Jim actually recently learned this process from me and it's a combination of two BIAB Features used in conjunction with each other. In my opinion, it's the most powerful tool combination available to the musician that relies on BIAB to provide audio instrument recordings into a project they can either not play the instrument, they can play the instrument but the BIAB session player can play it better or circumstances are such that it's more convenient for a proficient player to use a BIAB RealTrack although having the ability to play the performance. It provides a method to create very complex track arrangements on par with any DAW without the need to leave the BIAB project for another software programs to achieve these results.

Jim expanded your question into two answers which aren't necessarily related. I'll separate the two answers for clarity. His instructions to your question is it possible to have a different RealTracks generated soloist for selected bars using the 'Soloist' track. For example: RealTracks Clarinet solo bars 1-8, RealTracks Acoustic Guitar solo bars 9-16 and RealTracks Trumpet solo bars 17-24?

- Yes - Fortunately, once demonstrated, it's both simple to do and easy to access.

The BIAB Mixer has Seven Channels plus an Audio Channel. Each of the Seven Channels in the BIAB Mixer can have up to 10 RealTracks! PG Music developers made some dramatic enhancements to this feature in 2019 and 2020 and to date, the feature is not well known which results in it being mostly underused. At some point, I recommend you (and any others interested) watch the 2019 and 2020 New Features videos that are locked at the top of the BIAB for Windows Forum. PG Music staff markets and describes this feature as both Medleys and Thickening. The 10 instruments on each track can be programmed to change sequentially by number of bars, part markers or Chorus. The instruments can be volume automated, panned and muted. The instruments can be programmed to play independently or simultaneously. Medleys are accessed from the RealTrack Page/ Medleys Button.

A new window opens and just follow the easy instructions and choices. Alternately, Medleys can be manually programmed from the Bar Settings Menu/RealTracks Button near the top of the Bar Settings window. Jim explained how to manually use the Bar Settings menu to select and place RealTrack instruments at the desired bars of your song. As you see, the math is easy: Seven Channels each with 10 RealTrack instruments allows a single render of a BIAB song to have a total of Seventy instruments!

The -No- portion of Jim's answer involves the second tool of the combination. It's called the Artist Performance Track and when combined with the Medley's feature allows BIAB to function as a digital 8 channel multi track recorder and creates a method for BIAB to have nearly an unlimited number of virtual tracks and sub mixes to use in a BIAB project or can be used in any DAW. PG Music uses the term Artist Performance track twice for two different features. One is actual 'artists's performing over BIAB accompaniment tracks for entertainment and educational tutorials while the other are User created performance tracks. The educational Artist Performance Tracks are simply one way to use a User Artist Performance Track. Jim's alluding to recording RealTracks to the Audio Channel and free Mixer Channels to be used again in a project is another use for them. To do that, select a combination of BIAB Mixer tracks you want to combine into a stereo audio sub mix and render export the mix. Then, import that sub mixed stereo track onto the BIAB Audio Track and from the Audio Menu at the top of the Chord Page, select Move Audio to a Performance Track. When you select, a window will open allowing you to choose the BIAB Mixer Channel to place the sub mix as an Artist Performance Track. This is the method PG Music developed to allow audio other than RealTracks to reside onto a BIAB Mixer Channel other than the single Audio Channel. Although, there's only one Audio Channel, it can be used over and over and sub mixes created so a project can have hundreds of instruments on dozens of channels. Programming your song in this manner also internally accesses BIAB built in programming for fade in's and fade out's and smooth transitions between instrument changes.

Don't be put off by what appears to be an overwhelming amount of tracks and instruments. Those type numbers are also available on any $100 hardware stand alone 4 track recorder. It's the result of a technique that's literally been around since the earliest days of multi track recording. The difference is how easy BIAB makes it to generate dozens of high quality instruments over my song's chord progression just like a real session musician would. wink Keeping your project in BIAB gives you access to each and every feature of BIAB which is something even RealBand can't do and no other DAW in existence comes close.

I've explained APT's (User Artist Performance Tracks) in more detail in the User Track Forum post "The Case for Artist Performance Tracks".

Last edited by Charlie Fogle; 06/04/20 04:00 AM.
BIAB 2026:RB 2026, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.