I just viewed the video on YouTube and was personally delighted that the GUI has been given a facelift - much needed in my opinion. But I think they should stop using that awful clown font - epsecially for YT videos, it is sooooooo outdated and betrays the sophistication of the product. I'm not sure the new GUI is as modern as it should be, but I assume it's a work in progress. If BIAB wants to appeal to younger likely customers (i.e. anyone younger than my 77 years...) it simply has to modernise the look and feel.
I do generally like the new interface, but when I first saw it my octogenarian’s eyes drowned in a sea of dark grey. Everything seems to merge into everything else. To my admittedly poor vision it all lacked clarity and contrast. And yes, I have tried to reconfigure the colours using trial and error with some improvement. That in itself was a bit of a challenge, and time consuming given the list of variables in small font, and an infinite number of colour options. My wish for the future is that there be a set of alternative skins or presets available which are designed to make the GUI more accessible to those of us with limited vision.
A very reasonable suggestion. If there were several different pre-made color format layouts available, the user could quickly select one that suits their needs best.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Skyline, I disagree on "facelift" part. While it looks like a normal software now with solid design, the biggest achievement was, it made (most of) BIAB non-modal & modular. Not only you can adjust & resize views, you can work with different views simultaneously, on single or multiple screens. Overall it greatly improved workflow.
The younger audience... I don't know if I want that. Meaning mainstream Hip Hop, Techno / Electronic (and sub genres). Genres that are at heart of BIAB: Rock, Blues, Jazz, Folk, Light Pop, World...mainly appeal to folks 40+ And that is great, because there is almost nothing out there that has such a vast library of traditional genres, while there are tons of beat making software titles. Having said that, of course BIAB has to go further to modernize user experience. UI + Library were major steps toward that.
Skyline, I disagree on "facelift" part. While it looks like a normal software now with solid design, the biggest achievement was, it made (most of) BIAB non-modal & modular. Not only you can adjust & resize views, you can work with different views simultaneously, on single or multiple screens. Overall it greatly improved workflow.
The younger audience... I don't know if I want that. Meaning mainstream Hip Hop, Techno / Electronic (and sub genres). Genres that are at heart of BIAB: Rock, Blues, Jazz, Folk, Light Pop, World...mainly appeal to folks 40+ And that is great, because there is almost nothing out there that has such a vast library of traditional genres, while there are tons of beat making software titles. Having said that, of course BIAB has to go further to modernize user experience. UI + Library were major steps toward that.
Well, it did get a facelift but not just a facelift! (So, i agree with both of you!) I am finding the work they did greatly improved both the look AND the workflow and I am actually enjoying songwriting inside BIAB now! The day I saw the new UI I contacted a good friend who bought BIAB in 2023 on my recommendation. He loved the RealTracks but hated the UI. I told him he needed this upgrade and he has already bought it and LOVES it too!
Just watched the New GUI User Interface video. Don’t need multi-view templates and a lot of screen clutter. Only want/need a full screen of chords and lyrics from edge to edge, but keeping the tool bar at top. Is that possible with the 2026 version? Would that require a custom template? No buttons showing on left or right, but a full chord screen for songs in live play. Would appreciate a comment on that, before I order-up the new version.
Just watched the New GUI User Interface video. Don’t need multi-view templates and a lot of screen clutter. Only want/need a full screen of chords and lyrics from edge to edge, but keeping the tool bar at top. Is that possible with the 2026 version? Would that require a custom template? No buttons showing on left or right, but a full chord screen for songs in live play. Would appreciate a comment on that, before I order-up the new version.
Yes, this is possible. The sidebar menu can be dragged to zero width via mouse, and the mixer can be not shown, leaving only the top bar menu. This is how I work, too...
DC Ron BiaB Audiophile Presonus Studio One ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM Presonus Faderport 16 Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
. But I think they should stop using that awful clown font - epsecially for YT videos, it is sooooooo outdated and betrays the sophistication of the product.
Is it the font on the chord sheet that you're referring to, or something else?
. But I think they should stop using that awful clown font - epsecially for YT videos, it is sooooooo outdated and betrays the sophistication of the product.
Is it the font on the chord sheet that you're referring to, or something else?
I'm not sure what font they are referring to but, for me, the default font used in the chord sheet is the one that drags the beautiful new GUI down! I hate that font because 1) it looks rough and amateurish and 2) it reminds me of the old BIAB GUI which I really don't like! Sorry, not sorry!
But once I changed the chord sheet font, this GUI rivals any of the best music production software on the market!
As I understand it, the usual font that BIAB displays is the traditional Big Band font that many notation engraving programs use, but I can see why that seems like perhaps the old Comic Sans font that often looks so outdated. DrDan just brought to my attention that there is that neat drop down menu on the new UI to change all of this to what you want. SO VERY COOL!
I use chord sheet with split screen for the memo section where I write both lyrics and other song info. Will that still be an option in 2026? This is very important to me and would like to know asap as I will be purchasing this week. If I can't have that memo section on sp0lit screen that would be a deal breaker for the 1st time since 2004. Please advise.
JJJ did you use a font off the biab included list or a custom font?
As I recall, BIAB font offerings are all a small set of stuff I don't care for so I used a Windows font.
Thanks! I see that there is a choice in the list that says "custom", but also mine says Arial. Is there some control to actually go pick a font off your Windows system other than Arial? I don't see any specific dialog asking me to choose from my Windows font list. Then I questioned AI about fonts and BIAB and it was helpful and I believe accurate:
"Can you change what BIAB uses? BIAB limits chord fonts intentionally. Even though Windows may have hundreds of fonts installed, BIAB will only expose fonts it knows will work. Many fonts break chord spacing, accidentals, or superscripts. If BIAB doesn’t list a font, it’s usually by design."
This made sense to me. Looking at your screen shot, I suspect this is what you picked.
Here is what mine looked like. I just threw in some random chords to see how they displayed. My "G" is slightly different than yours, but the vibe of the font is the same, though mine look larger probably because I had fewer bars showing.
JJJ did you use a font off the biab included list or a custom font?
As I recall, BIAB font offerings are all a small set of stuff I don't care for so I used a Windows font.
Thanks! I see that there is a choice in the list that says "custom", but also mine says Arial. Is there some control to actually go pick a font off your Windows system other than Arial? I don't see any specific dialog asking me to choose from my Windows font list. Then I questioned AI about fonts and BIAB and it was helpful and I believe accurate:
"Can you change what BIAB uses? BIAB limits chord fonts intentionally. Even though Windows may have hundreds of fonts installed, BIAB will only expose fonts it knows will work. Many fonts break chord spacing, accidentals, or superscripts. If BIAB doesn’t list a font, it’s usually by design."
This made sense to me. Looking at your screen shot, I suspect this is what you picked.
Here is what mine looked like. I just threw in some random chords to see how they displayed. My "G" is slightly different than yours, but the vibe of the font is the same, though mine look larger probably because I had fewer bars showing.
Looks Great! I think I made my rows a bit shorter. And I chose my font in the settings window for this toolbar by clicking the Custom button and then choosing what I wanted!!!
Super. That is quite interesting to me. I too used the custom button, but was already indicating only the font Arial. I think I will talk to PG tomorrow to see what they really intend with the "custom" designation. I am a bit of a typography fan so this interests me. If I find out anything interesting, I'll post.
I posted a screen shot replay but do not see it . . . pardon a double if that is that happens. I used the attachment manager below. Please let me know if you get this.
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With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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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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Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
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