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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 260
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Joined: Jan 2016
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Hi folks. Thoughts, please.
1st, I am not a techie kinda person, so speak to me as you would a child.
My dog is getting super lonely while I sit in my office/studio at my PC so much of the day/night with work and BIAB. I'm not kidding, he is one sad guy.
I need to get an inexpensive (as possible) PC laptop that would be dedicated to BIAB and a DAW to use in my den. Used is fine. I won't run any unrequired programs on it. No Office Suite (Word), etc.
What do you think would be the minimal parameters it would need? Or, any suggestions for make/models? Cheap. Used. I'll need small-ish monitors there also, so if you have suggestions, I'll take them.
Thanks.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra Windows 8 and 10 Scarlet 18i8 Reaper and Mixpad
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jul 2000
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We know that BIAB 2016 requires a PC that scores around 1500 minimum on the single-core Geekbench test (a free utility you can download). You could pretty easily test a candidate laptop.
KRK and M-Audio make pretty good small monitors for the money.
Can't help with the dog.
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Aug 2011
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Goodwill stores in my area sell used desk and laptop computers. They refurbish them and update the operating system. Used laptops start at about $100.
Of course bigger is better but truthfully any present day laptop you get should handle Band-in-a-Box. The big difference you will notice is it will take longer for the program to open up because laptop hard drives normally are slower than desktop hard drives (5,400 rpm for most laptop hard drives versus 7,200 or 10,000 rpm for desktop). Once the program loads up it operates from the computer memory.
The laptop I'm using is four years old and works fine.
Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: May 2000
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My personal suggestion; Surface Pro It may not seem worth it at first, but down the road you'll likely appreciate the choice. Just my opinion. I've seen these be very reliable workhorses in various situations. Value over time and all that .. YMMV
Last edited by rharv; 10/25/16 05:07 PM.
Make your sound your own! .. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jan 2016
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You guys are the best. Thank you.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra Windows 8 and 10 Scarlet 18i8 Reaper and Mixpad
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jan 2016
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HA! He's gonna be so happy.
I have a 10 year old laptop, runs Vista and it will not run BIAB consistently. Freezes or takes 10 mins to load (then freezes). I can't upgrade the operating system. It's fine for surfing, but not much more.
Thanks for your help, Matt!
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra Windows 8 and 10 Scarlet 18i8 Reaper and Mixpad
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Newegg has a number of refurbished laptops. You may want to take a look. Also regardless of what laptop you purchase be sure to delete all of the bloat ware that comes with them. Also be sure to make a couple of backup discs. Good luck.
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Whenever I re-install from restore discs, or purchase a new computer, I always run PC-Decrapifier to get rid of the bloatware that comes pre-installed.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA BB2024/UMC404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/MixBus/Notion/Finale/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jan 2016
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Thanks for the bloatware tips! And Decrapifier! What a great name.
I buy and lease real estate and I had an old, eccentric codger I dealt with... old wealthy family that owned a lot of real estate and radio stations and shopping centers, etc. His office was in an ancient, 2-pump Texaco gas station, dark and dusty/musty...creepy as hell, filled with filing cabinets and old newspapers.
He had a clause in all his contracts everyone had to include, entitled:
My Anti-Legal-Rip-off Clause.
We was my hero!
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra Windows 8 and 10 Scarlet 18i8 Reaper and Mixpad
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 408
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Sep 2016
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I buy and lease real estate and I had an old, eccentric codger I dealt with... old wealthy family that owned a lot of real estate and radio stations and shopping centers, etc. His office was in an ancient, 2-pump Texaco gas station, dark and dusty/musty...creepy as hell, filled with filing cabinets and old newspapers.
He had a clause in all his contracts everyone had to include, entitled:
My Anti-Legal-Rip-off Clause.
We was my hero!
What a character I'd walk around with that contract all day every day, making everybody I talked to sign it... just to be safe!
Will - PG Music
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Andy, not to be presumptive but it sounds like you could afford something nice.
I would get a newer lappy with at least 8 gigs ram and most importantly a minimum 256 gig SSD running Win 10 and a 1 or 2 TB standard HD for storage. You install the full Biab including all the RT's on the SSD.
Biab or RB opens in like 5 seconds and your songs generate in maybe 4 seconds. This allows you to do all kinds of experimentation to check out different styles or arrangements or adding different RT's without waiting for "eons" for the thing to regenerate each time.
You will be so much happier, trust me on this. Check out my sig I got my new system last July.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Yeah, but I'm a frugal guy. I don't disagree, you are absolutely right about not under-buying. I've certainly done that before. I wish I'd have started out with a higher quality guitar when I was 15 and not have spent years incrementally "buying up." I'm thinking because of the den's layout, I can't have large-ish monitors there and will need to do anything really serious at the PC. Not that I know how to mix regardless of the PC speed/monitors/blind luck, but I can goof around on the LT with instruments and tempo and such. But I'm going to look at everything from all angles, so everyone's input is greatly, greatly appreciated. I definitely don't want to buy anything that I should have known beforehand would not even run BIAB. Thanks guys.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra Windows 8 and 10 Scarlet 18i8 Reaper and Mixpad
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Dec 2003
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IF you buy used or refurbished and If you plan on getting on the Internet then be sure to look for something that has Windows 10 installed. All other versions of Windows will be unsupported soon. Thus you will have to shell out another $100 USD to buy Windows 10.
