New to BIAB

[Roger Rettig]

Well, in fact, considering it.

I have iReal Pro which I find really unsatisfactory. The sounds are cheesy at best.

Sorry: I'm new to the concept.

I've seen it for $99 but also (presumably) upgraded versions for a lot more.

I just want to create tracks with an acceptable tonality and to dictate the chord changes. Is BIAB what I need?

I have Windows 10 currently.

[Fred Treece]

I just started with it last month. I think $99 is a good deal for what you get - lots of real audio sounds, and a capacity for creativity that is hard to beat.

There is a learning curve. I suggest setting aside a couple days worth of going through as many of the basic tutorials as you can. Even a thing as simple as inserting a repeat for 1st abd 2nd endings in the chord sheet is not as intuitive as it should be. I have crashed the program (on MacBook Pro w/Sonoma 14) a few times trying to do that. Also imported songs that were created on older versions of the app, tried to apply a new version band sound, and got indecipherable error messages. Back to basics for me.

[Roger Rettig]

Do the samples sound okay, Fred? Like actual instruments (which, I believe, they are)? Can you select, say, piano, bass and drums (for example)?

[Bill McCloskey]

You can pick any instruments you want, even pedal steel. I think Paul Franklin did the pedal steel samples. A great set of tutorials is Henry Clarke's BIAB tutorials on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCeNXk ... iv7LDkpmyA

[Roger Rettig]

Thanks, Bill - that looks ideal!

[Bill McCloskey]

Henry's great. He had a second career after he retired teaching himself band in the box to write songs and accompany his singing. He now has a nice following and his music is great to: 60's 70's soul. He starts right from the beginning and is a natural teacher. I had no idea what a "push" was until Henry explained how to do it in band in a box.

[Fred Treece]

When all goes well, the real instruments sound great. I like that they are panned by default to their own space in the stereo field too.

Apparently there were some problems with BIAB 2023 and Mac Sonoma right from the start last year. I thought that by waiting to purchase until the calendar turned over I might get lucky with the de-bugging that had been promised. Evidently it wasn’t completely thorough.

[Michael Stephens]

Good luck with BIAB --- it's a great program! But also kind of complicated at times. One thing I've found surprisingly good about PG Music, who developed it, is that they have live people available via chat or phone to talk to about challenges you might have with it. Very helpful, patient, etc. I've been using it for a long time, but still have occasional need to get in touch w/them.

[Roger Rettig]

I don't feel I'd be asking a great deal; the iReal Pro is of some use but I can't get used to the fake-sounding 'instruments'. I have only used it rarely since I retired from touring (I so miss playing with other musicians!!!) because I find the tones uninspiring at best.

I bet I only exploit BIAB at its most basic level; I want to create tracks that have the chords I think they should have. I can feast on Jimmy Webb and Bacharach songs and, who knows, create some of my own.

[Jim Fogle]

Rick Campbell created a video tutorial a few years back about making a song with Band-in-a-Box. Here is a link to a post where you can download the videos: viewtopic.php?p=3198696#3198696

Groove3.com offers Band-in-a-Box tutorial videos for sale: Band-in-a-Box Getting Started https://www.groove3.com/products/Band-i ... ng-Started and Songwriting with Band-in-a-Box https://www.groove3.com/products/Songwr ... d-in-a-Box