When you render a song to an audio file, it should use the tracks that are loaded in your Mixer and playback exactly as how it played in your Band-in-a-Box song project. What version of Band-in-a-Box are you using and is it for Mac or Windows?
i'm a bit confused.......if you render your BIAB song to audio it makes an audio file - wav or mp3 - so how do you know the drums are midi when you play the audio file? i think there's a bit of confusion about what you are doing - do you mean that when you render a track to audio (by which i presume you mean a wav or mp3 file) the BIAB mixer drum track turns yellow and you are left with your BIAB project, a wav (or mp3) file as well and a midi drum track in BIAB that was RealDrums?
After the song is finished and saved (in BIAB), ALL tracks in the mixer are green. I then choose the following: 1 .WAV -> export song as audio file 2 Audio -> render song to audio track
Doing this, I end up with 3 files: (1) my BIAB file, (2) an audio file with the same name, (3) an audio file with the same name + the word “render.” In the mixer, the DRUMS track is now yellow, the rest of them remain green. The AUDIO track has become orange or dark yellow.
If your audio file and your SGU/MGU file has an identical name this can cause issues. Try renaming your audio file to something else and then re-open your song.
You are absolutely right that I’m confused about what I’m doing. I think the process is extremely complicated (the terminology is often impenetrable), and my understanding of how it works is still very limited. I appreciate the responses I’ve received – suggestions and queries from all of you have been very helpful.
My issue regarding the Mixer RealDrums track (green) appearing to become MIDI (yellow) after Audio rendering hasn’t been resolved, but (as you imply) may perhaps be due to another misunderstanding on my part. I was under the impression that Realtracks are green and MIDI tracts are yellow, but if this is not invariably so, then of course the yellow Drums track might not indicate MIDI at all (?).
I haven't come across your problem before. The steps that I would do in this situation are...
1) Double-check that I have installed the latest BIAB for versions 2021. If you have a look under "Help | About Band In A Box", the update will be in brackets after the version... eg.g Band In A Box 2021(xxx).
The latest update for BIAB 2021 is #845 and it's available at the below web page.
If you need to install it, simply download and double click on it. Make sure to check the paths of BIAB, Realtracks and Realdrums when you get to that window.
= = = = =
If the above doesn't help...
2) I'd restore to factory defaults.
This is found under the "Options" menu. Choose the upper "MOST" option first. If that doesn't work, try the lower "ALL" option.
Prior to returning to factory settings, though, save your current settings so that you can get back to them if needed. You will also find this in the "Options" menu.
Hopefully one of the above things will get BIAB working properly for you.
Thanks, Noel, for your detailed suggestions. I’ve now tried out most of the suggestions I’ve received. I went through yours one by one, but each time the Mixer RealDrums became MIDI when rendered to Audio, until I tried the last resort, Factory Settings/ALL. This time Drums remained green in Audio, but now the other tracks weren’t Muted, like they’re supposed to be in Audio (how’s that possible?)
Later when I was using ctr+shift F8 to load a previous song, I accidentally hit F6 instead of F8, and - lo and behold - the green Drums track turned yellow across all my songs. Ctr+shift F6 is defined in the shortcut list as “enable/disable RealDrums.”
So it would have been easy to say I just clicked a wrong option by mistake, except the green-to-yellow change in Drums only happens (automatically) when the song is rendered to Audio. After that, of course, ctr+shift F6 has no effect. When I “unrender” the song from Audio, the Drums track automatically becomes green again.
So I guess I’m stuck with MIDI Drums for Audio songs until I figure out what’s wrong.
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll also keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
From overviews of new features and walkthroughs of the 202 new RealTracks, to highlights of XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAKs 18, the 2025 49-PAK, and in-depth tutorials — you’ll find everything you need to explore what’s new in Band-in-a-Box® 2025.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!
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È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.
Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music
Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:
Band-in-a-Box 2025 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!
Die deutsche Version Band-in-a-Box® 2025 für Windows ist ab sofort verfügbar!
Alle die bereits die englische Version von Band-in-a-Box und RealBand 2024 installiert haben, finden hier die Installationsdateien für das Sprachenupdate:
Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!
Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.
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