PG Music Home Forums PG Music Wishlists Band-in-a-Box Wishlist The all new BIAB Sample Library

Hello everyone,

I have an awesome idea for a new product I would like PG Music to release....

The Band-in a Box sample library !

In the the sample library.....

1. I'd love to see all the intrstuments sampled to be the ones used by the artist recorded for the real treacks

2. All sampled instruments to be played by the same artisits recorded for the Real Tracks to ensure that every technique is captured to create a rich and full experience with your MIDI tracks.

3. One of the most important things for me. Have the sample library include it's own playback engine. I don't want to have to buy something like Kontakt 5 sololy for the use of a Band-in-a-Box sample libray.

What do I see the sample library as....?

The proposed sample library would allow the musician to explore and capture new ieads beyond what the Real Tracks and Real Drums capability at this point. The sample library would also allow PG Music to eliminate the need for the user to purchase a third party sample library. Finally, the sample library also allows the user to combine the MIDI supertracks play by the artist with the samples of the artists' instruments themself, creating a MIDI track version of the Real Tracks.


Now, what the propsed sample libray is not.....

1.A replacement for the Real Tracks[- The sample library will in no way elemutate the need for Real Tracks, but infact only help those musicans who wants to write out specfic parts theirself.

2. A cheep replacement of sampled instruments- Knowing PG Music's work with Real Tracks, if their where to create a sample library, I know they would be a lot of effort into to it to make sure that we would get the best samples as possible.

3. A replacement for Band-in-a-Box-Infact, It would infact be a way to help people Band-in-a-Box user further expand their use of Band-in-a-Box, while allowing support for third part DAWs and RealBand.


How would I obtain the sample library?

Obtaining the sample library would be that same as obtating Band-in-a-Box, except you would only get receive the samples in a hard drive just as are able to get all the real tracks. The advantage of having the hard drive is that I would like to see the plug in itself be able to load without the need to install it on your computer. If it would be possible I would like see the plugin work driectly with all major third party DAWs and RealBand with out the need for installation or support for iLok.


So, I hope I have clearly explained what I am looking for and hope that there is some possibility of this becoming a realilty.

P.S. This does not mean that you would not have the option to use your own sample library.

Sorry to sound like a pessimist .., but I personally don't think PG have got what it takes to even create a sample library
.., Just look at the audiophile version of BIAB , it's still in 16 bit when sample library creators (and even amateur home studio users) have been using the industry standard 24 bit for 20 years already, that to me alone speaks volumes.

A lot of work goes into creating libraries and you get what you pay for, and I have not found one yet that is a good all-rounder for everything , as they all fit into a mix differently depending on the the given situations .

I'd personally just be happy to SEE BIAB continue to do what it already, but to lift the game of their top tier product (audiophile BIAB) version into the 20th century .., with better efficiency, usability, and fidelity ...., like 24 bit etc on a 64 bit platform would be nice , and maybe clean up its messy kindergarten looking GUI a bit more .

As for Kontakt , thats just a sample player (mostly) that 3rd party creators use as a great host. It's not expensive to buy and there is an excellent range of 3rd party libraries available. It's sort of a staple really..., just my 2 bobs worth

Pretty good idea and nice idea presentation.

Many RealDrums files have "one shot" samples at the end of the file. This nice thing about these samples are they are from the same recording as the rest of the file so they match the sound of the drums in the recording.

Some users create custom fills by programming a few bars of midi, insert a sample player such as the free ++ tx16wx ++ sampler, load up the one shots and have a custom drum fill.

While I like your idea I'm not sure it is practical. Each guitar and bass library from a software company like ++ Amplesound ++ typically is more than 5 GB in size.

Exactly, which is why these 3rd party libraries get our dollars..,

.., ie; because not only are they far more customisable , but the detail is there .., for example I have a piano - (52 GB library) just for its 'one patch', but it has 21 ' accurately applied' (ie; not guessed) velocity layers , 10 randomly applied round robins , long note tails that you never hear get cut off or faded out if a note is held, High resolution Samples , and 6 different studio mic selection options to pick and blend from .

Whenever I go back to the 'factory type' pianos and compare (eg; UVI, Kontakt, Sampletank 3 factory libraries , or the libraries that come with DAWS etc) all I hear is a one dimensional bland lifeless Mr Robot piano (even after they try to cover up that fact by drenching them with reverb) .

