I run into BIAB in other music forums I frequent and have to admit it is beginning to get much better press due to word of mouth then a few years back. Lots of folks saying good things, and these are coming from a different cliental/demographic.

But let me share one which I thought was very interesting as it seemed to hit on something. Now don't go off on this . I present it as I feel it was well written and presented its point in a very honest, respectful and coherent manner. I know PGMusic has not asked for this opinion, but they have also not indicated that they do not want it either. And it is relavent to this thread.

There will be no guessing on who wrote it.

"...its introduction of RealTracks was a massive leap forward. It's got many unique, clever features and deserves to be taken seriously. There's no other composition aid that can hold a candle to it.

But it's its own worst enemy. To be terribly frank, as a program it's a ginormous Christmas tree of aged core code with many new baubles added each year. The user interface is very old fashioned and reminds me of something designed by the tent crew of a circus in terms of buttons and colours. It's not intuitive and is a mass of menus. So it looks amateurish which totally belies its ability to produce very professional results. A total rewrite is way overdue. The musical bias is way out of touch with today, and leans heavily on old jazz and country, with some of the nods in the direction of music of the last thirty years embarassing. Its loyal user base is also aging and the proprietors seem oddly content with that. If it was brought up to date in terms of interface and styles it would be an absolutely killer tool that no one would want to be without, and would be first in a field of one with all the success that entails. "