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HI ALL
How wrong can you be about BIAB I was for years.
Many moons ago when BIAB was born and appeared on the market.
I and many of my friends and keyboard players thought it was just another collection of midi voices and some sort of player and editor for midi files.
The very name Band In A Box and the cartoon character musician logo reinforced this.
So for many years I ignored it while I was wooed with the likes of Cubase and Cakewalk and so on.
Eventually about 5 years ago I began to see thing on Youtube that made me curious, so I investigated, and almost immediately bought BIAB 2014 Pro.
Since then there has been no stopping me and now up to scratch with 2018 ultra plus.
It took a long time to get here but I am so glad that I am here now, magical program and I don’t think twice on recommending it to anyone.
So thanks PG for a very pleasant journey and a great program.
Mike
Last edited by Mike Head; 10/14/18 07:56 AM.
BIAB2021 UltraPlus,AsusN55S1Tbssd, W10/64,Akai EIEpro Yamaha CVP405,SquireStrat, CoolsoftVMidSynth Novatation Impulse61 Ctr kbd, Cwalk blab Kontakt http://mikesmusic.byethost16.com/
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I know what you mean Mike,
I first used Band-in-a-Box back when floppy Disks were the thing and sound came from a Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16 sound card. Got tired of it.
Next time the program arrived on a cd rom. Still playing midi but Roland's Virtual Sound Canvas program gave the SoundBlaster Audigy card a run for the money. Got tired of it.
The last time the program came on a DVD. Still plays midi but through the Sonar TTS-1. But ... now there is also real audio created from RealDrums, RealTracks, UserTracks and loops. I've upgraded every year since.
Now is a magical time for audio production.
Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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HI ALL
...
The very name Band In A Box and the cartoon character musician logo reinforced this.
...
Mike
Yes, this has been the subject of much discussion over the years. Your comments would make a nice testimonial for PG Music. And thanks for all your contributions to the Forum, Mike.
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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Hey thanks.
For your replies guys .
Mat, PG are very welcome to use my comment should they so wish.
Just good to be in such good company .
Mike
BIAB2021 UltraPlus,AsusN55S1Tbssd, W10/64,Akai EIEpro Yamaha CVP405,SquireStrat, CoolsoftVMidSynth Novatation Impulse61 Ctr kbd, Cwalk blab Kontakt http://mikesmusic.byethost16.com/
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Yup, you get a lot of "eye rolling" and the occasional giggle when you mention that you use a product called "Band In A Box". That is until you actually play something for them that was created in BIAB.
I did a gig last summer that included an accomplished guitar player. He extolled the virtues of using a high-end keyboard to make the backing tracks for his "home studio" CDs.
I asked him to email me some of his best backing tracks, as MP3s. I chose one of his favorites, re-did it in BIAB, same key, same tempo, but added some RealDrums and RealTracks, then sent him back the new MP3. I doubt if it took a whole hour to complete.
I haven't a peep from him since!
Long live PGMusic.
LLOYD S
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Yep great software biab for anyone who doesn't have the money to afford studio time or session musicians, and that is most of us. Your comments on the name made me laugh though. I said to a luthier a few years ago "Have you ever used band in a box" and his reply was yep the kids use to use it. I think on reflection what he meant was something like this or something similar. Band in a box Maybe a better name might be, Session Musician pro, or something like that.
Last edited by musiclover; 10/14/18 10:59 AM.
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We have 22 songs licensed via Songtradr and several on their featured playlists. All songs were created by us (or via wonderful collaborators whom we met on the forum) using BiaB RT’s and RD’s. We’ve also been signed by Crucial Music as a result of a BiaB based song we submitted. Six years ago we never dreamed we would be able to produce music in many different genres. I mention this not in any braggadocio manner but only to illustrate that BiaB even allows rubes like us from out in the provinces to be players  There’s not much $ involved in these licenses but obviously the music placement folks don’t have any issues with BiaB’s quality. And folks that don’t get it or disparage BiaB can carry on w/o the benefit of having award winning musicians play on their projects!
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Hi Mike ,Great to see your post that tells how good BIAB is.
Janice and Bud another great post by you guys and heres to much more success for you in the future.
I really cant thank Biab enough either ,it means I can produce a song (hopefully good) with great sounding tracks that people ask who did you get play Guitar? or Piano? or Drums?
The company are brilliant as well,always online,always encouraging and professional, the cost/payment structure is great and their seems to be a genuine interest in helping poeple make good songs
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I have to admit that I was one of the musicians who in the 90's where laughing about BiaB and couldn't see how the program could be of any use.
But when I rediscovered it about 5 months ago I was really surprised about how much better it is today. I'm very happy that I bought it and I can see a lot of possibilities in using it.
One wish for the future is that PGMusic will make many more "supermiditracks" because I like the combination of a real good session musician playing and me still being able to change the sound or the instrument. For modern day producers of music it is very important to be able to make a unique sound to the tracks they are producing. That (I believe) is the limitation of the the RealTracks.
Still a very happy customer!
Will
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Will,
As you investigate RealTracks, check out the ones marked "Direct Input" or "DI". For instance the surf RealTracks are "drenched" in reverb because that is part of the surf sound. However, the direct input variation of each, including the RealDrums, is effect free allowing you the opportunity to add effects as you desire.
I agree with your request though, I love midi SuperTracks. There is a request for more organ midi SuperTracks. Perhaps you can post a wishlist request for just more midi SuperTracks.
Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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We very much like the MSTs also. For guitar tracks the aforementioned DI option and a lot of regenerating/comping can add more uniqueness to your productions. Even w/o the DI regenerating multiple tracks and comping (sometimes down to the individual note level) can get you a track that much better supports your goals.
