PG Music Home Forums PG Music Wishlists Band-in-a-Box Wishlist freeze part of a real track

<< Charlie, so if I understand you correctly, you are using one of the existing tracks, in your example the Bass track, to store the APT that is a mix of all tracks (including Bass, right?>>

Yes, I'm using the Bass Track to place an APT that's a mix of several tracks in my example but that APT can be placed on any channel. I normally avoid the Drums track because sometimes there's prep work to do to have it function correctly for instruments other than drums. Note the APT includes the original content material from that Bass Channel in the APT so the Bass instrument nor the original version is not lost.

<< So, what happens to the Bass track while an APT is superimposed on top of it?>> It's disabled but still there. If the APT is erased, the track returns to its normal state and so does the instrument on that track whether it's midi, supermidi, loop, or RealTrack. The instrument will also be the same version you heard playing prior to converting the Track to an APT.

<< How do I solo just the Bass track?>> If you just convert the Bass track to an APT, Mute and Solo continue to work normally. Whatever the media content contained on the APT when you converted plays normally. An APT can be any track in any media BIAB recognizes or any combination of any media types. So if you've made an APT as a mix of several tracks of different instruments, you can't solo individual instruments in that mix. That's the same in a DAW. You will hear the Bass or any other individual instrument as part of the mix you created.

<< Since the Bass track is frozen automatically, how do I regenerate the Bass track if I want to without erasing the APT?>> You have to erase the APT to regenerate. BIAB sees an APT as a final action to a track interpreting it the same as if you normally freeze a track - It interprets a freeze to mean you don't want to generate. It interprets an APT the same.

<< How do I change the Bass track to a new RealTrack without erasing the APT?>> Move the APT to another track. In many songs and styles, there are vacant tracks. However, even in a project where all of the BIAB Mixer Channels are used, it's still possible to create an APT and I can provide instructions how to do that if you have that situation come up. For now, just know that's possible to do.

<< Say I open an old project file where I have used your method, how do I even know what the Bass track is without erasing the APT?>>
First, APT's are a BIAB feature. This is not a work around or method I developed. I've studied Style demos, read the manual and forum comments about UserTracks to learn what I know. I don't clearly understand what your need to know what the Bass Track is without erasing the APT. If you've created and saved an APT and placed it on any BIAB Mixer Channel and close the file, that APT is saved with the file the same as if it were a RealTrack, Midi patch, SuperMidi Patch, loop or live recorded audio. If for some reason you want to return that track back to a Bass track, either move the APT to another BIAB Mixer Channel or erase it. Either method will return the Bass Track back to it's original format and media type. If you want to know what the actual Bass RealTrack, Bass midi patch, Bass Loop or Bass SuperMidi patch is, you should know what it is because you select and create the instruments of an APT.


<< The APT certainly seems interesting but so far it looks extremely counter-intuitive to hide an existing track and superimpose one over it. Seems like APTs should just be created in new tracks and not on top of existing ones.>>
You can place an APT on any track and it makes sense to use a vacant track if the BIAB Mixer has one or more available. However, it won't make sense in most cases to have two bass tracks.

Creating an APT effectively creates more tracks for more instruments and overcomes the 8 track barrier the BIAB Mixer appears to have. BIAB is capable of having dozens of tracks with dozens of instruments produced from a first generation and pristine analog file because until a project is rendered to audio, no audio of that project physically exists. The tracks, chords, instruments and patches are all virtual. No audio in the BIAB folders containing the RealTrack audio files are configured in the chord progression, tempo, key signature, feel and time signature of your specific song. Those folders only contain the audio that will be filtered and used to the specifications you supply by programming the Main Page of the BIAB program.

If you load _FLYAWAY.STY into a BIAB project, the RealTrack 1434 Bass, Electric, JazzFunkPoppy EV 16 110 is not audio.... It's computer data instructions. MIDI, SuperMidi, Loops and RealTracks can reside on the seven legacy tracks, Audio can't unless that track is converted to an APT. APT is the bridge that allows audio to reside on a BIAB Mixer legacy track. An APT can convert any sound media BIAB recognizes into audio that can reside on any track. An APT can be a mixture of any single sound media type or a combination of some or all of these sound media types and be either a mono or stereo track. An APT is a UserTrack and as a UserTrack if you change the key signature and/or the tempo and regenerate the song, the APT transposes as do all the tracks however, the underlying recorded audio does not regenerate, the audio is frozen so if you change any chords on the Chord Chart, the APT does not recognize the chord changes. The APT is designed to be the last step in your arrangement. In other words, create your song, enter the chords, key, tempo and style, mix to your satisfaction and when the song is ready to be rendered, convert to the APT. But if late changes do become necessary, simply erase the current APT, make changes and convert the new mix to an APT. It's all done with a single click of the mouse to either save or erase an APT.

<< And I cannot see this being faster as it requires many steps that a simple export does not.>>
This is true. However, with your method, simply exporting the WAV file is only the first step of your process. That WAV is not the finished product of your project. It will be imported into a DAW, edited, have effects and dynamics applied, possibly bussed into a mix of other WAV files creating a sub mix that's then mixed with even more tracks and busses before that WAV is rendered into a final mix. An APT has the capability to do many of those same tasks before the track is ever exported from BIAB.

<< But, the whole concept is interesting to me. Could I convert every track to be an APT of that track?>>
Yes
<< And once I do that could I change key and retain the exact same riffs but in a different key?>>
Yes, the underlying audio is not overwritten because it is a now physical audio recording and no longer a virtual data set of instructions.

<< If so this is very interesting but still seems like a bit of a mess as the underlying tracks would still be frozen in the old key with the APTs changed to the new key.>>
Once a track is converted to an APT, any underlying RealTrack, Loop or Midi patch is disabled. That's exactly the same as it is now if you open a midi style and replace each track with a midi patch with a RealTrack. Erase the RealTrack and the track reverts back to whatever midi patch was originally assigned to that track.