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I'm considering purchasing BIAB to use on stage for live performance. Are there any other musicians out there that are doing just that? I've been doing a solo and duo for many years using midi and running my show from a laptop on stage. The laptop is ancient running Windows 95 and so is the Cakewalk 3.01 program that I use. It worked flawlessly for many years until the computer finally died recently. I can't find an old computer to take it's place because they've all been recycled and Cakewalk 3.01 won't work on newer computers. So it's time to upgrade since Cakewalk is now defunct!
I would like to get away from having to carry all my equipment to every gig because my setup is larger than most full bands. My questions are, does BIAB have good enough sounds to take the place of all my midi modules? Can I run straight out of the laptop to the PA and leave all my midi equipment at home? Are there catalogs of BIAB songs out on the web to access for songs that I don't have programmed already and does BIAB read midi files well? Thanks in advance for any help.
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Monkster, firstly welcome to the forums.
There are many users who do exactly what you want, using BiaB live on stage.
The RealTracks in BiaB are recordings of real instruments, performed by real musicians, and can give you excellent quality performances.
Some users also create their backing tracks and export as an Audio file (WAV, MP3 etc) and play those live instead of BiaB.
You can definitely send the laptop output to your PA, no question that this will work. You can also use a software synth inside BiaB for handling MIDI tracks. Forte DXi (available from PG Music) is a great way to go with very reasonable sounds and for only about $40.
Consider getting a small USB Audio adapter instead of relying on the 3.5mm stereo socket on the laptop - this is for reliability purposes.
BiaB can read MIDI files, and there are also many existing songs on the web. With native MIDI (not BiaB files), you may need to separate the data onto multiple tracks - RealBand, which comes with BiaB for Windows, can do this easily.
Hope this answers your question in some way.
BIAB & RB2025 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
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BIAB works well with MIDI; however, the sound you get is only as good as the sound module you use.
Also, unless you are looking to do exact covers (which require MIDI), BIAB also uses RealTracks, which are recorded audio phrases that adapt to your chord progression and sound like real live players because they are and were recorded by top studio session musicians.
Also, be aware the PGMusic offers a 30-day money back guarantee.
There are folks that use BIAB live; however, I would suspect most create either WAV or MP3 renderings of their accompaniment for both simplicity sake and consistency.
BIAB also comes with RealBand, a DAW that incorporates a lot of the BIAB song generation features.
Go listen to the User Showcase and you'll be able to hear some of the great original songs that people have used BIAB and RealBand to create. Browse the forum, and look at the video tutorials and you'll find yourself up to speed very quickly. And we users on the forum are happy to answer your questions.
Good luck.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA BB2024/UMC404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/MixBus/Notion/Finale/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com
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VideoTrack, Thank you for your reply. I feel more comfortable purchasing the program now and thanks for the tips. I had to cancel some gigs recently from my old laptop crash and really looking forward to getting back to work. BiaB sounds like an amazing program and can't wait to start working with it.
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jford, you answered one of my questions about sound in your first sentence. Since my laptop has both Realtek and NVIDIA High Definition Audio, I take it that those are the only sounds I will be hearing. Does BiaB come with any VST instruments, or if not, will BiaB be able to link up to them from other vendors?
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Your RealTek and NVIDIA will be just for audio. For the playback of MIDI into the audio stream, you'll need a softsynth. BIAB comes with a DXi synth called CoyoteWT (WT is short for Wave Table), which is actually just a wrapper for the low res GM MIDI Wavetable that ships with Windows computers (it takes the Microsoft sounds and and presents it to you as a DXi (DirectX synth).
Also for General MIDI (GM), PGMusic also sells the Coyote Forte synth (also a DXi synth) for $40, which definitely sounds better than the CoyoteWT, but still leaves a lot to be desired.
You also get the free Sforzando VSTi synth, along with several SFZ sounds provided by PGMusic, but it's not General MIDI and you'll have to assign instruments on a track by track basis for each song. However, there are tons of free and not so free sounds out there that Sforzando can play.
If you go the VSTi route, you will probably also want to purchase jBridge from PGMusic (I think it's $10), as that will let you run 64-bit VSTi's and VST effects in the 32-bit BIAB environment.
For VSTi's, you might want to explore VSTi offerings from IK-Multimedia (SampleTank) or Native Instruments (Kontakt). Those aren't cheap, but the sounds are much better, and again they are note General MIDI, so you would have to assign the sounds on a track by track basis for each song.
And of course, the RealTracks/RealDrums are just audio files, so they will play fine on your computer sound card.
