BIAB is not really geared toward the live player. Some folks do use it live but in these instances more like a midifile player than an arranger. I don't think you can use Yamaha .sty files in BIAB without modifying them btw. They both have a .sty extension, but the formats are not the same. Much like the Korg PA series and Yamaha series boards both use .sty files, but they are structured in a completely different way from one another.

Don't be fooled by the 2 variations though. There are several subvariatons within each BIAB variation, so you wind up with more than the 4 variations you get with most arrangers.

I've used OMB live, and continue to keep it on hand as a backup. It sounds good enough with SGM 180 and / or Bennett's another XG soundfont, provided I add some effects to each instrument channel. My main reason for using softsynths though is that the overall quality of lead or panel voices is unmatched by anything hardware that I've ever played, and that my system is open ended so that I can add the modules and sample sets of my choosing.

The interface of OMB is fine for me. Pretty much every function I need to use in real time can be controlled using my Motif ES as my midi controller.

AJ


[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 06-09-2006).]