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How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track #717293 05/18/22 05:47 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France) Lazy Bird OP Apprentice
OP Lazy Bird Apprentice Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France)	Hello, Would you have an idea to successively play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track (the Melody track in this case)? Here is my problem: I have Band-in-a-Box 2020, so with only 7 tracks (excluding audio). As the default VSTi for my MIDI tracks, I'm using VSTSynthFont64 with Compifont.sf2, a General MIDI (GM) soundfont that sounds much better than Coyote DXi. So I can continue to benefit from two advantages of a VSTi General MIDI with Band-in-a-Box: - the choice of an instrument in "Select a GM patch" automatically selects the corresponding instrument in the VSTi bank without my needing to go through a specific VSTi plugin for this instrument; - if I want to play two different instruments successively on the same MIDI track (in this case the Melody track), I can do so in "Bar Settings" with "Patch Changes". However, if the sounds of Compifont.sf2 are better than those of Coyote DXi, the sax sounds of Compifont.sf2 remain very poor. So when I want a sax on my Melody track, I choose for this track a particular VSTi plugin (among the free ones: Iowa Sax, DVS Saxophone, …) The problem is that, unless I'm mistaken, the "Patch Changes" function of "Bar settings" can only control a VSTi General MIDI: it does not allow, for the same track, to control either two different mono VSTi, nor a VSTi including several instruments but not General MIDI. So if I only have one MIDI track left for the melody, I don't know how to chain two different saxophones on this same track, for example an alto sax and a tenor sax, without using Compifont. Hence my question: Do you have any idea how to turnaround this limit and play successively two different VSTi or two sounds from a non-General MIDI VSTi on the same MIDI track? Thanks in advance for your ideas. Lazy Bird

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717294 05/18/22 06:20 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837 MoultiPass Expert
MoultiPass Expert Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837	Duplicate a complete track on Soloist (Edit --> Special copy) Exemple : Mesure 1 to 15 Track 1 VST 1 Track Melody F5 Mute Mesure 15 to 30 Track Soloist VST 2 Return to normal Track Melody Mute Try it, just an idea. Biab Audiophile 2026

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717312 05/18/22 11:22 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 2,147 Essex England Bob Calver Veteran
Bob Calver Veteran Joined: Sep 2001 Posts: 2,147 Essex England	open the file in RealBand - none of the restrictions of tracks you get with BIAB

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717320 05/18/22 01:25 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jan 2022 Posts: 176 Victoria, BC Jerry - PG Music PG Music Staff
Jerry - PG Music PG Music Staff Joined: Jan 2022 Posts: 176 Victoria, BC	The method that MoultiPass outlines would be a great solution. There currently is no way to do this in Band-in-a-Box. Best, Jerry

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717345 05/18/22 05:55 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Feb 2015 Posts: 7,954 P Pipeline Veteran
Pipeline Veteran P Joined: Feb 2015 Posts: 7,954	Originally Posted By: Lazy Bird ....As the default VSTi for my MIDI tracks, I'm using VSTSynthFont64 with Compifont.sf2, a General MIDI (GM) soundfont that sounds much better than Coyote DXi.. Is this what you are trying to do ? :

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717448 05/19/22 01:39 PM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 10,867 Middlesex, NC Guitarhacker Veteran
Guitarhacker Veteran Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 10,867 Middlesex, NC	Copy the track into your DAW and clone the track. Use whatever synths you want. Real Band is a DAW. I think if you have the 2022 BB you have a bunch of utility tracks that might be able to support this as well. You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717480 05/20/22 02:17 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 8,867 South Carolina C Charlie Fogle Veteran
Charlie Fogle Veteran C Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 8,867 South Carolina	< "Here is my problem: I have Band-in-a-Box 2020, so with only 7 tracks (excluding audio)." > < "The problem is that, unless I'm mistaken, the "Patch Changes" function of "Bar settings" can only control a VSTi General MIDI: it does not allow, for the same track, to control either two different mono VSTi, nor a VSTi including several instruments but not General MIDI." > < "So if I only have one MIDI track left for the melody, I don't know how to chain two different saxophones on this same track, for example an alto sax and a tenor sax, without using Compifont. Hence my question: Do you have any idea how to turnaround this limit and play successively two different VSTi or two sounds from a non-General MIDI VSTi on the same MIDI track?" > Yes. BIAB has features that allow this to be done solely within the BIAB program. BIAB can construct two (or more) sounds from a non-general MIDI VSTi onto a single BIAB Mixer Track regardless of the original track status being MIDI or RealTrack. BIAB 2026:RB 2026, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track MoultiPass #717483 05/20/22 03:13 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France) Lazy Bird OP Apprentice
OP Lazy Bird Apprentice Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France)	Thank you for this suggestion. The problem is that the soloist track is no longer available: it is already occupied by a realtrack ! Lazy Bird

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Bob Calver #717485 05/20/22 03:23 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France) Lazy Bird OP Apprentice
OP Lazy Bird Apprentice Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France)	Yes, that could be a solution...but it's not very user-friendly: it forces me to open another software for a single song, Realband doesn't work like Band-in-a-box, and Realband isn't not really an ergonomic program! I will continue to look for a solution in Band-in-Box. Thank you nevertheless Lazy Bird

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717490 05/20/22 03:45 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837 MoultiPass Expert
MoultiPass Expert Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837	Why not consider buying Biab 2022? Christmas soon ! Biab Audiophile 2026

