PG Music has released version 2007.5 build 236 of Band-in-a-Box Version 2007.
Summary of changes:
- Added: "Favor Brushes", "Favor Sticks" settings. When selecting RealDrums styles to use for a style, BB will use your preferences for brushes and sticks. For example, if you choose "Favor Brushes", BB will always choose from among variations that include brushes (when available).
- Added: RealDrums Variations of instruments with each play. Most RealDrums styles (starting with RealDrums set 5) contain may instrument variations (brushes vs. Sticks, HiHat vs. Ride Cymbal, Percussion only etc.). Now, by selecting Prefs-Real Drum Settings - choose different Variations with each play, you can hear a different variation each time play is pressed, so the song sounds fresh each time. One time you'll hear it with "brushes", the next time with sticks and ride cymbals, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 1-RealDrums style saved with a song ('File-Save with patches' dialog), 2-RealDrums style saved with the StyleMaker, or 2-Global option in the RealDrums dialog.
- Added: RealDrums Compatible song/style finder. In the RealDrums Settings dialog, there are now buttons that will, for a chosen RealDrums style, enable you to (1) play the RealDrums demo song, (2) show a menu of BB styles that would work with the Real Drum style and (3) play a song demo of various BB styles that work with the Real Drum style. N/A is shown for styles that are available from PG Music but that you do not have. N/A is shown for styles that are available from PG Music but that you do not have.
- Added: Clear Button added to the RealDrums Dialog.
- Added: Selectable Folder for your RealDrums styles. Now you can choose any folder (e.g. e:\Drums) for your RealDrums. This allows you to, for example, conserve space on your C:\ drive.
- Added: 'Install' button in the RealDrums dialog that will prepare any RealDrums audio files in the Drums folder by converting them from WMA or MP3 to wave.
- Added: RealDrums feature that checks if the tempo of the RD style you are loading is in the appropriate tempo range for your song, and warns you if it isn't. It will give you the warning if the song tempo is more than 10 BPM slower than the slowest RD style, or 50 BPM faster than the fastest RD style, in which case it may sound poor.
- Added: RealDrums styles can now have 2 separate feels, for example Bossa and Swing, with different push amounts, and custom fills for transitioning between substyles.
- Added: People making their own styles benefit from the Developer Mode, that outputs TXT files with information about their style-in-progress. Now they can render a batch of songs, which will all save separate TXT files, useful for analyzing their styles. Also, Bars Blocked limit increased to 2,000 bars.
- Improved: In the Style picker, when choosing "Song Demo", the melody patch used will be the one from the demo, even if you've set "Change Melody Patches" in the dialog. This insures that you'll always hear the correct melody instrument for the demo.
- Improved: Improved Vista support - Recording panel button opens up the Vista Sound Control Panel, with tips on enabling/disabling microphone/line-in recordings.
- Added: Audio Chord Wizard version 2.1. Better detection of chords, bar lines, and tempos.
- Improved: Audio Chord Wizard - 2 chords per bar can now be detected (previously only 1 per bar).
- Improved: Audio Chord Wizard - Faster chord interpretation and scrolling.
- Improved: Audio Chord Wizard - No requirement to "Set Bar 1" as the first bar line. Can renumber bars at any time. Automatically attempts to find a valid Bar One location.
- Added: Audio Chord Wizard - Hotkeys (and remote control support) added to navigate around the song.
- Improved: 'Set Bar One' function more accurately estimates bar lines throughout the entire song.
- Added: Tap F8 or enter to set bar line locations. Often 2 taps are enough for the entire song.
- Added: Help button and menu to access documentation directly from the Audio Chord Wizard.
- Added: Right-click item for individually changing the time signature of one or more bars. This feature never moves barlines, just re-interprets inside selected bars.
- Added: New Audio Chord Wizard utility dialog that allows you to generate and remove tempo maps. After using the Audio Chord Wizard for an MP3 (or another audio) file, an automatic tempo map is created, so that the MIDI styles in Band-in-a-Box sync to the Audio File for the whole song. This allows you to remix an existing MP3, by adding a BB style to the MP3. For example, add strings or congas to an existing song, (or a trumpet solo, or chord reharmonization, etc.) and they stay in sync for the whole song, and can be all played or rendered to a WAV file. The tempo map can be added, removed, re-added etc. from the song at any time.
- Added: Audio Chord Wizard utility - Automatic detection of key signature based on the chords only. This is useful for a song from the Audio Chord Wizard, where you forgot to set the key signature or for any song without the key signature set.
- Added: Audio Chord Wizard Utilities dialog added, with handy options to 1. Make/Remove tempo map in Band-in-a-Box 2. Remove audio file from song 3.Auto-set Key signature, with button present in the Audio Chord Wizard (4) enable/disable the BB MIDI style.
- Improved: Bar One Drawn More-Bold, easier to identify.
- Improved: Set Bar One is automatically applied to the first F8 or Enter Key press, if Bar One has not already been set by the user. Set Bar One is automatically applied to the first Mouse-Dragged Barline, if Bar One has not already been set by the user.
- Added: Audio Chord Wizard - Right-Click menu option "Reset Barlines". This clears all the user's barline edits, and performs the equivalent of a Set Bar One on wherever the current Bar One location happens to be.
- Added: Kill Audio File now gives a message informing that you need to save the file to completely remove it.
- Added: Support for Styles Sets 67-68.
- Added: Support for Soloist Sets 19-20.
- Added: Support for RealDrums Sets 6-10.
- Updated: Help file and manual updated, including improved Audio Chord Wizard documentation.
