<< But I'm sure it's my fault. Would you be so nice to nudge me into the right direction? Once you have an APT, how do you go back to its original RT status? Because that is the whole point: once you have a APT, or a transposed APT, is there a way to revert it to its original RT status? >>
It's not really a fault but just inexperience with a little known but very powerful option. So, how do you turn your steak back into a side of beef as MoultiPass asks? Here's the way to revert an APF to its original RT status:
RT click on the track to reveal the drop down menu From the drop down menu, select and click Track Actions\Kill Audio and OK out of the window The APF and orange color will disappear and the original RT will display Click generate/play button to generate a new RealTrack -- The track is blank at this point so, play will not generate a new track. Generate/Play button (F4) is required.
Good discussion topic. I only wish this was better understood by all, including me. Here is what GPT says.
Almost good information but look closely and the Chat GPT is referring to Artist Performance Tracks that are prerecorded tracks by professionals for PG Music - Not a user created Artist Performance File. They are not the same.
They are the same but different. They are created exactly the same but serve different purposes to BIAB projects. Artist Performance Files are utilized in projects more as a UserTrack. They were introduced in 2011 along with the Record Audio feature. At that time, Legacy Tracks could not contain audio. The APF was how audio files could be converted so that any Legacy Track (except drums if I recall) could contain audio. This freed up the Legacy Tracks to be used to record new Midi or RealTracks and provide SGU files with more than just the 7 available tracks and single audio track. The Audio Track, while the only track for recording audio into BIAB, the recorded audio could be converted to an Artist Performance File and moved to another available Legacy Track resulting the one audio track could be used multiple times in a project.
The BIAB Mixer functions as a MultiTrack Recorder and back in the old times, audio engineers/mixer/ producers would use a 2nd recorder to bounce tracks to so that more tracks could be recorded than the main recorder had. For instance, a four track like the Beatles used in their early records, while recorded on a 4 track recorder, engineers used a 2nd recorder to mix and bounce the original 4 tracks to a track on another recorder and free up channels by erasing the audio from those tracks and recording new material. The Artist Performance File served the same function in the BIAB Mixer.
As I noted Artist Performance Files are not considered Artist Performance Tracks but a form of UserTracks. Here's what PG Staff say about Artist Performance Files in the UserTrack Forum: << ----- 7. Artist Performance Files.
These are audio files, that you put on a track, that can also have the MIDI transcription of it. People hear the audio, and see the MIDI in notation/guitar tab etc. For example, if you are a great bluegrass fiddle player, you could put your songs in this format. People can listen to your real playing, see the notes on screen, slow them down etc. - all inside Band-in-a-Box where they can do other things like solo/mute other tracks, mix them etc. >>
Artist Performance Files are audio files saved as either WAV or M4a files and are associated with the BIAB SGU file of the same name. When a Track from the BIAB Mixer is converted into an Artist Performance File, the converted file is automatically saved in the same folder as the SGU file and the converted file has the same name as the SGU file and will open whenever the SGU file is opened.
"My question was about how to do that in BIAB with frozen tracks" Are you looking to shift 1 or 2 semitones or a lot more ?
As I said Biab can be made to do this without creating any wav files, the transpose amount is just set to the source wav/wma file section in the frozen SGU:
Thank you Charlie I tried your suggestion. I have a feeling right now that this area of BIAB is buggy, and that should be addressed. The reason I'm saying this is that I tried going from frozen to APT with another song (not the one that gave me problems yesterday) and I got the same problem that I reported in my previous posts (no transformation of a frozen RT into an APT, rendering notification stuck in the middle of the screen). That makes it 2 songs out of 3. I think PGM should be looking at this (the process of transforming a frozen track into a APT, it seems buggy to me).
So, I tried again with a brand new song, built from scratch, just to test what you suggested. It worked as you said. Yay. But ... there's a but. Now, I really don't want be annoying, at this point I'm insisting on this feature (or lack thereof) just as a way to suggest a potential improvement for PGM, nothing else. It's not a crucial feature, at all. I'm not bothered by this, at all. I'm just trying to help out for future developments. Once you go back from APT to RT you have to regenerate, as you rightly said, because once you "kill" the audio, the track is empty. Well, that defies the purpose of it all (or, actually, half the purpose). What I have in mind is not just going back to a RT status (which is half of the story), but going back to the specific combination of riffs / audio segments that constituted my frozen track. Now, again, this may look like reconstituting the beef from a steak, but for the reasons I explained above, I don't think it is necessarily so. I think BIAB has all the information to do, potentially, just that. I'll explain again what the advantage of this would be, maybe for those who didn't follow this thread or never thought of this possibility.
