<< Charlie I am a big advocator for opening up the 16 tracks that are available now. BUT I always have said that option should be a radio button option: That is the user could use those 16 tracks as they are now OR they could choose to have them opened up for whatever, i.e. MIDI, RTs, RDs, and/or loops. YMMV >>
<< Matt Finley: "I couldn’t agree more, Mario." >>
Mario and Matt, I agree completely with you about improvements regarding MIDI. My remarks are more focused toward audio than MIDI and with the BIAB Mixer concerning how audio can be used. BIAB makes allowance so that audio files can be manipulated to reside on any of the BIAB Mixer's Channels in conjunction with creating and importing audio through the Audio Channel. That's doesn't appear to be the case with MIDI. Regarding MIDI, it seems BIAB uses channels 2-10 so the User is somewhat limited to channels 11-16. I don't program much with MIDI so I'm not sure how BIAB addresses channel 1.
Additional channels only simplify and double all of the amazing benefits BIAB offers users access to regarding programming audio. So my opinion is to support adding channels and get the benefit of having more audio editing and arranging power than is available now. Hopefully, the new channels give the MIDI users what they desire as well. But judging solely from Users Forum posts and comments in the other PG Music Forums, many users forego taking advantage of the singular power BIAB offers that is unique to audio editing from every existing DAW, including RB in many aspects.
Placing multiple RealTrack instruments on a single channel (The Medley Feature) does not apparently stress the CPU nor take longer to generate any more than generating a single instrument. My guess to why is since at the time it's generating, no physical audio file of the specific exists. The BIAB algorithm is hard wired to point to and create markers onto the selected RealTrack audio file in the RealTracks Folder. If there are multiple RealTrack instruments, the BIAB algorithm points to that instruments RealTrack audio file in the RealTracks Folder. It operates the same as a patch change in a midi file and is data on a virtual track. Generating a track is following data instructions, the algorithm goes out and marks specific audio from the hard drive, assimilates it, plays it. No physical audio file exists until that track or song is compiled and rendered from those instructions.
Customizing RealStyles and creating MultiStyles from them that are activated by Part Markers expands on the single track Medley arrangement's ability to create professional grade renders within the BIAB program without the need to move tracks to a DAW to achieve similar results.
Using the new BIAB multi riff feature on a track that's programmed with a 4-5 instrument medley, users can now easily regenerate just the section containing either a part played by an instrument they want to change or they can decide to replace that instrument with another instrument altogether without changing or losing any of the other instruments performance. Remarkably, this can now be done faster in BIAB than it takes to open a DAW and export the individual tracks and edit these changes in the DAW. In fact, one has to return to BIAB if the user makes the choice to 'replace' an instrument with another.
Sometimes, it's mystifying what some users choose not to do in BIAB.