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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I'm providing some of my (PC-based) BIAB files to a friend who has a Mac version. As long as the styles I used are present on the Mac the standard ".SGU/MGU" files translate over and work with no problem.

However I have created a few "hybrid" BIAB files from backing tracks by importing the audio into BIAB and using Chord Wizard, hand edited for chord and timing accuracy. Those songs show up as a .SGU/MGU file with an accompanying .WAV file in the directory where they are saved.

How would I translate these such that they work on a MAC the way they do on PC?

Oh, and Both PC and Mac BIAB versions are the latest/greatest.

Thanks,

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John,

Do both computers have the same content package: Pro, Mega, Ultra or Audiophile? If your computer has content that is not available on the receiving computer that can cause the style to load correctly.

For example let's say you have the Audiophile package while the receiving computer has the Pro package then there is a very good chance the style you select will use content (RealTracks, midiSuperTracks, loops or UserTracks) not available on the receiving computer.


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Hi
As said providing all the elements are present on the receiving machine seems to be no prob.
So with you’re your hybrids that contain accompanying wav files you would have to copy that file, and make it available in the appropriate place on the mac version it may also need converting to a different file format, I don’t know if mac can deal with straight wavs as in the windows version sure a mac user will let us know.

The location of the wav file is in the same folder as you saved the mgu /sgu song in, and will have exactly the same song name, in the windows machine, see no reason why this would not be same on the mac.

Mike


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Originally Posted By: John Payne
...

Oh, and Both PC and Mac BIAB versions are the latest/greatest.

Then you have 2019 for Windows and 2018 for Mac, so there will be some newer styles and RealTracks not yet available on the Mac until 2019 for Mac comes out.


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Thanks for your comments folks.

These songs are jazz standards and use RealTracks which are available on both systems, I'm having no problems with those. The only ones with problems are what I call the "hybrid" files that (in Windows) create an associated ".WAV" file.

Does anyone know what file-type Mac-version BIAB uses when it creates an associated audio track? I hoping I could simply convert my .WAV files to that format, load it into the same directory and things would work.

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I believe the answer is .AIFF files.

You said you have the ‘greatest’ so I assume you have the audiophile versions on both platforms?


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Thanks for the info on AIFF Matt. I'll dig around for a converter --- and I'm running Audiophile for the PC, non-Audiophile for the Mac.

I'm taking a trip visiting friends in London, Leicestershire, Lincoln then touristing Scotland so this will be on hold for a few weeks (if I'd known retirement was so much fun I might have never worked).

I was hoping to get this done so the guys I gig with could use these while I'm gone, but I've run out of time. It's no big problem, these guys are both excellent musicians and we've got many non-hybrid files they can use.

It's interesting, and a bit off this topic, that even though these guys both have professional music careers as players and educators (no exaggeration saying they've been on and led Grammy awarded recordings with everyone from Sinatra to Willie and have played literally thousands of gigs), I'm proud to say they really love these little gigs with BIAB. They love the standards we play and the informal "supper-club" atmosphere we create. They love the sound of the BIAB's RealTracks, they love the real-time flexibility and the ease of just following the bouncing ball for the changes. Most of the songs are set up with 5 choruses and we call audibles about who takes the heads, solo's etc. Simple, good and fun.

I do understand that most folks who play out use backing tracks but I've been using BIAB live for many years with very few problems so bear with me as I preach a bit. The program is stable and trustworthy. Several of the people I play with have purchased BIAB therefore I see and thus believe PG could build a market segment of professionals using their product. It's pretty darned good for this as is, a few program tweaks would make it even better.

Thanks for your attention and the info. I'll post a follow-up in a few weeks.

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The non-audiophile Mac version would use compressed files by default. I’ll check what format that is. It’s .WMA on the Windows version. But I assume the Mac version is like the Windows version in that if there is an uncompressed file, it uses it; if not, it then loads and uncompresses a compressed file.


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Both Win & Mac can use wav format.
I saved a Song.SGU on Win with Song.wav and it opened on Mac, the wav is is the Audio track in the mixer it will show orange.
The Mac version can also use the Win version Audiophile wav's
Both Win & Mac UserTracks use wav format.

For anyone that wants to use the Win Audiophile drive on Mac,
To get the Holds/Shots/Pushes to work rename bb\RealTracks\Library to LibraryM
then create a symbolic link "Library" in the RealTracks folder pointing to LibraryM
also do the same with bb\RealTracks\Direct Input\Library
this will then work on Mac and Win.
To play the Style/RealTrack/Drums wma demos set the default media player as MPlayerX or VLC etc..
You can also copy the files in Soloists and Styles folders from the Audiophile drive to the same folders in the Band in a Box applications folder on Mac.

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Thanks, Pipeline. Could you post this in the Tips Forum?


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Cool! Thank you.


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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