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Pipeline #717492 05/20/22 03:51 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France) Lazy Bird OP Apprentice
OP Lazy Bird Apprentice Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France)	Hello Pipeline It's my turn not to well understand what you're showing me . But I think that's not it: I'm not trying to switch from one instrument from Compifont.sf2 (or CoyoteForte.sf2...) to another when this soundfont is played through the VSTSynthFont64 plugin (VSTSynthFont64.dll). I am trying to change the VSTi plugin itself in the middle of the Melody track: for example I want that the melody track play the alto sax of Iowa Alto Sax (Iowa Alto Saw - 64.dll) during bars 1 to 16, then the tenor sax of DSK Saxophones (DSK Saxophones.dll) during bars 17 to 32. Best. Lazy Bird

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Guitarhacker #717493 05/20/22 03:55 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France) Lazy Bird OP Apprentice
OP Lazy Bird Apprentice Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France)	Yes, the 2022 Band-in-a-Box should be the solution ... as soon I have the money to buy it ! Lazy Bird

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Charlie Fogle #717495 05/20/22 03:59 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France) Lazy Bird OP Apprentice
OP Lazy Bird Apprentice Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France)	OK thanks, but how to do that with Band-in-a-box 2020 ? I do not see this possibility within "Bar settings" : I can only change a patch within a GM bank, not to switch from a VSTi to another ... Lazy Bird

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track MoultiPass #717496 05/20/22 04:01 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France) Lazy Bird OP Apprentice
OP Lazy Bird Apprentice Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France)	Yes, it seems that BiaB 2022 is the best solution. But for me, I fear that it will be for Christmas ... 2025 ! Lazy Bird

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Jerry - PG Music #717498 05/20/22 04:14 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France) Lazy Bird OP Apprentice
OP Lazy Bird Apprentice Joined: Dec 2014 Posts: 137 Paris (France)	Hello Jerry, Thank you for confirming that this is not possible in Band-in-a-Box 2020. So, to have added tracks in Band-in-a-Box since the 2022 version is a great idea ! I will buy Band-in-a-Box 2022 or later ... as soon as I can Lazy Bird

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717501 05/20/22 04:28 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Oct 2020 Posts: 836 Chantelle - PG Music PG Music Staff
Chantelle - PG Music PG Music Staff Joined: Oct 2020 Posts: 836	Originally Posted By: Lazy Bird Hello Jerry, Thank you for confirming that this is not possible in Band-in-a-Box 2020. So, to have added tracks in Band-in-a-Box since the 2022 version is a great idea ! I will buy Band-in-a-Box 2022 or later ... as soon as I can If you purchase the 2022 Pro PAK, you can install it over top of your previous Band-in-a-Box and then it will access all of the RealTracks that you had before. If you have any questions about your upgrade options please contact us directly through either live chat on our website or email sales@pgmusic.com. A temporary workaround would be to have two different copies of your Band-in-a-Box song with one having your first VST on your track and the other your second VST. Then export your tracks from both copies of the song and edit them together in a DAW program. Best, Chantelle

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717504 05/20/22 05:08 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837 MoultiPass Expert
MoultiPass Expert Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837	79 Bucks... Attached Files (Click to download or enlarge) (Only available when you are logged in) Capture d’écran 2022-05-20 170604.png (76.41 KB, 54 downloads) Biab Audiophile 2026

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717505 05/20/22 05:12 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837 MoultiPass Expert
MoultiPass Expert Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837	Chantelle, nice one ! Biab Audiophile 2026

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717508 05/20/22 05:24 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 8,867 South Carolina C Charlie Fogle Veteran
Charlie Fogle Veteran C Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 8,867 South Carolina	Originally Posted By: Lazy Bird OK thanks, but how to do that with Band-in-a-box 2020 ? I do not see this possibility within "Bar settings" : I can only change a patch within a GM bank, not to switch from a VSTi to another ... Although there's eight tracks in the BIAB Mixer, these tracks can be filled and still used over and over by bouncing. Because these tracks are digital, there's no discernible degradation of the audio like there is with bouncing an analog signal. My proposal is similar to the other proposals given but without the inconvenience or requirement of external software or hardware and with no restriction or limitation like is found using RealBand or any external DAW. This can be done solely in BIAB and the capability has been available since audio tracks were added into the Mixer. Of all the earlier suggested solutions, each proposal is a variation of converting the MIDI tracks to audio. Even if you have used all 8 BIAB Mixer Tracks, you can add instruments using Bar Settings for Patch Changes on MIDI Tracks and every track in the BIAB Mixer can have up to 10 different RealTracks on it. To change to another VSTi, it's possible to Bounce existing tracks to free up tracks for adding additional instruments. This can be done without losing any existing original track by freezing and saving a SGU project file at each stage of changing the instrumentation of the BIAB Mixer. Again, your specific issue has two different problems. First, no available tracks and the second, two different VSTi's can't operate on the same track. a. The seven track limit with six tracks in use, plus the unused Audio Track to complete the 8 channel BIAB Mixer. b. Placing two VSTi's onto a single BIAB Track to capture both VSTi's 'sound'. ________ The solution: BIAB can capture the 'sound' (audio) of the First VSTi. Capturing the sound of the first VSTi allows you the use of the Audio Track. Converting the first VSTi instrument track to audio frees that MIDI track to then change to another VSTi for that track. Simply follow Moultipass's instructions and use Bar Settings for Mute and Return to Normal to have each track play the appropriate bars. BIAB 2026:RB 2026, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.

Re: How to play two different VSTi on the same MIDI track Lazy Bird #717518 05/20/22 07:15 AM Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837 MoultiPass Expert
MoultiPass Expert Joined: May 2018 Posts: 1,837	Bravo Charlie, this is the best solution, unless he has already used audio of course... He could have used Medley if he had been on RT. Biab Audiophile 2026

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