Everything she posts is dull, boring and unimaginitve. That is the inexperience speaking for the most part. She does what she knows how to do, which is usually finding some 4 bar chord progession loop and replicating it 2000 times, then writing melody and lyrics around that.
With Real Band, it's the opposite. You put in your chord progression, pick your style, and let it create. If you don't like it, regenerate and give it another shot.
The main difference between that A and B is that in the second scenario you have to know music well enough to know what a chord is and how progressions work. She doesn't know anything about "1-4-5" or "12 bar blues" yet.
Depending on your level of knowledge and general music concepts, BIAB/RB is the choice. There is a learning curve, but think about the fact that everything you do requires some time spent in that learning curve. That part is up to you. You can learn just enough to make the thing work, or as much as possible to make it work well.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,809
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,809 |
There are different levels of composition. In BIab you can 'composer' a song in about 1 minute or less. It will likey be excellent and you can choose the chords how you wish and the style. You can also go into the depth of the program and tweak.
The other 'end' of this is inputting every note individually and crafting a song from scratch BIAB is not designed for this, you need a sequencer - maybe Real Band (I dont use this). Using Kontakt and East West stuff is primarily designed for the song from scratch approach. This is far more time consuming.
You can also use loops and a combination of all of gthe above methods. Of course to this you can add live recording.
BIAB is primarily set up to use General MIDI. These synths use standard instruments set up in a standard order. These synths come in both hardware and software forms. Kotakt is NOT a GM synth but could emulate one, providing you have the sounds and set the up the right way. Most people use a GM synth for BIAB. BIAB is limited on the classical side.
The Beauty of BIAB is that you have a song right out of the block. You can change its key, adjust its tempo loop copy or alter a few bars, record your guitar played along with it, change the style of the chords from Latin to Heavy Rock or Country. All in a matter of a few minutes work.
There are two knds of tracks MIDI tracks and Real Tracks. Real tracks are REAL musicians. Real tracks are very authenitc sounding you can capture the swinging wails of a harp (mouth organ). Try doing that in MID and you will need skill and a lot of time. PG MIDI tracks are of very high quality too though, so you should not dismiss them.
From BIAB you can export either MIDI or Audio and you can import that into a sequencer and add whatever you want - anything at all.
I use BIAB primariliy as a practice tool. I just fire up a song and play. I have Kotakt and a lot of other synths Play and a lot more besides, but I dont see the need to use them in BIAB. SOme do I suppose. I would use a sequencer for these application - such as Cubase, Logic, Protools. There are also freebies at KVR you could start with, or simply use RealBand.
My strong advice is buy BIAB you will love it and your general musicianship will improve leaps and bounds...
Win 11 64, Asus Rog Strix z390 mobo, 64 gig RAM, 8700k
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2010
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Quote:
1) I just need to know if you think Band in a Box / Real Band would be the way for me to go or if something like East West Quantum Leap etc. or similar would best suit my needs.
They're apples and oranges, in the sense the those are sample libraries, and BiaB is a "style" library. The "core" version of BiaB is MIDI based, so the sound that you get will depend on the sample library that you've got.
RealTracks are basically automated Acid loops - type in the chord progression, and BiaB builds the loop tracks for you automatically.
BiaB is a composition tool that can use sample libraries to augment MIDI, or "RealTracks" in the manner of a loop-based library.
I think there might be some confusion about RealTracks, though: they aren't the same as sample libraries. With sample libraries, you can control the instruments via MIDI and determine exactly what note will be played.
RealTracks are akin to loops: snippets of recorded music, down to a resolution of one beat. Unlike loop libraries that need to be assembled by hand, BiaB does the heavy lifting for you. So if your chart indicates there's 1 measure of Cmaj7, when building the various tracks BiaB would look in the RealTrack library for loops that can be played over a Cmaj7 chord.
So with RealTracks, you can't control the notes that BiaB will select. If it creates a guitar solo and you don't like the result, you can regenerate it and get a different solo. In RealBand, you can tell it what parts of the solo you might want regenerated. But you can't use RealTracks to generate specific notes. For that, you'd use MIDI and a sample library.
