I am not using the VST3 a lot because it seems to be too much trouble for me.
I set up a "template" in Sonar and it was working fine, and also got it working in Cakewalk by Bandlab (which should be identical) after more fiddling.
Now it will not work.
I went back to the saved template where I finally got it to open a file and load a style and generate, but now, it just spins and spins, won't open a file, and won't allow to me select a style, which it did the last time I was in this template.
Is it just me?
I don't have the patience to sit for a few more hours to see what is up.
Do updates and upgrades and something on the PG server side affect the way it functions once you get it working???
Sorry if I sound cranky, but I don't get it.
Update/Edit: Well I kind of got it going. Had to start with a blank Sonar board. I did not change any settings, so it seems kinda hit or miss. It other words it seems very finicky, and I can't see a rhyme or reason for why it "acts up."
Anyway, I am just trying to create an extremely simple songwriter board that I can use as a canvas to compose on. If stuff is finicky it "breaks the spell" when you are trying to write and that is why I am trying to understand any and all glitches so I actually use it, instead of throwing up my hands.
I kept my second post intact because it has my screenshots.
Last edited by David Snyder; 11/27/2112:28 PM.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
The screenshots give the settings I used and saved the last time I used it successfully, to open a file and generate. (This successful experiment was done maybe two weeks ago, or sooner.)
Now, after having changed NO settings int his template, it will not open a file, or allow me to select a style, even though I am getting no error message.
I did not notice all of these little aggravations in the first two generations of this plugin (if it had has been that long) only in the most recent one.
The last screenshot linked here simply shows that when I tried to open a new file, or load a new style it did nothing but return the loaded style with a blank chart in the key of G.
Again, I don't get it.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
I'm in the same boat as you. The BIAB plugin will not sync in Cakewalk by Bandlab, at least not for me. I can add the plugin, I can import a song, but, 1. the drag-and-drop feature to set the tempo and show the chord progression in a midi channel does not work, and - more importantly - 2. Cakewalk will not play the BIAB chords. I'll get a "blurp" of the tracks and then nothing. It plays for the same length of time as the sound of the space bar being pressed.
The plugin USED to work with Cakewalk, but it definitely does not anymorre.
If you have issue try drag n drop the Biab VST3 into Element and remember to click the "EXT" in the top left to sync. Hopefully these issue will be fixed soon.
Have you guys tried the VST2 plugin? Even though the VST3 specification has been around for awhile my understanding is there are still enough slack in the specification that communication between DAW and plug-in is not as precise as it could be. I believe the VST2 specification is better understood and thus easier to implement.
Pipeline, sorry I don't know what Element is or why I would use it. I would rather know what something is by a descriptive link before going straight to the download.
Thanks man.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
I found a workaround that might provide some clues.
I have to go to preferences each time I use it or change something to click OK (in preferences) and say "yes I would like to still use the same preferences I chose last time" and it will work for another session or half-session.
One thing I do not find intuitive is how to choose midi, let's say a super track, and have that play through the VST in a DAW. I see the cick box to do that, but no "after the click" choices to route that midi trick to the DAW.
Where do you do that??
Maybe it is in a previous post or manual part that I cannot find or have over looked.
Thanks if anyone knows how to do this.
To summarize, all I want to do is:
1) Open Cakewalk or Sonar
2) Choose BIAB VST3
3) Open an Existing Midi Style file
4) Select a Midi Super Track in the BIAB VST
5) Play the chords/music in said song on Super track only routed through DAW (on an assigned DAW track with a VST instrument loaded).
6) Be able to change the chords in said song in BIAB VST and play again. Just the midi.
Do If have to "regenerate"? If so how to regenerate just the midi without choosing another style, which is SEEMS to be asking me to do at the moment.
7) Learn how to do this quickly without watching a 4 hour video.
8) Is there some kind of a step by step somewhere????
MY GOAL:
For songwriting purposes, I want an EASY way to use BIAB with minimal instrumentation, probably just a piano super track, so I can fiddle with chords, INSIDE THE DAW, and then press PLAY, either with or without "Regenerating" (I don't want to go to .wav generation yet, only work in midi until the song is done.
I want to build this as a template so I can re-tool songs inside the VST as midi at lighting speed before I settle on tempo and chord progression.
So, that is why I am asking what I am asking.
My brains works best with step by step if it exists.
