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Journeyman
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)))) I am seeing a lot of questions about using Band in a Box if you are a beginner being asked over and over, and I wonder if there could be or should a forum (Like OFF TOPIC) dedicated solely to Band in a Box for Beginners--instead of developing a "Band in a Box Lite" program.
David,
Awesome idea, and thanks for posting a first sample lesson. The idea to have a beginners forum, maybe simply called Beginners forum.
If it is popular we could split it into BIAB RealBand and others
We will work on that
Thanks At the moment a number of us are going off in different directions attempting to help beginners with common questions as below: Beginning Mixing Part I Maybe this can bring all the articles together in one place. From the responses I've received, there is definitely a LOT of interest. Bob
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PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
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Bob,
Yes, that's a great mixing lesson, and thanks for making it. This would be ideal for the beginners forum.
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Beginners Forum
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A beginners forum? Seriously?
I really don't see it guys. Everybody in the world posts questions about Biab in the Biab forum. Now we're supposed to make a judgement call that this particular question is at the beginner level and route them to here? Where is the cutoff from a so called beginner question to an intermediate one to an expert one?
Just my opinion, EVERYBODY needs to be reading the full Biab forum precisely because EVERYBODY is there at all levels. Why? Because one person's beginner question is another person's expert question. We all use Biab for different things, it's capable of so much that nobody but Peter and the staff knows it all.
I've been using the program for over 10 years and you could say I'm an expert but I just learned something about exporting chords the other day. For that one thing, I was a beginner but otherwise I'm an expert. The thing is everybody is like that. Some knew all about exporting chords but knew nothing about another area of the program that I know all about. This is why I say everybody should be reading the original Biab forum.
To me this is all you need for beginners and it could be made a closed sticky at the top of the Biab forum:
1. Explain the audio settings, latency and ASIO.
2. Explain the midi settings and a default synth.
3. Explain selecting a style either RT or midi.
4. Explain inputting the chords.
5. Explain Play and Generate.
That's it. Everything else could easily be called a beginner area or an expert area depending on what the person has been or wants to use the program for.
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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Beginners Forum
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Bob,
Some good points there. I was digging through some storage boxes and came across BIAB program CD's and hard drives that go back to 2003. I know there are more somewhere. Haha...packrat. The point is, I JUST learned how to work with Helicon harmonies. And I'm pretty sure after all these years I'm only using a fraction of BIAB's capability. So I guess you're right, learning any new skill in BIAB put's you in the beginner group. Is a beginner forum necessary? I'll leave that to the powers that be. As for me I've been answering questions and trying to help folks as long as I've been on here and I know we all do that. We know what it's like to struggle with a concept or a function and how easy it can be when someone takes pity on us and explains it in such a way that we finally get it. I guess it couldn't hurt.
Bob
Last edited by Bob Buford; 11/29/16 12:10 PM.
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Beginners Forum
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Hey I'm a beginner. I only started in 2014. Thanks to a lot of help, I have some songs out. No problem calling myself a beginner. Beginners, we all know who we are! Post away!!!  Hopefully we can all help one another.
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jun 2012
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A beginners forum? Seriously?
I really don't see it guys. Everybody in the world posts questions about Biab in the Biab forum. Now we're supposed to make a judgement call that this particular question is at the beginner level and route them to here? Where is the cutoff from a so called beginner question to an intermediate one to an expert one?
Just my opinion, EVERYBODY needs to be reading the full Biab forum precisely because EVERYBODY is there at all levels. Why? Because one person's beginner question is another person's expert question. We all use Biab for different things, it's capable of so much that nobody but Peter and the staff knows it all.
I've been using the program for over 10 years and you could say I'm an expert but I just learned something about exporting chords the other day. For that one thing, I was a beginner but otherwise I'm an expert. The thing is everybody is like that. Some knew all about exporting chords but knew nothing about another area of the program that I know all about. This is why I say everybody should be reading the original Biab forum.
To me this is all you need for beginners and it could be made a closed sticky at the top of the Biab forum:
1. Explain the audio settings, latency and ASIO.
2. Explain the midi settings and a default synth.
3. Explain selecting a style either RT or midi.
4. Explain inputting the chords.
5. Explain Play and Generate.
That's it. Everything else could easily be called a beginner area or an expert area depending on what the person has been or wants to use the program for.
Bob I agree! This prolly makes it less likely you'll get an answer because BIAB questions can now be asked in two places. And how will I know whether to ask a question in the regular or beginner forum?
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,944
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,944 |
I totally see good things for the beginners forum. If I arrived at, say the Photoshop forum, and saw posts like "gradient layers lacking TrueColor support.. are you kidding me?" I would be scared away. Because I might be going there to ask if how I can take a photo on an iPhone and transfer it to photoshop, so I can print it out.
