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Styles and RealTracks Wishlist
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 15
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 15 |
Hey, Pilgrim: Personally, I think my idea for multi-pass style sets seems fairly clever and pregnant with potential. Although I haven’t read any similar Wishlist requests, if I am repeating an idea someone has offered previously, I apologize for the repetition now. However, if my idea is original but its application would not be practical for technical reasons and/or of no use to the typical Band-In-A-Box user, well, I anticipate that some of you who read this will cordially explain why realization of my particular “wish” is unfeasible or undesirable. In the wee hours of a recent workday morning, I awoke a few hours before the alarm-clock was set to buzz. Instead of immediately drifting back into cozy slumber, I experienced a “waking dream” in which I was using special multi-part style sets in BiaB to easily make audio tracks for really full, lush, and articulate mixes. Cool, huh?If I wanted a 12-piece band with a horn section, for example, on the first pass of generating instrument tracks to accompany my melody and chord structure, I might load a hypothetical HornDawgs1A style — the first part of a 2-part style set — and then generate the bass, keyboard, drums, guitar, strings, melody, and soloist tracks. For my way of working (Your mileage may vary.), I would then output each of those instrument tracks as its own separate audio (.wav) file for subsequent mixing in RealBand. Before any mixing, however, I would next load hypothetical style HornDawgs1B — the second part of a 2-part style set — to generate the horn section for my song. Where typical BiaB single-pass styles would usually have to limit the horns to a single brass ensemble track in order to also accommodate all the other aforementioned (minus one or two) instruments, this second pass could generate separately, say, trumpet 1, trumpet 2, trombone, sax, and flute. After I output the individual audio tracks for each horn, then I can begin mixing all 12 tracks in RealBand. And how about orchestral multi-pass style sets? For example, an entire 48-piece chamber orchestra could be recreated by a single 8-part style set, in which individual passes of 6-instruments-at-a-time might include OrchStrings1, OrchStrings2, OrchStrings3, OrchBrass1, OrchBrass2, OrchWoodwinds1, OrchWoodwinds2, and OrchPercussion1 (including keyboard). Oy! Yeah, that would be a lot of stuff to work with — 48 individual instrument tracks, all generated according to one master style! But, hey, this is just an example to suggest to what level a “multi-pass style set” approach could be expanded. (If, of course, passes must be limited to 5-instruments-at-a-time, then a 10-part style set could still handle the project outlined above.)And that's just two examples. You, no doubt, can easily imagine how this concept could apply to various other kinds of music, some of which may be much closer to your heart and more suited to your own personal tastes and needs. And blah, de-blah, blah, blah... Well, I finally faded from semi-consciousness that morning and drifted back into slumber, to dream some regular old-fashioned REM-state non-waking dreams. So, hey, what do ya think of my concept of multi-pass style sets? No changes need to be made to either Band-In-A-Box or RealBand to accommodate this method of significantly increasing the number of instruments available in a style. It's just a matter of some new style sets being written by PG Music and/or after-market vendors, for something more than single-pass output. Hey, I'm just sayin'.... Be well, be happy. And, oh yeah, pleasant dreams. Sincerely, Bro. Dave Lister "There once was a hermit named Dave...."http://www.brodavelister.com/
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Styles and RealTracks Wishlist
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 8,233
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 8,233 |
That's sort of like my initial approach to cooking: if a couple spices are good, then throwing in a whole bunch of spices must make something that tastes terrific! It didn't take many experiments to prove that approach wrong. Similarly, my first attempts at orchestral writing consisted of trying to get every instrument to do something different. The result was as predictably bad as my attempts at randomly combining foodstuff: a huge mess. For the most part, BiaB arrangements work because the various instruments (drums, bass, guitar) play supporting roles. As long as they follow the same beat and feel, they'll mesh together well. Put a lead instrument on top of that, and it'll generally sit pretty well. But add another instrument, and you won't end up with a duet. Sure, it might mesh nicely at points, but that's purely chance. Adding more instruments to the mix will only ensure that things get worse, not better. Listen to some orchestral music, and - despite the initial complexity - you'll find that most music can be broken down into the following general functions: melody, counter-melody, harmony, and bass. More than one instrument will often be assigned to a particular part - for example, you might have the strings taking the melody in octaves, or the brass playing the counter-melody in block chords, and so on. But that's homophony - a thickened line, with all the instruments are playing the same rhythm, moving in similar directions. (BiaB's harmony function is an excellent example of this). So there may be 52 instruments playing, but they aren't all playing something different - even if they aren't all playing the same note. And often, many of these instruments aren't doing anything at all. Good orchestration is based on variety. So the woodwinds will have the melody for a few bars, and then it'll be handed off to the strings, and so on. And that's ignoring the problem of coordinating all these parts. Consider, for example, what it takes to create a counter-melody. You'll want the counter-melody to: - Use chordal notes, but not notes already selected by the melody;
- Generally move in the opposite direction of the melody;
- Avoid dissonant intervals;
- Avoid parallel fifths and octaves;
- Be sparse when the melody is busy, and busy when the melody is sparse
If you don't follow those rules, your counter-melody is going to sound pretty stupid. This sort of capability is beyond RealTracks at the moment, and it ignores another huge constraint: - Make the choice from the pre-recorded options
 Anyway, the short(er) answer is that although it may seem that an orchestra is a lot of instruments playing different things, when you break it down, it's a lot of instruments playing similar things, following lots of complex rules that if you don't follow, you'll end up with a mess.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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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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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)
Learn more about the Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: 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.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
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.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
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!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours
Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
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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