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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85 |
Hi All.
I'm a complete newbie, so please bear with me. I bought BIAB 2011 and have been running with it for about a week. I play Tenor Sax and got BIAB to act as a backing band - it does much of what I want with chord changes etc, which no other product seems to do.
But - I have to admit I'm really struggling with some of the basics so would appreciate some help. I have about a million questions - and yes I have searched the forums and help files!
In order to keep the forum orderly I'll just post one simple Q for now.
I dabbled with Mixcraft and really like the track layout for editing etc - but BIAB doesn't seem to offer this. I havent spent so long with Realband - but that does do tracks layout, and seems to offer some (most?) of the functionality of BIAB.
So, Q1 is, should I be using BIAB or RealBand?
Thanks in advance
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,449
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,449 |
Many here start in Biab, get the basic song down, then go to RB to finish it up.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,687
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,687 |
If you just want to make quick songs with chord structure and have them play as you play along and solo over at times. BiaB is the Dog that will hunt. If you want to record more tracks to the mix and do a lot of editting to the tracks RB will get 'er done!
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB/RB 2026, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 11 , Presonus Audiobox USB96
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85 |
Man, I just blinked and got 2 replies!! Thanks guys - I thought that might be the answer. Bit odd though that BIAB doesnt include tracks view? One can short of a six pack, no?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 8,333
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It wasn't made for that. Thus realband.
One has the name the other has my heart.
Don't know where I heard that or where it came from.
Band in a Box is an arranger program on steroids, or stereo-oids.
RealBand does midi editing, and track shifting, and lets you use multiple plug ins etc.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85 |
OK, thanks for that. Just one more thing on this - I can drag individual tracks from BIAB to RB. Can I drag the whole thing in one go? Tried drag on Combo and it didnt like it.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,449
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,449 |
Open the Biab file in RB..
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,443
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Joined: Jul 2000
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As rharv said, no need to drag at all. The Drag & Drop feature is excellent but it is for use with other brand sequencer programs.
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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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055
Productor Musical
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Productor Musical
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055 |
Hi Tom, welcome to forum, I love to experiment blending various drum tracks in RealBand as it is not possible in BiaB. For example, latin percussion RealDrums does work fantastic with some RD rock pop drums for latin rock ensembles. After create the initial arrange in BiaB, I exported the song to RB and mounted the multi drums sets for my song Latin Cowboy. Since RB and BiaB share song making features, I can do further adjustments in my song chords, edit and mix MIDI, audio and use multi intruments VSTi setups. RealBand is the BiaB post-production 'lab' when you need to go beyond the basic song production. Even you don't need BiaB for use RB, since it is a complete stand-alone application for your audio and musical needs. Carlos --------------------------------------------------- Latin Cowboy.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,157
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Tommohawk,
Biab has been around for decades while Realband just a few years, a fyi. Realband was developed for precise editing features for midi and audio we were unable to do inside of Biab. Biab has a single midi input/output and a stereo wave track. People had to use another sequencer to do many edits etc . . ., thus the Realband concept.
Realband will open files just like Biab so you can open your Biab files without any problems inside of RB.
If you want to "fine tune" your Biab creation and have all sorts of FX, finish it off in Realband.
Trax
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85 |
OK. Thanks thats great, and makes perfect sense especially the comments about development history.
I've experimented with BIAB but havent saved anythihg yet just because I didnt want to clutter up with garbage. So I dragged solo tracks to RB prior to saving. Once I save it in BIAB, I see that I can open the whole thing in RB.
I have a number of other Qs - hopefully you good people with assist with those too - but will post those separately. Thanks all.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,826
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,826 |
Hi
one of the good things about realband is the use of many differant sounds where BIAB only has one you can use a different sound on every track if you have programs like sampletank 2, Garrian BBJB and GPO and many others
regards Dave
I always play the right notes but not always in the right order
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 8,021 |
Quote:
OK. Thanks thats great, and makes perfect sense especially the comments about development history.
I've experimented with BIAB but havent saved anythihg yet just because I didnt want to clutter up with garbage. So I dragged solo tracks to RB prior to saving. Once I save it in BIAB, I see that I can open the whole thing in RB.
I have a number of other Qs - hopefully you good people with assist with those too - but will post those separately. Thanks all.
Bring it on my friend. We're here for each other.Welcome and may you be as rewarded as I am with these programs.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 928
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 928 |
Quote:
I dabbled with Mixcraft and really like the track layout for editing etc - but BIAB doesn't seem to offer this. I havent spent so long with Realband - but that does do tracks layout, and seems to offer some (most?) of the functionality of BIAB.
So, Q1 is, should I be using BIAB or RealBand?
Both.
Or if you're comfortable with Mixcraft (as I am) use BiaB and Mixcraft.
They make a great combo.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 8
Newbie
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Newbie
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 8 |
Just wanted to share something I stumbled across while researching this for myself. It is a Sales FAQ from one of PG Music's international websites (scroll down to item #6). They give a short description of Band-in-a-Box, PowerTracks Pro Audio, and RealBand; and then follow it with a feature comparison chart. The page was last updated Nov. 21, 2010, so not sure if it contains the latest features, but it is still great stuff! I wish they would include it on the .com FAQs. 
Jeff (Jams)
________________________________________________
Play HARD or not at all! Oh...right...we're talking music here.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 85 |
FracturedJams - thats a good comparison chart - highlights the differences, but also shows theres quite an overlap. So I'm happier my original Q doesnt seem so dumb!
FirstBassMan - yes, think I'll stick with BIAB and Mixcraft.
JazzBand - looks like we're neighbours!
Cheers, over and out on this one.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 5,086
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 5,086 |
Hi tommohawk, Another feature you may find useful later on using RB is the ability to generate tracks there without having to go back to BIAB. You can generate new additional realtracks for however many tracks/bars you choose. You can also generate additional midi tracks from the same or a new style. Realband is really easy to use. I would encourage you to go from BIAB to Realband then back to Mixcraft if you wish as that will give you a good foundation when you're ready to do more advanced stuff within the programs. Just my two cents. 
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047
Veteran
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,047 |
John, One Has My Name.... Good memory.... Seeker
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 928
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 928 |
Quote:
Just wanted to share something I stumbled across while researching this for myself. It is a Sales FAQ from one of PG Music's international websites (scroll down to item #6).
I wish they would include it on the .com FAQs.
It is:
http://www.pgmusic.com/salesfaq3.htm#6
"www.bandinabox.cc" is just another registered domain name. Not one of PGM's international sites.
And ".cc" is a sort of short-hand for ".com" Same thing.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,928
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,928 |
Quote:
"www.bandinabox.cc" is just another registered domain name. Not one of PGM's international sites.
And ".cc" is a sort of short-hand for ".com" Same thing.
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-level_domains
the '.cc' extention means Cocos Island. Odd that they would own that domain extention, but the same info and most of the links point back to the .com domain.
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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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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
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Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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Happy New Year!
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Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
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- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
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- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
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