What are the current recommendations for softsynths to use with BIAB under 64-bit Windows? I still have an Edirol SD-90, but realize that I won't be able to use it with Windows 10. Moreover, modern processors are fast enough that there's no need for an outboard hardware synth module.

I used Bandstand once upon a time, but that has also been discontinued.

I also realize that there is much less need for a separate synth with RealTracks; nevertheless, RealTracks doesn't cover everything.

So what is the current recommendation?

Why can't you use it with Win 10?? I'm using a MUCH OLDER SC-8850 (and a lot of other stuff with NO USB plugs at all XV-5080, Alesis QS8, QSR, Nanosynth, ...)

You MIGHT not be able to use it OVER USB (but with a little hacking you might be able to - you might want to do some "googling" on it) BUT it still works over 5-pin DIN MIDI.

That aside - if you only want a GM compliant plugin then it's fairly limited: TTS-1, Coyote Forte, the IMO the pricy ($125) Roland Sound Canvas VA, and some others that require a little effort to make "GM-like" (like IK SampleTank 2 with Omnisynth add-in, I'm probably forgetting a few but there really aren't that many that you install and use like a GM module VSTi)

If you don't mind assigning your instruments by picking the patches manually ANY VSTi softsynth: Kontakt, Rapture Pro or Dimension Pro, Sample Tank 3 (or 2) , Garritan, UVI, Xpand!2, or any SFZ, ...


Good Luck
Larry

Andrew, I had an SD-80 for years. Same MIDI engine as the SD-90, without the audio. As I recall looking at the Roland drivers site some years back, it worked on Windows 7. I also think Roland said more recently that Windows 10 wasn't supported. However - that does not mean it won't work using Windows 7 driver compatibility. This is similar to users of firewire devices: you install Windows 7, get the drivers working, save them to another storage place, then update to Windows 10.

I swear by Mike Head's XG Lite Yamaha GM set for filling in the gaps between Realtracks, Realdrums and HQ sounds.

http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=435245&page=1

Hi ryclark

Thanks for you kind words above .
However you should be aware that I have a slight problem at the moment when using it for midi drums on the 4 substyle type styles, watch my thread below for updates.
As I say there, this wont effect you if you use real drums or any other synth for the drum track, and only on 4substyle styles .
Please though read / watch the thread.

http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=438283#Post438283

Thanks
Mike

I forgot about Mike Head's XG Lite Yamaha GM

It is very good and FREE so another +1 on that one


Thanks Mike

Larry

The Coyote Forte DXi is really a very good GM synth. Once I bought it for BIAB I stopped trying to find anything else. Ya, it ain't free but once paid for it will run for years for you.

For its price, Forte really does deliver a very acceptable solution.

What he said up there. Works great with Biab, just use the 203/206 patch and you are set.

Trax

I continue to use Bandstand without problems in Windows 10

I really like the Cakewalk TTS-1, but the Forte is nice too.

If you'd like to compare the sounds of a few different synths, this page has some great demos:

http://www.pgmusic.com/dare-to-compare.htm

Thanks
Kent
PG Music

I really like the WinLive Synth Driver, that you can find (for a very affordable price) form promusicsoftware.com, an Italian manufacturer of music software programs.

You can find it at:

http://www.promusicsoftware.com/detail0.php?prod=5553&cat=15001400

It's Black Friday, so it's on sale at 50% discount! Only our 14.50 it's a no brainer!

Please grab it ASAP, you won't be disappointed!

P.S. I'm in no means an affiliated to Pro Music Software :-)

All the best from Italy

Antonio

That thing sounds pretty good Doctor!

I've noticed over the last few years that there's a lot of good musical stuff coming out of Italy. GSI/Crumar, Ketron, the Legend organ and more.

Bob

Antonio,
Caution! I just bought this Winlive softsynt, you recommended. When trying to download the setup-file my virus scanner (Avast) interrupts the download and alarmed me as it shall be infected with malware!
I will write to Pro Music to find out whats about it.

EDIT: I got a fast response from Pro Music! They reported the setup as safe to Avast and now it downloads and installs without problems.

Free Virtualmidisynth by Coolsoft! Absolutely amazing and freeware, you are allowed to donate though :-)
It acts as a virtual midi device (like the Microsoft Wavetable).
It uses Soundfonts, and there are some with really great quality, especially for free. You can even layer them. E.G. I really like the FluidR3 GM soundfont, but for piano I take a special free high quality Steinway soundfont which automatically replace the standard piano when loaded.

Can someone help me with using Winlive Synth Driver with BIAB

Thanks.Glen

It certainly does!

I'm getting it. It's a lot better than Coyote!

