So, after more than a two hour discussion with brother Jim, I'm encouraged to join this discussion. This is a deep dive into both Yamaha keyboards and BIAB audio/midi data.

< Can BIAB directly replace the Yamaha SX920? I wonder if that's possible? >..

BIAB audio and midi snippets, songs or chords can be stored in the PSR's Multi pads and triggered manually or linked to Styles or songs.

This means a PSR can be programmed and synced to a stage performance so the result the audience hears isn't distinguishable from a show arranged and directed using software like Ableton Live or a Live Arranger Keyboard. It's. not the same functionally, but the results are quite similar. Here's some excerpts from a long discussion with Chatgpt that went into great detail on how this is contracted.

<< BIAB and a Yamaha arranger keyboard really do two different jobs, even though there’s some overlap.

A Yamaha SX920 is designed for real-time live performance. You press chords with your left hand and the arranger instantly follows you with intros, fills, variations, endings, etc. It’s built to react immediately while you play.

BIAB is more of an intelligent backing-track and production system. It generates accompaniment from chords you enter, but it doesn’t function exactly like a live arranger keyboard where every variation and fill is triggered in real time from the keys.

That said, BIAB *can* work with MIDI keyboards very well. You can:

* play BIAB sounds from a MIDI keyboard,
* enter chords in real time,
* use MIDI styles,
* trigger playback,
* and combine BIAB with external keyboards and DAWs.

Where things get interesting is when you combine BIAB with a Yamaha arranger instead of thinking of one replacing the other.

For example:

* let the Yamaha handle the live arranger functions and realtime control,
* use BIAB RealTracks/audio for guitars, drums, pedal steel, sax, etc.

On Yamaha arrangers, the Multi Pads and Registration buttons can take this much further than many people realize. BIAB audio and MIDI phrases can be stored and organized into pad-triggered performances. The four Multi Pads can trigger riffs, phrases, percussion loops, accent lines, guitar parts, or other BIAB-generated material either manually or automatically.

Then when those pads are linked to Yamaha Registrations, you suddenly have an expanded performance system where entire combinations of BIAB-based material can change instantly with a single button press.

The pads themselves can also be triggered in different ways:

* manually,
* tied to style changes,
* linked to registrations,
* or synchronized with arranger functions.

That creates a hybrid setup where the Yamaha handles the realtime arranger side while BIAB supplies studio-quality instruments and phrases that can be brought in dynamically during performance.

A lot of users eventually discover that BIAB excels more as a “studio musician generator” than as a direct replacement for an arranger keyboard.

So the short answer is:

* BIAB can be MIDI controlled to a degree,
* but it is not a true realtime arranger workstation like the SX920,
* although combining both can produce results far beyond either one alone.

Recap: The real power is not replacing the Yamaha with BIAB, but integrating BIAB audio and MIDI content into the Yamaha arranger workflow using Multi Pads and Registrations. >>

Here's a link from the Tips & Tricks forum from November 2023 I posted regarding this method:

Using BIAB samples to play live with a Yamaha Arranger Workstation Keyboard

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.