I feel bad, because the first reply is not a favorite thing, but an 'un-favorite thing'
Not to be negative, but to offer constructive feedback
This is my most un-favorite thing about BiaB. That menu that you get when you click on the mixer.
I started using BiaB in Atari days. I now use it in Windows 10 days - but I still have very little idea about what to expect from this particular menu. It needs a lot of work. Sorry.
Suppose I have a style with RealTracks, and when I click (Right or left) on the Guitar Track (note the track) I am presented with one single menu - with no categories or sub-items - that gives me options to select "a Hi-Q MIDI Synth Patch" or "Select MIDI patch" or "Freeze Strings Track" or "Select Best Chording RealTracks" or ....
I click on a track in the mixer and I get no fewer than 25 options - Many of which have got absolutely nothing to do with the mixer!!!! (sorry, was I yelling? I apologize).
Now before you slam me because you know it already, just imagine I'd like to hear a Flugel Horn on this track. I presume that the Mixer will allow me to find a Flugel Horn or a Sax. Imagine I am a brand new user, and I am confronted with this 'Menu' with a plethora of single-item options that only the original coder could really understand. Where would I start? Are you with me?
This menu needs a lot of work. It is full of ambiguity, descended from a lifetime of new features that have been 'tacked-on' without any real thought as to how to best deliver functionality, but to 'just put it here'.
Sorry Andrew that the first response to your post is not a 'favorite' feature, but this Menu gets me every time. If it gets me, I have to figure there are a lot of others who it gets as well. Users who use it once - and don't come back (are you with me Peter?)
Let's work together to deliver a better product. Incidentally, I've offered to help support PGM products previously, but there's been no follow through from the other side.
Only doing my best... I'm actually on your side.
Click on 'Guitar Track' in the Mixer and see if you all really intuitively follow all of this:
BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Thank you for your post! We appreciate all feedback, especially of the constructive variety
Removing menu options can be a sensitive endeavor. It seems for every customer who dislikes an option, there is another who loves it! Perhaps we can come up with a happy medium, such as a “Simple” and “Advanced” menu structure so you’d see only the most basic options unless you specified otherwise. Definitely something to ponder!
Thanks again,
Last edited by Alyssa - PG Music; 08/25/1610:42 AM.
I've given this specific suggestion some thought over the decades. In some programs that "beginner/average/expert" choice works, protecting novices from themselves. But I don't see it working here - we need it all.
One easier-to-implement option as mentioned would be to make submenu pull-outs. Have a menu option for MIDI, another for RealTracks, and list only the categories within each etc. The resulting screens would be a lot less overwhelming. That sort of change.
And if you haven't viewed VideoTrack's short video of GUI suggestions, you should.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
One of my unfavorite behavior of Mac's BinaB is opening/starting a " new " project.
When I am finished working on a song ( which i prefer to call a project ) and select " new " from the drop down menu the instruments used in the previous project are still there.
I find that most disconcerting.
Why can't we have a drop down menu that allows us to select " close " song/project ?
And then when we select " new " give us a fresh start with the default instruments ( bass, piano, drums ) as well as the default style. The same as when we first launch BinaB.
Removing menu options can be a sensitive endeavor. It seems for every customer who dislikes an option, there is another who loves it!
This is indeed true but this is the realm and challenge of the GUI designer! I strongly feel PG should hire or consult with an experienced User Experience (UX)/User Interface (UI) designer in order to significantly improve the products. We are way past the days when programmers design interfaces by simply adding yet another option to an already enormous list of options.
An even better example of this would be the Preferences dialog. When this dialog displays it is quite complex (and confusing). And then you see there are 30 buttons that each open another complex dialog!!! As a power user I admit to loving that PG has included all of these options BUT I must also say I can almost never find what I am looking for in this complex set of dialog boxes. And I suspect 80% or more do not need to be so easily available. Maybe a panel with common preferences and then something really deep like the current one.
But an experienced UX/UI designer would be a great place to start!
Another " unfavorite things " is the " plug-ins " setup/preferences.
The other day i set up an AU plug in to play the BASS track and another AU plug to play the PIANO track in a song.
Now every time i open a song that AU plug in plays although in the Patches pane ( extreme upper right hand side ) shows Acoustic Bass and Acoustic Piano and in the Plugins pane it shows NO plug-in.
I selected plug-ins and set the BASS and PIANO tracks to none. .
Those two plug-ins still play.
I find the " preference " settings for plug-ins somewhat misleading and more complicated then it should be .
Yes, reconfiguring menus can be challenging, and there will be a 'please some of the people some of the time' moment along the way, but as JJJ mentioned, that is the job of the design people, and, well, if it needs fixing, it needs fixing.
Your acknowledgement is appreciated.
BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
And of course one of the things you CAN'T ever do appears in the menu - if you have an RT track to begin with you CANNOT substitute a midi instrument in. Ian
Old Guys Rule.The older I get,the better I was! BB2023 ULTRA, 1013, Win 7 and 10
Another " unfavorite things " is the " plug-ins " setup/preferences.
The other day i set up an AU plug in to play the BASS track and another AU plug to play the PIANO track in a song.
Now every time i open a song that AU plug in plays although in the Patches pane ( extreme upper right hand side ) shows Acoustic Bass and Acoustic Piano and in the Plugins pane it shows NO plug-in.
I selected plug-ins and set the BASS and PIANO tracks to none. .
Those two plug-ins still play.
I find the " preference " settings for plug-ins somewhat misleading and more complicated then it should be .
Sorry for answering my own posting however i wanted to post:
Problem solved although somewhat crude approach.
I started by going to Library/Audio/Plug-ins and moving my AU and VST plug-ins folders out ( to my desktop ) then launching Mac 2016 BinaB which effectively forces BinaB to redo the AU/VST plug-ins.