Bud
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I and many of my friends ...thought it was just another collection of midi voices and some sort of player and editor for midi files.
The very name Band In A Box and the cartoon character musician logo reinforced this.
So for many years I ignored it while I was wooed with the likes of Cubase and Cakewalk and so on.
A very valid point Mike, and as Matt has mentioned, the product name has very often been the subject of discussion. There is a very interesting discussion about the name in this thread. The author has made a number of extremely valid and very positive points and speaks with some authority on the subject matter. It is detailed but definitely worth reviewing. There are other valuable discussions before and after this thread, also worth reviewing. It is my personal belief that they product could be more widely recognized in the industry if it were given a more positive and suitable product title. It does have a 'computer game' sound about it. That name might have worked reasonably well 20 years ago, but doesn't offer appeal to the tech-savvy musicians of today. However, the developers haven't identified with this and I personally feel this has impacted on their market saturation.
BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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I like the name and the cartoon characters make it even more fun. Wouldn't be the same without them.
Does the noise in your head bother me ?
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Hi all
Well what a response great to read all your thoughts .
What’s in a name if the product is good ?
Well I don’t think it done FL Studio any harm to come from just Fruity loops!
Mike
BIAB2021 UltraPlus,AsusN55S1Tbssd, W10/64,Akai EIEpro Yamaha CVP405,SquireStrat, CoolsoftVMidSynth Novatation Impulse61 Ctr kbd, Cwalk blab Kontakt http://mikesmusic.byethost16.com/
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It is my personal belief that the product could be more widely recognized in the industry if it were given a more positive and suitable product title. It does have a 'computer game' sound about it. That name might have worked reasonably well 20 years ago, but doesn't offer appeal to the tech-savvy musicians of today.
However, the developers haven't identified with this and I personally feel this has impacted on their market saturation.
Several years ago Dr. Gannon posted a link to an article that showed the market share of many well known computer music software companies. At the time, many in the forum were surprised to see that PGMusic's numbers were much better than they expected. The product has become more powerful since then. Even then it was ahead of some very well known competitors. Cakewalk is one I recall. For years products like Cubase and Cakewalk were packaged with hardware in order to get market penetration. To my knowledge, BIAB has never taken that route. The people who buy it are usually people who heard about it through an enthusiastic friend who owns it. (That's how I was introduced to BIAB) In spite of the differences in marketing strategy, BIAB has done better than you might think. I'd like to see an updated version of that article.
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Very reasonable feedback and discussion Pat. Thanks.
I guess the issue is that regardless of sales counts, friend's recommendations and more, how do we quantify if more sales or less sales could be attributed to the product title?
It's a bit like conducting a survey that asks a target audience "would you be more or less inclined to purchase an XYZ product if it was called 'Such and Such' or 'So and So' ? ". How would we ever know if market potential was being lost without the results of such a survey.
Frankly, it doesn't matter to me, I've already got the product. My only (unproven) concern is that PGM might be missing out on sales. I care about the company and the product and it deserves the best it can achieve.
BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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Hey Pat, if you can find that link again I would like to read it - must have missed that one.
Mike, Fruity Loops is a terrific example. I didn't even consider looking at it until they changed the name. I give them credit for branching out into serious territory.
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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Well I don’t think it done FL Studio any harm to come from just Fruity loops! Mike, my point exactly! Completely separate from the music industry I've been exposed to other products that I just didn't seriously consider because of their quirky product names.
BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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I started using BiaB when it was available for Atari, Mac OS6, and pre-Windows DOS. I had an Atari/St at the time.
Although I play 7 instruments, my primary instrument is saxophone. I bought BiaB when it was limited to 4 instruments with no endings, shots or holds.
I used BiaB to practice improvisation on the sax. Trying ideas out in the privacy of my own home instead of in front of critical ears, or getting the band together to play a song while I tried out different things.
The thing about improv is that it works best by creating and then releasing tensions with the rest of the band. That's hard to do without the band, but easy with BiaB.
I thought Band-in-a-Box sounded a little corny, but then Cakewalk and Mark Of The Unicorn don't sound that great either. I bought BiaB to practice with, not to impress others with the name of the app I'm using.
When user styles were introduced I made some for myself. Since I play multiple instruments and studied music theory and arranging I wanted to play with the StyleMaker and see what turned out. I made a collection of styles and gave them to my friends. My friends said they liked them better than the built-in BiaB styles (aren't friends wonderful) so I took out a classified ad in Electronics Musician Magazine advertising my styles for Atari computers.
One day I came home to find Peter Gannon's voice on my answering machine asking me to call him. I didn't know if he was going to ask me to stop or anything else so nervously I called.
Peter Gannon was warm and friendly, he put me at ease right away, and told me if I sent him my Atari disks, he would make sure they worked with the IBM-DOS (PC) computers so I could sell to his biggest market.
Peter has been nice and helpful to me from then until the present day. As a matter of fact, so has everyone else in PG Music.
I've written hundreds of styles since then, put them up for sale, and the nice folks at PG even send people my way if I have something that PG doesn't have. (And I never-ever try to duplicate PG Music styles - I'm a different musician with different ideas.)
I've also been solicited to do "for hire" work writing styles for other auto-accompaniment apps. I can't disclose the names as part of the deal, but I can say of the hardware/software and software apps that I've written styles for, BiaB has by far the most interesting and the most musical output. I think that's why it's a success and that's why we are all here.
Don't judge an app by the name, only by its performance.
IMHO BiaB is the very best auto-accompaniment product available, and the nice folks at PG Music keep finding ways to make it better.
Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed!
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