Now that does look like something I want to get to know. But you seem to imply that I can use the plugin actually in RealBand. Or am I misunderstanding.
Also, with such a vast range of features, which is there nothing in the manual?
If you use RealBand you are limited to 48 tracks, if you use the BBPlugin in your DAW you can have as many RT/RD/Midi/SMT/Loops/UserTracks as you like simply by adding another instance of the BBPlugin. You can use the BBPlugin in RealBand to give more tracks BUT the whole idea is to get out of RealBand into your DAW you love.
The pics above are the manual, it has not got all these menus like Biab RealBand, what you see that's is all there is to it. File > open SGU > Generate button up the top, solo mute any tracks. If you have tracks in Ableton when you hit play the BBPlugin tracks will play along in sync. Once the track/s you like are dragged into Ableton you can mute the track or un sync the BBPlugin or generate up another style.
I went at the task of loading 2 copies of the plugin on their respective tracks and this was successful. I loaded the song on to the first copy and all OK. When I try this with the second copy (the one in which I will change the style) then it takes forever and doesn't finish. I tried installing the plugin on one track, loading the song and then duplicating the track. This was OK but song wasn't there, when I tried to looadit it, again, took forever with no success.
So I decided to try this with Reaper and got the same result.
So I can find a good use for this certainly, but it's back to RealBand for the other stuff like style variations within a song.
Hi Andrew, This works perfectly with regard to how it used to work. I don't put the extension on and it does save it as an SEQ WITH the extension appended. No errors; with the SEQ saved on the same drive as the RealBand folder the RBBackup folder in the RealBand folder gets all the backups sequentially to the limit allowed and the oldest file flushed to Recycle. Saving on another drive does the same but the backups are stored on a local RBBackup folder at the root of that drive.
I now go back to my original song and load the SGU file as created by BB. Generate all the tracks and then click Save. I navigate to the folder where I saved that previous successful file. I don't enter an extension so I am asked for Melody and Soloist details and I click OK and it saves as an SGU, despite the fact that the dialog says saving as type SEQ.
I go back and save again, but this time I append the SEQ extension and it works just fine.
Back to RealBand and one more save, this also works fine
Another save and I get the error and the TMP will not overwrite the SEQ.
The first SEQ save didn't backup the SEQ because there was nothing to back up
The second save made a backup in RBBackup and replaced the SEQ file with the TMP
The third save tried to backup the old SEQ but for some reason couldn't and so would not replace the SEQ file with the temp.
So what is the difference between these two types?
If I'm understanding correctly, you do not experience the saving problem when you load the demo song I suggested. Can you please attach or link to an .SGU or .MGU file that you have the problem with? There may be some specific characteristic of it that is exposing this problem. You can attach it using the "File Manager".
Hi Andrew, That is indeed the case. The file that you told me to load did not cause any problems whatsoever, but this files (any quite a few others) does.
I went at the task of loading 2 copies of the plugin on their respective tracks....
There is an issue with the current version not closing bbw4 in the background. So until that is fixed, here is a solution: if you have www.autohotkey.com already installed just run the .ahk script if not you can use the compiled exe, just go to tab 2. You can also go to you Task Manager > Details tab and end task the bbw4_64.exe Just close bbw4 after or before you select an action then it will free it up for the other instance. I have reported this so hopefully there should be a fix soon.
Make sure you save regularly so if you forget to close and in stalls you can go back.
* remove the .mp4 from BB Quick Menu & Mixer-64.zip.mp4 and unzip
Thanks pipleline. The plugin looks good and I've decided to tackle it. One thing though, In RealBand, when a RealTrack has a RealChart I can get RealBand to generate some midi for the RealTrack also. Although this midi is not meant specifically to drive an instrument, it does often contain some useful stuff that can be used in DAW tracks. I'm not sure that the plugin can make use of the 'Chart' data in this way. Is that the case?
Hi Andrew, That is indeed the case. The file that you told me to load did not cause any problems whatsoever, but this files (any quite a few others) does.
Thank you for the sample file, and there is an easy fix.
The problem is that your filename has .SGU in it. While a period is valid in Windows filenames, I would suggest using a different character like _ or - as a separator, and reserve the period for the file extension.
If you save that file as is, RealBand assumes you want to save it as an .SGU (Band-in-a-Box song file), and that's why you get the dialog that allows you to choose your Melody, Soloist, and Audio tracks. And indeed, the song IS saved as an .SGU file. So just remove the .
Actually this solves the entire problem. This debacle all started when I tried to organise my songs the way I normally organise my files in Windows, by prepending the filename or folder with a number. Of course I got used to the fact that Windows ignores any period other than the final one when it looks at a filename. So if I have '3.Mysong.SGU' then Windows simply ignores that first period (or any other period included in the name).
Realband is not that agnostic to the period though. After loading '3.MySong.SGU' and generating tracks; when I come to save this as an SEQ (without specifying the extension) then RealBand already assumes the file name will be '3.MySong'. Because of the period it assumes that the extension is .MySong and saves it as an SEQ with no file extension. When I come to save this a second time I'm told that there is an unknown file extension and won't save it until I put an extension on it.
But one particularly puzzling issue occurred when, for some reason I ended up with a SGU filename that looked like this '3.MySong.SGU (includes midi).SGU'. I'm not sure how I ended up with a filename like that, but I did.
It was Andrew at PG Music who spotted this issue and steered me toward understanding the problem. When I loaded a song with this particular file name and then attempted to save it as an SEQ (without extension) the RealBand assumed I was saving 3.MySong.SGU and prompted me to include Soloist and Melody details.
The biggest problem was that RealBand would not save my SEQ after a first save. I'm sure the developers will be able to explain this easily. After my first save as an SEQ, on the subsequent save RealBand gave me an error message saying that it could not save a second time because it couldn't convert the newly generated TMP file into an SEQ.
The forum gave some good responses that were mainly related to permissions for the folder. But the first save was OK. I also tried running from a FAT32 USB drive where RB created its own RBBackup folder. The behaviour was exactly the same. But I noticed that when there was an error with the SEQ that there was also a TMP file with the same name as the previously saved SEQ file. I reasoned that this must be the TMP file that RB can't convert to an SEQ. So I deleted the SEQ renamed the TMP to SEQ and voila - it was OK.
It was Andrew from PG Music who pointed me to perhaps an issue with the backup system. I noticed there was always just one backup of a song, even though my Preferences allowed for 5. If I deleted this file and saved the SEQ file then all worked OK, but of course on the next save it failed again. My workaround for this was to set the maximum backups to 1 so that the existing backup file was moved to the recycle bin on each SEQ save. This worked fine. That was when it hit me, it was not just the .SGU, it was ANY '.' in the filename other than the extension that was getting RB's knickers in a twist. So I came in this morning and attacked all the file names and removed all '.'s except for the extensions. Now all RBs save behaviour is working is working as promulgated in the manual.
Talking of the manual, well I'm sure there will be umpteen references not to use '.' in filenames and I note that PG Music don't do this on their files.
So, when it comes down to it it's probably my fault anyway.
But nice to be able to move on.
Thanks everybody for the help and particularly Andrew at PG Music.
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.
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