Hi...Just started playing around with Band In A Box. Can anyone recommend a good software synth? Mostly rock style music. Looking for realism (of course). The freebee that comes with BIAB (Roland VSC DXi) sounds "ok" but some things, like guitar, sound like the old midi music.

Welcome to the forum and BIAB, OrrenHsieh. Yours is a difficult question with many possible answers depending on your budget. Give us an idea about that.

I use a hardware MIDI synth, so I'll leave the recommendations to others who use software synths. You might also look on this forum for similar threads. There is a recent thread here about Halion Sonic 3, for example.

see Peter Gannon's 'sticky' post at the top about a 'no brainer@..Cakewalk is free and comes with a great softsynth. it's actually the edirol hypercanvas under another name and its by Roland. much of BIAB's midi is optimised for Roland

I'm still pretty new to BIAB, started using this year in August with the 2019 Windows version. With that said, however, I've been able to get a pretty decent setup by mining the forums here for tips. As others are hinting at there is no one-stop or one-size-fits-all solution for getting good MIDI sounds working in BIAB. I'll share the highlights of what I have found to be useful so far:

Cakewalk TTS-1 64 bit VSTi Plugin (free as of 8/2019)
Link to one forum posting:
https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=5116166&#Post511616

It's got a lot great sounds including a lot of controls, and I use it quite a bit for electric guitar, electric piano, and some of the more tricky instruments like Harmonicas and some of the wind instruments.

DSK Instruments
https://www.dskmusic.com/

A very unusual and quite expansive collection of VSTi plugins. Some of the sounds are quite good, and you can get many of them for free, but donations are welcome. The only downside that I have seen is that some of them are 32 bit so require the J-Bridge plugin to work on BIAB 64 bit, and I have had a couple crashes when loading them. You have to give them a few seconds to load before you start clicking around.

This is another excellent thread:
https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=541333#Post541333

This one references two other components which I have used among others, and which I have had great experience with.

*Coolsoft SoundFont Player (already mentioned in post above this)
*Timbres of Heaven soundfonts from Don Allen

You can also find some of the patch maps that come with BIAB for Roland, and access them by using the option "Select Higher Bank Patch (from .pat file)" when selecting a Midi instrument, and then pointing to some of the PAT files included with BIAB. I believe there are others which are available and posted in this forum, with instructions on how to download them. There are some very cool sounds in these sets.

Overall I tend to use the Plogue Sforzando VST plugin for a lot of songs and just hashing out new song ideas, especially the pianos. You can download the latest Aria Engine and also the some additional free sounds such as some Light instruments from Garritan at the Plogue site.

I'm still at the very beginning stages of finding my way with BIAB and MIDI and figuring out what things I need from BIAB that will work for my goals, so I strongly recommend that you invest some time in really diving into the forums to see what topics are helpful for you. I had to make a conscious choice to limit what I was going to take on with BIAB because it is just so packed with features. When you start tacking on VSTi's and plugins and RealBand, and other products that can interface with it, you can feel like your pursuing a new career in music technology instead of creating and performing music.

Speaking to others who may be getting started, I can now say, with the help of the folks on this forum, the PG Music Staff, the massive library of tutorial videos from PG Music on YouTube and other sources, I've reached a point where I have some pretty decent sounds and I know which sources I want for most of the instruments and I'm able to get some of my ideas put into some decent sounding songs. I just tell myself that they will get better and more sophisticated as I slowly build up my skills and knowledge of the product and the technology. I think it's very easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of features in the product and it's power, and I think it's an amazing value for what it does, but I've found that you can do some pretty amazing things with just a few of the features and a few decent instruments. It only gets better from there.

** Resolved - not infected - see below**

@Doctormidi, @Brille, others

I noticed there was a posting in this same topic about the WinLive Synth driver getting picked up as some sort of malware and that it was a false alarm. That may very well be the case but I downloaded it and tried to run it but it was blocked by Kaspersky Anti-Virus and when I uploaded the file to VirusTotal.com it reported that it was being detected by Trapmine as *possible* malware, so I'm going to upload a copy to my AV vendor and see if they can confirm or clear it. I've already contacted the vendor, Promusic Software to report my results and I'll report back on what I hear from both or either.

**Update 12/2/19**
Changed sentence about Trapmine above. Trapmine is an Artificial Intelligence tool that VirusTotal uses to detect as-yet-unknown malware, so it could certainly be a false positive. It simply indicated that it sees something that was not typical, and no specific signs of malware. I'll see what Kaspersky comes back with - I opened a support ticket and uploaded the file for analysis

**Update 12/3/19**
The false positive alert from the antivirus is resolved. The antivirus vendor has cleared it and it is no longer blocked. I've got it installed now and it works like a champ. I also contacted the vendor and they responded very quickly, so good stuff all around.