Quote:
2) Would BIAB/Real Band be too limiting considering the styles of music I like to write?
BiaB is better for some styles than others. All the existing styles can be previewed on line, and it's well worth your time to have a listen to them.
Country, jazz and pop are BiaB's strength, although there have been some complaints that the styles are not contemporary enough.
Like any tool, it's better suited for some things than others. It's akin to bringing a chart to a live band, and telling them to play it in a particular style. Unlike Henry Ford ("any color is good... as long as it's black"), there are a lot of styles available in BiaB.
Even when you're working on something "outside" BiaB's style, it's still useful. For example, you can use it as a sketchpad to test out chord progressions, and auto-generate melodies over those progressions.
If you're especially sneaky, you can do lots of interesting stuff from within a DAW. For example, I've had guitar tracks that didn't quite match the rhythm I wanted, so I time-stretched them in my DAW to get the syncopation that I wanted. I had a drum track that had a beat where I didn't want it... So I exported the track to my DAW, and edited out the "extra" beat.
So if you're 90% of the way there, you can still "get there" with the BiaB tracks.
On the other hand, there are styles that BiaB doesn't really do (yet).
Quote:
Semi-classical
There are a few semi-classical MIDI styles, but you'd need decent sample library for them to sound OK. This isn't really a strength of BiaB. You're more likely to use a notation program if you were writing in this style.
Quote:
Pop
Pop is a pretty broad category. Listening to the examples is the best way to make a determination as to whether BiaB matches the style you have in mind.
There are a lot of MIDI pop styles, but once you start using RealTracks, it's hard to go back to MIDI.
Quote:
R&B
You can check out some examples here. I don't think that BiaB has focused as much attention on R&B RealTracks, but that's not really a style I've looked into, so I can't speak with any authority.
Quote:
And a little Blues....
There are some really nice blues RealTrack styles.
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3) Could I use BIAB/RealBand as my composition tool wholly and solely?
Yes, without a doubt - lots of folk do. But that's assuming your song is a style within BiaB's library. As others have mentioned, it's able to generate complete songs for you, including the melody lines.
Quote:
4) Could I use BIAB/Real Band in conjunction with any of the sound libraries or even Kontak 5 say?
Yes, as long as they have VSTi's that can be loaded into BiaB, and they use MIDI controllers in a standard way.
For example, Garritan has an excellent jazz instrument library that sounds great with BiaB's MIDI styles. However, Garritan has decided to implement volume control via the modulation wheel, which normally controls modulation (vibrato). So when BiaB sends vibrato information to the Garritan library, it ends up changing the volume. That's Garritan's fault, not BiaB's.
So if you've got a good sound library, the MIDI tracks can be quite good.
Hands down, if you're looking for the best bang for your buck, BiaB is the way to go. As the name implies, it's very much the same as having a "band in a box". If the styles are a good match for you, there's nothing better on the market.
Edit: Forgot about MIDI options, so I added those in.
Last edited by dcuny; 07/20/12 11:38 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2011
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Never heard of someone who didn't love Band in a Box once they learned to use it. I use Kontakt or Logic Pro 9 for MIDI sounds, but I like Real Tracks the best (still use MIDI anyway). Blues, Pop and Jazz are incredible with Biab, and worth the money on that alone. Most can't tell the difference from Wma and Wav, unless they have an unbelievable system and hearing. The forums and people here are the best of any software company and PG's music generating products are light years ahead of anything else.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2007
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I'm with Tommy and the rest on this. If you get into the RT's, man, mix it well and it will sounds as good or better as a real band... radio ready.
Cheers, Mike My Music * Asus ROG Strix G15CF 32 GB DDR4 4TB HDD + 1 TB SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB Win 11 AKAI EIE PRO Sound Interface. BIAB/RB 2024 UltraPak Build - Latest
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Quote:
The other 'end' of this is inputting every note individually and crafting a song from scratch BIAB is not designed for this, you need a sequencer - maybe Real Band (I dont use this). Using Kontakt and East West stuff is primarily designed for the song from scratch approach. This is far more time consuming.
