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RealBand
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Quote:
After reading Craig Anderton's review of Rewire and a few other articles, I see it to be a useful tool, just not for me. I wouldn't use what it does. Show of hands though, I am curious to know how many people here use it?
Probably very few, because they can't--PG Music products are not Rewire equipped. I used it on my old DAW when I was running Nuendo 1.6 (primarily an audio app) with Reason 3 (then a pure MIDI app). It allowed me to assign the MIDI sounds of Reason channels in Nuendo and process them there. You can operate two Rewired apps from the transport control of either. I was only the most rudimentary user. There may be other uses of which I am not aware.
On my new DAW I can no longer run Nuendo. (Nor do I need to, as Reason 6 now records audio.) I still have to import MIDI tracks from BIAB in order to use them in Reason. I'm not sure Rewire would even be appropriate there. But I will have to copy and paste audio tracks from RB as it doesn't have Rewire, and Reason doesn't support drag-and-drop in any case. We're working on Propellerhead, another eminently responsive company, to correct this, too.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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RealBand
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Joined: Oct 2008
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Here's my take on What Real Band Doesn't Do.
In the Real Band wish list (I think) I opened the discussion, "Real Band--the Killer App." From others' comments I extracted three deficiencies which, if corrected, would make RB indispensable to everyone, not just PG fans. They were unlimited channels, full support of VST technology (meaning the ability to handle tempo information), and implementation of Rewire.
Richard's comment, when taken in context with my thinking about music making as a modular system, does bring up a point that I hadn't factored in:
In a modular system, a key necessity is for all the pieces to snap together and play well together. Two of Richards must-haves fall more into the arena of "working as a team " with other modules than simply duplicating features other products already have.
For the same reason that many of us ditched USB devices when they stopped working with new operating systems (in other words, when they became incompatible with the rest of our music making system) people also tend to ditch products that don't play well with the rest of their music making system.
If all your other stuff is rewire compliant, utilizes Melodyne internally instead of forcing it to be used as a standalone product, and uses other plugins the same way except for one product, as soon as a similar product comes along that DOES play well, people will switch to it.
IMO, these are areas where any software company does need to stay in synch with other similar products.
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RealBand
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Pat, you have extracted the essence of what I was trying to say. All I am asking for is for BIAB and/or Real Band and [insert app of choice here] to play well together. REALLY well. Like seamlessly.
When it comes to plugins I am kind of a minimalist. I tend to use what is available unless it is horribly deficient in some way. That is specifically why I began to use Reason--as a huge, powerful modular synth and FX unit, insdtead of fooling with cheap soundcards and subpar softsynths such as the old Sound Canvas included with BIAB, or even the slightly better Coyote Forte.
Reason has its own quirks. It doesn't have MIDI Out and doesn't support plugins or drag and drop. The ability to directly connect it to either BIAB or RB would, to me, be the best of all possible worlds. The rest of you have your own "dream team" in mind, but it's the same thing.
It is possible. It doesn't cost a thing to implement in terms of licensing. PG has, in a rare move, acknowledged this and said that "it is being looked into." That was quite a while back, but I am still hopeful.
Rewire. Rewire. Rewire.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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RealBand
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Quote:
After reading Craig Anderton's review of Rewire and a few other articles, I see it to be a useful tool, just not for me. I wouldn't use what it does. Show of hands though, I am curious to know how many people here use it?
I do not use it as I have no need for it.
Waitress "How did you find your steak sir"?
Me "I just looked next to the potatoes and there it was"!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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RealBand
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There is prolly 95% of BIAB that I don't use, either. I was responding in the affirmative to Pat's comment about modularity. Rewire would be a major step toward having PG products integrate with the rest of the professional audio world.
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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RealBand
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Joined: Jan 2002
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To tag onto Ryszard's comments:
My reason for wanting true and deep VST/VSTi integration is actually the exact same reason as Ryszard's desire for ReWire:
Choice of instrumentation and sound sources.
Ryszard's decision was to learn Reason deeply and the way forward for integration is through ReWire; which has become somewhat standard fare for DAWs, even the others that are under $100 like Mixcraft, nTrack, etc.
My decision was to look for VSTi that did what I needed them to do; Jamstix for being my drummer, all of the GSi physically modeled old-school electromechanical keyboards.
I also got hooked on tempo-locking effects like Kjaerhus' autofilter, any number of delay plugins, etc.
I wasn't happy with Sound Canvas or even soundfont playback.
Lots of forumites here made this into a hardware decision - buying the Ketron GM module, but those of us that have wandered outside the world of GM are those that point to these features as necessary.
What did it for me was trying the CMuzys freeware DAW that came on the cover CD of computer music magazine. That had great ASIO integration, and allowed playthrough of VSTi. The first time I fired up the Minimogue VSTi (freebie), I spent many long nights playing old prog-rock synth leads - or at least trying. Something I hadn't been able to do for 20 years! I was hooked.
-Scott
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RealBand
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Joined: May 2003
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Quote:
There is prolly 95% of BIAB that I don't use, either. I was responding in the affirmative to Pat's comment about modularity. Rewire would be a major step toward having PG products integrate with the rest of the professional audio world.
I'm guessing a little here as I don't remember the details.Just before the "Drag & Drop" feature came out it was discussed, not sure if it was with testers or the general population,what would be best to implement, D&D or Rewire.The consensus was D&D as I don't think enough folks understood what Rewire was. Rewire has been on Peter's mind for sure just not sure why it hasn't been implemented yet.I could guess but won't.
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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 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!
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Regular hours resume Tuesday, May 19th!
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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!
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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.
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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)
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- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
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