1. Let's say you have a RT that you carefully, painstakingly "designed" by using the partial regeneration feature, or the multi-riff feature (truly wonderful features, by the way). You designed the perfect solo part with all the phrases that you like. Now you freeze it of course, cause you don't want to nullify all your work by accidentally regenerate 2. Days later, or months later, you realize that you need to transpose it, because your singer needs a little help. Or maybe you want to change the tempo a little bit. Whatever. You can't do that with a frozen track. What you need to do is to transform your frozen RT into an APT and that allows you transpose as much as you want, just like Charlie described. That's all fine and well (provided that you don't encounter bugs, like I did). 3. This is half of the story. The other half is ... let's say that, at this point, you want to change just a couple of bars of your beautiful solo, without losing every other part of it. You can't. You can go back to RT status, like Charlie suggested, but now you have to regenerate the whole track. Your well designed solo is all gone, if you go back to RT status. Yes, you can rebuild it piece by piece, like you did the first time, but it's pretty annoying to redo everything that you already did in the past. Not the end of the world, obviously, but pretty annoying. Maybe you don't remember all the beautiful phrases that you originally found (obviously there's workarounds: you could use two tracks for the same solo: one with old phrases that you want to keep, while muting the phrases you want to change, and one with only the new phrases, generated from the same RT, loaded in this second track ... it works obviously, but it's not very elegant, and it can become cumbersome when you want to change more and more things over time)
In summary: either you have the flexibility to change parts of your frozen track (but you can't transpose it or change tempo etc) or you have the flexibility to transpose and change tempo if you go from frozen to APT (but you lose the ability to change parts of the performance: at that point, either you change everything or you change nothing). This seems the current state of affairs to me. And, it seems to me, that this limits somehow the wonderful flexibility that the multi-riff and partial regeneration features potentially provide. Again: this is not too important. I'm not claiming that it is. There are many more important issues or potential improvements to be made, for sure. It is just another suggestion for PGM. Hope it helps. Thank you again Charlie.
You are not being annoying Mr. Thomas. I applaud you sticking with it and curiosity to know more. You're correct through points 1 and 2.
Briefly about point 3, it's possible to retain an Artist Performance File audio, restore it as a RealTrack for editing and not lose any material. Meaning a APF can revert back to a RealTrack without regenerating new material and losing that well designed solo. BIAB provides the flexibility to change parts of the performance and retain what you want to save.
The attached screenshots show the WAV form as it appears in each step of converting and restoring the track from a RT to a APF and restored back to a RT. I've reached the maximum attachments with this post so I will add a screen shot of the original and restored track side by side in a separate post.
Charlie thanks again. But I'm afraid I miss one step. How do you get from the empty track (after the "kill audio" procedure) to the end result, the restored track, identical to the original one? Thanks
Ok Charlie. Thanks again. But it doesn't work me. I'm more than one way. I'm just giving up. It's not so important, and 2024 is at our door so ... we'll see if there's improvement in this department. What I found (in my case): 1. it works exactly as you say only if you don't touch the APT. If you transpose it, for example, and go back to the original RT as you suggested, the original composition (the original riffs) is lost. You have to regenerate. But, if you can't touch the APT, what's the point of going from unfrozen to APT? I don't see the point, really. I'll just stick with the frozen track. But that's not all ... 2. Sometimes, when I go from frozen to APT (without touching anything, no transposing, nothing) the volume of the track is drastically decreased. So much so that even when setting the APT volume to maximum is not loud enough. Very odd. 3. Sometimes, when I go from frozen to APT, the whole track is moved ahead of some significant time (like more than a bar), so that the APT track is completely misaligned with everything else. Very, very odd. Again, I'm not wasting any more of my time or anybody's time on this. As I said, it's not important. It might be useful that PGM takes notice that the APT transformation seems to be a buggy, buggy feature. At least in my case, in my system, with my songs. Your experience may be different, I don't know. I'll just live with frozen tracks (which seem to work fine) and, if I need to transpose something, I'll just use an external DAW or an audio edit app. Thank you for all your help, anyway.
Thanks for sticking with the process as long as you have. Regarding your points; In point 1, the first six words up to your bold 'only' reflects my experience with Artist Performance Files. I've used Artist Performance Files since 2014-15 era and never experienced the issues from all of point one after the bold only - through the entirety of points 2 and 3. I can't speculate to why you get results different from mine. I don't believe it's buggy for no other reason that as much as I use the feature, I would have run into the same errors you have and I haven't. My demonstrations prepared for you were all quick and easy one take renders no different than all other times I've done it in the past. Musocity's copy/paste method also works and I believe a better option than exporting to a DAW.
Charlie I have no reason to doubt what you're saying. I'm sure that the APT is a very solid feature. Still, I did experience those bugs that I mentioned. Most likely there's something wrong with my system or my installation, who knows. Good thing I'm not going to use APTs, as it seems that they do not allow to do what I was looking for. Anyway, I just upgraded to BIAB 2024. Maybe the fresh install will fix some things for me. And I'm excited about the new features. Life is good, in December :-)
No problem sir. I'm sorry we couldn't get it to work for you. Don't know why as the program can work like you want it to but seems to have a mind of its own. Maybe PG Staff will see this and prepare a patch to get it working the same for everyone. Enjoy 2024 and the new features.
I've put in a feature request to add this, on account of how popular this particular forum thread is.
HOWEVER
Please keep in mind that transposing a frozen track would require more pitch-shifting up or down, and pitch shifting more than a semitone or two tends to sound weird and glitchy. This is the nature of the beast, as literally every pitch shifting engine that exists will break down at a point.
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Mac® to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 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 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=26077&filename=Screenshot 2023-12-03 105059.png)
![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=26108&filename=BB23-Transpose-Track.gif)
![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=26142&filename=BB24-Edit-Riff-Transpose.png)
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean