So my point is that no matter what PG calls their product (Everything, Max, Ultimate, Supreme, etc.), short of "almost" or "just about" in the title, some people are probably going to feel mislead.
It is certainly not the fault of the buyer for feeling mislead! We all know what terms like "Everything" and "Komplete" mean. Companies use those terms to make their potential customers think they are getting everything and complete! It is misleading and I wish all companies would just STOP it!
You don't have anything to apologize for! There are still a few hardcore BIAB fans that try and stifle any sort of criticism. Just ignore 'em! Thanks for raising the issue and getting PG's attention with hopefully some results that are better for them and their customers!
... Well, when I open up the stylemaker the only choices I see for instruments are MIDI patches. So how does one go about creating a new real style -- one that uses realtracks instead of midi instruments? What am I doing wrong that I can't access the realtracks instruments?
Open style editor, them "misc", then "more" ...
But i just found out doing so is that i really miss one cannot select "halftime", or "doubletime" in the stylemaker, as with the normal realtrack selector page. F.
I read David's Bailey thread on the Yahoo forum and decided to post here myself.
I've been a long time user of PG products since the early 90s. Certainly I felt misled by the "clear" package label "Everything" which is the package I choose when I upgrade.
No intention to upgrade this year even PG Music includes the Xtra Realtracks.
I came across this thread and have finally read through the whole thing. I can understand the confusion over the word "Everything," and when "Everything" is not really everything. I think that I too would be somewhat miffed. BTW, I bought v2017 with the Everything Pak in December 2016. I haven't made my mind up about upgrading to v2018. It'll depend upon finances and priorities.
But I wanted to report that I actually used the directions that a few members here posted as to how to create your own style. So I gave it a try and stumbled through the process. What I ended up with was a style with realband instruments playing in grooves that I preferred. I was able to save it as a style. Then I went into the style page (by clicking on the guitar and drum symbol button), elected to do the (Slow, Complete) Rebuild Styles List option. It immediately found my style and updated the list to include it.
So, success! Yay! I'll be using this style quite a bit, I expect.
I understand the confusion with the naming of the various options for BIAB. Marketing tends to push companies toward names that imply the package contains more than it does. And no naming system will perfectly describe what the option contains.
Personally, I don't care what they call the different options; name them after sandwiches, for all I care: egg salad sandwich, ham sandwich, turkey sandwich, foot-long sub with extra pickles.
The important thing for me is this: is there a clear description of what comes in the "foot-long sub with extra pickles" option (that's the one I always get).
Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts on the current Band-in-a-Box package names - we appreciate the feedback!
We've heard you, and we're on it! You will see some name changes to the different Band-in-a-Box packages offered with the release of our 2018 version... stay tuned!
Well, for me, and probably quite a few non US or Canadian resident, a download system, especially for the (large) Audiophile files would be a great thing, as import duties charged are sometimes around 28% over a parcel containing a hard-disk. Some other companies selling large software packages offer that, Toontrack, Steinberg, to name just two. IMO a torrent system makes that even easier, although probably hard to organize properly with copyrighted material- F
Yes, I was a bit bummed about this as well. (Just set up Band in A Box, and am realizing everything didn't mean everything.) Well, I knew that already because in the comparison page you can see you have to upgrade from everything to get the Wave files.
But the real bummer is that there is no way to really know what I do or don't have (as far as I can tell by looking through the site for a while) - There is no explanation page as to what really comes with the everything pak, etc.
Why is it so difficult to have a page listing what comes with what - why demos will be greyed out until you buy this or that, etc. If anyone knows where this page is, (I'm hoping,) please correct me.
On the other hand, I'd buy it again in a second. It's a very cool product.
Welcome to the forum. Yes, this is a terrific product! I've been using it since 1993.
They said they are going to work on clarifying the terms, which is good.
There are also added extras they call Bonus Paks that come along every so often, for an added purchase no matter what you have. If you get any of these, be sure to keep the installer for it in a safe place.
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
... there is no way to really know what I do or don't have (as far as I can tell by looking through the site for a while) - There is no explanation page as to what really comes with the everything pak, etc.
Why is it so difficult to have a page listing what comes with what - why demos will be greyed out until you buy this or that, etc. If anyone knows where this page is, (I'm hoping,) please correct me.
On the other hand, I'd buy it again in a second. It's a very cool product.
Although it can be a little confusing to interpret, under "Options" have a look at "What add-ons do I have?". This will list all that is installed.
It's possible to copy the contents of each window of information and then collate it in a document.
If you want to do that and then post a link to the document here on the forum we'll be able to help you determine what you do not have.