This is just one example .., I have 2 huge Piano libraries (like the example described in the 1st paragraph) with both libraries representing the same brand of piano .., yet those 2 different libraries offer very different textures with one that will sit better in a rock / pop mix, and the other being more suited for orchestration , classical etc,

.., and were not talking about EQ settings here , The texture I am talking about derives from the actual body of the sound,

- created from the brand of mics used ( ie: each offering their unique sound from their brand and the individual positioning that mic ) ,
- the rooms vibe from the studio, the individuality / touch of the engineer / producer ,
- the pre-amps and console that was used, outboard gear .., ie; all this combined to created that texture

.., and thats an example just for a piano library - then we have ALL those other instruments with similar considerations which is why that market exists.

For this detail and realism - I don't mind paying and would never expect this kind of detail to be included in a factory library .

I was not talking about a generic sample library but something that was ment to be used for the musician who needs to write parts out for tracking. I don't need to compose for an orchestra or a jazz band, but it would be nice to have some quailty string, horn, woodwind and percussion sounds that fit the BIAB idea.

"2. All sampled instruments to be played by the same artists.."
That would cost a lot more for the artist to hang around recording samples than PG doing it themselves with the same instrument, and have their own PG sample player vsti.
Like Shots n Holds they are just played with the same instrument by someone at PG I would say as they were an added features after realtracks.
Having Direct Input guitars is good as I can get a RealTracks artist to play most then use the same DI guitar in Kontact to create the solo I need. You can use something like https://www.kvraudio.com/product/redshift-pickup-replacer-by-acmebargig
to get the same tone.
Yes have a PG RealInstruments sample library created from the existing RealTrack Instruments.
This way you can fill in sections that the RealTracks could not give you yet play seamlessly.

Thanks for the plugin but I use a Mac.

You can use something like https://www.kvraudio.com/product/redshift-pickup-replacer-by-acmebargig
to get the same tone. http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?plugin=Redshift&id=2408

"Thanks for the plugin but I use a Mac."

There are a few vst wrappers, try this one https://sourceforge.net/projects/wacvst/?source=navbar
I will try to get on the Mac later and try a few.

If needed 32>64 you can use JbridgeM https://jstuff.wordpress.com/jbridgem/

It will also work with MacBB
Added: Support for jBridge has been added. If you have jBridge installed, then you can load a 64bit VST plugin in Band-in-a-Box.

If you havent tried it yet I highly recommend : Patchbay , by Blue Cat Audio

.., it is a VST and an AU wrapper / HOST (including VST3) .., and works either as a plugin , and it also offers itself as a VST STANDALONE Version

(note: the plugin is also in AAX if you use Pro tools)

The beauty of the VST Standalone Version is you can run any Virtual Instrument or V.I Plug-in inside of PATCHBAY, and also with the most simple, or complex chain of your favourite 3rd party PLUG-IN FX to run with it ..., all without needing to open a CPU hogging, latency inducing DAW (this allows you to leave you expensive computer at home, and take the cheap old crappy one to the gig)

This setup it is perfect for playing in LIVE situations also ..., where you can 'save' whatever you have loaded into it at the time 'as a PRESET'
..., then once loaded , you can then load up more 'ideal settings' you desire in PATCHBAY , and save them as presets also (that might be the settings for the next song on your set list - or even the change from a verse to a chorus etc , within the set list)

By saving all these situations as presets within PATCHBAY (with as many presets as you like) ....., and you can easily switch / toggle between these presets in seconds (on stage or in the studio) by using a simple midi switching 'floor stomp box'

FX can be loaded either in series or in parallel with as many as you desire .., and there are so many other uses also .., versatility well worth the small asking price thats for sure.

(Blue Cat Audio also offer a FREE plugins bundle , that are also very good)
(for other free plug-in bundles.., also check out MELDA Productions)

Patchwork is good, don't know if it will load a Win VST in Mac, haven't tried it on the Mac yet.
Biab lacks things that other audio apps have so I try to find free workarounds to solve these problems otherwise you end up spending too much. Like I just had to buy the ReWire VST that wasn't a freebie but the MiniHost and midiOut to midi clock sync Biab to another app are free.