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Band in a Box?

MultiScaleMale

MultiScaleMale

Gold Supporting Member
Jun 19, 2003
27,228
39,033
Maryland
#1
I'm on a Mac and I'm considering BiaB but not sure it's still a quality product. The interface looks pretty dated and the intro video says "Johnny Highland" about every ten seconds. Has its day come and gone and you might as well use backing tracks you find on YouTube? Or is Band in a Box still a worthwhile product today? My usage would be to practice walking jazz and blues. The biggest drawback is that today I can pull out the bass on the original recording in Moises for like $4 / month.
 
#2
I think @Pacman was a user way back when I was first looking at BiaB. I never pulled the trigger mostly because it starts at a decent price but then by the time you get the undercoating and towing package you're up to $700 or more.
 
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#4
I haven't used it in over a decade, but my impression from when I did -- presuming the current version is at least as comprehensive as the previous ones -- is that if you want to use it to practice your soloing or accompinament when there's no live band around, it is perfectly adequate...but if you want to use it to create compelling/convincing backing tracks that people might actually listen to, it is woefully unacceptable.
 
#5
I used it for a while in high school and a bit in college to practice muh yazz walking bazz. What it did for me was to delay feeling fully comfortable playing in the style. You need to practice on your own, and analyze records, in order to really learn to dictate the harmony and the direction of the bass line. BIAB was a crutch that I THOUGHT was a helpful tool.

But that's just my experience with one possible application of the product. YMMV.
 
#6
I actually did a project with BIAB. You can find the link, below. I'd say is feature-packed, for sure, but, to me, cumbersome to use. It has some great sounds, styles, and genres to choose from. It can be daunting to work with, though. You can judge whether it's worth doing more than practice or demo projects.

Basshawk Music - All songs ©Basshawk Music
 
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#8
Band in a Box 2023 Mac upgrades are on special at the moment for the release of the Mac 2023 version.

Cheapest way to get the higher packages is to get the lowest Pro version during the year, and then get an upgrade when its on special. This seems to happen twice a year. Around May/June for Mac and Nov/Dec for PC.
 
#10
bigboy_78 said:
If you're just working through standards for practice, doesn't the iReal app do a similar thing for basically $0?
Click to expand...

Yeah there are some similarities. I started using iReal Pro for standards and a few etudes from Modern Walking Bass Technique. It has benefits and drawbacks. Like the layout limitations, for instance if I wanted a readable etude from modern walking bass technique in Ireal I would need to split it over two files. If I wanted it in one play through it is really cramped.

I moved over to Band In A Box because the sounds are just so much better and more varied - repeat the standard and it automatically changes some of the style to vary things up, as well as some styles having multiple subsets that you can change up during the track. The RealTracks are real musicians and sound great - Ron Carter did some of the lines in some later RealTracks. I'm enjoying practicing more with BIAB, and for standards you really can get away with the Pro (lowest) version as that has a lot of Jazz RealTracks.

Ireal Pro is great and does the job, BIAB I find more dynamic and fun to play around with. If you go the BIAB route, don't get the higher packs first, get the cheapest Pro version, then wait for a sale (DEC for Win, May/June for Mac) and upgrade at 50% off. It works out a lot cheaper, still a few hundred bucks, but a fraction of the cost to jumping in at the higher ends.
 
#11
Check out www.karaoke-version.com custom tracks. You can mix your own tracks that don’t include bass or include just a hint of bass for reference. $3 a track, re-mix all you want at anytime. Yes, there’s a cost, but, it’s fast and for $150 you can build a library of a whole night’s show to practice too.

Also, Moises has an AP and website that use AI to remove bass or other instruments from MP3’s. It has a small fee but also works well.
 
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#12
tshapiro said:
Check out www.karaoke-version.com custom tracks. You can mix your own tracks that don’t include bass or include just a hint of bass for reference. $3 a track, re-mix all you want at anytime. Yes, there’s a cost, but, it’s fast and for $150 you can build a library of a whole night’s show to practice too.

Also, Moises has an AP and website that use AI to remove bass or other instruments from MP3’s. It has a small fee but also works well.
Click to expand...

If you want to do these kinda of mixes for free, I use VirtualDJ. It has the stems option in the latest versions, so you can remove BASS, and save it as an MP3 and so on. I tried Moises and that was great, and automatic. But wanted a free option, so for me, whilst I have no desire to DJ, VirtualDJ now can separate Vocals, Bass, Instruments, Kick and High hat and save it. So far i've only done it a few times, and needed to play the track entirely saving it as it goes, but thats the price you pay for a free option. :)
 
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