Let us know what you are thinking and we can definitely go into more detail.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA BB2024/UMC404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/MixBus/Notion/Finale/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com
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I recently bought BIAB specifically to create backing tracks to use live.
I save the songs as mp3 and load them on my ipad through iTunes. It helps having a mac pc but it is possible to use Windows to do this.
I use Onsong on my ipad to trigger the backing tracks which sync with the chord charts on Onsong.
I use a Line 6 Sonic Port from my ipad to a digital mixer, then to the PA.
This works really well and as I become more proficient in using BIAB I think I will get more refined backing tracks. The sounds in the basic BIAB that I have are good enough to begin with.
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jford, Thanks for all the ideas. I need to order BiaB and get my feet wet!
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As a tip, go for the best package that you can afford. Certainly try to go better than the Pro pack which is essentially an entry level product. The larger packages contain significantly more features and options, and you'll get greater benefit especially if you intend to use to create backing tracks for performing with.
BIAB & RB2025 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
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You need to think very carefully about using BIAB for live work. I do and I love it, but I don't have exact backings. I accept (and now like) the fact that my covers sound unique. If you are managing to get what you want with what you have, just upgrade to a midi player or a new computer and carry on. Alternatively you could probably get away with Karaoke files or minus 1 files. BIAB is a great product, but it's primarily a songwriting tool. You'll love it regardless, even if not just for writing backing tracks, but remember it's a steep learning curve as well.
Last edited by lambada; 02/01/18 09:12 PM.
Windows 10 Home 20H2 Build 19042.487
BIAB 2021 (Build 818)
Intel(R) Core(TM), i3-4160, CPU @3.60 GHz RAM 16 GB, 64 Bit X64-based processor
Zoom UAC-2 (USB 3 interface-built in midi)
VoiceLive 3 Extreme, Sputnik Valve Condenser Mic
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Hey Monkster, or maybe other folks who might be interested... there was a giveaway of Cakewalk Sonar home. I know that Sonar went belly up, but Sonar home was just updated a couple of month before the announcement. As it is, it should last for many years. Anyway, promotion is real, no need to buy anythng. Couple of friends got it there recently. Here is the link: http://forum.cakewalk.com/m/tm.aspx?m=3718858&p=1
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You need to think very carefully about using BIAB for live work. I do and I love it, but I don't have exact backings. I accept (and now like) the fact that my covers sound unique. If you are managing to get what you want with what you have, just upgrade to a midi player or a new computer and carry on. Alternatively you could probably get away with Karaoke files or minus 1 files. BIAB is a great product, but it's primarily a songwriting tool. You'll love it regardless, even if not just for writing backing tracks, but remember it's a steep learning curve as well. I could not disagree more. BIAB/RealTracks/Drums excel on covers. Regards, Bob
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I agree with Bob. BiaB can provide you with unique and really excellent covers.
BIAB & RB2025 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
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Along with listening to songs in the User Showcase, to get an idea how a cover tune sounds that was created in solely in BIAB, I previously posted two covers on YouTube and provided links to the songs over in the 'I heard it on YouTube' forum. Here's Listen to the Music and "Cherish" by the Association It was requested I leave out the lead soloist instrument in Cherish and the artist plays that instrument live during the performance.
Last edited by Charlie Fogle; 02/03/18 05:22 AM.
BIAB 2025:RB 2025, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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How is it working out for you, I travel so much I can't work up a band. I use windows and am figuring out a way to play my backing tracks without fiddling with a laptop. Good luck out there
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I think using BIAB to generate backing tracks is fairly simple and using RealTracks one can quickly achieve the sound of a "real" backing band. I prefer using wav files or more recently MP3s. It gives me the chance to mix the way I want and get the levels even. Using an usb sound card it is easy to plug my guitar in and have predetermined levels. I prefer the use of BIAB generated tracks to downloaded karaoke type tracks as I can get them to sound more like a live band behind me. I do my own guitar work, breaks etc. The BIAB band behind me has a couple of guitars, bass and drums sometimes with piano, or pedal steel, banjo, mandolin or fiddle not too much at any one time.
That's the way I like it (no egos to contend with and no arguments either).
Tony
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home,
Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612
BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
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Wonderful cover. I'm impressed!
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Wonderful cover. I'm impressed! Thank you. Regards, Bob
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FWIW I create singing backing tracks in BB, don about a dozen so far,and once I am happy I freeze the tracks and balance it all in the mixer and then export it as a wav.These all get put in my andrex (joke) tablet and I create a playlist in the Player in there and bobsharunkle.
Works for me anyway,but then again Im still a beginner.
Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
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