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Recording Band in the box

davhudson said:
I have it on my main system and a laptop. I am not sure if that is entirely legal, but it does work and I am the only one that uses either computer.
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Cheers Dav,

I will be the only one using it as well but i need it to be installed on more than one machine.

Does it mean that there is no need to register online?

:confused:
 
I'm considering getting Band In A Box for creating backing tracks to jam along with. The ability to change key and tempo is appealing, and would seem to be a plus compared to conventional backing tracks. I'm mainly interested in jazzy and bluesy grooves. I'm comfortable with music software in terms of MIDI sequencing and digital recording (used various flavours of Cakewalk and Sonar for years), and have a hardware General MIDI sound module.

I'm not especially looking to make recorded masterpieces with 'real band feel', although there is always the possibility of importing some pieces into Sonar and recording my sax playing, if for no other reason than listening to myself with an accompaniment for the purposes of critique, learning and improvement. The main thing I'm after is more versatility with jam tracks.

Do I need to consider anything more than the basic Pro version, or will that be somewhat limited in available styles? Are there after-market style files that can be downloaded? (I'm a bit reticent to just buy a version with more style files because it would seem to be a case of buying lots of additional styles that I'm probably not interested in - the more comprehensive packages get pricey pretty quickly.)

I gather there are the MIDI tracks it generates and something called RealTracks. In a YouTube demo I just watched, the guy reckoned that the MIDI tracks weren't very good and that one should blow lots of money (like he did) and get a version with loads of RealTracks. Is that the case, or are the MIDI versions fine?

Are there ready-made after-market tracks of standards? Although I'm happy to play along with 'abstract' grooves, I'd quite like to have a few standards to play along with as well (with the attendant ability to change key and tempo).

Is downloading the best way to buy it? My local shops don't seem to have it, and Thomann have the 2014 version for more than the downloaded 2015 version (and upgrading costs an extra $49). I can live with the 10GB download for the Pro version.
 
Hi Nomad, BiaB is the best thing to create backing tracks. I wouldn't buy from 'Thomann' though, go to this website http://www.pgmusic.com and have a look around there. My advice to anyone buying for the first time is buy the package with the most 'Realtracks', Yes you can buy the basic version and buy add ons later, the best way is to chat with PGmusic live customer service they are first class and very helpful. As for 'midi' and BiaB it is only as good as the vst pluggin software you are using. They do have 'new' super midi tracks that have a little more about them..

The Realtracks are actual 'Real' audio samples that the software is able to manipulate to suit the chords you enter.
All the tracks in my CD are from Biab with just the 'Sax' played by my good friend Mike see sig line link also most of the backing tracks on the BotM thread are BiaB in my postings.

Chris..
 
I really love BIAB. I ordered the audiophile version direct from PG that comes on a usb hard drive. The real tracks are very well done. They have great customer service and a very helpful message forum to ask questions.
 
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Wow BIAB = the good, the bad, and the ugly!!


I have BIAB and you can get it for around £100 from etecera music. I have that basic package and it has enough real tracks for good swing and bossa tracks. I found a web site with lots of standards in BIAB format, so getting tunes is not a problem.

I would say that the plus out weighs the minus. It is real easy to change the chords, or key, or the key of the display, as well as tempo. It is very easy to set up little practise charts on 2, 5 1 chords or simple modes etc etc

Many BIAB songs have the melody, so you can try reading the melody and listen for your intonation.

OK the bad stuff... The interface is very MS windows old skool, and reminds me of programmers utilities, written for programmers. There are heaps of 'features' glued on that really get in the way. And try getting to grips with the style maker. The manual is also pretty dire.

Also their web site isn't that helpful with all the extra styles, real tracks and add ons. From what I can gather from the forum, most folk just bite the bullet and buy a package.
You can't seem to get a reasonable on deal on just the items you want.

It is a very clever piece of software though, and the styles in general are very well done indeed. I find myself doing a lot more playing and improv since I got it, and rarely use the Aebersold tracks any more.

Overall for me it's a no brainer - much more useful than anything else for playalongs.
 
Irealpro is very cheap indeed, and you get a full library of all the standards - just chords. I find it difficult to edit the chords on the fiddly little smartphone. But on the plus side you can jam along anywhere using headphones. The sound can be a little rinky tink tink at times.

BIAB is a lot more expensive, but much more versatile and the tracks have a much better swing feel. Most tunes do have the melodies. There is also a thing called realtrack solo artists, which can create some pretty good jazz solos and licks to learn. I only use it on my PC, so don't know anything about a tablet/phone version.

just get both!
 
BiaB rocks.....and swings...and rhubas and..... It's very easy to write tracks out. There's a load of down load able pre done tracks. I type them in as well as downloading. It will add an introduction, create a special ending. The most annoying thing is when it does what you tell it too, when you hadn't realised you'd given any instructions.

If you just want to change the key and tempo of a backing track, Audacity will do that and it's free.
 
My teacher just introduced me to iReal Pro and it is amazing. You can find the song you are working on in seconds and practice playing along with the changes in any key or tempo you like. BIAB, especially RealBand gives a better quality of sound if you are going to record yourself playing along, but you have to take the time to input the changes of the song you want to play.

While we are on this subject, can anyone tell me how to remove the "soloist" in a RealBand track, if that is possible? Thanks.
 
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
Hi Rob, BiaB and enharmonic spelling can be a pain in the neck. Sometimes it depends on the key you have picked for the song. If it has that not as a sharp it will sometimes enter it like that. that said I'm using 2014 and just ran those two chords through each key and everytime BiaB displayed Bbm7 Eb7. The only time you can force enharmonic spelling is in 'notation' view. When you can select auto, sharp or flat.
 
I really do love BIAB, but it does have some weird idiosyncrasies. Like when you type a chord it appears in a minute tiny box and not on the chord sheet? And it has features like a jazz title generator, karaoke, but no enharmonic chord change?
 

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