ZeroZero, I will respectfully disagree with you on this point. Many times I will take a midi track generated in BiaB, put it into my DAW and change the soundsource from GM to a Kontakt patch. The Kontakt patch always sounds much better than the GM patch. Note that I use Sonar’s TTS-1 as my GM soundscource in Sonar and in BiaB I use the included CoyoteWT.
Sometimes I will take a BiaB midi patch, put it in my DAW and tweak it. Sometimes I’ll cut and paste sections of regenerated and saved tracks into one complete track in my DAW. You do NOT have create a song from scratch when using Kontakt.
Whenever I get something stuck in the back of my throat, I dislodge it by drinking a beer.
It's called the Heineken Maneuver.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Mario, if you have the TTS-1, why use the CoyoteWT in BIAB? CoyoteWT is just using the built-in Windows sounds. TTS-1 in BIAB sounds so much better. You may have to install the 32-bit version of Sonar to get it, but it doesn't that that much space.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA BB2025/UMC404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/MixBus/Notion/Finale/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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That is a good point John, however when I use BiaB I’m looking for structure not tonal quality. I use the midi styles, harmonies, melodies and soloist as starting points for my songs. I bring them into Sonar and do 95% of my work there. Consequently a good soundsource in BiaB in not necessary for my workflow.
Whenever I get something stuck in the back of my throat, I dislodge it by drinking a beer.
It's called the Heineken Maneuver.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The others have given you good info already so I'll add a real world example for you. There's a classic style called Herbie. Guess who that is? PG can't use full artist's names or real song names because of licensing and copywrite issues. The style happens to be <cough> very similar to Canteloupe Island. The piano and bass parts are right on the money, the only thing is that same riff is playing over the entire song and it shouldn't but you can control that. There's a lot of styles like that but you get to play detective to figure them out.
There's a bossa/swing style called Dolfin. Guess what that is based on? It doesn't mean it's only good for Green Dolphin Street it's great for anything you want to switch between a bossa style for the A part and a swing style for the B part.
However, these styles are only there to get you started for convenience. There is already the ability to hit F5, go into the bars settings and change the style anywhere you want in the tune based on the chorus and bar number. You could have a song start as a bossa, switch to a shuffle rock, then to a urban grunge to a gypsy jazz with hip hop drums and finaly end as a country waltz. Hmmm, that would be a strange tune wouldn't it? Believe it or not it's easily done. Carlos the Spanish forum moderator, did a demo song called Latin Cowboy, a country fiddle solo with some Santana style tracks. It's linked around here somewhere. Killer tune and he's a killer guitarist too. He did the jazz fusion guitar Real Tracks.
The point is you can do litarally almost anything. It does start like Eddie said with you knowing what a chord progression is and proper chord names. If you're not familiar with that then like Mac said Biab is also a very good educational tool. There's the chord builder window that can teach you all you need to know about 7b9's, augmented 11th's or 13ths, whatever. That window won't teach you what will sound good together but all you have to do is load them into the chord grid and find out. One chord sounds bad, change it and regenerate.
All of us including me could go on and on with examples but I think this is enough for now. Check out all the demos and listen to stuff in the User Showcase.
I agree about the Audiophile version. If you're not a legitimate studio producer you don't need it. Unless you have years of experience, a $3,000 monitoring system with killer amps in an acoustically treated control room you won't hear any difference at all.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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. Hello and welcome! Lots of good info here so far. I dont know that i can add anything except to ditto everything you have heard. A big plus, one that you dont have to pay for, is this forum right here. As you have seen, we have able and friendly users here who are more than happy to share their wisdom and experience. Thats priceless. >>>...1) I just need to know if you think Band in a Box / Real Band would be the way for me to go or if something like Wast West Quantum Leap etc. or similar would best suit my needs...>>> I am no expert on East West, but if it is a sample library, you can make East West a part of your Band-in-a-box-suite. >>>...2) Would BIAB/Real Band be too limiting considering the styles of music I like to write?..>>> Nope. Its liberating to your compositional muse. I have used BiaB to create music in styles that never existed before I created them out of disparate BiaB elements. Here are some samples: https://www.youtube.com/user/flatfoot50?feature=results_main...some are in recognizable styles, some not. (Banjo and congas? Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot?!?!?!) All are created with BiaB and Real Band. >>>... 3) Could I use BIAB/RealBand as my composition tool wholly and solely?...>>> That's pretty much how it works for me these days. 4) Could I use BIAB/Real Band ....I fear this could be a huge expense to blow on something that may not be entirely suitable for what I want to achieve...>>> The parent company PGMusic, are knowledgable, ethical and trustworthy. When they offer a money back guarantee, its the truth. Call them, buy the minimum package and put it to work. Then upgrade as needed. Welcome aboard... .