However if I saw a Beginners photoshop forum, I would ask away. Heck, I may post one of the beginners in this forum questions right now.....
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Well said!!!!
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Expert
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Expert
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this forum is a fantastic idea
even as an oldie there is always something new to learn or even a new way of working with the many fantastic features of mac band in a box
now not to bring the house down around my head, i for one ( perhaps the only one ) wish those video files that PG produce for us to learn could be done in both flavours, Mac and Windows
there have been several videos posted on a Mac only forum that were actually produced for the Window version that i find confusing because what i see in the video is not what i see when working with my Mac version of BinaBox
with today's video editing software a video produced by PG could be modified to show me the lesson only for the Mac version of BinaBox
thanks David for your sample lesson
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I know but look at what's happening already. Now there's a big detailed thread in this Beginners forum talking about the differences between mixing and mastering. Call me stupid, but your original post David says this is a Biab beginners forum and then you talk about mixing. Mixing and mastering is not about Biab, that's already the title of another forum.
Give it another week and this Beginners forum is going to be a complete mashup of all kinds of different stuff that's already covered either in the Tech SOS, Recording, Mixing and Performance, Biab, RB and who knows how many other existing forums.
The problem like I said above is nobody knows the definition of the word "beginner". Anyway, I'm sticking to the primary forums, you guys have fun here.
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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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Ha ha ha ha ha!!! Well said!!!! Hey David, How about a BEGINNERS FORUM project? Something we take through the entire BIAB experience from concept to completion. Maybe a simple original song with lyrics and melody. We could use RB for the DAW since everyone who has BIAB has that. Maybe start with MIDI instruments on the low end and move up to RT later. Perhaps even make individual tracks available on Soundcloud for downloading and mixing. It would create a hands-on experience rather than just conceptual discussions. Haven't thought this through all the way. Just wondering what your thoughts are on the subject. Bob
Last edited by Bob Buford; 12/01/16 01:00 PM.
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Great idea Bob. As a producer you make the perfect person to outline and manage this course. I will be happy to contribute as part of the core team. Why don't you sketch it out, make a team and start bossing us around. Great idea. Should be fun.
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Great idea Bob. As a producer you make the perfect person to outline and manage this course. I will be happy to contribute as part of the core team. Why don't you sketch it out, make a team and start bossing us around. Great idea. Should be fun. David, Thanks for the nomination. LOL I thought this forum was YOUR baby. Haha. Do you have Facebook Messenger? Maybe we can chat about the approach on there a bit easier. Should also probably get Peter's blessing on this before we start. I mean he's kinda the boss, you know.  I'd like to hear what he thinks. Bob B
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Hey Bob, Real quick, I will PM you tomorrow. We can do Skype. AND--This ain't my forum, man, it's a group forum!!! Should be easy to get rollin.' I will PM you later and we can talk. Would love to hear any ideas from PG Staff of course, but I am sure they would be good. Talk later.
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Hey Bob, Real quick, I will PM you tomorrow. We can do Skype. AND--This ain't my forum, man, it's a group forum!!! Should be easy to get rollin.' I will PM you later and we can talk. Would love to hear any ideas from PG Staff of course, but I am sure they would be good. Talk later. Noooo...I'm pretty sure this is YOUR forum.
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Expert
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now you guys are talking about Skype plus topics that may be beyond what a beginner really wants to know plus having a safe place to visit and ask without be ridiculed
please guys keep this forum as a forum for Beginners to come and learn or ask questions or read about others with similar problems or questions
i am left with the sense that some of your postings are intended to drown this Beginners Forum
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I'm sure that's not their intention Mr W, and I'm sure they'll take on board your point. Nobody should feel intimidated by any of us. Maybe that's why they're taking the duscussion off the forum?
Windows 10 Home 20H2 Build 19042.487
BIAB 2021 (Build 818)
Intel(R) Core(TM), i3-4160, CPU @3.60 GHz RAM 16 GB, 64 Bit X64-based processor
Zoom UAC-2 (USB 3 interface-built in midi)
VoiceLive 3 Extreme, Sputnik Valve Condenser Mic
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Bob and I are simply talking offline about the best way to approach some course issues, to keep it simple. Do not worry, we are simply making plans to help. Thank you. Our intention is to keep it the way you described. Thanks a lot.
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Bob and I are simply talking offline about the best way to approach some course issues, to keep it simple. Do not worry, we are simply making plans to help. Thank you. Our intention is to keep it the way you described. Thanks a lot. David...Please check your PMs. ~BB
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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 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
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