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I am continually amazed at the amount of musical knowledge that is built into the BB / RB programs....I haven't seen anything like it or that comes close in doing what it does - for decades now. Maybe AI will finally come close, but AI is not really built "from the bits upward" as this program was designed. PG and his team are truly brilliant. It's one thing to have an "idea" of creating a band in a box - but to actually accomplish it - the extremely deep knowledge of both music and computer programming / hardware is nothing but extraordinary. You look at what it takes to do anything non-trivial with both of these specialties, and then how the BB/RB products consolidate them to make a whole so much bigger. And especially the musical knowledge and rules/patterns coded so deeply into the program. DAWs are also extraordinary - but they don't actually "compose" in the sense that BB does.
Unless there's software I have missed - this was and continues to be the best and only-one of it's class for 2+ decades now. What other software is there to look at in the space BB/RB occupy.
Also - if anyone has any links or articles that address what's in the spirit of this post - please share. For example I worked for a company many years ago where one individual built more or less an entire trading platform - truly a brilliant man, and the company was built around him and his product. Does anyone know if this is the case with Peter, or is he more the brilliant CEO manager who was more conceptual with a clear vision hired the big programming guns ? My guess is that he's the hands-on main creator. Are there any articles about the creation of this amazing program and the heavy hitters involved ?
Last edited by Joe Videtto2; 12/17/24 07:48 AM.
BB/RB 2025
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Very inciteful point thanks for your thoughts.
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2025, Realband, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 9 32c , Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app.
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There are a few programs out there that go a little way to what BiaB does, though none are remotely in the same class or remotely as powerful.
JJazzLab is quite good. MIDI only, I believe. Cordsheets only IIRC.
Impro-Visor ditto, but a slightly different intent. It will create improvised solos, one can enter notes in notation.
MMA (Musical MIDI acompaniment). It has no GUI itself and is entirely script driven, though there are a couple of OK-ish GUI front-ends by third parties.
Those do all have the advantage of being free or donation-ware. They do all run on Linux.
I hope PGM won't mind me putting them here ... my version of their own "dare to compare" page.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Amazing is a good description.
Over 30 years ago I purchased BIAB for MsDos on 5.25" floppy disks. I thought it was amazing back then when the midi sound was less than great.
Over the decades its gotten continually better and expanded the feature set.
Its been a major component of my music composition and performance for 20 years
Last few years I see others nipping at the corners of the niche PG music cut out for itself.
Yet no one has delivered a complete product that replaces BIAB.
Who knows when someone will?
Meantime, many of us have been fortunate to enjoy a long ride with this excellent product.
biab2025(Mac) Latest Build
Mac OS (Latest)
Apple Mac Mini M2 pro 32GB Ram
Logic Pro 11.2.2
Irwin Vice Grip Fencing Pliers
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Very nice post, Joe.
With over thirty years in the BIAB family I think I have read a few things to share.
Peter Gannon developed BIAB to be able to play along with jazz fakebooks. This explains some design decisions, such as the use of “chorus” in the jazz sense rather than intro, verse, chorus, bridge etc. That’s not right or wrong; it’s just the way it developed.
It is my understanding Peter is still doing the coding for BIAB. At one point maybe ten years ago I recall he said he used a Mac running Windows with one of those emulators.
Peter clearly knows music theory VERY well. He has sometimes made decisions different from what I might have done but he always has the evidence to back up his reasoning. Besides, if you get ten professional musicians in a room discussing music theory, you’ll often get six different answers - it’s a tough subject. And Peter is receptive to changing. For example, I had an issue about cut-time handling of sambas. He asked for proof which I gave and then programmed a way to handle cut time. This also helped the bluegrass players - same issue.
Peter also can talk tech. For example he just requested that anyone who made BIAB run on an SD card let him know the particulars.
I believe Peter plays bass, guitar and maybe piano, based on comments he has made. So we are talking about a musically hands-on programmer, to answer your question.
There are other programmers who work on the ancillary software like RealBand and the plugin. Adar and Jeff Yankhaur come to mind. Others like Tobin are heavily involved in the RealTracks part of the program. Andrew seems to do it all and is most visible in the forum and support areas. It’s a relatively small staff as we understand it.
Peter has a vision and carries it out. While it may not always be completely what some of want, he also comes up with things we never anticipated, like RealTracks, that are game changers.
Finally, despite some phenomenal breakthroughs in music software like unbaking a cake, I’m not aware of anything remotely able to compete with BIAB.
Does that help?
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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I have been a casual BIAB user since the floppy drive was the thing. For all the things I like and dislike about the software, there is certainly nothing I have seen over the years that does what BIAB does.
There are programs like EZkeys for example that provide a different way to create a piano track but they don't really compete with BIAB.
BIAB is the base source for most of us. We may use Real Tracks or convert everything to midi.
There are so many other ways to use BIAB than creating songs no other program that I have ever seen can do the same thing or even near it.
BIAB is more than just a computer program. There is a group of people who provide help services, sell us things, and come here on this forum to interact with us. On that fact alone you will find it hard to get that kind of involvement from very many companies.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig?
“Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
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I have never found anything quite as complete as BIAB when it comes to putting together complete tracks that sound great. That's why I keep sending my money every December for the past 12+ years!
However, I do really love the EZ lineup from Toontrack. I have their EZ Bass, EZ Keys and EZ Drummer products and find them to be quite capable even compared to BIAB bass, keys and drums. I often create songs in BIAB and then sub out some or all of these parts with their EZ counterparts because they sound great and are editable MIDI. I think what Toontrack is missing is more melodic instruments like guitars, horns, etc.
If Toontrack were to add melodic instruments, build an aggregator GUI and curate their tracks into style sets they would have a very competitive product to BIAB. But, as a good friend of mine likes to say, "IF the dog hadn't stopped to do his business he'd have caught the rabbit!"
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...I believe Peter plays bass, guitar and maybe piano,... Yes, Peter definitely plays piano. I've seen a video of him performing at NAMM.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
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One important thing I left out of my PG BB RB love is the amount of musical information not just in the program itself, but the amount of "musical knowledge" in the musical content itself. You have playing and recordings of the best studio musicians in the world - and hundreds of hours (if not thousands ?) of each. And almost all of it is notated and played back on a staff with color coding. And so, so, so many different styles authored by experts in their musical field....just to separate the usefulness of the program from the human-generated musical recordings and accompaniments underneath...all fitting together like a glove.
BB/RB 2025
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<...snip...>
Unless there's software I have missed - this was and continues to be the best and only-one of it's class for 2+ decades now. What other software is there to look at in the space BB/RB occupy.
<...> I don't think anything else comes close. I've been writing aftermarket styles for BiaB since the 1990s. I've also written styles for a couple of other auto-accompaniment apps, and an arranger keyboard. None of these came close to the output of BiaB. PG Music continues to impress me by making relevant improvements to BiaB that make it better and more useful through the years. It's come a long way from the DOS-5 days with 3 instruments, and no user styles, endings, or anything else. Hats off to Peter Gannon and the entire PG Music team. Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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Video: New User Interface (GUI)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Watch the video.
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Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 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.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 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 10 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.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 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 Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 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.
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Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!
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