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Which version Mac or PC #242564 03/04/14 04:22 AM Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 973 U.K guitarman OP Expert
OP guitarman Expert Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 973 U.K	HI All I have changed from a PC to a Mac and i have been waiting for the 2014 BIAB version to be released. As i still have my old PC i was wondering could someone advise me whether waiting for the Mac version was a good idea,or would getting the PC version make more sense. I want it for making Backing Tracks,so Real Tracks are important,especially the Pedal Steel. It has been said they the Mac version lacks some of the PC functionality? Your suggestions appreciated.Thanks Alan

Re: Which version Mac or PC guitarman #242584 03/04/14 07:24 AM Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 6,505 Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S.A. Notes Norton Veteran
Notes Norton Veteran Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 6,505 Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S.A.	See my answer to your question in the Windows forum. BTW, there are 24 times as many people looking in the Windows forum now. I've seen over 50 (or infinity when there are zero people here in the Mac forum). This gives a clue to the economics of using a Mac. I release my styles to both at the same time, but if I had to write completely different styles for both platforms, I'd definitely release PC for the cash flow and then work on the Mac. Thankfully I don't have to make that decision. 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

Re: Which version Mac or PC Notes Norton #242598 03/04/14 08:18 AM Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 973 U.K guitarman OP Expert
OP guitarman Expert Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 973 U.K	Thanks for that Notes. I am leaning towards going the PC on a Mac way,although it is slightly more expensive. I already have Win7 which i can use,so i need to buy Parallels and BIAB. I take your point regarding the amount of traffic on both forums,it speaks for itself really. Alan

Re: Which version Mac or PC guitarman #242642 03/04/14 01:37 PM Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 442 Maine Guitartist Journeyman
Guitartist Journeyman Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 442 Maine	Alan, if you decide to go with Parallels, be sure that you have plenty of space on your hard drive. If I remember correctly, it used over 10GB of space on my drive before I finally decided to uninstall it when the Mac version of BIAB finally got closer to parity with the Windows version. Have you looked into Bootcamp also? This would eliminate any additional purchase since you already have Win7. Also, re: forum activity, there is no question whatsoever that there is MUCH more action going on in the Windows forum compared to the Mac forum. Let me just say that the core functionality of the program is essentially the same in both versions at this point (or will be with the imminent release of BIAB 2014 for Mac) so even if you were to go with the Mac version you can still learn tons from visiting the Windows forum. Much of the information you'll get is transferable to the Mac BIAB. Of course, if someone talks about RealBand you just think GarageBand instead, and discussions about soundcard upgrades won't be pertinent to you on a Mac, etc. Personally, I got tired of using emulation software (Parallels); needed to recover the disc space; could never get my USB ports, my DIGI002 interface, or my Wacom graphics tablet to be recognized by Parallels; and my copy of Windows98 is too old to work with Bootcamp, so I just went native with the Mac version and am perfectly happy with it. Ron UltraPAK 2021, 27" late 2012 iMac, 16 GB RAM, OSX 10.15.7 Logic Pro X 10.6.3

Re: Which version Mac or PC guitarman #242650 03/04/14 03:14 PM Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Aug 2011 Posts: 1,827 S solidrock Expert
solidrock Expert S Joined: Aug 2011 Posts: 1,827	If you get the PC version you can do a crossgrade and get just the Mac app also then you can use the PC realtracks if you have wav files or convert the wma to m4a, but the MacBB2014 might be able to use the wma realtracks ? so just have to wait and see. You also have RealBand with the PC version that alows a lot more tracks.

Re: Which version Mac or PC guitarman #242671 03/04/14 05:00 PM Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 973 U.K guitarman OP Expert
OP guitarman Expert Joined: Jul 2005 Posts: 973 U.K	Thanks Ron and solidrock for the informative replies. The Mac version is the one to go for,I didn't really fancy messing around with Parallels. I use Logic Pro on my Mac Mini,and have Waves and Universal Audio plugins. I think I am going to wait for the 2014 release. Alan

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May 06, 2026

2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!

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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
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SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
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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
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April 28, 2026

XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!

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April 22, 2026

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.

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Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!

April 21, 2026

Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!

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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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April 02, 2026

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March 24, 2026

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.

March 12, 2026

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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