Getting started with B4 II

Having recently purchased B4 II, I thought it would be helpful to guide other newbies through my experience of setting it up on an Intel Mac OS X with Logic Express.

1. Install the software as per the manual. It won't work as you as you expect but stick with it! Logic Express didn't recognize it at this stage, neither did it recognize my Tascam-122L interface.

2. You can't get very far without registering it with NI. The Registration Tool.app included with B4 II was a spectacular failure so I downloaded and ran the Service Centre App from the NI website. This worked OK and enabled me to register the software. I already had a password having previously registered Kontakt Player and Garritan Jazz and Big Band.

3. The version I purchased was version 1.0.0. which was not fully compatible with my Intel Mac running OS X 10.5.8. I downloaded and installed an update 2.04.0 from the NI website and everything ran beautifully, both stand-alone and within Logic Express.

On a personal note: I am 61 years old and LOVE! this great bit of software. This is the stuff of fantasy when I was lad - a B3 for £65? - bargain!

 

Thanks for notes.

I too got a cut price version in UK which I intend installing on a pc.

Could you tell me if the virtual volume pedal can be mapped onto a real volume pedal? If so I'll look out for a controller with a volume pedal.

 

Yes - most of the functions can be assigned to Control Change messages including the swell pedal (eg you can assign the pitch bend control on your keyboard to control the rotator speed). My keyboard doesn't have a swell pedal input so I can't comment on its effectiveness but I did try using the pitch bender as a swell and it worked OK.

Hope this helps.

 

Interesting. Will look out for controller keyboard with volume pedal.