PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows I just found out that the "everything pak" doesn't include everything!

Dear BIAB Mates,

I was at the PGMusic web-site yesterday, and noticed that they are
pushing "Xtra Styles Paks." There are apparently 3 paks of real styles
which have been released separately from their annual upgrades. Two of
these paks were released following the release of BAIB2016, and one of
them was released following the release of BIAB2017.

Each of these three paks costs $49 which is a reasonable price if one
wants to buy the extra styles. However the thing that concerns me is
that when I purchased the "BIAB2017 Everything Pak" it didn't include
these extra styles which were released for BIAB2016. I realize the one
released for BIAB2017 was after-the-fact so I wouldn't expect it to be
included in the "everything pak" for BIAB2017, but I would expect it to
be included in the BIAB2018 "everything pak" which will be released soon.

So I hopped on the PGMusic "chat" and raised this issue with the support
person on the other end who admitted that the "everything pak" was
deceptively named. It doesn't include "everything" despite the name.

The FAQ at PGMusic includes the following question/answer:
30. What is the difference between the Band-in-a-Box and RealBand
EverythingPAK and the PG Music OmniPAK?
The EverythingPAK includes *all* of the currently available RealTracks,
RealDrums, *Style Sets*, all the regular Soloist Sets, the Andy LaVerne
Soloist Series, and Melodist Sets. It also includes the Video Tutorial
PAK, and the 'Songs and Lessons' PAK for Band-in-a-Box. [added the
emphasis around the words "all" and "Style Sets"]

I am very disheartened that PGMusic would stoop to such lows as to tell
us that we get "all the currently available . . . Style Sets" and then
essentially say "oops, only kidding, to get certain style sets you need
to pay a lot more money."

I just thought everybody should be aware that even though you may
purchase the "everything pak" you're not getting everything and they
even admit it's deceptively titled!

Well I would suspect they were not implying there was something nefarious intended. Just acknowledging that "everything" may not have been the best term to use.

So here is how I see it. The Xtra Styles are actually NOT new styles at all, but just a application of the prior styles which came in the "everything pak". These "Xtra Styles" are PG musicians applying their skills at mixing and matching the "existing" styles including all the realtracks. So there you have it. Even the word "Xtra" is not entirely correct usage. But I would not go so far as to use the word deceptive.

Coming from Canada, maybe its because PGMusic is not native US speakers (said with a big smile).

But the description of these "xtra paks" says: (copied and pasted from the PGMusic web-site)
"Xtra Styles PAKs will add TONS of new RealStyles to your collection" -- they are *new* real styles, not reworking of older styles.

And (equally with a big smile) I'm sure that even in Canada "everything" actually means "everything."

Regarding the use of the word "deceptive" here's a quote from the PGMusic chat session I had this morning:
"The name EverythingPAK is understandably deceptive, as it isn't include literally everything."
That was from the technician at PGMusic.

By the way, have you checked out what comes with NI "Komplete" and what does not?

Big sound suites like Komplete and like BIAB and like Toontracks cost a lot of money. Combine that with the fact that they continue to grow and therefore need more money if what they provide is of value. To us users we have to decide on exactly what the value is to us and how much we want to pay.

Just sayin...

OK, on first pass that is a bit discept... - I mean confusing. But what they are implying, or should be implying, is there are no new sounds. Just a reworking of existing sounds.

Ya this is all coming back to me now. We have had this discussion here in the past. Others have pointed this out and been very vocal. What can I say.

I understand the need for a cash-flow to keep the company alive, and I'm all in favor of that, having upgraded every version along the way since the DOS days.

They could raise the price of the Everything Pak if they feel they need to, if they would only live up to what they're calling it and actually include those extra styles paks. Or change the label for what they now call the "everything pak." Label it "Almost Everything Pak" and be honest and upfront about the fact that it's not really complete.

What other companies do isn't germane to the issue -- just as when we were little children and did something bad and justified it to our parents by saying "But everybody was doing it!" and our parents pointed out that just because everybody is doing it doesn't change a bad thing into a good thing.

I realize I'm just spitting into the wind on this point, but I wanted to be sure that people who haven't been around for any previous discussions on this point understand that the "everything" pak doesn't really have everything included, even though PGMusic's own FAQ says it does.

They're very clear that these are not new sounds, but rather are new styles working with existing realtracks. That's stated very clearly. I wasn't confused about that, nor am I upset about that.

Since we can't make our own real styles, we're at the mercy of whatever they release should we want a wider palette of styles to choose from.

