Band In A Box

Please don’t ban me from this prestigious forum for mentioning this software but does anyone use Band in a Box together with a Technics keyboard. As I can’t call myself a musician I thought it might be worth buying as a musical training aid.

It would be useful if styles could be swopped to and from my KN7000.

Any comments welcome

Glen

Hi Glen

That is perfectly OK. I have had BIAB for years, and have a KN7000(amongst others). I occasionally use it with a laptop and controller keyboard, but don't think you can interchange any styles, except maybe, a midifile to the KN7000. The program is great for what it does, but it won't change chords on the fly. If you know something I don't, please let us know.
Bernie

Just to add a bit information to this post. I did buy Band in a Box version 2009 as I thought it would make a good training aid, but I'm having awful problems trying to get it to communicate with the KN7000. I have the midi in and midi out set to the Panasonic midi driver, if I then load a demo song into BIAB and press play the KN's rhythm starts playing. I can stop this by turning off Realtime Commands in the KN's Midi options. However very often the drum tracks play as a piano until I press GM reset in BIAB then the KN's Realtime Commands turns itself back on and the rhythm starts again.

I don't know if the problem is BIAB or my KN7000 and no one in the BIAB forum knows anything about the KN Keyboards.

I think I may have just wasted about £100.

Glen

Glen,
I did not find the KN7000 Midi friendly, there is much to learn. If #10 are drums on the Midi file and #10 is piano on the KN7000 you will need to revoice the instruments.

It has been a while since I worked with midi but there are some very talented men on this forum that can help and explain.

No, you did not waste your money, you just bought a tool that will help you to learn.

John C.

John

I have been trying to master midi on this keyboard for some time using programs such as Cubase, but as you say its not very midi friendly. Some people in the past have said use midi presets but even that doesn't really work. If you look in the blue reference guide under midi presets it shows the settings it configures.

With regard to BIAB it works OK if you use the built in software synth, but as soon as you try and use the KN as the sound source one problem occurs after another. I wish now I had got this sorted when there was proper Technics support available. The manual is basically just a reference guide when it comes to midi.

Can anyone suggest a midi wizard on this forum that I could send a personal message to try and sort this problem out. Anything I learn I will repost for the benefit of others.

Glen

Glen,
I have a close friend put the midi idea behind him and is turning out some great midi files with his KN7000. I did my best recordings when I learned to use the KN 7000 sequencer, I no longer needed my encore
/Cakewalk program.

John C.

Glen, I don't quite understand why you wish to use an external sequencing program, when the KN7000 has an excellent 16 track sequencer already built in - or am I missing something??

Bill. or am I missing something??

Yes you are. BIAB is a auto song generating software which I have used from the old ATARI computer day.
My main usage is set BIAB to auto generate a Solo Improvisation around a melody. This is an excellent program and I would not look on it a purely just a sequencer as it has many wonderful thing under it's belt.
Anyone wanting to have a play can download a demo from www.pgmusic.com

Hi Bill

Your right about the KN's sequencer its first class if you are a good keyboard player but I am more of a guitarist and if I create a sequence there are normally so many mistakes I like to see and edit it pictorially, thats where Cubase comes in. Its also great for recording several tracks of audio (in my case guitar parts).

My idea initially on buying BIAB was so I could quickly type in chords from a Fake Book, it literally only takes seconds, then try playing the melody. So it was meant as a learning package more than anything. The only thing I don't like about BIAB is most of the styles have a Jazzy feel and Jazz is not one of my favourite musical styles.

Glen

[This message has been edited by Glen Coyne (edited 04-01-2009).]

Glen. The larest version BIAB 2009 MegaPack contains some very nice other style types far removed from the jazz feel.

One of the problems I have with using KN7000 to computer is that the USB drivers for the KN stopped, perhaps at Windows XP, whereas my laptop has moved on to Vista.
If anyone has a solution I would be delighted to hear.
Keith

Hi Keith

If the Technics driver is a self run program, (You double click it to install) then copy it to your hard drive, right click and choose properties, select the compatibility tab and choose Windows XP, click apply then OK.

Run the program as normal (Double click) and you may find it will then work.

The above is not guaranteed to solve the problem, (Drivers are more difficult then programs) but works in a lot of instances.

Hope this helps

Bill

My idea initially on buying BIAB was so I could quickly type in chords from a Fake Book, it literally only takes seconds, then try playing the melody. So it was meant as a learning package more than anything. The only thing I don't like about BIAB is most of the styles have a Jazzy feel and Jazz is not one of my favorite musical styles.
Glen

Glen, You can do the same thing on the KN7, probably faster. I feel it is better to master the KN7, find all of the many possibilities. Years back as a guitar player I was able to create many involved sequences using the KN7. Italian polkas, Discos, and piano solos. I sequenced Errol Gardner’s arrangement of misty note for note, added some strings and a bass line. At that time my piano skills were not good.

I have BIAB,OMB, and an advanced edition of Sonar, I decided to spend my time on the KN7 the rewards were more. Sonar has a large learning curve and after listening to some of the sequence created on the KN7 I decided it was the best way to go. There are some great players/artists on this forum that always seem happy to help.

In My Humble Opinion, John C.

Hi John

Thanks for your post you make a very good point. What I am trying to achieve using these programs is reasonably good performance (song) from the KN7000 using all of its great sounds.

With Cubase, BIAB and the KN7000 all having a large learning curve I may not be getting the best from the KN7000 because my time is taken up learning the other programs.

Your post has given me something to think about - Thanks John

Glen

Hi Glen,

I haven't played with BIAB for quite some time but did make up a complete set of KN7000 Patch files for the companion sequencer program, Power Tracks Pro. The patches.ini file for PTP can be used to generate KN7000 patch files for BIAB and allow you to use the full range of KN sounds directly from BIAB. I have emailed a copy of my patches.ini file.

Len

Len

Many thanks, recieved it ok.

I am going away for a couple of weeks from Sunday so won't have access to a computer. I'll take a closer look when I get back.

Glen