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I was doing some research online the other day, and came across a review of Band-in-a-Box Version 9!

Click here to read the review written by Electronic Musician.

This review caught my attention immediately - probably because it compared our software to Star Trek.

"There is an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which one of the characters walks onto the holodeck and programs his musical fantasy simply by commanding, "1950s New Orleans jazz, small combo." The computer instantly generates a holographic combo that appears and starts playing. The character then picks up his trombone and commences to jam along with the computer-generated trio.
Science fiction? Maybe not. PG Music's Band-in-a-Box 9.0 offers a similar experience in the here and now."


All of the new features for Version 9 list here.

Did any of you have Version 9?

Last edited by Callie - PG Music; 10/22/15 05:57 AM.
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I remember that episode. It was Commander Riker playing trombone.


Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
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Originally Posted By: raymb1
I remember that episode. It was Commander Riker playing trombone.





And Jonathan Frakes (Riker) was actually playing that trombone. shocked



I can't wait for "Band In A Box Holographic Version!" grin


Regards,

Bob

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Overall it was a very good review of biab which we users can only endorse to the highest degree.

However this part of the review certainly rang a few bells of past threads on the forum as regards the GUI, which to be honest I am not having any great deal of difficulty with.

Quote:
OLD WINDOWSAlthough BIAB 9.0 is capable of some amazing feats, the application has one major drawback that must be addressed: its user interface looks old and is hard to use. The appearance reminds me of dated DOS or Windows 3.x applications (see Fig. 3). In general, the program's controls and menus are difficult to navigate and operate. Also, BIAB doesn't support many standard Windows keyboard shortcuts, the menu choices are long and complex, and navigating through files is tedious.

Worse, some of the menus shift off the screen; I was constantly moving the window around to read and select many of the choices. (This problem doesn't occur at high display resolutions.) Also, inputting some data is inefficient, and actions that should take only one click require two or three. Despite all this, the application runs well. I spent many hours using it, and it rarely crashed or hesitated.unquote:

I'm sure if they did another review of biab they would come up with a positive review again, wondering why the UK mag Soundonsound haven't done one, if I remember correctly they did in the past.

Maybe it would be in PGmusics interest to send a copy of biab to the above mag.

Musiclover


Musiclover

My music https://www.youtube.com/user/donegalprideofall

Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use smile
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Thanks for the suggestion Musiclover! I will look into Soundonsound Magazine and see what we can do.

It was an interesting read, this Band-in-a-Box 9 review from 2000! Their comments on the GUI have definitely been addressed with the 15 years of new versions released since it was written... smile


Callie
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Sound on Sound is perhaps the major magazine read by audio engineers (all types, from studios to those who record at home). It has regular tips sections for each of the major DAWs, and the issues are filled with reviews of all things audio.
I remember BIAB 9, and many before that!


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The band leader in that holodeck band (playing piano) was Jack Sheldon, normally seen playing trumpet. Some will remember him as Merv Griffin's band leader.

The great line in that episode was when he told Riker not to quit his day job.


John

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Oh, and I had version 9 (I started with version 8).


John

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I found the Version 9 review on the SoundonSound page - if anyone is interested in reading it:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul00/articles/band.htm

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