Originally Posted By: justanoldmuso
Gordon.

I really like the ideas in your post.
Frankly i have to be fair to pg in that my install of 2022 upak went as smooth as a Babys ……

As I think it should much of the time, hence my "recommended/quick setup that usually works for most systems".


Originally Posted By: justanoldmuso

Thus overall no complaints from me re 2022.
I think one of many reasons that new users might have probs is the users sound device is not installed properly/settings in win which prolly creates probs for the pg installers ….thus probs ensue.

Though the fact that you felt the thread was worth starting indicates that things are not quite as they should be.

There are several places where things can go awry and that's why I think a second area with more in-depth information can help. In a time when most Windows installations are 64-bit, push the 32-bit a jBridge stuff to a section expressly for 32-bit users ... don't stick it in the middle as a distraction, use a hyperlink and page+line reference or similar to it.

I presume there's some reason why PGM don't just set up VSTSynthFont64 rather than CoyoteWT as a default, at least on 64-bit systems, but it's there in the manual
"""
... allows you to use the VSTSynthFont64 as the General MIDI synth.
"""
Um, OK, should I do that? Is that better or do I do it only if CoyoteWT doesn't work? What's a GM soundfont or DLS file? (I noticed recently that even some very experienced BiaB users weren't sure what gm.dls was).

"Alternate Patch Maps" ... here in the bit where new users are just trying to get things installed and working? Are you sure? Ditto "General MIDI 2" really.

"Audio Setup" starts OK-ish (it tells you how to get there, though a bit back-to-front), but then drops "(WAS/MME/ASIO)" onto the reader with no warning or explanation. The second sentence is probably what most people want to know, but I'm already worrying about WAS/MME/ASIO and is that important? What does it mean? It does go on to explain a little, but surely this is a matter for more advanced users and/or trouble-shooting?

Part of the difficulty here is that this manual, like an awful lot of manuals, is driver more by what's on a particular menu or dialog than by what the user is likely to be trying to achieve.

One of my personal irritations with so many manuals is that one can search for keywords for something, find it, but then not easily be able to find out exactly how one get to the settings. Oftentimes one has to go backwards through pages and pages of irrelevant stuff to find out how to get to it. There's a lot to be said for each section having the route to it right there at the top of the section. Of course that's tricky when, as with BiaB, there are sometimes many ways to get to the same place.

There's a very important question that, when I ask it, I am so often astounded by the fluster and confusion that I see. "Who is the target audience for this document (or this part of the document)?". It's shocking how often people don't know, or simply answer "The Customer", without really understanding what that means.

Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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