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Re A NEW FLEXIBLE GUI FOR BB....(AND RB ??.)

its a lovely idea being discussed for bb ...particularly if any user can flexibily configure the gui to their liking.
i would like that.

but i suggest in any final gui decision by pg the following be taken account.

1..over the years many new users to pg products useing both bb and rb often are confused as there is some overlap of features in both bband rb. as well as ...
2..for example the layout of bb tracks view is somewhat different from rb tracks view.
and there are various other layout differences.

in summary my concern is if for example a new user to pg asks his or herself things like 'why are the track views different' ?
if one thinks about it i would suggest its a obvious question a new user might ask getting into pg products who might not know at that point the sometimes subtle differences between bb and rb.
over the years ive seen more than a few new users confused by this.

in summary i would suggest in order to cut down the learning cycle for new users that once pg have a new gui firmed up re flexibility as to config by any user that, as far as possible the same flexible gui layout be implemented for rb.

for example can chord/track/piano roll/mixer and other views layouts be made the same as far as possible as to configurability in a flexible fashion.?
benefits being twofold for new users..

1..cutting down confusion and..
2..boosting the productivity of the new user and cutting down on the learning cycle.

one situation that i'm sure will occur many times in the future (as in the past) will be the scenario whereby a new user starts off in bb and understanding it and who that on seeing the rb forum and users posts re rb might decide to then explore how rb might benefit them.
THUS...it would be nice if a new user haveing become familiar with bb THEN could become familiar fast in rb because of graphic similarities.
thus minimising learning cycle frustration ??

just an idea and i hope i make some sense.

om

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 01/22/25 12:29 PM.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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-1

Focus on BIAB and continue to ignore Realband.

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That’s one view but RB has come a long way recently and there are more of us that use than you might imagine. I’m sure that BiaB will get the bulk of the development time. RB is still worth developing especially since the last three cycles.


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J3.

so i assume us rb users dont count ?

maybe some of us like and use both bb and rb ?
what about existing and new users that need certain features in rb that arent in bb ?
how can the learning cycle be lessened for new users that might use both bb and rb therefore ? what other options are there ?

there are more than a few things one simply cant do in bb that can be done in rb.
what about the fact of rb loading bb songs...
why was that implemented in rb if pg thought bb users wouldnt be interested in rb ?

what i'm concerned about is fairness for the new user and makeing his/her life easier J3 and thus the new user instead of maybe getting frustrated with long learning cycles is enthusiastic and is so happy recommends pg to friends wanting to do songs.

i hope i make some sense.

om

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 01/22/25 01:46 PM.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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Originally Posted by justanoldmuso
J3.

so i assume us rb users dont count ?

maybe some of us like and use both bb and rb ?
what about existing and new users that need certain features in rb that arent in bb ?
how can the learning cycle be lessened for new users that might use both bb and rb therefore ? what other options are there ?

there are more than a few things one simply cant do in bb that can be done in rb.
what about the fact of rb loading bb songs...
why was that implemented in rb if pg thought bb users wouldnt be interested in rb ?

what i'm concerned about is fairness for the new user and makeing his/her life easier J3 and thus the new user instead of maybe getting frustrated with long learning cycles is enthusiastic and is so happy recommends pg to friends wanting to do songs.

i hope i make some sense.

om
I'd advise everyone who uses BIAB, new and old, to also use a REAL DAW!

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JJJ,
I have (strong) reservations about RB, but I will say this.
I understand people who used it for the past decade or so. If I had lets say ~40 projects in it, I would be all in for maintaining it and possibly even upgrading it. I can easily imagine some people have over 200 projects in it... and RB satisfies their needs. Peter Gannon in my view was/is VERY generous for maintaining and actually upgrading this piece of software for loyal group, which I don't believe added many new people from the time I've joined. Especially given choices like Cakewalk (Home) that was free at some point, even during Gibson days, or $60 Reaper - which is very powerful...

So I propose this. Those of us who dislike RB (I am including myself in this group), just chill and don't get into any hot discussions about the software we will likely never use. Mirroring this, I will kindly ask all those who care about RB not to derail / hijack / promote / lawyer with RB discussions in threads that are very specific to BIAB. Especially the input ones, created by PGM staff, that are very important, for us-mainly BIAB users, unless you want a particular feature transplanted to BIAB, or making a reference to particular feature in RB. Forum has many sections and focused threads that RB can be discussed in great detail.

Thank you!

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Originally Posted by Rustyspoon#
JJJ,
I have (strong) reservations about RB, but I will say this.
I understand people who used it for the past decade or so. If I had lets say ~40 projects in it, I would be all in for maintaining it and possibly even upgrading it. I can easily imagine some people have over 200 projects in it... and RB satisfies their needs. Peter Gannon in my view was/is VERY generous for maintaining and actually upgrading this piece of software for loyal group, which I don't believe added many new people from the time I've joined. Especially given choices like Cakewalk (Home) that was free at some point, even during Gibson days, or $60 Reaper - which is very powerful...

