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I've been trying to add plugins to MIDI instruments in the Mixer with varying success.

I've got PG Reverb working in the Master track, but adding PG Distortion or any other plugin to the Guitar [Default Synth]: CoyoteWT track has no effect on its sound. When I tried a 3rd party Waves plugin, the plugin indicated that it was not receiving a signal from the Guitar synth. Why is that?

If I click on the Guitar track and select, "Show Plugin Window," I get a dialog titled, "[Guitar] [Slot 1]", however that dialog displays a dozen other instruments without any apparent relation to the Guitar. I'm confused, and a little frustrated.

I searched online for a relevant tutorial video, but if the tutorial is more than two years old it doesn't seem to be dealing with a version of BIAB as I know it. Any suggestions? A relevant tutorial? Thanks.

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Originally Posted By: XilburQost
I've been trying to add plugins to MIDI instruments in the Mixer with varying success.

I'm confused, and a little frustrated.

Any suggestions? A relevant tutorial? Thanks.


I agree with you and share a bit of your frustration. But having some very recent success installing a Kontakt VSTi to play my BIAB midi pianos I can only provide some encouragement.

For my recent success it was mainly stumbling around until it worked. It seems to be a two step process. First you have to install the plugin into BIAB so it can be available to be placed on the individual track. Second you have to load it in the proper slot for the track. Slot 1 is used for the midi synth while the remaining slots can be used for effects to be applied to the synth. I put Kontakt player on Slot 1 for the MST piano.

There have been some detailed images applied in a couple of posts over the past months showing these steps, but no specific video that I recall. I would be glad to make a video tutorial except all that stumbling around I do would not reflect well. Stick with it and good luck.


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Each track has four insert effect slots. The slots are labeled Slot 1 to Slot 4 from left to right.

Slot 1 is ALWAYS reserved for the program's default MIDI soft synth, no matter if the soft synth is used on that track or not.

Slots 2, 3 and 4 can be used by the user.

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Thank you Dan and Jim. I'm familiar with how to get plugins into the Mixer slots, but looking at the BIAB manual I see there might be more for me to learn before I start concluding that something isn't working properly. A-reading I will go.

Question: The processing of the four plugin slots is from left to right, correct?

Thank you again for the great support.


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Yes XilburQost, my understanding is processing is from left to right.

However, it bears repeating; there will be a conflict if you attempt to use slot 1. The leftmost slot, slot 1, is reserved for program use. Slot 1 is occupied by the default gm compatible soft synth.


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Thank you for the info, Jim. I'm not using slot 1 as it is typically occupied by a MIDI instrument (I'm using MIDI instruments only as it--I think--makes it easier to export the BIAB project to MIDI for use by other DAWs).

That said, I have been using slot 1 in the Master track because it's available and appears to be working properly. Currently slot 1 in the Master track hosts PG Reverb and slot 2 hosts Waves Abbey Road Studio, and both appear to be working fine.


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Hi XilburQost,

I appreciate your feedback.

I believe access to the Master Track slots is new for 2021. I never noticed them in previous mixer versions and have not used them yet. Thank you for highlighting their presence to me!


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Jim, you and me both regarding the Master track slots. I was going to run over to the program to even see what XQ was talking about.

Dan


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Originally Posted By: Jim Fogle
Hi XilburQost,

I appreciate your feedback.

I believe access to the Master Track slots is new for 2021. I never noticed them in previous mixer versions and have not used them yet. Thank you for highlighting their presence to me!


Access to the Master track plugin slots has been there since back in 2014, though at the time it was called the "Combo" track. They changed it to read Master in the 2020 version. These were accessed through the Plugins dialog rather than the Mixer, which was a change for 2021.


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Simon,

In my mind the Combo track was sort of like a buss track in a hardware mixer while the Master Track was the final output. So track slots were like inserts while the Combo Track slots were like a send/return buss that sums the output of all tracks.

Is that analogy still true?


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