For full discloser I initially hesitated to purchase my yearly update of BIAB due to financial constraints. I have just built my retirement home on the lake and have not yet sold the home I have been in for the past 20+ years. The dual home ownership is nearing an end but also nearing the breaking point for my saving. As a result, I felt it best to just sit back this year on any discretionary spending.
But I followed the PG Forum from the day of launch Dec 1, to the end of the year. What a roller coaster it has been –initial excitement for the new VSTi and 64bit features, then disappointment for their reported shortcomings, then love for the new folk guitar real tracks, then anger for the loss of CoyteForte, my favorite GM synth. At times when reading the forum threads it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Patches came, and Patches went and still problems continued to be reported. Best I could figure from the forum was PGMusic had made a colossal mistake in releasing this new update. I am not new to rough launches for the company, but this year seemed more challenging than most. As a result, up to the point of closing the sale at midnight on Dec 31, I was convinced that my decision to hold my cash and not purchase a problem product was the right thing for me.
On Jan 01, 2019 I woke. Switched on my computer… What’s this? The sale is still on? The 2019 update is still in my Cart for the same discounted price? In the breaking of a new day and a new year all I could imagine was, “ What could I have been thinking?” As the sun rose a new clarity came over me - Of course I am going to update, it is all so clear now! it was always just a matter of when! If I don’t jump off the fence now it will cost me more $$ at a later time. I need to save those extra $$ for when we move to the new home! And with that, I jumped off the fence and pushed the order button.
On Jan 1, 2019 I Downloaded and Installed BIAB2019 v208. My first 20 minutes of use was a revelation. I pushed each button with extreme care expecting smoke to come up from my PC at any time. I specifically tried the new features including opening the VSTi in Reaper. In this short period of time everything has been flawless!
Now I don’t expect that I could have put BIAB 2019 through all its paces in this short a period of time and it is likely that some bugs continue to hide, but I will not look back and I don’t regret for a minute the purchase. Workflow has always been a critical aspect of BIAB and with so many ways of getting things done I know I will find a way. And if and when I find a problem\bug that prevents me from getting it done, there is always the Forum to raise holy heck to get the attention of PGM and the help from our Forum mates.
Have a Happy New Year all and remember to have fun.
congrats ... now you're finally in RealTrouble tracking all them new goodies
BIAB2019 - Now introducing for the first time release of the new feature: RealTroubles! ...that is cute That is what I will be in when my wife sees the charges on the credit card.
Happy New Year Dan. Whats this about CoyoteForte Dxi?Are you saying it no longer works in BB?Ive not managed to get any other,like Vacuum Pro etc to work without horrible distortion.If all ive got for midi therefore is the windows bilt in thingy then thats a GameChanger for me. All I want from midi are for the instruments to sounds like what theyre supposed to be.Techies love allthe fancy screens,pretty knobs and buttons and jumping through hoops to get stuff to work.Not me.I just vwant to make 'X' my default like my Forte is now and it "work". No? Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
one of the best GM2 synth VSTs is free: Halion Sonic 3 SE Probably with 32 bit OS/BIAB you'll need jBridge; i found that this worked flawlessly with BIAB 2018 on a 64bit OS last year.
Happy New Year Dan. Whats this about CoyoteForte Dxi?Are you saying it no longer works in BB?Ive not managed to get any other,like Vacuum Pro etc to work without horrible distortion.If all ive got for midi therefore is the windows bilt in thingy then thats a GameChanger for me. All I want from midi are for the instruments to sounds like what theyre supposed to be.Techies love allthe fancy screens,pretty knobs and buttons and jumping through hoops to get stuff to work.Not me.I just vwant to make 'X' my default like my Forte is now and it "work". No? Wendy
Wendy,
What kind of sound are you trying to get out of your synth? Synthy sounds (evolving swirly shimmery stuff, or pumping trance) or natural instrument sounds to feed MIDI into and have them sound like natural instruments?
TBF, I picked up Vacuum pro as well, and it's layout and sounds are modeled on classic old-school hardware synths, and, although it excels at hitting the specific mark it aimed for, it's also unfortunately one of the least intuitive, and visually incomprehensible VSTs I ever encountered in my life :-( It also uses terminology and naming conventions that are trying to be clever instead of the industry standards.
Band-in-a-Box 2021 PlusPAK w 2019 Bonus Pak. Custom Build Desktop PC W/ Windows 10 Home 64-bit. CPU: Intel Core i5-9600k @ 3.7GHz (6 core x 6 threads) RAM: 16GB DDR4. Storage 238GB SSD + 2.7 TB HDD. GPU: ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
Whats this about CoyoteForte Dxi?Are you saying it no longer works in BB?
