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With many people here using things like Toontracks, I assume some of you are converting Real Tracks to midi.
I almost always convert the BB bass tracks to midi because I own very good bass programs like Trillion that produce sounds I like.
What is the state of affairs with midi currently? Are Real Track drums also recorded with midi triggers?
Thanks,
Billy
Last edited by Planobilly; 12/16/24 03:05 PM.
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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I use almost 100% midi with VSTi's and have for the past years. My drums are almost exclusively EZDrummer3. Fact is I am not sure why I am still here - other than I am old and I have no where else to go. 
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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I'm a bit slow to change, but using MIDI output generated by BiaB to drive VSTis is on my ToDo list for 2025.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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... Are Real Track drums also recorded with midi triggers?
...
Thanks,
Billy Actually some are, it was a request some years back .. may have to 'also load RealChart' to see it, I don't recall right now. /Sorry, in the middle of a rebuild of music machine (new MB, processor, M2 drive, etc) so can't easily look to see .. stupid processor is taking forever to get here.
Last edited by rharv; 12/16/24 04:29 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Virtually all of my songs start with BiaB MIDI, either MIDI styles and/or RT MIDI charts.
I have been doing MIDI since the late 1980s. I find working with MIDI a lot easier and more enjoyable than working with RTs or other audio like loops. YMMV
It takes courage for a man to admit his wife was wrong.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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I started years ago using a lot of midi. In the early days of digital recording, practically everything I was doing was midi based.
With BB and real tracks, I have gotten away from midi for the most part. I now prefer audio tracks over midi tracks. I use it now when I need something that I can't get from the RTs or I don't have the instrument.
In BB, at least for me, all of the midi styles could literally go away right now and it wouldn't be a concern for me in the least. I don't think I have ever used a midi style for anything I have done with BB.
Midi serves a useful purpose in my studio. So I don't hesitate to use it especially since programs are making it easier to use and create great tracks.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd 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.
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As time passes, I am beginning to have some memory issues. It is a little more complex than that. There has been some loss of physical dexterity, which makes playing the guitar more difficult. Plus I have been almost 100% away from the music for over a year now. Perhaps things will improve with practice. I am finding it possible to play piano with less issue than guitar.
As a result, I have been trying to figure out how to create a song much more electronically.
Real Tracks seemed to be the direction BB was going in and continues to go in. I assumed a lot of the posted music was derived from the manipulation of real tracks and perhaps a live guitar and vocal.
It has always seemed to me that I could create a BB song but I never could quite create one of my original songs in BB. That was what caused me to move more and more into midi.
The effects of throat cancer surgery have caused speaking to be difficult and singing to be more or less impossible. The frequent use of opioids to control the pain causes their own set of negative issues.
I certainly have zero desire to push a button and have a song spit out as in AI. I also have zero interest in letting BB or other programs choose the chord structure and generate a song.
I seem to have forgotten most of what I know about Mylodyne but at least today I took a couple of Real Tracks and converted to midi with no issue. Piano Real Tracks, which I then could play out with EZkeys and the zillion sounds it can create.
I would like to have an idea of what sort of process you guys go through.
I generally have a chord progression in my head or play one on the piano, type that into BB, and pick a style.
I generally have some lyrics written down before I start which defines the chord types to some extent. Drums get created in Addictive Drummer or Superior Drummer many times using the drums generated in BB as a starting guide.
I am finding ChatGPT very useful in generating lyrical ideas. It is a little too much like poetry and requires a lot of work to get it to suit me, but a good starting place.
With this sort of process, it seems like BB is becoming a smaller part of the process every year.
I see a lot of talk on the forum about other software being used in conjunction with BB.
I am just wondering if others here are finding BIAB and unaltered Real Tracks to be a smaller part of the final song.
Thanks,
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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Billy, every song I do starts with a RealStyle, usually an "all Real" style. Will always use the included RealChart to replace a piano RealTrack with a VSTi. Will usually do this for strings, too. Sometimes for bass. Will always use RealDrums and guitar RealTracks.
