The only shortcoming of BIAB, in my opinion (do other agree) besides the JAZZ feel to almost everything at least with the standard packs, is that when you use melody and it creates say a piano line, it doesn't seem to sound nor be quite tight or in the groove!

Does anyone else notice this? Is as though the melody line is somewhat off and does not quite sit well within the mix.....

Opinions? Agreements? Fixes?

thanks

I have used BiaB for many years for practicing playing leads through a song's chord changes, like jazz minus one. It is real nice for that. But I only use the drums and bass, leaving the guitar, piano, and strings turned off.

Sometimes I will use it to make a lead sheet for some song, chords only.

Band in A Box is pretty usable as a drum arranger. I used to a setup song in BiaB, then export the midi drums only. Pickup the midi drums in Sonar, and tweak them, using a decent drum synth. But now I use Jamstix for this purpose.

I have used it for song arranging, but only in unusual situations. Once I recorded My Funny Valentine using the BiaB African beat. It was unusual enough that I got away with it. For the most part, it is a little too cheesy for my taste.

I really with they had a windows interface. I have brought this up, and they insist they need to keep their legacy interface so old customers will stay happy.

They pickup the phone and are responsive to calls.

I bought the BIAB 2006 with Megapak (and the last four or five versions megapak too. I upgrade every year for about $79), and there are some very usable styles in that setup. But you have to export the file to Sonar and then you delete the crappy sounding tracks or assign them to other instruments. Sometimes I put all of the melody tracks to Piano, or substitute other instruments for those tracks until I get something I can use.

Sorry,
I'm beginner in Cakewalk and have a task to change instrument. For example I took 'Dancing Queen' mid file and put it in CPA9.03. Then I do as follows:
1.Select 1 channel, then Optimization->Instrument
2.Port/Channel choose -1:MS GS Waveable
3.Uses Instruments -> Roland GS-> Define
4.Patch Names ->Roland GS var#1->60=French Horn2
5Close, OK
and ....no any results, no change of sound
What is incorrect? Would you like to help me
Kuguar

another vote for BIAB . I beleive the creator of the product has a jazz backround , thus the bent toward "jazz" auto arrangements, I will say there are more styles now days so one should not have a problem finding a ready made style.

Also I found muting a part or two made a big difference in the groove and "real-ness", along with triggering other soft or hardware synths ..

I believe you can mix and match styles for parts also with the latest version of BIAB.

I do the upgrade path every year, for 79-99 bucks and it is money well spent. Their forums and tech support are very good .

BTW the last time I posted about BIAB "some" posters responded that it wasnt "professional" enough and merely a cheesy toy...to each his own

I use BIAB to generate all piano parts and I think that it does an admirable job. Take a listen to my link. It is embarrasing when I get praise for my piano playing on the songs board. I see it as no different to hiring a session musician.

ORIGINAL: kuguar

Sorry,
I'm beginner in Cakewalk and have a task to change instrument. For example I took 'Dancing Queen' mid file and put it in CPA9.03. Then I do as follows:
1.Select 1 channel, then Optimization->Instrument
2.Port/Channel choose -1:MS GS Waveable
3.Uses Instruments -> Roland GS-> Define
4.Patch Names ->Roland GS var#1->60=French Horn2
5Close, OK
and ....no any results, no change of sound
What is incorrect? Would you like to help me
Kuguar

Please, don't post your own question in the middle of someone else's thread (This is known as "hijacking" the thread -- bad manners).

Instead, on the main Sonar Forum page, click the New Post button, add your subject line (something like: Help Changing MIDI Track Instrument), and I'm sure you'll get the help you need.

I remember seeing a lot of user sites for BIAB out there which had collections of styles posted. Maybe some of those might not feel so jazzy.

I've used them both and own BIIB 2007 MegaPak. I find them both cheesy and somewhat useful. I think of them as idea based software, useful for chord changes and the occasional bassline. Everything BIIB spews out sounds jazzy and has no bite. Also, the interface is somewhat clumsy/wacky.

That said, just load a style, select a key and listen for interesting changes and/or lines. After that, take it into Sonar and play it out and arrange it in your way. Just my 2cents. Good luck.

Sorry once more for bad manners.Thank you musicman100 for kind reply: I use BIAB for long time
Kuguar
--------------------------------
www.freewebs.com/olegs