I might have misunderstood, but I understand that currently, the existing Coyote Forte works with the 32-bit version and VSTSynthFont64 works with the 64-bit version. Also, that Coyote Forte will probably be released soon as a 64-bit version (maybe this has happened).
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
one of the best GM2 synth VSTs is free: Halion Sonic 3 SE Probably with 32 bit OS/BIAB you'll need jBridge; i found that this worked flawlessly with BIAB 2018 on a 64bit OS last year.
Thank you for this info fiddler,
Can I just ask whereabout's did you browse to on your computer to find the Vsti for Halion?
I do have Cubase elements 7 which includes Halion?
I do have Jbridge.
Or wonder do I need to download something else from your link?
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2024, Cubase 13, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Usually here, C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VSTPlugins\HALion Sonic If you have Cubase 7 legit (there's a much used illegal one around) you might have Halion Sonic, the more extended version compared to SE. F
The free one seems useless since you have to purchase sound sets to make it work.
Lenovo Win 10 16 gig ram, Mac mini with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2022, Realband, Harrison Mixbus 32c version 9.1324, Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app, Komplete 49 key controller.
Lenovo Win 10 16 gig ram, Mac mini with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2022, Realband, Harrison Mixbus 32c version 9.1324, Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app, Komplete 49 key controller.
Lenovo Win 10 16 gig ram, Mac mini with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2022, Realband, Harrison Mixbus 32c version 9.1324, Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app, Komplete 49 key controller.
set it to GM mode, and configured it in BiaB as default synth it still has no sounds I can see the midi data hitting it as the channels light up but no joy
Lenovo Win 10 16 gig ram, Mac mini with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2022, Realband, Harrison Mixbus 32c version 9.1324, Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app, Komplete 49 key controller.
RobH - Are you running build 610? There was an issue in 609 where certain synths didn't produce sound. That might be your problem with not hearing it.
Quote:
Summary of changes for build 610 (Dec 28, 2018) --------------------------
Fixed: Some VST plugins were silent (eg. SampleTank 3). Fixed: Some ASIO drivers might not work. Note that the bug can cause the driver to remain open after using Band-in-a-Box, so this bug fix might require you to restart your computer. Fixed: The drop station would not allow M4A export (highlights red) if QuickTime is not installed. This should only be necessary for Windows Vista or XP. Fixed: The Find File dialog was not displaying folders, and not loading the song chosen. Fixed: If there is a RealTrack on the Drums track, Band-in-a-Box might crash when rendering a region of bars. Fixed: Opening a song file from Windows Explorer would not work if Band-in-a-Box was already open. Fixed: (for the VST DAW Plugin) Generating multi-riffs would sometimes generate an error. (tips: make sure to first select a multi-riff before generating. Also, highlight a region of the chordsheet first to generate just that section as a multi-riff) Added: (for the VST DAW Plugin) Shots, holds, rests, push chords now read in from BB files.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA
Lenovo Win 10 16 gig ram, Mac mini with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2022, Realband, Harrison Mixbus 32c version 9.1324, Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app, Komplete 49 key controller.
Happy New Year Dan. Whats this about CoyoteForte Dxi?Are you saying it no longer works in BB?Ive not managed to get any other,like Vacuum Pro etc to work without horrible distortion.If all ive got for midi therefore is the windows bilt in thingy then thats a GameChanger for me. All I want from midi are for the instruments to sounds like what theyre supposed to be.Techies love allthe fancy screens,pretty knobs and buttons and jumping through hoops to get stuff to work.Not me.I just vwant to make 'X' my default like my Forte is now and it "work". No? Wendy
Wendy,
What kind of sound are you trying to get out of your synth? Synthy sounds (evolving swirly shimmery stuff, or pumping trance) or natural instrument sounds to feed MIDI into and have them sound like natural instruments?
TBF, I picked up Vacuum pro as well, and it's layout and sounds are modeled on classic old-school hardware synths, and, although it excels at hitting the specific mark it aimed for, it's also unfortunately one of the least intuitive, and visually incomprehensible VSTs I ever encountered in my life :-( It also uses terminology and naming conventions that are trying to be clever instead of the industry standards.
Happy New year Deacon. Ok-lets try and sort out what i want.Im using BB in 32 bit-no interest yet in 64. Ive got Forte DXi and the midi sounds FROM PRE-EXISTING MIDI STYLES are better than the original ones.But not great-as in they dont often sound like the instruments theyre supposed to.Im looking for a BETTER DXi or VSTi hopefully free that will give the existing instutments in BB midi styles more reality.Id make it my default. So am I just chasing rainbows? Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
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.
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!
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!
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.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
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That is what I will be in when my wife sees the charges on the credit card. 
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