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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Re Peter Gannon’s posting “Here’s a no-brainer ....install Cakewalk and the TTS-1 64 bit (free)”
I have a two questions:
1) I run BB from the hard drive it came on. Peter advises that Cakewalk should be installed inside Band-in-a-Box 64, which in my case would on the BB hard drive. However, the downloaded version of Cakewalk installs itself on my C-drive, without offering an option to install it somewhere else. Is there a solution for this?
2) Presently I am using a Roland SD-50 to produce my non-MIDI sounds, with which I am quite happy, but I would indeed prefer “Great sound with Band-in-a-Box - likely better than any MIDI sound you’ve heard before with Band-in-a-Box” for my non MIDI-sounds. Could TTS-1 work alongside my SD-50?
Hope to hear from you soon.
Tonnie van der Heide
Bergen, Norway
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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1) I run BB from the hard drive it came on. Peter advises that Cakewalk should be installed inside Band-in-a-Box 64, which in my case would on the BB hard drive. However, the downloaded version of Cakewalk installs itself on my C-drive, without offering an option to install it somewhere else. Is there a solution for this?
You have this a bit confused. There are no restrictions as to where you install Cakewalk. All you are after is the location where Cakewalk puts the TTS plugin. Then you simply tell BIAB where it is. Thats all.
2) Presently I am using a Roland SD-50 to produce my non-MIDI sounds, with which I am quite happy, but I would indeed prefer “Great sound with Band-in-a-Box - likely better than any MIDI sound you’ve heard before with Band-in-a-Box” for my non MIDI-sounds. Could TTS-1 work alongside my SD-50?
Not sure what you mean by "non-midi" sounds? But I do believe you can have two different midi players at the same time. So, very good chance you can use both the TTS-1 and SD-50, on different channels of course, at the same time.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Thanks for your answer!
By "non-midi" sounds, I mean Real Sounds (prerecorded Real Instruments).
Tonnie
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Ok, I think this thread means, how do I get better sounds for MIDI than the Roland SD-50. The SD-50 is pretty good. I’ve used all the Roland MIDI synths.
The TTS synth from Cakewalk is a General MIDI synth. It’s basically free and it sounds ok. Im not sure it qualifies as ‘great’. Twenty years ago, I might have said it’s great. A non-GM synth would be better, but you can pay thousands. So is your question how to get better sounds for free? If not free, what’s your budget? What genre do you play, and what instruments are most important to you?
Finally, it’s not possible in BIAB (to my knowledge) to mix MIDI output devices. You need a DAW for that. I don’t use RealBand but I would expect it would work.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The TTS Synth sounds OK. It is fine for a quick listen. I would not use it in production of music for others to listen to. It is not of that quality.
My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The TTS Synth sounds OK. It is fine for a quick listen. I would not use it in production of music for others to listen to. It is not of that quality. IMHO that is true of all GM sound sources.
I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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If I remember the context of Dr. Gannon's suggestion, it was that there is a free GM MIDI synth, and it's not bad if you don't have anything to play your MIDI. This is what I think, although I may be remembering it wrong.
Tonnie, if you want advice about great MIDI sound, state your needs and your budget, and you'll get some excellent advice here.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Mat,
Thanks!
I prefer the best possible sound for my MIDI sounds!!!!! The budget is not important, but at the technical side, I prefer to keep things as simple as possible, so I can concentrate on making music and arranging.
Is use REAL sounds, whenever possible and am happy with the sound quality it produces, However using MIDI for the melody (and my own created background), I find that only the flute and vibraphone come close to sounding OK. Most other instruments sound like "toys". So any suggestion will be most welcome!
Tonnie
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.........................
Is use REAL sounds, whenever possible and am happy with the sound quality it produces, However using MIDI for the melody (and my own created background), I find that only the flute and vibraphone come close to sounding OK. Most other instruments sound like "toys". So any suggestion will be most welcome!
Tonnie I agree that RTs sound great IF they match what you are doing but for total control you need MIDI sound sources. Your "Most other instruments sound like "toys"" statement is IMHO true for all GM sound sources. GM is good in BiaB for scratching out backing tracks but for polished work you need better MIDI sounds. I would suggest that you work with Kontakt or SampleTank. I use Kontakt because it has a ton of native and third party sound presets. Other can chime in on SampleTank. I suggest you get the free Kontakt Player first. Play with it to see if it fits your workflow. Just remember that if you purchase other presets BE SURE they say they work in Kontakt Player as some will only work in the full Kontakt. If you like the Player you can then purchase the full version IF you want more sounds and control over those sounds. Many people only use the Player. I use the full version. Also google/Bing (an instrument of your choice) VSTi. There are many VSTis that don't need a player and some are very inexpensive and/or free. You may find sounds that you want there; I have a number of them that I use. If you have heard any of my songs on the Showcase forum you will hear many of them as I mostly work in MIDI. Note that I do my chord work in BiaB then immediately after that move everything to my DAW Studio Pro One 5 as I find working in a DAW is much easier then working in BiaB. I had the same workflow when I was using Cakewalk then Sonar. I hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to ask. PS - If you like Kontakt and want the full version wait for a sale. They usually have at least one a year. You can usually purchase Kontakt for about half price.
I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Tonnie, I defer to Mario here. I use a hardware MIDI synth, the Roland Integra-7, because I'm a composer and I don't produce radio-quality material, just good composer demos. I prefer the speed and convenience of a hardware device (except that you can't render at less than real time). But if I needed to go to 'the best possible' I would do what Mario is recommending and open up my checkbook. Note that Mario normally only uses MIDI, not RealTracks. He is also a fine musician. We've even met. I would follow his advice.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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M
the best possible sound for my MIDI sounds ... but at the technical side, I prefer to keep things as simple as possible, so I can concentrate on making music and arranging Contradictory statements but you are on the right track 
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The TTS Synth sounds OK. It is fine for a quick listen. I would not use it in production of music for others to listen to. It is not of that quality. IMHO that is true of all GM sound sources. I agree completely.
My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Mario,
Thanks for your reply.
I did a background check on you, so that is why it took some time to react.
My normal use of BB is:
1) accompanying me, while playing my guitar (mostly jazz and some latin)
2) reharmonizing songs
3) creating my own arrangements to play to.
This means that I prefer BB, as it will vary the bass line, drums and piano comping etc. somewhat for each chorus, like a real jazz group would do.
Question 1: will I still be able to play Real sounds, while using Kontakt Player for backgrounds and (counter) melodies, that I have created in BB?
Question 2: once a song is set up for using the sounds from Kontakt Player, can I still just press play, or is there a setup necessary for each "playback"?
I see from Kontakts Specifications page, that I might need a new laptop (4 GB RAM, or 6 GB recommended for large KONTAKT Instruments).
Hope to hear from you.
Tonnie
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Mario,
Thanks for your reply.
I did a background check on you, so that is why it took some time to react.
My normal use of BB is:
1) accompanying me, while playing my guitar (mostly jazz and some latin)
2) reharmonizing songs
3) creating my own arrangements to play to.
This means that I prefer BB, as it will vary the bass line, drums and piano comping etc. somewhat for each chorus, like a real jazz group would do.
Question 1: will I still be able to play Real sounds, while using Kontakt Player for backgrounds and (counter) melodies, that I have created in BB?
Question 2: once a song is set up for using the sounds from Kontakt Player, can I still just press play, or is there a setup necessary for each "playback"? I see from Kontakts Specifications page, that I might need a new laptop (4 GB RAM, or 6 GB recommended for large KONTAKT Instruments).
Hope to hear from you.
Tonnie
I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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