Greetings one and all... hope you're having a great day

I am on the verge of upgrading my 2022 UltraPAK to the 2024 version. One of the main reasons I want to do this is because of what I've read in the description of the newer version:

The Playback Engine speed has been enhanced and uses multiple CPU Cores to speed generation and renders.

My question is: Is there really a noticeable difference in the time it takes to generate and regenerate my song as I am entering my chords? If so, does this feature apply to the DAW plugin's amount of time to generate as well?

This would be a welcome feature for me as I find it somewhat annoying to have to wait as long as I do after changing even one chord as I'm building my song. Generation time with the plugin is anywhere between 40 - 45 seconds. This doesn't sound like a lot of time but like I said... it's is an annoyance.

I don't think that this waiting time is due to my computer specs. I have an Intel core i7 37 something GB processor, 32gb RAM and run BIAB on a SSD hard drive. In fact, all 3 of my drives are SSD.

Thanks in advance... your input will be much appreciated!!!
Bobby

In a word: 'YES'. The render and playback speed is now outstanding. One of the new features is that the playback engine is multi-threaded, so we now have multiple threads loading files in parallel. Playback (for me at least) is virtually instantaneous.

Oh yes!

I remember when pressing play in 2009 with the new RealTracks, I could go make a sandwich and return before it was done. Now, it’s amazingly fast, and substantially improved from last year.

Matt, you are of a certain age to know about the days when "Slo-Tools" came out. You would lay in your tracks, hit render, and have to wait 24 hours for it to be done. Then if you wanted to undo you had to wait another 24 hours. One of the guys in the Sound City video talked about it. It may have been Butch Vig. I'm not sure. So making a sandwich was an improvement from lighting the charcoal and smoking the rack of ribs. To now where Real Band renders in 2-3 minutes. Amazing what 30+ years will do!

Thanks so much folks... hearing this seals the deal.

One more question: My plan is to download it to an external SSD drive. Once I have it all do I install it to my internal SSD drive where my version 2022 is installed. Do I have to uninstall first? Or can I just install it over what is there already?

You have options.

You could do the minimal install to your internal drive and then go into Preferences, RealTracks and change their location to run from your external SSD drive. That will work very well and save space on your computer’s internal drive.

Or yes, just install from the external drive over top of what you have on your computer. You do not need to, and actually should not, uninstall 2022 first.

Every time I upgrade I follow this procedure,

1) Copy the entire bb and realband folders to a backup drive. This gives me a full working install of the previous version of the program in case I wish to revert because of new issues. It also allows me to compare the two installations to see what has actually been added in the latest version.

2) Install the new version right over my existing installation. This ensures I don't lose anything (like an add-on) I may have purchased over the years that may not be included in the upgrade.

Thanks so much Matt... much appreciated!
Here's another question. Warning!!! This could be a dumb question.
I have version 2022 on the hard drive that I got with it but it is installed on my internal drive. Would it be possible to install 2022 on my SSD external drive and then install the upgrade on top of that so that I can run the program from the SSD drive? If possible then there would be no need to order the PG drive and save $25... right? Doing it like this would free up a ton of space on my internal drive.
Just putting it out there

Yes, you could, but I think the effort is not needed. You don’t need version 2022 at all if you order the new drive. Just do the install option called minimum install and then run everything from the external drive. You could even delete your existing application on the internal drive BUT first save any songs you wrote and any custom styles you’ve written, or any installation files for third party styles and for PG Music Bonus Paks you may have purchased.

Upgrade update...

This afternoon, on a whim, I conducted an experiment. I have my BIAB installed on my G drive - an SSD internal drive used exclusively for all my music programs. It is installed in a "bb" folder. I copied that complete "bb" folder on to an SSD external drive. It took about 2 hours to get everything transferred. When done I started up BIAB from the icon in the "bb" folder on the external drive... and presto!!! Everything is there - including all my songs - and it is running like a charm. I have to admit that I really wasn't expecting it to work but I am now doing the happy dance.

