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Post your own Tips and Tricks here
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Joined: Apr 2013
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OP
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Hi - as a new BIAB user, I'm intrigued by the software; it looks very good. For those who've been using it for years, an important question:
What would you do over again, knowing what you now know, if you were starting w/BIAB for the first time?
Any lessons learned, for getting up to speed quickly? Things you'd have avoided/skipped doing, if you could do it all over again? Easiest road to BIAB mastery?
thanks!
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Joined: Mar 2004
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Welcome to the forum.
I would not do anything different and what I did was "jump in with both feet" made some mistakes, gots lots of help here on the forum and had a lot of fun doing it . . . and I still am.
Regarding mastering the software . . . for what I use it for, live gig tracks, while not mastered I do have a good grip on what I want and how to get it. But mastering the software as a whole I am not sure anyone (some may be closer than others) has mastered the software in it's entirety.
PS: You might want to post this on the off topic forum.
Later,
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Joined: Jul 2000
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The way I started 20 years ago might still be relevant. I took a lead sheet of music I knew very well, keyed it in, and tried different things until I liked the way it sounded. In other words, start with a project where you will know when you are satisfied. Once you begin to get familiar with the software, you can start working with originals and creative arrangements.
Although this worked for me, everyone learns differently. Just jump in.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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[quote.... PS: You might want to post this on the off topic forum. Later,
TBH, and with all respect I think this IS the perfect forum for it  . The OP is asking for tips about getting up and running..Not off topic afaiac 
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By the way, perhaps the major advantage a new user has now that many of us did not have, is the great video tutorials.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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Quote:
By the way, perhaps the major advantage a new user has now that many of us did not have, is the great video tutorials.
I bought the videos but found them a bit dated and focused on stuff I was not interested in. Wish they would do some newer ones. All the other advice like "jump in" is spot on! Matt's tip about starting with a song you know is an excellent one.
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Joined: Jan 2011
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Quote:
The way I started 20 years ago might still be relevant. I took a lead sheet of music I knew very well, keyed it in, and tried different things until I liked the way it sounded. In other words, start with a project where you will know when you are satisfied. Once you begin to get familiar with the software, you can start working with originals and creative arrangements.
Although this worked for me, everyone learns differently. Just jump in.
Great suggestion, thank you.
BIAB 2013
MacBook Pro 17"
2.5 GHz Intel Core i7
Mac OS X 10.8.4
Logic X
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Joined: Apr 2013
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OP
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thanks so far, good ideas... re videos, it would be great to see some new ones, with both "quick start" and advanced topics covered; the current ones are helpful, and there's some on youtube that are good.
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Quote:
I bought the videos but found them a bit dated and focused on stuff I was not interested in. Wish
I thought the same thing about my music teacher and his method of teaching when I was a kid and man oh man I am sorry now. 
Later,
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Quote:
Quote:
I bought the videos but found them a bit dated and focused on stuff I was not interested in. Wish
I thought the same thing about my music teacher and his method of teaching when I was a kid and man oh man I am sorry now.
Later,
The newest video in the package I purchased just a few months ago was from 7 years (or approximately 14 versions) ago. And some of the files are as old as 1994. Correct me if I'm wrong but BIAB has probably changed a good deal since 2006!
Last edited by JohnJohnJohn; 04/22/13 04:37 PM.
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OP
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agree some up to date tutorial videos would be helpful; also step by step walkthroughs, like "here's how to set up a 'trading 4s' jazz track with tenor sax RealTracks in the key of C", or "here's how to copy over and enter chord changes from your favorite songbook into BIAB", or "here's how to import and adapt a MIDI file to use in BIAB - advanced tips" .. etc.
it's a great program, just a bit overwhelming at times for us first-time users, since there's so much functionality and features... I've stumbled around in it a bit, like most new folks have; some step by step walkthroughs where you explain, and have text onscreen like "Step #1: __" etc would help. I'm very tech savvy, still getting ones' head wrapped around the universe of BIAB from scratch, to using it regularly in music practice, takes time. It's worth it, so I'm eager to get up to speed... thx pgmusic for creating a great program.
Last edited by kenjazz; 04/23/13 05:12 AM.
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Joined: Apr 2010
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A cautionary word, Kenjazz:
This program is more addictive than heroin. Once you start to get familiar with it, you will ignore your family, lose your job, stop eating regularly, and spend long hours locked away in a small dark room huddled over a keyboard with headphones on. Later, should you survive, you may be found wandering the streets aimlessly, mumbling things like "pushes.....holds....pushes....holds..."
Consider yourself forewarned.
Regards,
Bob
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lol thx... agree it's a great program... very unique and it works well. told the wife to pardon my missing hours...
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 4
Newbie
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Newbie
Joined: Aug 2011
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I'm a 7 year user of BIAB, and I did the same thing. Started with music I know, keyed it in, then started to try things. I still do that for songs that I want to do, and not sound like the cover, or with songs that I want to learn first before introducing them to my band. Makes the learning curve very short!
Dave Clelland
Avon, IN.
From another BIAB brother,
Dave.
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Post your own Tips and Tricks here
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eddie1261
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eddie1261
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The topic of this forum says "Post your own tips and tricks". That's why it was suggested to put it elsewhere. This is for GIVING tips gathered by experience with the software. His question could have gone completely unnoticed by users who have no tips to offer and thus do not visit, possibly one with the answer to his question.
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Joined: Dec 2007
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My biggest mistake was not joining the forum until 6 or 7 years after I first purchased BIAB. I thought the forum was a "Boys Club", and was very dubious about how I would be accepted.
How wrong I was.
