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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 29
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 29 |
I've had '20, '21 & '22 Mac BIAB with little or no hiccups in loading or running BIAB. I'm always thrilled & excited by each new version.
'23, however, is so frustrating! Others seem to be having fun, but mine is a nightmare.
Yes, I've hit Rebuild at least a dozen times to no avail. Hasn't helped.
1) It's running verrrry slowly on the same desktop all the others ran smoothly on... 2012 iMac, 24G memory, macOS 10.15.7. Never saw the 'Beachball of Doom' w/ the earlier versions. Now, it's taking 15-20 secs to complete at least half the instructions I give it in '23.
2) Clicking the play button: sometimes the tracks start playing but it's out of sync w/ the moving chord box shading, so by the time they align, 8 or 12 bars in, I have no idea where I actually am in the tune.
3a) RE-GENERATE IS NOT WORKING!! I've lost the ability to add or update various instr tracks. '23 correctly plays any track that I placed there earlier in '20-'22. BUT -- when I need to add an instr now, I cannot get it to play correctly (despite it being a perfect match for the style picked, per genre, time, tempo, style, feel, etc.) -- i) I cannot get any instrument to play on correct pitch, time or feel (even w/ turning on the Fix Key & Chord buttons in the Track edits dialog); ii) it won't just be off-pitch, it's completely out of sync w/ any other track & painful to listen to. In the past, I've simply hit re-generate over & over -- and that would bring a new instr into line w/ the others & sound great together within 2 or 3 re-gens. Now I'm sitting there trying it 9 - 10+ times & it's not even getting close. It remains totally unusable.
3b) This is bad enough in trying to add a new instr track, but when having to update the re-generate on a long established track (by adding a few bars or otherwise updating the structure, etc.), I now LOSE THAT long-perfect track. Not just that one performance pass -- now that instrument itself will no longer work & creates the same problem as the new instruments. And I can't get it back, if I've saved something else along the way.
3c) I've been forced to completely re-arrange 3 or 4 songs now simply b/c of BIAB '23 blowing up on me! UNACCEPTABLE!
4) Upon opening a track I'd labored on, installing tricky bar lyrics into while in '22, Voila! Opening it in '23, all the lyrics are gone. Just not there.
5) Sporadic dropping out of saved instruments when opening a file in '23. I rarely use Utility tracks & will place instr. on the main tracks. So, I'll have a certain well-considered & chosen guitar or something else on some track, fully saved. I open that song file in '23 & it's GONE. Only the white empty Guitar, Strings, Melody, etc. track. I've always relied on BIAB's ability to save, & am paying for it as I have no recall as to which of the 10,000 RTs I had in that spot.
I sincerely do NOT like to complain & I've been totally blissed out by BIAB '20-'22. But I'm finding '23 nearly totally unusable. I haven't even had a moment since installing it to eagerly explore all the new aspects of '23, as I'm still battling all the destruction of what I've had in the earlier versions.
Please help. I'm at my wit's end...
Much appreciated!
E.J.
NYC
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,418
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,418 |
Now, it's taking 15-20 secs to complete at least half the instructions I give it in '23 Could you confirm that have "speed up generation of RealTracks" checked in the RealTracks Preferences? Also, I would suggest that you close BiaB, duplicate your Preferences folder to back it up (e.g. Preferences_saved), then delete all the files in your Preferences folder and see if the same problems remain. If not, please zip up your Preferences_saved folder and send it to us. Sporadic dropping out of saved instruments when opening a file in '23. Next time it happens, could you send us the file? I'm not sure what is going on, but hopefully there is a clue there and we can get to the bottom of this. BiaB 2023 should be just as fast or faster than 2020-2022. Also the Activity Monitor (Applications - Utilities) on your Mac and see if you spot anything unusual there..
