Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
#44558 11/27/09 12:13 AM
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,576
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,576
I'm becoming aware that the Real Instruments are totally taking over my hard drive because of two things:
    1. Large sized software wave files.

    2. There are so cotton pickin' many of them.
I would propose a rethink on Real Band, Band in a box and Real Instruments. Yes I'm thinking in terms of Real Instrument/Drums synths. We've already got midi which takes almost no space on a hard drive. Why not make guitar, bass, brass and drum synths that would free up 6 tons of hard drive space. Sooner or later we will have to have 10 Terrabyte drives to handle the continuing growth of Real Instruments. My 500 gig is getting pretty full.

Something for the Pgmusic guys to think about.


Russ
Anyday above ground is a good day

Computer is Hp Pavillion Vision
6 Ghz quad core AMD processor
8 Gig memory
1 TB hard drive
6 GB hard drive
Windows 7 Premium
Loose nut behind the keyboard laugh

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,002
Veteran
Online Happy
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,002
Yes, good observation about hard drive space. I've already deleted many of the Real Tracks for styles I don't use. They are on the USB hard drive if I need to reload them.

And it's worse in my case, by a factor of about ten, because I use the audiophile version.

But I'm not sure what you're suggesting about using guitar, brass etc synths.


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.
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900
Jeez, Matt! The Audiophile version must demand a 1 terrabyte drive of its own soon, if it doesn't already


Follow That Dream

Sam
Karaoke King

--------------------

Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,576
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,576
Quote:

Yes, good observation about hard drive space. I've already deleted many of the Real Tracks for styles I don't use. They are on the USB hard drive if I need to reload them.

And it's worse in my case, by a factor of about ten, because I use the audiophile version.

But I'm not sure what you're suggesting about using guitar, brass etc synths.




I have a sax synth that follows my midi tracks. A small file. Doesn't take up much overhead. Sounds almost as good as a RI sax. I posted a song on the Off Topics forum a month ago using this synth. It's called, "Pickup The Pieces. Give it a close listen and see what you think.

As you can well hear the sax is following a midi track in RB. It isn't stuck with randomization playing. It follows the midi track to the nth. My thinking is this is the way Pgmusic should go with Real Instruments.


Russ
Anyday above ground is a good day

Computer is Hp Pavillion Vision
6 Ghz quad core AMD processor
8 Gig memory
1 TB hard drive
6 GB hard drive
Windows 7 Premium
Loose nut behind the keyboard laugh

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 716
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 716
The decision to go in the direction of 'realism = wav audio' was unfortunately taken at a time when the midi synth market was beginning to develop into something approaching true realism anyway.

Audio samples for Midi purposes, good ones, neccisarily take up a lot more space than they once did, but no way near what it would take to replace each and every BIAB style with its equivalent real track and real drum counterpart.

it was never a case, or should never have been a case, of neglecting midi as an outworn concept that couldn't be improved upon. There are many things BIAB could do to improve the realism and feel it's midi side starting with better resolution to capture playing nuances.

The fact that it has resolutely refused to do so over the years makes one think that the effort required wouldn't be worth it for PG music in cost-benefit terms. Prove me wrong, please!

Regards

Alan

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,122
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,122
which sax synth would that be Russ, sounds pretty good on this end.

Rob

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,122
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,122
I did find this simple guitar synth, but I"m not familiar enough with this type of plugin to know if it's any good or not. Anyone use it? SimulAnalog Guitar Suite"

http://www.simulanalog.org/guitarsuite.htm

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,161
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 23,161
Quote:

it was never a case, or should never have been a case, of neglecting midi as an outworn concept that couldn't be improved upon. There are many things BIAB could do to improve the realism and feel it's midi side starting with better resolution to capture playing nuances.

The fact that it has resolutely refused to do so over the years makes one think that the effort required wouldn't be worth it for PG music in cost-benefit terms. Prove me wrong, please!

Regards

Alan




I’ve been requesting increased midi resolution for years. 120 PPQ is way to low a resolution these days. 960 PPQ would be much better.


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
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,576
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 14,576
Quote:

which sax synth would that be Russ, sounds pretty good on this end.

Rob




I found it on google. I don't remember the site. I just typed in, Free Sax Synth, and let IE do its thing. I found one that sounded good. That's the one you just heard. I really need to start documenting this stuff.