So I propose this. Those of us who dislike RB (I am including myself in this group), just chill and don't get into any hot discussions about the software we will likely never use. Mirroring this, I will kindly ask all those who care about RB not to derail / hijack / promote / lawyer with RB discussions in threads that are very specific to BIAB. Especially the input ones, created by PGM staff, that are very important, for us-mainly BIAB users, unless you want a particular feature transplanted to BIAB, or making a reference to particular feature in RB. Forum has many sections and focused threads that RB can be discussed in great detail.

Thank you!
I agree if someone has used RB and is satisfied with it then sure, why not? Keep using it. Just don't divert the precious few available resources from BIAB to work on a DAW that 1) most BIAB users probably don't use and 2) absolutely no one who is not a BIAB user would choose to use over the existing crop of high quality and inexpensive DAWs available.

And with that...I'll hush! smile (probably)

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J3.

your entitled to your opinion of course.
but anyone thinking of useing rb can do the following...
to form to form their own opinion..

..go to the 'why do you like rb' thread in the rb forum for various positive viewpoints....and..
..read the rb manual which details all the very extensive list of rb features....and...
..ask themselves how this old fool om has been able to do tons of songs involving rb....includeing the ones in my sig.
(except for 'flag' a rough muckabout done in powertracks.)
other rb users the same....lots of projects//work done in rb from what ive seen commented on.

recently a powertracks user commented that powertracks was 'the best daw'. what is interesting therefore is rb is from my experience powertracks plus added features includeing session muso track generation.

anyway thats it from me.
anyone can form their own opinion.

ps Rusty.

good point re people haveing done lots of projects in rb
over the years.
this thread sorta reminds of when...years ago...i showed reaps to commercial studios i was recording in... and they went 'nah it cant be any good...its just shareware'. now look where it is.
in conclusion reaps has its great aspects but imho as does rb.
ive used both with bb for years doing songs.
all the best.
om

Last edited by justanoldmuso; 01/23/25 04:33 AM.

my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..)
https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs
(90 songs created useing bb/rb)
(lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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OM, that is great, but seems you missed the main point I was trying to make with my reply:

" I will kindly ask all those who care about RB not to derail / hijack / promote / lawyer with RB discussions in threads that are very specific to BIAB. Especially the input ones, created by PGM staff, that are very important, for us-mainly BIAB users, unless you want a particular feature transplanted to BIAB, or making a reference to particular feature in RB. Forum has many sections and focused threads that RB can be discussed in great detail."

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Propose:
Consistency in Layouts: Aligning the track views, chord views, piano roll, mixer, and other layouts between BB and RB could reduce confusion for new users.

Reducing Learning Cycle: A consistent GUI would help new users become productive more quickly, as they wouldn't have to learn different interfaces for similar tasks.

Boosting Productivity: By minimizing the learning curve, users can focus more on creating music rather than figuring out the software.

User Transition: Users who start with BB and then move to RB would find the transition easier if the interfaces are similar.
-----------------------
I understand your thoughts and it makes sense going from BB to RB. However, you have a lot of assumption that may not be the case.

1) Which is correct? Which is better? Should both change? Are there better models in the music software universe?

2) New user, when I start with a new user I introduce them to the plugin. Coming from the DAW world it keeps them in their workflow and only adds the steps to generate backing tracks. Should BB copy the plugin? Some say yes, can you drag multiple tracks in BB?

3) I then introduce them to BB, where you can do Partial gens, Playable real tracks and the Mutli Library browser of musicians.

So, you sese it depends on where they are coming from and what is the interest in the PGM feature.


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Both Biab and RealBand create RealTracks and RealDrums this is what users want, why have two ?
are Biab users just using for auto-accompaniment and RealBand to create songs or add tracks to a recorded session ?
Why not have something that will do both ?

Look at the GUI pics Cerio posted what if you just had an all in one "Band in a RealBand Box" VST and Standalone.
SMP has a Mac & Win version to download at the same time. Why take little steps and stay years n years behind all the time ?
Is it crazy to want something as decent as the session musicians themselves.
Most users are not thinking on the whole but focusing on one small aspect with zero regards for anything else.
You need to look at a way bigger picture of it all from a 4000 ft level. I have not come here for the soul purpose to destroy PG, but many seem to have that opinion because the things I post seem like things from another world to them but so many of these have been implemented and are used without understanding how they came around.

If PG are going the new crossplatform to accomplish all these wishes all very well and good. Bless them if this is the case.

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