Don't get me wrong -- I will be buying these styles sets when the budget allows (assuming they're not included in the BIAB2018 Everything Pak) for several reasons: 1) because I really like some of the new styles and will find them useful and 2) I want to keep supporting PGMusic because I value their continued production of BIAB, just as I have supported them since I first found out about them.

I realize that buying these new styles paks will be rewarding what I view as bad behavior, but I also know that they're not likely to change their behavior just from my complaints, so I can either not buy the styles and punish PGMusic by withholding my money while also punishing myself by not getting styles that may be very useful, or I can simply bite the bullet, buy the styles, and having had my little temper tantrum here, get back to more important life issues.

Of course you can.

Every year that's even a user contest creating new styles, and many of the ones included in the Xtra Paks are.

HTH,

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?

The only five Canadian words that I know are Labatts, Molson Golden, hockey and eh

Just when you have found peace I almost hate to bring this up. But,



I am of the opinion that we can make our own real styles. Real styles are not like midi styles which involve coding. Real Styles are nothing more than; set the key, set the tempo and select a grouping of real tracks for the instruments.

BIAB tries to provide a product that can work with customers of any skill levels (that means no skill to advanced). So if you don't know that you should not have two bass players playing at the same time, or that drums should not swing when the piano is playing straight, then no problem, Real Styles are provided which give you a appropriate band playing in an appropriate manner. But if you want two bass players cause you have a jones for bass, and a swing groove against a straight backing fits your jazz mood, then you just need whatever real tracks you want to get your "real style".

Now I know this is a controversial subject and I don't want to upset anyone, but BIAB is one complex instrument that can take a very long time to master. Others may have other opinions - which are always welcome here.

Ya, what our man in Italy said...

Now you are asking the right questions.

dhbailey:

You COULD make any of the "Xtra Styles" yourself, if you've a mind to. You don't need the "Stylemaker" as you've found out. You just start with a "blank" style, or any existing style, and add the same RealTracks that PGMusic did in their "Xtra Style".

Mind you, you have to sort through the myriad of RT's , mix them accurately, get the beat right, the tempo right, the mix right etc. That's where the value is of buying them. They've gone through all that work, you just buy and use.

I do agree that "everything" in this context is misleading. I like your idea of the "almost everything pak".

LLOYD S

Creating a style is more than simply choosing different realtracks -- creating a style means providing the data like the stylemaker requires for midi styles. To create a style you have to tell the "players" what to play, how to voice the chords we want. And then we need to be able to save that as a separate style which will work as we want it to whenever we choose it. I still don't see how to do that and nobody has provided any instructions.

If I start out with a blank style and then select realtracks for the different patches, I indeed get new sounds. However I can't save that as my own real style. And if I open up the StyleMaker, and save the current style under a new name, when I select that style it shows up with no instruments in the various tracks.

So again I ask, how does a user create their own real style?

You really got this all wrong.

First, real-styles are not like midi-styles.
Real styles are a collection of the audio recording of multiple individual instruments. The only thing these recording need from you is the tempo and key and the chords. Chord voicings have already been recorded.

Second, I don't make and save real-track styles, I make and save songs. So someone else will have to comment on how to "save" your new real-style.

And finally, patience, there are a lot of professional question answers here, much better than I at addressing you questions. I am sure they will weigh-in, in due time.

RealStyles are very different from MIDI styles and are processed by a completely different engine. You don't get to "tell" the RealTracks how to play like you do the MIDI tracks in a MIDI style.

You have several options to create a new RealStyle based on existing RealTracks. As has been said, start with a blank style (or actually start with any style; doesn't really matter. Then substitute the RealTracks you want, and then select "Save Current Song (except muted instrument) as a Style"

Or you can open StyleMaker and for a particular track, you can click on the Miscellaneous Style Settings, then click the More button, which will let you assign a RealTrack to that track.

When you do that, however, you don't get all the settings that you do with MIDI - such as, play only under these circumstances, or push a certain number of ticks, or set weights on different patterns, etc. No, you just get that RealTrack that gets played as the RT engine determines.

Maybe not the answer you want, but it's the way it works.

And yes, the EverythingPak isn't everything. It does not include every product PGMusic sells. For example, in additional the the XTRA styles, you still have to purchase jbridge separately if you want to use 64-bit plugins, you also don't get the Coyote Forte softsynth, and you don't get all the libraries.