Personally I wouldn't buy anything that doesn't have Win 10 installed but YMMV.
PS - If you never get on the Internet with this computer then it probably doesn't matter what OS you use. I say probably because I'm sure there will be or there already is software that require Win 10.
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up. Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jan 2013
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Expert
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[quote=Andy A - USA]Yeah, but I'm a frugal guy. I don't disagree, you are absolutely right about not under-buying. I've certainly done that before. I wish I'd have started out with a higher quality guitar when I was 15 and not have spent years incrementally "buying up." /quote] I didn't read every response. I would only submit that I tend to think too many 'under-buy'. In this context....being 'frugal' is one thing, being imprudent with a purchase of this nature is another. I would suggest buy something that you will not grow out of in a short amount of time. Happy spending....carry on.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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BTW, Windows 7 (Service Pack 1) extended support ends on 14 January 2020.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA BB2024/UMC404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/MixBus/Notion/Finale/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Sep 2016
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PG Music Staff
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[quote=Andy A - USA]Yeah, but I'm a frugal guy. I don't disagree, you are absolutely right about not under-buying. I've certainly done that before. I wish I'd have started out with a higher quality guitar when I was 15 and not have spent years incrementally "buying up." /quote] I didn't read every response. I would only submit that I tend to think too many 'under-buy'. In this context....being 'frugal' is one thing, being imprudent with a purchase of this nature is another. I would suggest buy something that you will not grow out of in a short amount of time. Happy spending....carry on. Exactly, if you buy a pair of boots that lasts for a year for $60 instead of a pair that lasts for 5 years for $200, you lose out in the long run! The buy-it-for-life philosophy
Will - PG Music
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Everybody's needs are different. Something else to consider is do you have a HD TV in the den? Win 10 has a great feature called wireless display. It's a two piece USB gadget you buy from MS for $50 that lets you use a high def TV as your computer monitor wirelessly. You don't then need a large lappy with a 19" screen. Or, like was suggested earlier, look at a Surface Pro because they all have SSD's. The new 4's are expensive for the i5 256gig models but the Surface Pro 3's sell used for $5-600 on Amazon. There are a ton of vids on YT about using a Surface Pro for music.
For me I already have a set up where I run a 25' HDMI cable from my bedroom, through the wall into the living room to my new 60" 4K TV and I'm telling you running Biab on that big screen is just great. If your den is small you can buy a 32-42" HDTV for a few hundred bucks. Use that wirelessly from a Surface Pro and you have something you can have some fun with.
I know you're talking about your den but what about your living room? If you have a big screen set up there with a nice home theater sound system guess what I would do? Get a Surface Pro and run it wirelessly in there using your sound system with Biab and forget the den.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Everybody's needs are different. Bob Of course, I certainly agree, generally speaking. But...on this thread topic, us music/recording junkies need to think 3-4 years down the road...minimum. IE: over time, adding more intensive music programs/apps putting more demands on our system with FX/signal processing and a personal evolving that may incorporate recording with others of like mind. I'd always recommend purchasing a system (or any hardware unit) that exceeds the criteria that we might erroneously think we can live with....going minimalist can frequently be a costly, shortsighted decision. Personally....I'd never go refurbished and to my research homework. I'd bite the bullet, put on a credit card if necessary, go new, get the warranty and record on. But, that's just me and I have been wrong in the past. Just things to ponder before pulling the trigger. Not taking issue here...just qualifying my take on it. Back to it....
Last edited by chulaivet1966; 10/27/16 06:37 AM.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Well, thanks everyone. Those suggestions gave me the minimums to shoot for and there are a lot of refurbed units out there that meet all of them and they're in the $350 range. Newegg has a bunch. Cha-ching. Throw some little monitors in and I'm good to go.
Frugal and Imprudent. Thrifty, economical, AND prudent, vs. rash, ill-advised and ignorant. Hmmm...
BIAB is important to me, but so are a lot of things. The money tree I ordered never came.
And like a lot of folks here I'm sure (and they could buy me out 10 times with the money they carry in their shoe), I owe no one. Conservative house, car, c-cards, all zeros. And that's a nice feeling.
Last edited by Andy A - USA; 10/27/16 02:06 PM.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra Windows 8 and 10 Scarlet 18i8 Reaper and Mixpad
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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That's great advice, Bob, and several of those comments came while I was writing mine, so I appreciate the restating, C1966.
I have a great room house (den/living room all one), but it's not huge (the house). I do have HDTV and the wireless application you mentioned is really interesting.
Thanks.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra Windows 8 and 10 Scarlet 18i8 Reaper and Mixpad
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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User Video: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 German for Windows is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!
Wir waren fleißig und haben über 50 neue Funktionen und eine erstaunliche Sammlung neuer Inhalte hinzugefügt, darunter 222 RealTracks, neue RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, abspielbare RealTracks Set 3, abspielbare RealDrums Set 2, zwei neue Sets von "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 und mehr!
Paket | Was ist Neu
Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
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