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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2008
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,061 |
If I use the Roland VSC dxi in BIAB it works fine but if I switch to Synthfont VST I can get stuttering and slowdown til it freezes the system. This seems to happen more and more lately . I have the latest version and the stand alone synthfont program work very well.
Have others had the same problems. There are several soundbanks I like to use with synthfont. Is there another vst that works better with BIAB for other sound font banks?
Wyndham
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The 'fonts are very likely loading into RAM. You should have at least 1gig available, more is better. There is also a known problem with certain softsynths, like the Forte, where revisiting the synth's Control Panel causes it to reload everything in it every time, not clearing the ones that were already in the RAM from the first time. Needless to say, that can chew up the resources available pretty quickly. As far as other available soundfont players that are either VST or DXi, there are lots of offerings of various price from free to whatever price around the web these days, here's what a Bing search just returned: http://www.bing.com/search?q=soundfont+VST+player+plugin&src=IE-SearchBox By far I have found that outside of the old Creative Live! series cards, which loaded soundfonts via their own processor, software soundfont playing can be a catch-as-catch-can situation, with some working for certain people's setups, the same ones not working as well for others, likely due to differentiations in systems, setup, resources, etc. Matter of fact I've moved almost entirely to hardware MIDI synths again here and have avoided a lot of those frustrating, "it worked fine yesterday..." moments. --Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,061
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OP
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I agree, it catch as catch can. Looking at the CPU load it was easy to see that the system overloaded quite quickly. I have several sound banks that sound well enough to workout the basics for a backing track then finish it out at home with better instrument. Synthfont had been working well until the last 2 updates. I've got a gig of ram on and old single core and maybe I need to just stay with VSC and not get too far out.
I've tried the demo of SFZ+ and works well but the demo drops out the vol about every 3rd bar but at least I can get a feel of it's value.
Too bad VSC can't use other sound banks, at least I can't find a way to load them.
Thanks Mac BTW the youtube vids of the "You Rock Guitar" looks like the best midi in to sequencers out there yet. Wyndham
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
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Quote:
Thanks Mac BTW the youtube vids of the "You Rock Guitar" looks like the best midi in to sequencers out there yet. Wyndham
Well, let's just say that it would be the least expensive. When and if I get my hands on one we shall see how good it is for the purpose. But I doubt seriously that it could compete with the Yammy 1000 setups out there, but to be fair, that's a serious cash outlay(grin).
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,616
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Wyndham, I don't know how 'slow' you old core is but I had a 2004 2.5 ghz Celeron running XP that I used VST Synthfont with no problem. A few suggestons... - Make certain Windows has enough virtual memory (pagefile). A large font bank will gobble up memory very quickly. Some people say to disable the pagefile but a small memory system needs it. - Check to see if anything else is running at the time of the problem. Scheduled scans such as virus, defrag, spyware, etc will compete for CPU cycles and can cause the problems you described. - There are (free) soundfont editing tools to extract certain sounds from a soundfont library. If you're using one of those 250+mb libraries but only use a few sounds, there is no reason to load the entire library. Synthfont can load individual soundfont files. Check this link if interested http://download.cnet.com/SF2-Splitter/3000-2383_4-10498379.htmlR
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2003
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I tried synthfont in the past and found it to be a really bogus program. SFZ is wonderful.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,061
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OP
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SFZ, I think can only handle one instrument at a time. How can you use it in BIAB effectively when you want to use several different instruments from a sound bank? Would you switch to RB and assign instruments in SFZ to each track. Not a problem to do this, just wondering. Wyndham
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,616
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2010
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Cakewalk has release the SFZ+ for free which allows for 16 tracks at once and has a DXi version to boot. The link is SFZ+ product page
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
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Video: XPro Styles PAK 11 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
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No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
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Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 22.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 22 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 11 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 22.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 22 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Peter Gannon Talks Band-in-a-Box with zplane
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
Check out the full interview here: https://products.zplane.de/blog/peter-gannon-interview-pg-music
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
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