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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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My first post. I've never used Band In a Box, but it looks interesting from the videos I've seen. I already have a Roland BK-7m backing module and also use Sonar X3 for custom backing sounds.
East Coast Music has BIAB 2013 Audiophile Edition marked down from $669 to $459.99. I assume this is due to the pending release of the 2014 version.
Questions:
Should I wait for the 2014 version or buy the 2013 and pay an upgrade when 2014 is released?
What is the typical upgrade cost for the Audiophile Edition?
Appreciate any helpful comments.
Wally G
Yamaha Montage 6 Roland J80, D50, Integra 7, BK-7m, FR-8X, 1967 Fender Jaguar, Fender Strat, Fender 1965 Twin Reverb reissue, Selmer Trumpet, Akai EWI, Studio One 4 My WEB Site: www.gontowski.com/music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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First, there's no indication whatsoever that there will be a 2014 version. We were all expecting a mid year 2013.5 version but it didn't happen even though there've been mid year releases for the last 5 or 6 years.
The history has been a new release every Xmas for basically every year since day one so you would think it's a good bet there will be one shortly but still, no announcement of any kind.
If there is one it should be announced around the last week of November. They like to have it available about 30 days before Xmas.
Normally what happens is if a new customer buys the old version within 30 days of a new version being announced then the upgrade is free. That's just the upgrade for the program itself, not for any brand new Real Tracks/Drums. That should mean you can buy the 2013 version now and be protected if they announce 2014 in a couple of weeks.
If you're serious then call Sales and they'll tell you how that should work and if somebody tells you there's a new version coming, please come back here and tell the rest of us...
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Bob has good advice, but may I offer one clarification: there have been a few years where the program was not released until well into the first week of December.
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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First, there's no indication whatsoever that there will be a 2014 version. We were all expecting a mid year 2013.5 version but it didn't happen even though there've been mid year releases for the last 5 or 6 years.
The history has been a new release every Xmas for basically every year since day one so you would think it's a good bet there will be one shortly but still, no announcement of any kind.
If there is one it should be announced around the last week of November. They like to have it available about 30 days before Xmas.
Normally what happens is if a new customer buys the old version within 30 days of a new version being announced then the upgrade is free. That's just the upgrade for the program itself, not for any brand new Real Tracks/Drums. That should mean you can buy the 2013 version now and be protected if they announce 2014 in a couple of weeks.
If you're serious then call Sales and they'll tell you how that should work and if somebody tells you there's a new version coming, please come back here and tell the rest of us...
Bob Thanks Bob, I did as you suggested and called Sales. Here's the skinny: Yes historically they come out with a new "yearly" version around December. No announcement date yet. She suggested I (as Jazzmandan stated) "wait". I could order the 2013 version and when the 2014 version came out I could upgrade, but I would have to ship the 2013 BIAB on a hard drive back to them, and the shipping costs, upgrade cost, my time etc. would not be worth it. I guess the bottom line is: There will be a 2014 release, otherwise she would have told me to get the 2013 product so they wouldn't lose a sale... Thanks for the help. Wally G
Yamaha Montage 6 Roland J80, D50, Integra 7, BK-7m, FR-8X, 1967 Fender Jaguar, Fender Strat, Fender 1965 Twin Reverb reissue, Selmer Trumpet, Akai EWI, Studio One 4 My WEB Site: www.gontowski.com/music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Thanks Wallyg....
I am also a "newbie" (wanting to get into BIAB) as you are and am trying to calculate what way to go; buy and older 2013 or wait for the newer 2014.
After contacting BIAB sales they basically told me the same thing..... Wait.
Thanks for confirming ....
Last edited by Del3535; 11/06/13 11:58 AM.
Del
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I get one right every once in a while.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I guess the bottom line is: There will be a 2014 release, otherwise she would have told me to get the 2013 product so they wouldn't lose a sale...
Take a second and think about how many other sales outfits you know that would make that statement. The PGMusic way is exemplary. --Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I guess the bottom line is: There will be a 2014 release, otherwise she would have told me to get the 2013 product so they wouldn't lose a sale...
Take a second and think about how many other sales outfits you know that would make that statement. The PGMusic way is exemplary. --Mac I agree. If their product is as good as their customer support, I'm looking forward to using BIAB! Wally G
Yamaha Montage 6 Roland J80, D50, Integra 7, BK-7m, FR-8X, 1967 Fender Jaguar, Fender Strat, Fender 1965 Twin Reverb reissue, Selmer Trumpet, Akai EWI, Studio One 4 My WEB Site: www.gontowski.com/music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Journeyman
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No 2013.5 release...no updates since January 2013 for the Windows version...no new anythings....
I'm guessing something big is coming - maybe the much requested new interface, or 8 beats per measure, or some other major change. I'd wait a month on 2013 and then if nothing new is released pull the trigger and go for 2013. A great program.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Oh yeah Barry, there's been rampant speculation about that some of it from me. Did you not see my somewhat tongue in cheek suggestion to create two versions, one a Classic version and the other an Awesome Cool Dude version in my post in the other thread? Gimme that ACD right now!
Good info Wally, I didn't know they would require you to send your HD back for the upgrade I thought they would just send you upgrade links that you d/l and install to the existing drive.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I like the concept of returning the hard drive for a rewrite, or at least have that be one of the purchasing choices (perhaps at a reduced price?).
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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I am in the same boat as to whether or not to buy now or wait. It's trickier for me as I live in Turkey and would have to pop over to the UK to pick it up. I am going anyway this winter but was planning on going in the next couple of weeks. However with nothing booked can put it off a few weeks.
Whilst I am sure that the current version is more than sufficient for my needs, if as is surmised above the new version will have a more user friendly interface and therefore a shorter learning curve it would well be worth the disruption to my plans.
Cheers Steve
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I'm thinking that the return of hard drive thing has only to do with the much larger sized Audiophile version.
Wouldn't want to be downloading that anyway.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Good thought. I even have some older BIAB audiophile drives that were far larger, before the Elastique algorithm reduced the size of the files to about one-third previous.
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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Wallyg,
1st of all welcome to just maybe the best forum on the net, Now re: to wait or not to wait . . . I am thinking (and that in itself could lead to a problem)we are just a few weeks away and I am a patient guy (when it comes to music anyway) so I would most definitely wait a few weeks.
Later,
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I could order the 2013 version and when the 2014 version came out I could upgrade, but I would have to ship the 2013 BIAB on a hard drive back to them, and the shipping costs, upgrade cost, my time etc. would not be worth it. I have never heard of this, OR had to do it in all the times I have updated BiaB! Do you have to do this if you UPGRADE and not just UPDATE? Like if I went from the Reg to Audiophile version? Or would this apply to just the Audiophile Version & it's large files? Surely a PGM employee can at least answer THIS question, as it seems over the top to have to incur extra expense after paying $$$ for the software in the first place...
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I'm not a PGMusic employee, but I'm 100 percent certain that you will not be required to ever return the hard drive on any non-Audiophile version of BB, even if you decide to go for switching to the Audiophile version.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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And the same has been true for audiophile hard drives. This is why I have so many of them.  Someone suggested the idea, and I would be willing to do an exchange by shipping, but it is not the way it has been done so far.
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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Yes, Matt, I agree.
I'm thinking tha what may have made the difference in this particular case is the idea of buying the present version so close to release and then wanting to take advantage of a free upgrade to the newest version.
Think about it, in that scenario, pgmusic would be out two of the more expensive hard drives plus twice the amount of much longer time it takes to load and prepare the Audiophile drives.
--Mac
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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!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
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 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®.
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, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
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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You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
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- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
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- 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)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
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- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
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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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