So, when I get my 2024 upgrade I'll just install it over the 2022 version and run BIAB from my external drive. Removing the program from the G drive will clear up well over 100gb of space. Since getting Kontakt and Studio One on top of all the other music stuff I have was getting the drive close to it's limit.

So I'll be getting my 2024 upgrade tomorrow. The copying of BIAB kinda ate into my afternoon and I'm just heading out for a dinner engagement. So no time to do it today. One more Sleep!!!

Couple of comments:

1. Good

2. I still recommend you run the minimum install when you get BIAB 2024. There are a few files you did not copy, such as Fonts. Almost everything is in the /bb folder, but not all. I do not know if any of those system files are new this version.

3) Unless you do Step 2, your external drive won't work correctly if you take it to another computer. You must run the minimal install on every computer to which you take that external SSD. You have three activations each year (not cumulative).

Once again, thanks Matt for your suggestions. However, seeing as there's absolutely no chance that I'll be using the BIAB program on my external on another computer. Besides my desktop I only have an old laptop that couldn't run BIAB. All it's pretty much good for is to surf the web and check email.

And so... I downloaded and installed my 2024 upgrade - I let it do it's thing overnight and was very happy when I got up this morning to see that it had downloaded and installed everything without any problems. I know I had the option to just install the new stuff that comes with the upgrade but, call it overkill, I opted to let it do the whole thing. I'm pretty sure I got everything because there's a vast size difference between the older "BB" folder compared to the new "BB" folder.

As I stated above, I did the complete install to an external SSD drive as my internal drive is getting dangerously close to hitting maximum capacity. After doing so, everything seems to be running as it should. Now, my question is:

I haven't uninstalled the 2022 version that is on my internal drive yet. When I start up Studio One 6+ it scans my plugins. Once done it still shows only one instance of PG's plugin. How do I find out what version has been scanned? What can I do to to ensure that it is in fact the newer plugin without deleting the older version for the time being?

I'm certainly not in any hurry to get rid of the 2022 version that's on the internal drive as I figure I should run the upgrade version for a bit before committing to it - just in case I encounter any problems with it. But with the way the upgrade seems to be running so far I'm not expecting there to be any trouble, but my pessimistic self just wants to make sure.

As always, your knowledge and wisdom is very much appreciated!!!

Bobby

Fonts have not been updated or changed in a long time, however other "system" files will be new - for example, the DAW Plugin, any new Playable RealTracks files, and Plogue Sforzando.

Correct, however just to clarify - you have 3 activations for each "year" of BIAB (not per calendar year). Three activations for Band-in-a-Box 2024, three for Band-in-a-Box 2025, three for Band-in-a-Box 2026...

Band-in-a-Box has remarkably low system requirements - as long as it has enough storage, it can probably run BIAB. For example, I have a desktop that is 12 years old that still runs BIAB 2024 without issue.

Our full system requirements are here: https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.requirements.htm

Whatever version of BIAB that was most recently installed is whatever version of the plugin that will be there. For example, if you just installed 2024, then the 2024 plugin is installed. However if you installed 2022 after installing 2024, then the 2022 plugin will be there instead.

Just an update... my problem has been solved. It was a Studio One setting that needed to be done. My BIAB 2024 upgrade is running like a top. I simply love this newest addition. So much quicker. Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated!!!

Bobby

What Studio One setting? Rescan the plugins?

You could consider Marking as Resolved your first post.

Good to hear you're up and running!

Well... contrary to what I said above, the problem isn't solved after all. But perhaps I can meet up with Simon again this afternoon to work on it some more.

Actually, at this point I really don't care if I am using the 2023 version of the plugin if it is going to work properly for me. I have all the new styles so I'm still getting something for the money I paid out for the new version of biab. I just want to make music.

It's just strange how the only instrument affected by all this is the drums. And it is actually bringing the track into Studio One but it is only bringing in 7 bars .

Bobby

How did we get to discussing the plug-in? What was the Studio One setting you mentioned?

For this most recent difficulty, you should start a new thread.