Its all about whats in a name.I bought BIAB for the first time-2017ULTRA and the Extra packs that went with it. But before I spent my husbands money(LOL)I did actually READ what each of the various options contained.SO, if you didnt,how iis it the fault of PG that you didnt get what you expected? However I do think that calling the most basic option a "PRO" is wicked(as in Naughty, not as in the modern parlance)-its next to useless in my opinion unless you are a devoted midi user. Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
IMO: PG is a quite musician friendly company with fairly priced, and sometimes even priceless, stuff. Not to forget: with a very good & supportive forum/support system; users like Noel and VideoTrack deserve a lot of credits besides the staff.
What indeed could improve is a kind of (advisory?) list of the (useful or not) extras depending of what you want or need from a program like BIAB, and maybe an option to opt out on certain stuff included with the PG package when you buy. Difficult decisions maybe, especially when someone is a rookie midi-software wise.
For me personally i am not that much into jazz, and RealBand i never used other than trying it and quickly moved on to a "proper" sequencer. In my case Cubase, but at a price compared to "freebee" Realband; shifting audio level adjustment and time stretching, inserting plugins, editing MIDI data like groove, velocity, selecting sounds and a lot more is so much easier & quicker there. All quite dodgy and complex in RealBand IMO. I would like to see a better integration with BIAB (more and more flexibillity regarding tracks within BIAB instead of a separate program?).
(BTW 64bit, the can of worms question ... Jbridge and 32bit compatible plugins no longer necessary. A lot of companies flunked or even stopped support for 32bit, like Steinberg's newest stuff, it must ring a bell somewhere in the PG offices. But hats off, & fair is fair; Halion Sonic 3 64 bit works from within BIAB; as there were questions on this forum about this i remember ... )
I must say with buying "everything" sometimes you run in to some style or realtrack you wouldn't have purchased if you had a choice, but that later turned out quite useful unexpectedly in some musical context. Why the "everything" deal each year keeps intriguing me: "what's the surprise this time?"
However, compared to what other software companies ask for their software, PGmusic's stuff is quite budget friendly, especially regarding all the work that went into the Realtracks. Just looked f.i. at Realivox "the Ladies" 399 dollars for a bit of oo-ing and aah-ing choir sounds from a VST plugin? My foot. Apparently it sells, even at 50% black Friday prices, still $199. Some software is expensive and worth it, to name stuff: Wavelab, Toontrack Easy or even Superior Drummer.
Thus, all IMO, just in case some would-have-been policeman wants to meddle with or criticize me for personal opinions .. -F
For those of us that are familiar with BIAB, and PGMusic's "nomenclature", we pretty much know what to look for and what should be included in each "package".
But for a "first timer", it's a dizzying array of information to wade through. What is/are ...
- RealBand, RealTracks, RealStyles, Real Midi (and if these are "real", is everything else "fake"?)
- MIDI Styles, MIDI Soloists, MIDI Supertracks (if you haven't been exposed to MIDI, this in itself is daunting)
And then there's (as has been discussed, probably ad nauseum)
- BIAB "Pro": wouldn't you think this would be somewhere near the "top" of the selections, that is, "this is what the Pros buy"
- MegaPAK, PlusPAK, UltaPlus Pak, EverythingPak, (and what's the advantage of an...) AudiophilePAK, not to mention the OmniPAK and then those pesky Xtra Style Sets, Melodist Sets, Soloist Sets, Andy LaVerne Solist Sets and likely a few others that I've missed
Glad to hear that PGMusic is going to try to make sense of it all to post with the 2018 Edition. Hope they get some input from the Beta Testers, and maybe ask a few people who have never heard of BIAB to take a look at what they come up with to see if it makes sense.
It's good to read that the naming convention will be changed. Every year, I have to call the fine people at PG Support to determine what I should get.
My secondary hard drive failed me last spring, and it required surgery to bring the data back. A couple of weeks ago, I was reinstalling BiaB, and I found that a number of RealTracks were being reported as NA. I was sure that I had the complete set, so I talked to PG Support.
It turned out that - despite talking to PG Support before ordering - I'd ordered the wrong pack. Perhaps I just asked the wrong question, or read their answer wrong. No problem, the matter was set right by PG.
My point is just to echo that the current naming convention is confusing, and it can be confusing to figure out where particular tracks came from.
It's probably too late to suggest names, but I think "Basic" or "Core" are good. But "Basic MIDI" is better, because it's more clear in the name what you get.
"Audiophile" is also mostly clear, mostly because it's the "top tier", so all the tracks are included.
But I'm not a fan of names like "Mega", because it gets back into the squishy naming convention that we've currently got.
Because of all the extras, it's hard to come up with a good name for some of these products. The decision to make some RealTracks "Bonus" tracks also muddies the waters.
But it's encouraging that the problem is being addressed.
So for upgrade purposes what is now equivalent to the everything pack? I have the 2017 everything pack with all of the extra styles when I upgrade 2018, to make sure I don't miss anything, what do I order?
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
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.
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!
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."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
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