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Post subject: Band-in-a-Box?
Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 4:09 pm
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Location: Calhan, CO
Anybody use PG Music's Band-in-a-Box for quickly composing backing tracks for improvisation or practice? What do you think about it in this regard?

This goes back to my original question concerning backing tracks where I wanted something flexible. I opted for the hard-to-acquire BOSS JS-5 JamStation. It works a treat but is not very flexible to 'compose' with - I usually just use the built-in songs or do some 'EZ' composing with it.

For BiaB, I like the idea of just stating the chord progression and having it 'compose' by chosen style. This is more of what I want - hard to practice over a particular chord progression on the JS-5 without programming it fully (a bit fiddly) since it tends to interject odd/complex changes that aren't in line with my practice or experience at this time.

The reason that this came to my attention is that I'm working through the July 2008 Guitar World and opposite the current page is their advert. Didn't even notice it until I was just reading the page incidentally. Amazing how focus can cause you to miss something staring you right in the face - :) (see the man-in-a-gorillasuit video if you want evidence of how easy that is!)

Thanks


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Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:15 pm
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Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:14 am
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Nobody? Nada?

I've downloaded and installed the demo. Not bad - a bit of a nightmare interface to deal with. Anything comparable? I have done a search with "Band-in-a-Box vs" to see what the competition might be but not much direct competition. GarageBand is out - I need a Windows application since I'm putting out 5.1 to a nice 550W system on it and there is no way to do that from the iMac.


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Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 3:04 pm
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Yes, I, and many other people use BiaB - for backing tracks, to swap files with other BiaB users and in help composing songs.

It takes quite a while to get around and understand all the features.
Don't get discouraged.
For the first few times, use it in a very simple way. Type in some chords, select a style and click Play. Wham! You got a song or a backing track. It is very, very cool.

They're very eager to help out and they have a very active forum at www.pgmusic.com.

Good luck and have fun.


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Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 6:57 pm
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Thanks, FirstBassman! :)

I've decided that I'm going to get it. Might go for the UltraPak just to have everything as it will sure come in handy for practice, improvisation, and even some song writing if/when I get to that point. ;)


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Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:59 pm
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No problem. Enjoy!

PG has just come out with a new version: 2008.5 as you'll see on the website.

It has a lot more "Real Tracks." As you go through the promotional material you'll see what that means.
Peter seems to be taking BiaB away from Midi and more toward "real audio."


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