When i re-launched BinaB all was OK and then I moved the plug-ins folders back.
I'm sure Mac BinaBox gurus as well as PG tech support may have a better solution and would like to hear those suggestions.
I'd really like to see a NEW Audiophile PRO+ Version made available
..., where Audio files were offered in 24 bit.
I'd also like to see this proposed NEW Audiophile PRO+ Version ..., To also include a DRY TRACK OPTION
- ie; DRY track versions also offered for the realtracks ..., (DRY meaning - a bare bones audio track with No FX added to it)
- ie; Minus their already added reverb and compression etc , giving users the ability to instead add their own 3rd party FX in their own preferred flavour via both the BIAB FX slots , or In a DAW
This would enable (proposed future BIAB 'Audiophile PRO+ version' users)
- access to higher quality 24bit audio samples that would better survive the audio mangling and mashing that goes on within a DAW .., like file conversions, time stretching, adding FX etc .
The Dry Tracks suggestion would ................,
- Create a better 'all round' end result to your mixes , by allowing the user to sit the instruments in the mix where they like , (and not where BAIB pigeon holes' it to be) ........,
This means ....,
- the amount of reverb also not only creates a sense of space (eg: size , like room, hall, cathedral etc) - it goes further than that by giving its own uniqueness to what type that space actually is and the materials contained within (wood , stone etc). - Reverb can be special FX also , like plate reverbs , tube reverbs , reverse reverbs , pre-delay adjustments , Dry vs Wet signal blending (or using FX sends) etc .
...,and most importantly by adding your own reverb to a DRY audio track enables the producer to place emphasis on giving the listener an idea (ie; attention or focus) to where the instrument actual placing is within the sound field. - All the above applies to compression FX also.
This placing could be either being up close and personal, through to being further back in the room , and all points in between.
I think it would be great to allow the user to decide where this space and place and feeling need to be in their mix .., all this can be done without placing a finger on the volume fader, and turning up that fader will only increase volume and not increase that vocal or instruments presence and focus point in the mix.
... , rather than having to force all the other added elements of your mix (like your own added vocals, or recorded instrument tracks) to BLEND to the pre-determined BIAB mix .., all that possible power and uniqueness is lost with the current method.
Last edited by SFG; 10/09/1605:09 PM.
My Specs Computer : Mac Pro (late 2013) - OS Yosemite 10.10.5 Processor : 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5 Memory : 64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC Graphics : AMD FirePro D300 2048 MB Interface : Avid Mbox 3 Pro DAW : Pro Tools 12.6.0 (64 bit AAX)
I was going to mention to you in the other post to use the DI Direct Input Option in RealTracks as it gives much more control and diversity with vst's like Amplitube and Guitar Rig.
24-bit would be nice, though older RealTracks would not be able to take advantage of the added resolution since they're all recorded in 44.1/16-bit.
I love the idea option of more dynamics. I know it's used a lot for DVD and Blu-Ray audio. For someone releasing audio on CD, it will be downmixed to 44.1 16-bit and need to be dithered anyway. Even some popular compression formats won't do 24-bit.
Just genuinely curious about the final media format you would use for the 24-bit output.
Note: I'm not the development team, and if this hasn't been mentioned yet already, it should be posted in the Wish List forum if there is genuine interest in this feature.
24-bit would be nice, though older RealTracks would not be able to take advantage of the added resolution since they're all recorded in 44.1/16-bit.
I love the idea option of more dynamics. I know it's used a lot for DVD and Blu-Ray audio. For someone releasing audio on CD, it will be downmixed to 44.1 16-bit and need to be dithered anyway. Even some popular compression formats won't do 24-bit.
Just genuinely curious about the final media format you would use for the 24-bit output.
Note: I'm not the development team, and if this hasn't been mentioned yet already, it should be posted in the Wish List forum if there is genuine interest in this feature.
I assume your statement, "older RealTracks would not be able to take advantage of the added resolution since they're all recorded in 44.1/16-bit" is true for ALL RealTracks and RealDrums currently released since their Audiophile wave forms are 16/44.1. Is that a correct assumption or were some of the master files recorded at a different setting?
Multiple high resolution standards were released in the 1990s including SACD, DSD, DVD-A and Blu-Ray.
Download the pdf file available at ++ Mastered For iTunes ++ and you'll see Apple suggests songs to be uploaded at 24 bit / 96Khz to be "future proof" against changing standards.
Crutchfield.com has a recent ++guide ++ guide to high resolution audio.
As stated earlier, most sample libraries are 24 bit or offer both 16 bit and 24 bit selections.
I hope that at the very least PG Music considers having the RealDrum and RealTrack master recordings to be tracked at 24 bit depth and 96 Khz sample rate for when the market is ready for higher quality recordings.
"24-bit would be nice, though older RealTracks would not be able to take advantage of the added resolution since they're all recorded in 44.1/16-bit. "
Older ? I wonder how old before higher bitrates were used 2009, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 ?
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 18 requires the 2024 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box version 2024 is here with 200 brand new styles to take for a spin!
Along with 50 new styles each for the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, we’ve put together a collection of styles using sounds from the SynthMaster plugin!
In this PAK you'll find: dubby reggae grooves, rootsy Americana, LA jazz pop, driving pop rock, mellow electronica, modern jazz fusion, spacey country ballads, Motown shuffles, energetic EDM, and plenty of synth heavy grooves! Xtra Style PAK 18 features these styles and many, many more!
Special Pricing! Until September 30, 2024, all the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 18 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea)! Expand your Band-in-a-Box 2024® library with Xtra Styles PAK 18! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 18 here.
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 18 requires the 2024 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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