Russ
Anyday above ground is a good day

Computer is Hp Pavillion Vision
6 Ghz quad core AMD processor
8 Gig memory
1 TB hard drive
6 GB hard drive
Windows 7 Premium
Loose nut behind the keyboard laugh

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 29
D
Enthusiast
Offline
Enthusiast
D
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 29
I use DVS free Saxophone by Martin Best. Sounds decent to me

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 928
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 928
Quote:

Why not make guitar, bass, brass and drum synths that would free up 6 tons of hard drive space. Sooner or later we will have to have 10 Terrabyte drives to handle the continuing growth of Real Instruments.

Something for the Pgmusic guys to think about.






I posted a similar idea a few months ago and got slammed.

I greatly prefer the sound of RT vs Midi but the RTs seem very limiting (so far anyway) in their functionality and I don't see it as a long-term technical solution.

There's certainly a place for WAVs and real audio in the creation of computer-assisted music but in 2009 we should be leveraging the power of software technology to create something better.

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Slammed?

Just explained why it wouldn't work.

Which is apparent by all the highend MIDI synths out in the world, both hardware and software, that still don't sound like the real McCoy.


--Mac

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 169
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 169
You stole my post! I have gone full cycle - love real tracks when they work and fit but... midi thru a good external is sometimes a better fit. There are limiations and advantages for both.

Real Track Plusses:
1 Easy to use
2. Many sound great
3. Real drums work at almost any tempo
4. Authentic style playing is at times sensational
5. Adds a truly profesional touch

Real Track Minuses:
1. You lose a large degree of control
2. Sustaining instruments like piano sound choppy due to the pedal effect cutoff when chord changes
3. They sound best at recommended tempos - too often the tempos are not what I want. I sometimes sacrifice my ideal tempo choice and use real tracks because I love Neil's upright bass sound
4.The real drums are great but heavy cymbal crashes played too frequently can ruin a song. No easy way to edit out
5. Many real tracks like organ were recorded with heavy distortion - for me these are not useable

Midi Plusses:
1. Total control for every note played
2.With a good external synth can sound great if the midi input is excellent. Sound quality is dependent on quality of synth
3. Tempos are not a factor
4. With drums each instrument can be controlled and easily edited - kill overdone cymbal crashes!

Midi Minuses:
1. More time consuming especialty with high quality external synths
2. Existing styles generally not as good in terms of playing as many real tracks
3. Many styles don't sound real (but they could)

My solution/hope:
1. PG music develops a hybrid sytem consisting of real tracks plus REAL MIDI sets of styles. This could be done for example on piano by recording audio thru an excellent digital grand and simultaneusly recording the midi. The resulting midi style track could be in some ways better than the digitally recorded real piano track becuase sustain pedal problems etc could be manipulated. The audio could real track would be just as good as ever if a fine digital piano is used.

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Quote:

My solution/hope:
1. PG music develops a hybrid sytem consisting of real tracks plus REAL MIDI sets of styles. This could be done for example on piano by recording audio thru an excellent digital grand and simultaneusly recording the midi. The resulting midi style track could be in some ways better than the digitally recorded real piano track becuase sustain pedal problems etc could be manipulated. The audio could real track would be just as good as ever if a fine digital piano is used.




What. Are. You. Talking. About??

Unless you have the $3,000 or so killer digital piano synth on your system, that wonderful midi track will still sound like crap through the VSC. Then, the audio track is still an audio track. It still has to get chopped up by the program according to your chords so the sustain will still be cut off so again, what are you trying to say 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.
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 39
M
Enthusiast
Offline
Enthusiast
M
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 39
hi guys,

are we missing the point here - for the small price of some hard drive space we can create music that sounds real and organic rather than stilted and mechanical. It's not that long since all we had were the 'blips' of primitive sound modules and sequencers (hardware only!) that were expensive, unfathomable and unreliable.

Maybe MIDI will make more sense in the future, but for now when I use BIAB, I can create realistic-sounding, varied and exciting music on my PC in a few minutes. Maybe I'm stuck in the past, but that fact still amazes me every time I click on the icon and fire up BIAB!

