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I was quite surprised to discover that many well known South African artists use Band in a Box to create backing tracks for their performances. I have seen one performer, Dozi last year and was very impressed with the sound quality.

In rand terms the price tag for the software is quite steep. So curiority kills the cat, who uses BIAB or Garageband or any other commercial music generating software. VSTi and DAW do not count.

(old forum) Poll Results: What Apple or Windows software is used to create music and ideas

  • Band in a Box (Apple): 0
  • Band in a Box (Windows): 2
  • Garage Band (Apple): 0
  • Muse score (Windows): 0
  • Other: 0
    I just bought GarageBand about a week ago. R80 — I was impressed at that price seeing as I've heard such good things about it.

    It looks awesome and I was hoping to use it to enter this month's competition but time is always a problem. I'm slammed with work.

    Anyway, I'd recommend it. It's pretty straightforward and there are some good videos (and some SHYTE ones) on YouTube, showing you how to get the max out of it.

    I'll be using my Rocksmith cable with it. It's a nice bonus that it supports that. Saves me from buying some interface I might never use.

    PS: I don't play professionally. I just screw around at home.
      I've been using Band-In-A-Box for years. In its earlier incarnations it was midi only, but nowadays uses audio recordings of first class musicians (Brent Mason for one). It is a time saver of note, as it can give very respectable basic backing. The real kicker is when you port the tracks across to a DAW. I use Sonar X1. There, if you have the facilities, you can add to, and do whatever your skill level is capable of. I'd say that a good level of harmonic knowledge would make the program more useful. There's some things that are difficult to do- triplets, for one. It's possible to do them in BIAB, but results can be uneven, so I usually do it in Sonar. Also you need to update every year ☹ .Highly recommended. Here's a track I did in a smooth jazz feel, but it has just about every style yo can possibly think of. Only the lead guitars are added- there was a fair amount of audio editing though.
        Stoffeltoo wrote: I was quite surprised to discover that many well known South African artists use Band in a Box to create backing tracks for their performances. I have seen one performer, Dozi last year and was very impressed with the sound quality.

        In rand terms the price tag for the software is quite steep. So curiority kills the cat, who uses BIAB or Garageband or any other commercial music generating software.
        VSTi and DAW do not count.
        I've made him a batch of tracks a few years back, proper
        Recordings of his own songs and a few covers.
        He also uses his album recordings minus the vox
        And the usual karaoke tracks as well.
        Dozi, that is.
        ?
          bruciekins wrote: I've been using Band-In-A-Box for years. In its earlier incarnations it was midi only, but nowadays uses audio recordings of first class musicians (Brent Mason for one). It is a time saver of note, as it can give very respectable basic backing. The real kicker is when you port the tracks across to a DAW. I use Sonar X1. There, if you have the facilities, you can add to, and do whatever your skill level is capable of. I'd say that a good level of harmonic knowledge would make the program more useful. There's some things that are difficult to do- triplets, for one. It's possible to do them in BIAB, but results can be uneven, so I usually do it in Sonar. Also you need to update every year ☹ .Highly recommended. Here's a track I did in a smooth jazz feel, but it has just about every style yo can possibly think of. Only the lead guitars are added- there was a fair amount of audio editing though.
          Thanks Bruce.
          I have been using BIAB for about 9 months so the gestation period is over and I must start producing. I do not have the 2017 version yet but will upgrade soon. Most of my tracks are ported to Reaper with some post production mixing. BTW great tune on Sound cloud, those harmonies are deliciously sweet.

            What about Virtual Arranger?(VA2)

            This is a killer program that emulates an arranger keyboard(think BiaBox but in realtime! You can also type in the chords like Biab though)
            It can play all styles (yamaha, korg, roland , ketron) and can be controlled via a midi keyboard or guitar. I have used it with midiguitar2 ($100)and it doesn't need any special pickup - just audio from your guitar pickup(acoustic or electric) via any audio interface. (eg edirol ua-25 etc.)

            So, it reads your guitar chords and the accompaniment/style follows them in real time- wonderful for jamming!
            It is especially great if used with a touch screen computer. Cost is 350 Euro which includes a very good quality virtual sound module.(although you can also substitute your own plug-in's and samples)
            The designer/ programmer, Dan, is French and is a one-man show. He is extremely helpful with setting up or solving any issues.

              If not a DAW or VST it counts, thanks for the info, looks interesting
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