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#835016 12/20/24 11:09 AM
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I know this can be done in RB. Comping a solo, looping the section, recording a different solo each time, then putting each pass to a separate track. Is this available in BIAB?


Band-in-a-Box® for Windows
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Both the Minimal & Normal views have loop control buttons as part of the transport controls.

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Jim Fogle - 2026 BiaB (Build 1224) RB (Build 8) - Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk Sonar - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
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No, I knew that. I mean if I'm recording, say, my own solo on the tune. in RB(and other DAWs), I can set the recording to loop just the section that I'm recording, and each time it goes back for another pass, record another take. When I've done enough passes, I hit Stop and RB asks if I want to assign each take of my solo onto a new track.i end up with a number of tracks with my attempt at the solo, and I can pick which one I like, or even pieces that like from each take.

The RB video tutorial of this function is here:


Band-in-a-Box® for Windows
Version 2026 (1237)
64 bit application
RealBand 2026 (4)
Windows 11 Home
Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz)
12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
Funkifized #835064 12/20/24 03:50 PM
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Some DAWs call what you are describing as "Take Lanes" because each recording revolution is considered a take.

DAWs can manage a large number of tracks so even though each take is connected to a track each take is managed like a track by the DAW until you decide what to do with them. Band-in-a-Box can manage about 27 tracks if you count the Master Output, Default Synth and Chord Output as tracks. Tracks do not have Take Lanes.

Band-in-a-Box lets you enable "Overdub underlying Audio". That means the audio from your first pass and each successive recording revolution are merged into one audio. In hardware recorders the capability to layer audio onto one track was usually named sound-with-sound. Sound-with-sound was fairly common with single and dual track recorders but dropped out of favor once track counts became four and higher. Once four track recording became popular sound-on-sound rose in popularity. Sound-on-sound lets you perform the same kind of tricks as sound-with-sound but normally requires more tracks.

One example of how you might use overdub underlying audio would be to record a piano part where first you record the right hand playing a melody and do a second pass to record the left hand playing chords.

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Jim Fogle - 2026 BiaB (Build 1224) RB (Build 8) - Ultra+ PAK
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Jim Fogle #835080 12/20/24 05:29 PM
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But this can be done in RB?


Band-in-a-Box® for Windows
Version 2026 (1237)
64 bit application
RealBand 2026 (4)
Windows 11 Home
Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz)
12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
Funkifized #835092 12/20/24 06:10 PM
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Yes you can here is the instructions from the manual

Loop Record
If you record while in Loop mode (which is activated using the loop button) the music will loop when recording is
started with the Record button. The music that is recording during each loop can be put onto individual tracks after
recording is finished, or the entire take can be put onto a single track like
an ordinary recorded take. A dialog will pop up giving you a choice of whether the recorded audio will go on separate tracks
or on the same track. If you choose the latter, the take will be kept the same way an ordinary take is normally kept. If you
choose to have the loops put on separate tracks, the program will put each loop on any available track that is greater than or
equal to the Current Track. For example, if there are 10 audio loops recorded then program will put the takes onto 10 audio
tracks. If you don’t want to overwrite existing tracks, then make sure the current track, and any tracks with a higher number
than the current track, are blank before recording. For example, if the song already has 10 tracks used, then start recording on
95
Chapter 7: Digital Audio Features
track 11 and the loops will be placed on track 11 and beyond. If the program runs out of tracks, it will attempt to put remaining
loops onto the last track.
Note: Loop recording will always begin at the start of a loop.
Note: Punch-in mode will automatically be deactivated by the program since it is incompatible with loop recording mode.

another thing you can do in RB now is copy paste to an empty track with highlighted regions this give you pretty tight comping features.

Copy/Move highlighted area of current track to another track makes it easier for “comping” which is to create a track that is a
composite of different takes/tracks. It's a quick way to move/copy to a destination track without having to first cut/copy and then
paste. Just right click the track and chose the option just below cut copy paste


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Rob Helms #835098 12/20/24 06:26 PM
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If it can be done in RB, why not in BIAB? Wouldn't that be a good use of Utility Tracks?

Last edited by Funkifized; 12/20/24 06:27 PM.

Band-in-a-Box® for Windows
Version 2026 (1237)
64 bit application
RealBand 2026 (4)
Windows 11 Home
Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz)
12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
Funkifized #835107 12/20/24 06:53 PM
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"If it can be done in RB, why not in BIAB? " The best answer I can give you is RealBand and Band-in-a-Box are different programs that are designed to meet different needs. RealBand is a DAW. DAWs concentrate on recording, editing and mixing. Take Lanes is predominately a feature found in hardware and software DAWs. Band-in-a-Box is a music accompaniment program with strengths in creating backing tracks and as a teaching tool. That's why you get both programs for the price of one. smile

"Wouldn't that be a good use of Utility Tracks?" Maybe but why would you want to when it would always be easier to do in RealBand because RealBand is designed to perform DAW tasks while Band-in-a-Box is not.

If you are passionate about wanting take lanes in Band-in-a-Box you can submit a wishlist suggestion +++ HERE +++

Last edited by Jim Fogle; 12/20/24 07:03 PM. Reason: Add link.

Jim Fogle - 2026 BiaB (Build 1224) RB (Build 8) - Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk Sonar - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Jim Fogle #835109 12/20/24 07:20 PM
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"If it can be done in RB, why not in BIAB? "
RealBand has everything Biab users are always asking for in Biab, so is that why Biab is being made more into a DAW rather than leaving it as auto accompaniment for learning and on stage use ?
The only reason RealBand didn't take off is because when Biab users went to try it the tracks took ages to generate up each time they made a change as it has to use bbw2 in the background to generate then render to wav.
If RealBand would now use direct play from disk (same as BB Plugin) with non destructive editing, it would be way, way ahead of Biab.
It would of been better before they started making a Mac version to of moved the Biab generate code into RealBand first and made that crossplatform.
No one seems to stop and think, is it going in the right direction, is this what's best for the long term, or should we just go off half cocked ?
If it needs so many new features every year to sell, where will it be in 20-30 years from now, will they still be spending 6 months on Win then 6 months on Mac still ?

What do you see as the future ?

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