Sure I could create a list of what it doesn't do that I'd like it to, but experience tells me that one day soon those features will arrive, so I'll spend the waiting-time enjoying what I've got

regards,

Martin

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Quote:


My solution/hope:
1. PG music develops a hybrid sytem consisting of real tracks plus REAL MIDI sets of styles. This could be done for example on piano by recording audio thru an excellent digital grand and simultaneusly recording the midi. The resulting midi style track could be in some ways better than the digitally recorded real piano track becuase sustain pedal problems etc could be manipulated. The audio could real track would be just as good as ever if a fine digital piano is used.





Your missing something here.

What you are really describing is a common MIDI sampler. That's the hardware box you've already got.

Realtracks sound real because they don't deal with a note-at-a-time situation, instead they deal in breaking up a performance file into small loops by the phrase. There is really no way to break out all the single notes, values, sustains, staccatos, dynamics, etc. from that file to allow you to end up with what a good MIDI sampler, hardware or software, is already doing.


--Mac

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 5,261
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 5,261
Quote:

Unless you have the $3,000 or so killer digital piano synth on your system, that wonderful midi track will still sound like crap through the VSC.


You're likely off by an order of magnitude. These day's synths are getting darn close to the real thing at s.th. between $ 300 and $ 400. For a start you might check out -> Pianoteq.


Martin
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Quote:

Quote:

Unless you have the $3,000 or so killer digital piano synth on your system, that wonderful midi track will still sound like crap through the VSC.

Check these songs out:

Harvey Gerst using the VSC in production work.

Mqtter of fact, someone in that thread asked Harvey what MIDI synth he was using to sound that good. I bet they were shocked to hear that it was none other than the much-maligned VSC.

I've also done some Piano stuff using the VSC in the past, will have to dig it out of the archives and upload it.

But in the "right hands" the VSC can indeed turn in a good performance.

I don't know *any* MIDI output solution, software or hardware, that will sound great by just loading a BB song and playing back with defaults. This is partially due to the default typically being selections of Patches taken from whatever the GM bank in the synth happens to be. Those are usually designed for blending together easily and not so much for overall audio quality.

Preemptive Strike: Someone is sure to come along and point out that it could sound better. Of course it could sound better. You could also say the same for the latest, greatest, most expensive synth/sampler as well. And people often do. MIDI is subjective and musicians think with feelings.


--Mac

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,109
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,109
Maybe to some extent one of the rethinks that needs to occur for all of us as users is how we integrate BIAB into our computer system. I realize that over the long haul most of us have become accustomed to installing BIAB into c:/bb. Particualry with the audiophile version, a full install on the C drive isn't as practical any longer and it becomes more practical to run off the hard drive that BIAB is now delivered on OR at the very least to access the real drums and real tracks folders on that drive while still running the main program from the C drive.

I'll have to admit that I wasn't real excited about real drums or real tracks when they came out and probably wouldn't have bought into them if they weren't already included with the BIAB update that I was ordering. After using them, and developing my own way of incorporating them into my music, I'm much more excited about them and expect that they will only improve with time as PG music develops ways to address some of the current shortcomings. This is something that was a brand new concept not too very long ago and it has already grown tremendously in a short time.

I'm all for seeing where the future takes us, and I'm willing to adapt to doing things a bit differenly if it leads to a better sounding product.


Keith
2025 Audiophile Windows 11 RYZEN THREADRIPPER 3960X 4.5GHZ 128 GB RAM 2 Nvidia RTX 3090s, Vegas,Acid,SoundForge,Izotope Production,Melodyne Studio,SONAR,3 Raven Mtis
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
M
Mac Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Did I say that techonology was marching on?

Well, she's been gainin' speed, I think.

Just looked at a new Hitachi SATA 7200rpm drive that has a 32m cache.

TWO TERABYTES

$179.00


--Mac

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

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.

PG Music News
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!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!

Die deutsche Version Band-in-a-Box® 2025 für Windows ist ab sofort verfügbar!

Alle die bereits die englische Version von Band-in-a-Box und RealBand 2024 installiert haben, finden hier die Installationsdateien für das Sprachenupdate:

https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025.exe
https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025RB.exe

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!

Forum Statistics
Forums58
Topics84,222
Posts776,532
Members39,598
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
Newest Members
Mathew Helbow, Sarah, GabyBrandan, PierreVW, gestes
39,598 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 144
zedd 113
WaoBand 99
DC Ron 89
rsdean 86
nonchai 84
Today's Birthdays
Scotty, ThomasCriver
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5