Isn't cheating fun sometimes?...I  mean if its not doing any harm to anyone or anything. But then maybe its not cheating because the very nature of cheating breaks the rules and what ARE the rules HHMMMMMmmmmmm?????????? :-)

Does anyone know about a good recent review of BiaB...? I want to read more about it, but most reviews are very old...

BIAB is useful for chord structuring and maybe a bit of practice. I've found that, as far as songwriting, it will rarely give you anything useful aside from interesting chord progressions. I auditioned it once and couldn't get past the GUI. The flow of it didn't work for me. In the end, I don't think it's cheating, unless you lay claim to the cheesy elevator songs it produces.

To answer a few questions: 

Yes BB can now record audio in a track.... BUT.... In Real Band, (which comes with it and where you render the Real Tracks) you have a fully functional multitrack  DAW. On a conversation with BB support, the guy asked why I wasn't using RB's DAW.  I liked MC4 better. 

I finally found a singer who seems to be willing to work with me... a friend of my daughter who has a really good voice. 


Don't let the interface in BB fool you. It looks basic and it is, which makes it easy to work with, but the real magic happens when you open that basic sketch in Real Band and replace all the tracks with the Real Instrument tracks that are available there.  Sometimes I have to render a track 3 or 4 times to get something useful, or simply to find one that sounds good and fits the groove of the song. 

Screw the reviews.... listen to the work people here (including myself) are doing using BB. Let that help you decide. 

BB has the ability to "create a song" for you, BUT.... that is basically a computer throwing chords together in commonly accepted forms.... It is so much more useful when YOU set down at a piano, or with a guitar and start working on a new idea...and then use BB to capture that idea and put it into a repeatable form. Using the "record audio" function in BB you can also record and save your melody line. 

I do not use the record audio function, choosing instead to capture the chords and play with the song structure and develop it in BB while "writing the melody" in my head....and if it's a strong melody and groove, I will remember it the next day. If not..... it wasn't a strong idea and I will write a new melody.

Hm, my main concern with BiaB right now is that I will have to wade through hundres if not thousands of presets in order to find the one that fits what I have in mind... Apart from that, afaik those RealTracks use various sounds for drums and basses so when you want to combine stuff, you may end up with various sounds in one song...? I think I could use BiaB to create a piano background or a bass track for a song I have written, those kind of tracks you have to have but are a chore to record and tweak, but using it only for that feels like a waste of money. I can't imagine BiaB coming up with a backing track I would really like because I've always been in complete control of everything... Still, as I said, it might be ideal for some background piano tracks and other stuff you need in the mix but don't have to be upfront.

Hi all,

One thing that appears to be overlooked by many (especially those critical of BIAB) is that you can create your own style from scratch.  There are even several different ways to do this.

So if you feel guilty about using the existing styles, or if you don't want to sound like everybody else that uses BIAB, then don't!

It seems to me from reading negative criticisms of BIAB over the years that most if not all of those critics don't really know much about it.  It always appears that they are familiar only with those features that are on the very surface.  It's like someone commenting on a country after merely flying over it and peering down through the clouds every now and then.

Regards,
Dave Clark
 

I bought it quite some time ago. Opened it up, seen what it would do, closed it and done.

"Cheating"? I don't know for somebody else but I know it's a personal choice and it wasn't one I cared for.
I have 19 songs posted (I think) and if I'm asked about them - I wrote and played every instrument except the drums and lyrics. I recorded and mixed all parts. Good or bad I wrote them and I played the instruments.  ( with the exception of parts by Mark Wessels on a tune) 

Should you think it's cheating then I would have cheated only myself...to me the
issue was it was something I didn't want or need. Didn't want it generating anything and
didn't care to hear the sounds generated by it. Bad enough I have to create the drum parts. Hate that and it's on of the main reasons I don't write and record more than I do.

Of course this is my opinion and not based on what the rest of the world is or is not doing.
It's simply a BS program that I have no use for and don't think I'm judging those that us it....as I really don't care what you use.

As far as selecting a style, they are all cataloged into genre and have some pretty obvious names to help you choose the right one. 

Just take notes and when you find one you like... go with it.... AND...

  I often use one style/genre in a different genre tune.  

For example.... I take a HARD ROCK LA style and use it to make a country song. This is the newest song I'm writing and here's what BB has done with it... keep in mind, the underlying style is LA HARD ROCK... listen to the drums and bass and you'll hear that style. 

Here's the tune>>>>  http://www.soundclick.com...hi&songID=11124487    All the parts except the vocalist and lead guitar solo are BB/RB tracks. Do NOT underestimate what BB can do when used properly and with some planning and creativity. 

  Nice work there Herb. Just knowing it was composed with BB heightens my awareness to it and I think I can hear the "style" it is playing, but thats only because I knew what it was,know what I mean?LOL......If you had  presented the song and I had no knowledge of it maybe I would not have listened for it or heard it.

  Your girl can sing pretty well too. I think you might have found a good fit for your type of music! I think this is a good example of a great tune made in the program.

Sounds nice indeed, but that's because BiaB is GREAT for country, where usually most players play a straightforward rhythm and other fiddle along in an improvising matter. BiaB isn't suited for the kind of pop/rock/alternative songs where each instrument plays a more composed/melodic part. BiaB is great for generic stuff, the rest you have to add in a DAW. Buying the cheapest version of BiaB is useless (not enough styles) and getting the next version for 269 bucks (or so) just to create some basic basslines and pianobackgrounds is a bit too much... I think... (still haven't decided if BiaB could be of real use to me).

If country was my kind of music, I would have bought BiaB already, no doubt about that. But I like other kinds of music. Maybe I should switch to country...? That would make my creative life a lot easier...