Last edited by flatfoot; 07/20/12 04:08 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Dome, you have some fine answers above. Welcome to the forum.
I might just add a little to this:
3) Could I use BIAB/RealBand as my composition tool wholly and solely?
Yes, but other tools help complement the process, depending on what you want to do. For example, I compose in BIAB but use a number of other tools for 'finishing' a song. These include an audio editor (I use Adobe Audition but there's a good free one, Audacity), some plugins (Ozone is my favorite), and a sequencer. [I only use another sequencer because I learned it long before RealBand became available; if I were starting out new, I would learn RealBand first.] I also use a dedicated notation software for scores.
Interestingly, sometimes this works in reverse. The other day, I needed to take a song in a notation program into cut time. The notation software would not do it, so I exported MIDI and took that into BIAB where you can Expand Durations by 2. Then back to the notation software. Amazing, a real time saver.
As for sounds, Mario and I have a different approach, I guess. I like having really good MIDI sound in BIAB because it inspires me more when I'm composing. Although I have a few software synths, I still use a hardware MIDI sound module.
I highly encourage you to try BIAB. You should love it as we do.
About the audiophile version, the only ones who need that are pros producing the highest quality output they can. I can hear the difference, but it's pretty subtle. Since you can upgrade by calling PG Music Sales, start with the 'regular' version and get to know the program. Use your money to buy as many RealTracks as you can, instead of the audiophile version.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,075
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,075 |
Quote:
I have a Soundcloud friend who uses Garage Band. Part of the issue she has is being new to music in general, and the other part is the learning curve of Garage Band.
Now, that as framework, let me say this. Everything she posts is dull, boring and unimaginitve. That is the inexperience speaking for the most part. She does what she knows how to do, which is usually finding some 4 bar chord progession loop and replicating it 2000 times, then writing melody and lyrics around that.
With Real Band, it's the opposite. You put in your chord progression, pick your style, and let it create. If you don't like it, regenerate and give it another shot.
The main difference between that A and B is that in the second scenario you have to know music well enough to know what a chord is and how progressions work. She doesn't know anything about "1-4-5" or "12 bar blues" yet.
Depending on your level of knowledge and general music concepts, BIAB/RB is the choice. There is a learning curve, but think about the fact that everything you do requires some time spent in that learning curve. That part is up to you. You can learn just enough to make the thing work, or as much as possible to make it work well.
Eddie, this post is the perfect response to your other thread that wonders how BIAB and RB enhance musical skills. Not all musical skills involve how fast your fingers can fly about the instrument. This software is built around music theory, and it encourages the user to get better acquainted with musical fundamentals.
What you said.
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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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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
Join the conversation on our forum.
Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll also keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
From overviews of new features and walkthroughs of the 202 new RealTracks, to highlights of XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAKs 18, the 2025 49-PAK, and in-depth tutorials — you’ll find everything you need to explore what’s new in Band-in-a-Box® 2025.
Reference this forum post for One-Stop Shopping of our Band-in-a-Box® 2025 Mac Videos — we’ll be adding more videos as they’re released!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac with savings of up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special—available until July 31, 2025! Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
2025 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Mac 2025 packages, but for even more Add-ons (including 20 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.
If you have any questions, feel free to connect with us directly—we’re here to help!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 Italian Version is Here!
Cari amici
È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.
Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.
Band-in-a-Box 2025 - Italiano
RealBand 2025 - Italiano
Band-in-a-Box 2025 French Version is Here!
Bonjour à tous,
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music
Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:
BIAB 2025 - francisation
RealBand 2025 - francisation
Voilà, enjoy!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 German Version is Here!
Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!
Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.
Stay up to date—get the latest update now!
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