I do agree that a better term should be used; just like I think the ProPak should be renamed, as that has caused much confusion over the years. You think you are getting the Professional version, but it's really just the basic program with a few styles thrown in to give you a flavor of what BIAB/RealBand can do.

But also as has been pointed out, if you go to the Native Instruments site, their "Komplete" series isn't "complete"; in fact, there are two levels of "Komplete" and even the "Komplete Ultimate" (while it really has A LOT) doesn't have everything.

With an anticipated new release being launched soon, maybe it's an ideal time for PG Music to consider new naming conventions for the product range?

As an example, somehow the name 'Band-in-a-Box Pro' does give the impression that it's something more than the basic 'Entry Level' into the product range.

Perhaps 'Band-in-a-Box Lite' or 'Lite-Pak' might actually be more fitting for this particular product?

Something similar that has bothered me in the past...

I have paid additional $$ for extra paks of RealTracks then in the following year found those same RealTracks included in the upgrade and referred to as new RealTracks. I only discovered this because I was thrilled with some baritone guitar tracks one year and hoping for more the next year. Then I saw "new" baritone tracks in the following year's upgrade but they were the same ones I bought previously.

Why are folks mentioning Komplete as if their deceptive marketing makes other deceptive marketing ok??? "Well, others do it" is NOT an acceptable excuse!

or Band-in-a-Box Basic? I agree it would cut down on a lot of confusion, disappointment, and questions here.

Good idea, Trev. I also agree with you.

People have become used to what the term "Lite" means now in relation to computer programs. Matt's suggestion with "Basic" is also good.

To my mind, terms such as "Pro" and "Mega" indicate that things are superior and not entry level. Descriptions like "LitePak", "LitePlusPak" are more accurate in terms of now-established computer lingo.

When I first got BIAB (version 8 some twenty years ago), there was BIAB Pro (again, I don't like that name) and the MegaPak.

I like the idea of:

BIAB Pro --> BIAB Lite or Basic
BIAB Mega --> BIAB Standard
BIAB UltraPlusPak --> BIAB Mega
BIAB EverythingPak --> BIAB Mega+ (since the EverythingPak is exactly the same as the UltraPlusPak, except for the video pak - which is dated - and the MIDI songs and lessons pak)
BIAB Audiophile --> BIAB Mega+ Audiophile (because it's the same as the EverythingPak, except that you get the uncompressed WAV files)

Or something similar.

You have some good points. Thanks!

Yes, this.

Works for me.

Makes sense to me, too.

When the BIAB sales' names were first coined, consumer language was still developing and standardising in relation to computer terms and descriptions. These days, the descriptions that John gives have an inherent meaning that wasn't around a number of years ago.

Agreed. Something like this would be clearer and less confusing.

+1 from me also.

Thank you very much for your detailed explanation. It has clarified a lot for me and I appreciate that you took the time to explain it that well. Thanks!

I hope it works out for you.

Works for me, John.

OK, now that you guys got it all figured out, what are we going to do with "Bonus Packs"?

Always include them in the Mega paks. Charge extra if necessary.

So much fuss for an "use of semantics and/or definitions". Including accusations of intention use of deception finalized to monetary gain. In short, fraud.

Mr. Bailey, you were way out of line with this whole thread. Plus including it in the BIAB Yahoo group, makes me wonder about your intent.

What you have to gain for all of this? Or just to smear a good business just because you could? And only because the word used didn't 100% comply with the definition registered in the Oxford English Dictionary? C'mon, man. That's complete BS, and you know it. I find it hard to believe that an adult person could be that naive.

Looks like one of those cases where the proverb "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" fits like a glove.

I think an apology to PG Music is in order.

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!

It's not even the dictionary definition of the word "everything" which bothers me -- it's PGMusic's description of the "EverythingPAK" which says "The EverythingPAK includes all of the currently available RealTracks, RealDrums, Style Sets, all the regular Soloist Sets, the Andy LaVerne Soloist Series, and Melodist Sets." http://www.pgmusic.com/salesfaq1.htm#20 is the link, and question 30 is the one I'm quoting from.

PGMusic itself, in its own FAQ about what is included uses the words "all currently available" and "style sets" in the same sentence. So I'm not sure why you think I need to apologize for complaining that in fact the EverythingPAK does not include all currently available style sets, when PGMusic itself says that it does.

So what exactly do you want me to apologize for? For complaining that a company isn't delivering on what it claims on its own website? That's not for me to apologize for.

Do you want me to apologize for being upset for being mislead by their use of language? Okay, I'm sorry I got upset.