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 29
Enthusiast
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|
OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 29 |
Now, it's taking 15-20 secs to complete at least half the instructions I give it in '23 Could you confirm that have "speed up generation of RealTracks" checked in the RealTracks Preferences? Also, I would suggest that you close BiaB, duplicate your Preferences folder to back it up (e.g. Preferences_saved), then delete all the files in your Preferences folder and see if the same problems remain. If not, please zip up your Preferences_saved folder and send it to us. Sporadic dropping out of saved instruments when opening a file in '23. Next time it happens, could you send us the file? I'm not sure what is going on, but hopefully there is a clue there and we can get to the bottom of this. BiaB 2023 should be just as fast or faster than 2020-2022. Also the Activity Monitor (Applications - Utilities) on your Mac and see if you spot anything unusual there.. Thx, Andrew. Yes, 'speed up RT Gen' is clearly checked in RT Prefs. I don't know what you're referring to on "Pref folder" points. I'm afraid you're gonna have to talk me thru that one. I don't see any PG/BIAB Prefs folder; either on the external PG HD or on my MAC HD -- merely my Mac Prefs folders & there's no PG/BIAB subfolder in there... You're gonna have to steer me better on that one... You're talking MAC, right? For its dropping out of '22 RTs when opening a '22-created tune in '23, I don't have one handy, of course, b/c I just dealt w/ the problem on the spot each time (2x). But, if/when it happens again, I'll send it along... Any thoughts on my biggest woe? The inability to add new tracks / update current RTs as noted above in my original post? That's my biggest heartbreaker of the moment... it's got me rather dead in the water. Thanks for the help, Andrew.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,418
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,418 |
I don't know what you're referring to on "Pref folder" points. I mean the Preferences folder in /Applications/Band-in-a-Box. Do you have Band-in-a-Box installed on your internal Mac hard drive, or are you running it from an external drive? I can't recall if you've told us either way. Let's assume you have it installed on your Mac drive. The idea is to try running Band-in-a-Box at (or close to) factory settings to see if the problem still happens. 1. Close Band-in-a-Box. Go to the /Applications/Band-in-a-Box folder, and you should see a Preferences folder in there. 2. Click on the folder and press Command+D to duplicate it. Name it "Preferences_backup_may24". It doesn't matter what you name it, this is only to keep a backup of the folder with your previous preferences in case you need to send it to us or do further testing, or restore your previous settings. 3. Open the Preferences folder and delete all the files in it. 4. Run Band-in-a-Box now and see if there's any change. Any thoughts on my biggest woe? The inability to add new tracks / update current RTs as noted above in my original post? No, I don't recognize this problem at all, it's very strange. However, often even the strangest problems turn out to have simple solutions once you figure them out, so hopefully that will be the case here. One question: is it only happening with certain songs? Does it happen for example if you load in a RealTracks demo song?
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 29
Enthusiast
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|
OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 29 |
I don't know what you're referring to on "Pref folder" points. I mean the Preferences folder in /Applications/Band-in-a-Box. Do you have Band-in-a-Box installed on your internal Mac hard drive, or are you running it from an external drive? I can't recall if you've told us either way. Let's assume you have it installed on your Mac drive. The idea is to try running Band-in-a-Box at (or close to) factory settings to see if the problem still happens. 1. Close Band-in-a-Box. Go to the /Applications/Band-in-a-Box folder, and you should see a Preferences folder in there. 2. Click on the folder and press Command+D to duplicate it. Name it "Preferences_backup_may24". It doesn't matter what you name it, this is only to keep a backup of the folder with your previous preferences in case you need to send it to us or do further testing, or restore your previous settings. 3. Open the Preferences folder and delete all the files in it. 4. Run Band-in-a-Box now and see if there's any change. Any thoughts on my biggest woe? The inability to add new tracks / update current RTs as noted above in my original post? No, I don't recognize this problem at all, it's very strange. However, often even the strangest problems turn out to have simple solutions once you figure them out, so hopefully that will be the case here. One question: is it only happening with certain songs? Does it happen for example if you load in a RealTracks demo song? Andrew, I just sent an email w/ the subj line: '23 Mac Woes. I've already trashed & regenerated my BIAB Prefs folder in my '23 BIAB HD. The song file here contains a track w/ emblematic problems I'm having w/ '23, w/ adding or updating RTs sounding horribly off. Don't know the tech reason but the aural effect is being off-pitch & off-feel and not coming into alignment no matter how many times I regenerate the track. This, when all the aspects (time, style, genre, tempo, etc.) SHOULD by rights work fine. I'm not shoving obvious square pegs into round holes -- these tracks SHOULD work, have worked in the past but are not now working. I cannot fathom why. I hope this clarifies. Many thanks! E.J.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,418
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,418 |
Thanks for sending the file. It sounds great, but maybe you sent the wrong file. This file has a Horn Section track that is frozen but completely empty, and has no guitar track.
However there is something strange - The song is set to the key of Eb but it playing in D. This could have happened if the song was generated, frozen, and then the key was changed later without unfreezing and regenerating again. If I unfreeze all tracks, unmute the horn section at bar 9, and re-generate, all tracks sound good, along with the Horns.
I'm not noticing anything else strange with it here.
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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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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New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2025!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
Check out all the 202 New RealTracks (in sets 456-467)
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
The 2025 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2025 49-PAK!
Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
- Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
- Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
- Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
- Playable RealTracks Set 4
- RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
- SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
- 128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
- Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
- Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
- RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®!
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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