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Hi Guys,
I'm running into an issue and I'm not sure if it's user error because I'm doing something wrong or if there's a bug of some sort (Mac).
Here are the steps I'm taking:
1) Pick a style.
2) Use the melodist to generate chords only (no style changes, melodies).
3) Right click a utility track to select a RealTrack soloist.
4) Highlight a region, right click the newly added soloist, then choose Track Actions, then Generate RealTrack on Selected Region.
5) I may or may not do steps 3 and 4 again, choosing a different soloist and region.
6) Unfold the song to allow for more parts or I've also tried simply increasing the choruses to something like 3. I've tried both ways to see if it made a difference with my issue.
7) If I unfolded, then I copy and paste all the parts that currently exist, then pasted them a couple of times to lengthen the song.
8) Lastly, I've tried both just hitting Play or I've also tried hitting Generate and Play.
After doing all that, I'm finding that things keep going "awry" for lack of a better word.
First of all, the regions in which I used the soloist do not seem to copy. After copy and pasting those regions, the soloist performance(s) is/are gone on the copied version.
Second, often, but not every time, other regular tracks (non soloist, melody, or utility) like bass and drums, no longer are playing where they were before, even starting at the first measure where they were previously playing fine.
Last bit of info I can think to add. I was doing these same steps in the Pro version just fine. I upgraded to the UltraPak yesterday and when I did so I first completely wiped out my Pro version install first. Then installed everything fresh with UltraPak install.
Any ideas?
EDIT: I forgot to add that I've also tried using the Song Form, Song Form Dialog, using something like ABABCBA structure. I also have the problem doing that as well, with the sounds disappearing/tracks not playing where they should be.
Last edited by kottke; 07/26/25 08:07 AM.
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BiaB tries to rewrite evrything (change it) when it regenerates. Hitting Play alone can cause this.
If you are starting to get to the level of detail you describe -
It's time to move the project to RealBand where these types of issues don't happen, and allows for numerous other advantages to this type of linear workflow.
If you have a recent Biab version (last 10 years) you also already have RB.
Some here will advise staying in BiaB and using the Freeze feature, which is also an option.
Last edited by rharv; 07/26/25 08:38 AM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
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I'm running into an issue and I'm not sure if it's user error because I'm doing something wrong or if there's a bug of some sort (Mac). No bug. BIAB wants to redo bass and drums every time you hit Play. This emulates a live performance in that bassists and drummers in many genres never play the same song the same way twice. There are ways around this including Freeze, using MIDI instead of RealTracks on some songs and Export. The manual is quite helpful and goes into this in greater detail. When a song sounds the way I like, I Export the individual tracks and open them in my DAW of choice (not GarageBand since it turns everything into stereo tracks but there are those who use it). This is where I edit my performances down to the gnat's whisker—I'd go nuts trying to achieve that level of control in BIAB. PGMusic decided years ago that, since GarageBand is free with the macOS, it made no sense to port RealBand over. That's unfortunate but there are many free and low-cost DAWs for the Mac nowadays.
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2025
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2025
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I'm running into an issue and I'm not sure if it's user error because I'm doing something wrong or if there's a bug of some sort (Mac). No bug. BIAB wants to redo bass and drums every time you hit Play. This emulates a live performance in that bassists and drummers in many genres never play the same song the same way twice. There are ways around this including Freeze, using MIDI instead of RealTracks on some songs and Export. The manual is quite helpful and goes into this in greater detail. When a song sounds the way I like, I Export the individual tracks and open them in my DAW of choice (not GarageBand since it turns everything into stereo tracks but there are those who use it). This is where I edit my performances down to the gnat's whisker—I'd go nuts trying to achieve that level of control in BIAB. PGMusic decided years ago that, since GarageBand is free with the macOS, it made no sense to port RealBand over. That's unfortunate but there are many free and low-cost DAWs for the Mac nowadays. Thanks guys for your help. This is what is weird though, it's not redoing the bass and drums, it's completely removing them. The bass and other instruments from the original style chosen might be non existent for the first 16 bars then suddenly they pop in out of nowhere. It's also behaving strangely if I unfold the song, then try copying and pasting the original bars (say 1 -32 for example) into the newly created bars. It's still treating the song ending as if the original ending (like bar 33 for example) exists. It won't play the newly pasted part, even though the chords are showing. It'll just end the song. All this behavior only seems to happen when I start trying to incorporate a RealTrack Soloist. Just using the Melodist to create a melody at certain bars isn't doing it. The only way I've found around in so far is to unfold the song, then create all the chords and structure first. Then if I use a soloist, I can highlight each region throughout the song and generate the RealTrack on the selected region. That works but it's a pain because I have to do it for each region instead of just being able to duplicate. Also, if I want the exact same solo repeated, I can't do that because it won't let me copy. Hope all that makes sense. Oh, and I've tried freezing also. It doesn't seem to help. It keeps the solo in tact for the first pass through the song, but doesn't allow me to repeat. Also, I tried freezing the original tracks from the style and they are still missing at times.
Last edited by kottke; 07/26/25 10:10 AM.
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One more thing to add.
I guess what I'm really trying to accomplish is to be able to use the RealTrack soloists similar to how the Melodist can generate melodies for specific parts. The RealTrack soloists sound better to me so I'd rather use them than using the Melodist.
If I use the Melodist to generate a melody for a specific part, then just add more choruses or use the Song Form builder to map out something like ABCABC, the melody I created for a part gets duplicated into each chorus.
If I use the RealTrack soloist to try and accomplish the same thing, that's when everything falls apart.
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This may be a wild [*****] guess, but see if you can use F8 (multiriff) to generate repeated RT soloists at verious beats and bars. Or try Alt F8 (Generate part of RT). You may have to have Freeze Tracks so the changes stay in place. And if either of those work for you... then just trust me, forget about all that Song Form Builder stuff.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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Last bit of info I can think to add. I was doing these same steps in the Pro version just fine. I upgraded to the UltraPak yesterday and when I did so I first completely wiped out my Pro version install first. Then installed everything fresh with UltraPak install. It's highly unlikely to be the change between versions, as I understand that the software itself is identical. The only difference between Paks is the number of RealTracks, Styles etc.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2025
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Enthusiast
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OP
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This may be a wild [*****] guess, but see if you can use F8 (multiriff) to generate repeated RT soloists at verious beats and bars. Or try Alt F8 (Generate part of RT). You may have to have Freeze Tracks so the changes stay in place. And if either of those work for you... then just trust me, forget about all that Song Form Builder stuff. Thanks DrDan. This is pretty much what I've settled on for the time being. It's working out ok so far. Basically, if I unfold everything to 100ish bars. Then copy/paste the initial chord progressions. Then highlight each specific progression and generate a soloist RealTrack on the that region. I've started tinkering with the Multiriff tool also, which I like also. I can't get any kind of duplication to work while maintaining what the soloist generated, but at least it works.
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Beginners Forum
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Last bit of info I can think to add. I was doing these same steps in the Pro version just fine. I upgraded to the UltraPak yesterday and when I did so I first completely wiped out my Pro version install first. Then installed everything fresh with UltraPak install. It's highly unlikely to be the change between versions, as I understand that the software itself is identical. The only difference between Paks is the number of RealTracks, Styles etc. I agree 100%. I just threw it out there because I couldn't think of any other options. I'm new enough to BIAB that's it's possible I was doing something different while using the Pro version and just don't remember exactly what I was doing. I think I am doing the same way, but I can't guarantee it.
Last edited by kottke; 07/26/25 01:25 PM.
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