PG Music Home Forums PG Music Wishlists Band-in-a-Box Wishlist partial WAV export / alternative to bar freeze.

If I mentioned this in past, sorry I simply do not remember. I add items to this topic when issue arises.

One of my BIG requests for BIAB was/is: "selected bar freeze"
I can understand how it can get tricky because with minor change, the rest of things PRE & POST sections can change and it might not be smooth at the end...

As a stone age alternative if "selected freeze" is not being made, I can live with "export selected bars as individual tracks". When exported they should fall in the correct section in timeline, with silence before/after. Example. You select bars somewhere in the middle and hit export selection... Exported WAVs would look something like this:

1)-silence--silence--silence-EXPORTED AUDIO DATA--silence--silence-
2)-silence--silence--silence-EXPORTED AUDIO DATA--silence--silence-
3)-silence--silence--silence-EXPORTED AUDIO DATA--silence--silence-
4)-silence--silence--silence-EXPORTED AUDIO DATA--silence--silence-
5)-silence--silence--silence-EXPORTED AUDIO DATA--silence--silence-

Not ideal at all, but very usable. Selected bar freeze would be better

See if any of these help:
You can select bars and then drag export but that will give just that section of bars.
F5 mute @ bar 1, back to normal @ bar 9, mute @ bar 13
should give you what you need.
You can save the track as a Performance track then move it to audio to edit,
you can have another instance of biab and do the same, then you can copy a section out of that audio edit window and paste it in the other instance audio edit window.
"If I mentioned this in past, sorry I simply do not remember."
My memory is just as bad, maybe you asked this in the past and I replied with the same suggestion ????

MultiRiffs In Biab & Custom Track Sections Generation

Pipeline,
Yes sure there are unorthodox ways..
Couple of more "workarounds":

1) As soon as "certain" bars sound good, export whole thing as individual WAVS, crop in DAW. Continue with same pattern

2)Freeze all tracks -> Save project "AS". Continue saving "frozen" projects not to lose specific sections. Name projects like "Chorus 1","Verse 1" etc.

The request is not "how can I?"... The request is making things more intuitive and logical without acrobatics & extra stuff to remember

Ideally: Right click on selected bars-> Export selected.../or freeze selected*
Still, "Freeze Selected Bars" would be choice #1.

The "workaround" is Real Band. 48 tracks. Generate one bar up to 255 bars or any number in between. Each bar or section can be generated with a different style, chords or midi synth as well.

The whole rational for creating RB in the first place was to address stuff like this that can't be done in Biab.

Bob

Bob, I believe we are in BIAB wishlist.

I fix this sort of stuff by multiple generations to .WAV files and edit what I want in a DAW.

But for those of us who prefer to stay and work within BIAB, it should be possible to regenerate parts of a track, just like RealBand can.

IMO BIAB is the Arrangers tool so it should be made possible in it.
RB although it has similar capability is a DAW afaic.

If one prefers to stay and work within BIAB, it is both possible to regenerate parts of a track, have more than a total of 8 tracks and even multiple audio tracks just like RealBand. Well, almost anyway. You can have 48 or more tracks and multiple instruments, multiple styles and dozens of effects in a Band in a Box project but choices have to be made early and commitments to sub mixes made before the final mixdown and a DAW is not required to do this.

The method utilizes the analog multi track recording techniques of overdubs, Punch in/out and Bouncing. Issues that modern recordists have with this method is the necessity to commit to sub mixes and Fx's and also not having discrete access to each individual instrument and track throughout the entire project.

In Bobby Owsinski's third edition of The Mixing Engineers Handbook, Mr. Owsinski includes interviews with 36 of the world's top mixers from nearly every music genre. Each and every one of these engineers make mention of the change in the projects they receive that the artists, producers and record companies that now have the ability to save unlimited tracks, they receive projects with 25-30 guitar tracks, vocals, BGV's, even solos that have to be auditioned, culled and comped during the final stages of a mix where these tasks occurred before a project was sent out to a mixer in days gone by.

It can be done but is certainly not a preferred method. Nothing wrong with the new way at all and home mixes today are much better sounding and professional sounding that what was available years ago.

Charlie, you're talking about the VST Plugin?

About the job of mixing engineers, I consider it my job as a sideman to provide alternate takes for the artist, but I always indicate a final track that I recommend, and it will usually include parts of different takes. To put it another way, I would hate to have my work butchered by a mixing engineer when I wasn't there. It happens, but it's not recommended.

