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RealBand
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 803
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 803 |
Thanks Jim, It took me awhile, at least maybe a year, to adjust my way of working to the way RealBand operates enough that the program would operate without crashing too often. But, it still crashes more often than I would like.
This is the reality with much software. All programmers know programs should ideally never abort. The program should anticipate everything that comes at it and deal with it (example: popups when the user makes an error). It is a tall order and generally only very mature programs are this advanced. Ones with big money behind them like banking software or brokerage software. I constantly had to think about what I was doing when a crash happened, what could I do to adjust so it wouldn't happen again, test and see if my adjustment works. I discovered a couple of weak spots in how the program operates and try to avoid them. Yes. Always. With BIAB I had a macro doing some things to control it. BIAB would bomb and I would need to do a factory reset. I changed my macro to make it better for me and much to my surprise the macro change fixed the BIAB bombing. I have no idea why and no time to go back and figure it out. Save, save, save! You can't save too often. The more often you save the less often you crash!
Every now and then use save as and save the project under a new name. If, or when, your project crashes, close the program, open the program and open the last project name that worked. You've lost whatever you did from the time of the last save as to the time the crash happened but ... you didn't completely lose the project! This did not work for me. It should but something deeper was going on. I documented a procedure to do my mixes. About 8 major steps. At the end of each step I would save (it was part of the instructions). I would name the step after the song name. Returning the file did not fix an abort. I think bad data was getting saved. So for example I would close down the program, do the standard RB reset when prompted, return the file and it would immediately abort again. I think I even tried shutting down windows once and I got the same result. In other words it created the problem and it was a long time before its ugly head finally surfaced. Now that was very annoying. If you use a feature like the gain or volume nodes you need to use extra care. In addition to the saves and save as you need to take steps specific to the feature like clean-up nodes, don't move any node up, down, left or right too much. In other words, don't create a node unless you need it and when you do create one, create it where you need it. Yes, I am not surprised this feature would introduce bugs. Audacity seems to have it down pat. RB is better in that it gives you a number to reset to but in a way that isn't that important. Audacity is so fast at zooming in and out I just eye ball it and hear it (have to do that anyways). But getting back to the aborts it the program auto saved the info from the abort and asked the user to leave the machine on overnight while it uploaded the dump to PGmusic also telling them they would eventually get back to them when the fix was in place this would give users a lot of confidence. The program needs a detailed log of what it is doing upload as well as the user info for the problem is fixed emailing. I think it would need a central switch that can be used to turn the log writes off once they feel the bug is fixed. It I remember correctly Multicharts did the reverse. They built this into their programs anticipating potential problems and only if the bugs showed would they turn the log on. They would turn it on for sections of the program. However they did not have a (when fixed notification system). So, the program is temperamental. I wish it wasn't but it is. Learn what sets it off and minimize those things. Everyone has to decide for themselves if the benefits outweigh the effort required. For me, it does. True. I never had any aborts when creating acid loops. I put one in my BIAB backing tracks on one song. I will rarely use it. If cleaning up nodes is something that helps prevent the bugs this probably can be automated. The programmers are in a much better position to know when to do this and why. That should be blatantly obvious but may be it is only obvious to me because I am a programmer. The irony is if they put this in they probably can fix the issue and it may not be needed. Can't say for sure but I give it pretty high odds. After all they wrote the routine to clean it up didn't they. Who knows. Maybe this is why Audacity works so well in this way. Maybe every time you place a volume node it calls a clean up routine.
Last edited by bowlesj; 05/03/19 03:57 AM.
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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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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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