Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me there is a volume difference between BB and RB. Same tracks, same song, but it seems to have less volume on RB. Has anyone else noticed this?

Does it have anything to do with how files are brought into RB? Is the volume more consistent bringing in files as midi rather than wav?

Thanks.

2b

Open mixer
Check the All slider between the tracks and the AUX sections.
Check the A1 slider in bottom right section.

Normally I keep both of these at 100%.

(BiaB doesn't have the additional sliders to consider)

Image below adds extra detail about adding FX to everything at output. If still not loud enough you can add PGPeakLimit there and boost the output even more.

Thanks, Rharv. I will try all of that.

What's the name of the style that you used?

NR_MART+-MART Ballad Nashville Rock +

I also pulled in a horn RT from _SLOPHRP and RD from _SPOPTTS.

Thanks, Noel.

2b

Thanks.

When I get home from work, I'll have a look and see if there might be some BIAB Stylemaker settings that don't transfer to RB.

I'll be back in touch.
Noel

When I saved a test file based on _SLOPHRP in BIAB and then loaded it into RB, the horns were quieter.

On further investigation, I found that there is a +4dB volume offset applied to the horns in the settings for _SLOPHRP.STY in Stylemaker (in BIAB). This suggests that the volume difference is due to the design of the style for use in BIAB. When you imported this track, I suspect that you also imported the settings.

I'm guessing that RB does not import this volume offset information because it gives users the raw tracks to work with just like a DAW.

Also, in BIAB double check in the "plugins" dialog (not from the Mixer, but from the Plugins button to see that you don't have something like PGDynamics inserted into the "Combo" slot (as this affects all instruments). That would make the overall BIAB mix louder.

Just a thought.

Thanks to both of you, Noel and Jford. I will check into both of these things.

One thing I notice is that you two (and a few others) seem to know everything about BB and RB. How? Did you spend hours reading instructions and watching tutorials? Have you learned all of this by solving problems? Any suggestions?

Just checked the Plug-ins on the Combo slot. It says None.

I think I can work around this problem. However, this is one more thing that makes me think I need a new DAW to use with BIAB. Crashes, inconsistent performance, inexplicable events. I guess it is time to try some of the free trials. Who knows? Maybe they are all this glitchy and I will be happy to return to RB. We'll see.

Thanks to all for your help!

2bSolo -

I think we just know the things we do, because we have been long-time users of this program we love, as well as love the challenge of figuring out how to fix problems.

I've been using BIAB since version 8 back in 1999 ... and then 9, 10, 11, 12, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2007.5, 2008, 2008.5, 2009, 2009.5, 2010, 2010.5, 2011, 2011.5, 2012, 2012.5, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and now 2018.

So we've seen all the changes (and the stuff that's stayed the same) over the years. It's a program that I use almost daily (even if for but a few minutes).

And yes, I read the user manuals, generally cover-to-cover, view the videos, and hang out on the forum to see if I can help other folks out. It's just fun for me and I get a lot of satisfaction from doing it. Occasionally, I even make some music.

2bSolo,

John's description parallels my attitude exactly. I haven't been around as long as John, though. I started using BIAB with 2006 and then started using the forums in 2008. Since then, I've read manuals, watched videos and tried to work out answers to peoples' problems. Like John, I enjoy the challenge of trying to track down a problem's cause (although Kent at PG Music is far superior to me when it comes to doing this).

I've picked up a few things over the years. More often than not, though, solving a problem is a group effort -- that's the strength of forums like this.

Regards,
Noel

Another thing to try when you are exporting a song from Biab to RB is before closing Biab, Right click <Master> to open the drop down menu. Select <Set Mix to Flat, Dry and Center>

This will change the current volume, panning and remove effects of the current BIAB song and style. The volume defaults to 90.

When you open the file in RealBand, the tracks will all be at the default volume, panning and without effects. If the volume is too low or too high, adjust the default volume up or down accordingly when you do the Mix, flat, dry and center save in BIAB. Some people use this feature and set all volumes to 127. I've had some tracks clip in RB when I've done that. I can always normalize the tracks in RB if they import at too low of a volume to suit me.

Thanks, Charlie. I will give this a try.

One thing I can add, is that Noel & JFord do beta testing for PGMusic. This gives them an advantage in that they get to spend some time focused on new features to test them, ahead of most users.

Sometimes people complain the new version didn't get tested enough, but there are quite a few members who put in a lot of hours testing before others even see the new features.
The end result is never perfect, I also beta test for other companies and the result is much the same. Try as they may, beta testers will never cover every possible hardware/user combination to test perfectly even though they (as humans) tried to test perfectly.

I just saw a chance to give a big KUDOS to the beta testers. You know who you are. Testers add a lot to the community as a whole, since they often not only beta test but also pitch in on the forums regularly with their knowledge. It helps many of us.

/raises glass for a toast