The people on this forum are the nicest, most helpful people you would ever want to know. No matter how dumb your question may be (and I've posted some doozies )everyone is patiently happy to help you through.
Cheers,
Keith
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A cautionary word, Kenjazz:
This program is more addictive than heroin. Once you start to get familiar with it, you will ignore your family, lose your job, stop eating regularly, and spend long hours locked away in a small dark room huddled over a keyboard with headphones on. Later, should you survive, you may be found wandering the streets aimlessly, mumbling things like "pushes.....holds....pushes....holds..."
Consider yourself forewarned.
Regards,
Bob +1 on what Bob said. My wife has learned that I hibernate for several months after each new release of BIAB and doesn't expect to see my face for awhile. Just in time for the next release. She calls herself a BIAB widow. I read the manual completely through ONCE then filed it away under "miscellaneous". I am a a very poor book learner but most comfortable "hands-on" so I jumped in with both feet. That was over twelve years ago. If I should experience difficulties, the forums are a treasured resource. The staff at PG Music are the most wonderful and responsive folks you could ever hope to meet. They treat you as family. Welcome to these forums. I agree that this question could have been better answered in another forum but it's not a Cardinal or Blue Jay sin.
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I'd not change a thing. I downloaded my first biab 7 years ago. I played around with a few chords on a mini midi keyboard and got hooked. I'd wonderful fun going through all the styles which were all midi then of course. I had various soft synths which I played around with, and it really helped me to get the music bug back in my heart again
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thx Graham... hey quick question any tips on setting up a mini midi keyboard to play thru BIAB? I've got a micro Korg (great btw), and can set up a softsynth to play via my cakewalk sonar, havent' figured out yet how to use it as an input device to playback a softsynth via biab, if that's possible?
thx..
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We just jumped in 18 months ago. I was drawn to the software after reading about RealTracks. For us it was a short learning curve. Throw the chords in, pick the RealTracks, generate the tracks, move the tracks to the DAW and have fun cutting and pasting up a band. We're probably using less than 10% of the power of the program (no Midi, etc.,) but it works extremely well for what we need. Some folks complain about the menu structure, etc., but I've found it to be fine. I've had virtually no problem finding and using the features that I need. And I've not really found a need to resort to "help" or to the manual. So, I say jump in a look around, click on things, and have fun.
Bud
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I've had BIAB for years, starting with version 7 for DOS. I've had two or three major realizations. The first was when I began to input my own stuff. BIAB did something really nice with a turnaround that I never would have thought of and could not have done myself (which is part of the point). Since then I have used it exclusively for original music. The next one is completely antiintuitive and only works because I do only originals. Trying to coerce BIAB into doing my preconceived ideas of both originals and covers was often an exercise in frustration. In some ways BIAB seems to have a mind of its own, and unless you want to write your own MIDI Styles it always will. At some point I began to 'listen' to what the program was trying to tell me. Now I regard it as a virtual co-composer, and I'm much happier for it. I have a definite voice which shows through, but enriched by BIAB's suggestions. You've said elsewhere that you have little use for MIDI, but I mention this last point to reinforce the attitude of flexibility when working with BIAB (or computer music in general). Several years ago I experienced multiple PC breakdowns, until I was working with a Pentium 3 with an inexpensive wavetable soundcard. I don't recall whether the then-current version of BIAB supported audio or Real Tracks, but it didn't matter; the machine wouldn't. Rather than get frustrated, I concentrated on finding out what I could do within this rather severe limitation. In the end I came up with some stuff with which I was (and am) quite pleased, some of which I am still developing today. The common thread here is that I kind of let BIAB push me around. I admire other users for their ability to produce some magnificent covers, but I don't have the patience for getting them to sound right. I much prefer going in with a general idea and adapting to what I am presented with. Kinda like a box of chocolates, knowutimean? We now return you to a normal way of thinking. 
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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Actually, my best advice would be to jump in with both feet and try to get it to do what you have in your mind. You won't always get it first go, but I'm at the stage now where there are few things that I want it to do that I haven't figured out yet (eighth note triplets is one) ;-). Just work with it.
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I'm surprised that no one has said to read the manual. After I read the manual years ago any problems I had were solved here on the forum. It should be a prerecquisite to read the manual first, then ask questions. Later, Ray
Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
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Dear "Ryszard"...
I wandered into your post from elsewhere in the BIAB forums. I can relate to your explanation of how you allowed BIAB to reveal its strengths and weaknesses to you.
I noticed that you use Masterwriter software. Would mind sharing with me your thoughts about using that software?
Thank you,
bluage
"Music is what feelings sound like."-- borrowed from a Cakewalk Music Creator forum member, "Mamabear".
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Well.... most have said jump in and I agree. Play with it and more importantly, read the manual several times through. You will see things in the manual that you will never guess is in the program.
Make notes and use those little page tag things to help you find things again. Then set down and see how those cool function work.
As time goes on, you will naturally gravitate towards a certain way of working in BB & RB that will become your SOP.
While I know that there are things in BB that are useful, I don't normally use them in my day to day writing and working with BB. I have boiled my workflow down to what I need to get the job done as I think it needs to be done. My goal is to use BB to write, RB to create the tracks and then I export them to my DAW to finish the work.
But to each his own, as the saying goes. What works for me might not be how you eventually settle on as a method. That's why, you need to dig in to the manual and see all the things BB can do for you.
This program is so amazing, and it does so many different things.... it's not possible to learn it all in a few days time. So don't be in a rush. Learn one thing then go to the next.
Between the online HELP and the manual which is always on my desk.... I can refer to either or both when I need that "forgotten" function.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 10/10/13 07:03 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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