You mention using Melodyne to extract MIDI from piano RealTracks but I've never found that to be necessary since the MIDI charts are included. I DO use Melodyne to sculpt the sound of RealTracks by changing the timing, eliminating "wrong" notes, reharmonizing phrases, etc. I find it faster and more precise than regeneration in many cases.
I'm 67 and so am experiencing a lot of the issues that come with surviving. Believe the exercise of creating music is a healthy part of keeping my mind active, and it's something I enjoy tremendously. BiaB works for me, and every instrument you hear on my tracks is BiaB or me.
Am watching AI developments closely, but don't plan on using AI in the creation process. I can see why others might enjoy it. But it's just not for me.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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I'm mostly MIDI.
Why?
With MIDI I can edit the very good output of BiaB, and turn it into something I can use on the gig. The RTs are nice, but in the business of live performance, BIAB is not quite ready to outshine my competition.
There are so many edits you can do with MIDI that you can't with the RealTracks or any other prerecorded audio. Things like: Custom intros/endings - add song specific figures - change drum instruments - change instrument sounds - change chord inversions to feed a note to the singer - exaggerate or change the groove - custom kicks/fills - and so much, much, more.
As an auto-accompaniment app, BiaB is simple the best. But with some edits, you can take the best auto-accompaniment output and make it even better. Editing BiaB can make it more expressive.
As a lifetime pro musician, I've learned that tone is great, but expression is much more important. If tone was most important, singers like Dr. John, Stevie Nicks, John Lennon and so many others would have never been stars. And what is good tone anyway? Take guitar, is it Hendrix? Jeff Beck? Slash? Clapton? Terry Kath? Django? Joe Pass? Charlie Christian? Kenny Burrell? And on which guitar?
I have an array of hardware synths and sound modules with thousands of voices. I'd say they are over 90% as good as the "real thing", and with the editing capabilities, I truly believe I can make the song better than the RTs and overcome that 10% difference.
Of course, that's not for everyone. I've been editing MIDI since it first came out. It's a skill, like learning a new instrument. If I just wanted plug-and-play, I might prefer RTs for some songs and MIDI for others, depending on the style.
As always, there is more than one right way to make music, this is just my way.
Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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I think I know everyone here who has responded, either from the forum, the telephone, or at your house. I think all of you are musicians. All of you have your own ideas of what you want something to sound like. I assume we all come from a live background of some sort.
As I see it, there are only three ways to get real control over the music.
1. Play it live or have someone else play it live
( It can be super difficult to get other musicians to play exactly what you want to hear, even the best most willing studio musicians)
2. Convert things to MIDI
(this is the direction I am currently trying to go in)
3. Score out every track in standard notation (I assume this provides the greatest control and the most work)
I am beginning to think that MIDI may be the most popular way for people who want maximum control over the outcome. I sometimes write simple bass lines out in standard notation as a quick way to get exactly what I want and then convert it to MIDI and play it out with Trillian.
Some of this desire to change is based on physical issues I have to deal with.
I am not married to any method and I am willing to change how I do things on suggestions you guys may have.
Thanks,
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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<...snip...>
I am beginning to think that MIDI may be the most popular way for people who want maximum control over the outcome. <...> Most definitely. As a multi-instrumentalist, I can lay down drum, bass, guitar, comp, keyboard, flute, sax, wind-synth and vocal tracks. But I record to MIDI. Why? With MIDI I can 'play' instruments I cannot play physically, like violin, harmonica, trumpet, trombone, and so on. Plus, with MIDI instead of audio, I can edit to my heart's content. With pre-recorded audio, you are pretty much stuck with what you got, not so with MIDI. While mixing, if I decide that guitar would sound better if it sounded more like a Tele than an LP, I can change it. If I think a cymbal on the drum kit should be a cowbell, drag and drop. If I want to add more crack on a snare hit, double it, change one to a timbale, and advance it a bit. And these are just the simplest edits. In other words, with MIDI, I can make the song sound exactly as I hear it in my head, with pre-recorded audio, I'm stuck with what I have. That's why, MIDI is embedded in the DNA of virtually every musical hit recording. Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
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- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
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- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Video: New User Interface (GUI)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
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.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
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!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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