Do you want me to apologize for making sure others are aware of this discrepancy between what the company says about its own product and what it actually delivers with that product? No, I'm not going to apologize for that. If the company changes things so that the labeling is more clear, as Callie has suggested will be happening, then we all benefit and the company gains more trust from its customers.

And that has been my goal all along -- I've been using BIAB since the DOS days and every year I purchase the upgrade, even when it hasn't offered much new benefits to me because I believe in supporting this company. I have even purchased the 3 extra styles paks that started my complaint because I value what this company and this product have to offer.

So the only thing I have to gain is to help make PGMusic be a better company. I raised the issue on the yahoogroup because I know a lot of the members of that group aren't members of this forum.

Thanks for the update, Callie. This sounds really interesting.

• an early 2017 song (a co-write with J&B): I Won Life's Lotto

Thanks Callie.

This has generally been an excellent thread. The issue raised by the O/P appears to have been very worthwhile, there has been mostly constructive comment, and PG Music are indicating that improvements can and will be made.

Definitely a good outcome in my view.

I got a strong sense of deja vu while reading this thread because there is a very similar thread over at the IK Multimdedia site where someone is complaining because the "Amplitube MAX" product does not contain all of the available amp simulations. The debate is over the word "MAX" as this thread is over the word "EVERYTHING". I believe I have fair license to quote from the IK Multimedia thread ...

Having purchased AmpliTube MAX, recently I think I am confused with the MAX terminology, since to my mind it should be everything - the maximum that is available.

Why then do I see in my account via custom shop, Ampeg SVX2, and Fender 2, which are items that have been created way before I purchased this MAX bundle..?

It’s not very good if your presented with what should be the complete package (the MAX), when in fact after you outlay a considerable amount of cash, that you suddenly find, hey wait a minute... why am I being asked to purchase this additional item...

I take them filling anything to the max is actually a shot of expresso in a latte cup?

Full thread here: When is MAX not max?

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.

I'm not taking sides- just making an observation.

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!

Really glad to hear PG is listening on this!

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!

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.

Thanks, y'all, for making this possible.

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).

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

+1 for me, Fiddler!

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.

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.

Regards,
Noel

• one of my songs: At Apollo Bay

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

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

There actually is. Are you sure you bought the program? Base on your statements, you don't seem to be acquainted with the program,

[quote=HygelacThere is no explanation page as to what really comes with the everything pak[/quote]
http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.every.htm

That's the page. Follow the links.

HTH,

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.

A daunting task indeed!
LLOYD S

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.

Pleased to see a revised naming convention for 2018 and the word 'Everything' has been removed.
This is a real positive step.

Yes, we're pretty pleased with the new package structure with Band-in-a-Box 2018!

Very good. This should be helpful.

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?

That would be the UltraPak.

The PlusPAK would also be a good choice if you don't want another hard drive. Costs $50 less, and includes just the 2018 upgrade and the newest RealTracks (since you already have all the old ones).

Thanks
Kent
PG Music

Hello Kent, i did that, for audiphile, but in the downloads were only the wma files, no WAVs .... F

The Audiophile is not available for download, due to the size of the uncompressed WAV files. A PlusPAK upgrade will not include these uncompressed WAV files, so it's not an ideal purchase for a 2017 Audiophile user.

If you have a 2017 Audiophile, you can purchase the $199 Audiophile upgrade, which is delivered on a hard drive.

Hello Callie. I was advised differently by Ember from you sales. Therefore i just bought the Pluspak with bonus & xtra4. Please note: I specifically asked for audiophile 2017 to 2018 beforhand, and was advised the Pluspak if i did not want the harddisk because of paying again about 30% import duties, over about 50-70% material i already paid taxes for last year and the years before. ?? - F

Hello fiddler2007,

If you are an international customer, import taxes and custom duties levied by your destination country are certainly a reality.

As the uncompressed WAV files included in the Audiophile versions of Band-in-a-Box are far too large to be downloaded, they must be shipped on a hard drive.

If you do not want to pay the fees to have your order delivered on an external hard drive, the only option for receiving the new RealTracks would be in the compressed WMA format of the 2018 PlusPAK.

Based on your post, it sounds like you ordered the correct package. However, if you would prefer to exchange your 2018 PlusPAK download for the 2018 Band-in-a-Box Audiophile hard drive, please give our sales line a call and they'd be happy to help you out!

The Old Naming was a pain, but after a couple decades I was use to it......now I have to re-learn it all over again!

Thanks PG!