It would be great! but maybe it's a technical issue if it hasn't bee done yet ??
As the tracks are actually in RAM.
If you could select a section on the chord sheet, right click copy Bass,
then in another instance, right click paste Bass and this will copy and paste the same RT section data as the SGU saves frozen track to.
Then all you would do is regen that track using the existing data plus the new section data to a new track in RAM.

But yes, you could load the Biab Plugin into BB, if you just had the drag n drop import into the Audio Edit window and also for midi in the piano roll.
You can use the Biab Plugin in BB to generate a small section with different chords to preview the master or separate tracks, just load the Biab FX Plugin on the Audio track and solo it then hit play in BB.
C:\bb\BBPlugin\Files\Band-in-a-Box DAW VST FX Plugin.dll


Also:
Biab32/64 MultiRiffs with EnergyXT2.6 Win

<<< Charlie, you're talking about the VST Plugin? >>>

No. It can be done within BIAB the program. There are several different methods.

Examine the Record Audio Window.

This window allows you to record whatever you wish directly into your BIAB project.
From this window you can also punch in/out corrections to your recording.
Note the 'Overdub underlying audio' button. Selecting and activating this button allows you to make another recording that BIAB automatically merges into and mix/balances the original recording track creating a new track including both recordings. You can continue adding to this recording as long as you are satisfied. The additional recordings can be anything. They are traditional overdubs. The new recordings can be vocal double, Background vocals or perhaps a live electric guitar solo mixed with the lead vocal recording. It can literally be anything you wish. Anything you wish as long as you're satisfied with the automatic result the BIAB program has provided.

That's one way.

Another is to commit BIAB mixer channels to rendered audio mixes and then import these audio mixes back into your project and continue to add tracks and render additional mixes of new instruments, tracks and sub mixes. This process is the same as one would use on stand alone multi track recorders like a Tascam Porta studio recording with a fixed number of available tracks. On a four Track recorder, record 3 tracks, bounce the three to one and that frees 3 new tracks for additional recording.

The BIAB mixer channel can be used the same way. Because it is digital until rendered, there is no degeneration the way there was using tape. Also, track count is only limited to whatever free space is available for storage. You can have nearly unlimited tracks.

BIAB had this capability long before the VST plug in. It's true that the BIAB mixer has only one audio track, but that track can be used over and over again in a project. Simply convert whatever is on the audio Channel to a Performance Track and move the Performance Track to another track in the mixer. Once all of the tracks have recorded audio on a Performance Track, mix, balance, level and add effects and render this mix to an audio mix. This mix can be imported into the Audio Channel and the entire process repeated again. Files can be stereo or mono.

A novel way to create and arrange a song using the BIAB mixer as if it were a multi track recorder is to make recording mixes by individual instrument. For instance, begin the recording project by creating just the drum kit first. Start with a midi percussion style that includes drums, shakers, tambourines and such and export that mix to audio and import the audio mix back into the project as a stereo audio file, convert the audio file to a Performance Track and move the Performance Track to the Drum Channel. The same technique could be used to create an acoustic guitar mix, electric guitar mix, keys mix, scratch built strings mix, Background vocals mix and so on.

It's a time consuming method that's not going to be everyone's cup of tea and it requires committing to mixes that if at a later point you're not satisfied with something you're in a position of losing a lot of work to go back and fix something.

Also, as you say, there's always the possible need for saving the various takes of a recording.

Thank you, Charlie.

Great stuff!

Would you consider making a post of this in the Tips and Tricks Forum?

Sure. I have the step by step instructions listed out in another thread here on the forum. I'd requested PGMusic Staff create a video of this operation sometime back.

As a side note to you, from my post above, "Simply convert whatever is on the audio Channel to a Performance Track and move the Performance Track to another track in the mixer." creates those 'orange tracks' (Artist Performance Tracks) you were involved in a discussion in another thread this week.

Got it. Thanks, very helpful.

The EnergyXT2vst gives BB many Audio tracks, it makes it so easy to add extra midi/audio tracks into Biab,
you simply drag them into the vst window.
The tracks can be cut, copied, pasted, split, glued..
you can add vst fx to the tracks, mix them in the mixer.
These will then playback in sync with the main BB tracks.
You simply load the EnergyXTvst into the bb Audio track.
You can generate up a solo in BB then highlight the bars of the section you like and drag that section into one of the many audio tracks in the EnergyXTvst, you then regenerate the soloist track and copy any other section from the chord sheet.

http://www.energy-xt.com/download/26/energyXT26VST.zip

Pipeline,
idea is cool, but it is a 32bit plug and development stopped long time ago.
Logic of it, is probably an excellent solution for many BIAB "wishes" if these ideas are properly incorporated within BIAB core.