Thanks!!
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
Ok, so the closest I can get right now, is to select a file with a midi super track only in it, and render that, I think it says "All pages midi only" or something, which give me an export of 8 tracks, all blank except for one, which is defaulting to channel 8, even when I click one in the channel button, and if I drag it to the DAW I can now play it in a track I have set up with a piano VST.
But I cannot find a way to route it straight to the DAW without the 1.) regen and the 2.) drag and drop.
Can the drag and drop step be eliminated, or is this as close as it gets??
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
But I cannot find a way to route it straight to the DAW without the 1.) regen and the 2.) drag and drop.
Can the drag and drop step be eliminated, or is this as close as it gets??
The tracks need to be generated any time you load a new track or change a setting or chord in the plugin. Drag/drop is how the tracks get moved from the plugin to the DAW. there is not a faster button for this at the moment.
"Send MIDI to DAW" sends the MIDI track, in real time, to a seperate VST instrument. So you could send a SuperMIDI track that you generated to, say, the Cakewalk TruePianos plugin, for example. That way, you aren't limited to using whatever tone generator BIAB uses. If you want to use your own instrument directly from the BIAB plugin without having to import them into a track, this is a feature you'll want to turn on. It will stop generating audio in the BIAB channel, and send it as MIDI to your designated instrument.
When you generate it will create both wav and midi for essentially all tracks. No way to eliminate the .wav files except to just ignore them. When you close the VST window it should ask if you want to move the wav files into the project file (yes or no) if you answer no, it should delete them. That is how it works in Reaper. Can't speak to other DAWS.
So I see I am only half stupid, not all the way stupid.
Well, gee I wish there was a way they would just let you generate midi styles only (or midi tracks only) as midi, and not as a .wav, in milliseconds, like you can do in BIAB.
There would seem to be no reason not to allow that since the platform exists, right?
When I am sketching, I want to change chords and voicings and play back fast until I settle on a lead sheet. Then I can do a proper generation. Until them I don't need to wait for .wav files to gen. I just want instant midi which I am routing to Aria. (Like BIAB.)
Has anyone requested this for latter builds, if it does not already exist?
It certainly would be perfect for my workflow.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
Only MIDI is generated, which should not be available for the time being. In fact, generating wav and MIDI at the same time will not waste a lot of time. I think the more important problem is that I'm not used to BIAB VST I started like this, use it every day, get used to it.
In fact, I'm not used to some places now. But BIAB is really easy to use.
David, I think the clean answer is that you have to generate the track, then you can decide whether to drag or not, and what to drag. If using a super midi track you can drag the midi or the created wave file. If you generate a RT you can drag the wave or the midi Real Charts. You can also sync the plugin to the daw and play it along with the existing DAW tracks. This works very well for me in both Cake, Studio one and Reaper.
Some of the issue here is that the plugin mimics Biab, which requires a generation to create tracks. The difference is that the plugin does not start playing prior to completing the generation.
if you sync the track you must click the play on the DAW not the plugin. Clicking the play button on the plugin plays the plugin. Clicking the play button on the DAW plays the DAW and the plugin in sync.
Another option is generating in BiaB and using BiaB’s built in the plugin feature to drag to the DAW.
The plugin is not perfect, but it is moving forward. As far as the 2022 version 4 it does have some of the new core features that are still under development due to focus being on the main program release. PG dev said these are being worked on and will be patched soon.
One last thought have you tried the chord builder feature in the plugin?
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2025, Realband, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 9 32c , Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app.
Here is my question, I am not sure I have received an answer.
In BIAB, if you have a midi only file, and you change chords and hit generate it takes .0005 seconds to get a new midi file and you are ready to play it through the VSTs you have set up.
It does NOT generate .wavs for midi tracks. (BIAB I mean. Unless you ask it to, in a song render. But not while generating or re-generating in a working session.)
In the VST3 it seems that it is impossible to do this, that even if you have a MIDI only file, and you change a chord or two and hit generate, it will also render .wavs, and it takes a while. Not a long time, but a while, and I do not need those .wavs.
I am routing through a VST player.
So, am I correct in that when you use the VST3, with midi files, it is impossible to do that without also generating a .wav??
If you CAN do it without generating a .wav, HOW do you do it, in the VST3.
Sorry!!!
Maybe I am dense.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
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We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
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