View Full Version : Band in a box
ErnieP
Jan-18-2008, 11:58am
I have been playing around with the demo version of this software. Quite fun. I'm thinking of springing for the real thing. There are a couple of bluegrass add-ons available as well.
Anybody have any comments on this program?
Thanks
Steve Cantrell
Jan-18-2008, 12:08pm
It's a great tool to have. I use it a good bit for looping 1-4-5 chords and then doing some random improvisation. Worth the buy. There are lots of files out there made by users that can be imported and used as a backing track.
Pete Martin
Jan-18-2008, 5:19pm
Great, get it!
Doug Hoople
Jan-18-2008, 5:28pm
Think of it as a metronome that also fills in the harmony and some of the stylistic elements as well. It's a tool, and, as such, it's terrific.
BiaB is a great tool! I used it for practice one night when everyone else in the band had a great break and I didn't -- I put all the chords in, and jammed with it ovr and over until a break pattern fell into place.
Frank T.
Jan-19-2008, 11:33pm
I like to write songs on it. I write out the chords in BIAB and I assign it a "style" ... anything from blues to bluegrass to Rock etc...The "style" adds the bass, piano parts etc in that style. Once the song is written I export as a midi file which separates the file into the different instrument parts ( piano, bass, drums, organ... I bring it into Ableton Live. Once there I assign each part an instrument. If I am not satisfied with the instruments in Ableton, I load up Reason 3.0 and use those instruments. I then usually add vocals, guitar , mandolin etc and in no time you have a very professional sounding demo. Here's a quick simple song I wrote using the method. I probably used one of the folk rock styles and it generated the underlying bass, piano parts... ( better than I could have played them)
http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=1027191&t=7401
I Love BIAB....use it to figure out the tougher passages....Nothing compares to practicing with the real people, but you've got to admit, these programs are very useful.....I love the metronome as well!
leathermarshmallow
Jan-21-2008, 10:26am
After reading your posts about BIAB, I researched a little about it. The new version with bells and whistles is around $400. I decided to buy one, but I cannot afford that. I found a brand new "pro" version of 2007 BIAB on EBAY for $50. I got it and can't wait to see what I can do with it. I am not a great musician, but I have a daughter that is quite talented. I hope it will help us both out.
yoshka
Jan-21-2008, 10:53am
kvk posted a link to me when I was asking about BIAB not to long ago. If you're into bluegrass, visit the site:
My Webpage (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/d.k.marshall/)
and download the #allsgu.zip file. A large number of songs.
(having trouble using the hypertext commands so here's the site: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/d.k.marshall/
I got a copy for Christmas, but I'm danged if I can figure out how to use it well. I need to devote a weekend to playing with it, I guess. I can't quite figure out how to get the repeats to fall into place correctly.
HogTime
Jan-24-2008, 11:25am
Yep, BIAB is fairly complicated with so many features, but a great product.
They have a very helpful forum (like here) with lots of very knowledgeable folks. Give it a look:
BIAB Forum (http://www.pgmusic.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB1&lang=english)
Thanks Ralph. I bookmarked the page.
Ken Olmstead
Jul-22-2008, 3:16pm
I just got a copy after not having it for several years. WOW! Some of the new features are amazing. The real tracks have LOTS of promise! I used the Audio Chord Wizard yesterday and was absolutely blown away by its capability. It imported a Beatles song from an albulm on my computer and accurately produced the entire chord chart for the song. Not only does it correctly identify sus chords and other complexities but it inputs the WHOLE arrangement into BIAB for you! I may be easily impressed by technology but holy smokes!! This is an indispesable practice tool. I had 10 songs entered in two days and plug my laptop into my home stereo and blissfully practice at nausium! Very FUN!
groveland
Jul-22-2008, 3:24pm
It imported a Beatles song from an albulm on my computer and accurately produced the entire chord chart for the song
Yikes!
swampy
Jul-23-2008, 11:51am
I've been using it for years. I create chord charts for all the songs I know. Not as good as playing with other people, but it really is a band-in-a-box. My timing really improved since using it. Highly recommend it.
Brandon Flynn
Jul-23-2008, 4:44pm
I use it for practicing improv. Cause you can't get another person to play the same chord progression for half an hour while you constantly take your improv nowhere. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
BiaB is a great tool! #I used it for practice one night when everyone else in the band had a great break and I didn't -- I put all the chords in, and jammed with it ovr and over until a break pattern fell into place.
I"ve used it for the same thing. About 45 minutes in a room with BiaB, and I too had a great break. The cool thing is you can take it as slow or fast as you want.