Hi just wondering if the usb drive that pg sends biab on, is it usb 2 or usb 3? I have an ssd 128 gig drive in my laptop , so not large enough to load biab. I only have the basic installation in my laptop and run everything else from the usb drive. Is there any advantage putting the files on a usb 3 drive ( if pg is only usb 2), or even an ssd usb,, or does the speed of a usb ssd not really make any difference as far as band in a box goes.
The disk drive I have been supplied with is USB 3 but is also USB 2 compatible.
If you have a USB 3 port available, then it is better to use that.
As a general rule, the speed doesn't matter, as the songs are generated first.
I'm sure it's fine to use the USB drive in a USB 2 port.
In my installation, I use the option to install the main program to my HDD, but run the audio files from the USB drive.
Hope this helps
Best
Trevor
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.
yes, I have Audiophile. I can't say what USB type the standard version is released on, my earlier versions are USB 2.
However, the pin connections are different between USB 2 and USB 3. USB 3 has two sets of connection terminals. One set of 4-pins for backwards compatibility with USB 2 and a second set of 5 pins to handle the USB 3 protocol.
Below photos (courtesy Wikipedia) show a close-up of a Standard-A USB 3.0 connector, showing its front row of four pins for the USB 1.x/2.0 backwards compatibility, and a second row of five pins for the new USB 3.0 connectivity.
So you should be able to determine your drive technology type by viewing the USB plug.
Hope this assists
Best
Trevor
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.
Update: OK, I just checked the 2014 Audiophile disk cable, and it is definitely USB 2.0, so PGM presumably made the change to USB 3.0 for the 2015 Audiophile version.
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.
For 2015, and the NON-Audiophile version, the supplied cable for my USB drive is clearly USB 2 (NOT USB 3), the drive appears to be USB 2 and operates as such.
Having said that, and the heavy users of external USB drives for BIAB (Audiophile or not) can jump in here and slap this down but the only REAL benefit of USB 3, vice USB2, for BIAB is the load time for RT's from a external hard drive. And on MY PC - using supplied USB 2 drive to get RT's and using fast internal HDDs the time delta is very small and would be unnoticeable on day to day work.
Once RT's are loaded - they are in memory and, in general, RT's are your heavy disk I/O users besides audio recording or audio editing.
Moving to USB 3 won't hurt - but won't be cost benefit winner IMHO
Larry
Last edited by Larry Kehl; 02/07/1501:48 PM.
Win10Pro,i9,64GB,2TBSSD+20TBHDDs,1080TI,BIAB'24,Scarlett18i8,Montage7,Fusion 8HD,QS8,Integra7,XV5080,QSR,SC-8850,SPLAT,FL21&others,Komp.14,IK suite&others, just a guitar player-AXE FX III &FM9T, FishmanTP, MIDIGuitar2, GK2/3'sw/GI20
The 2015 Audiophile disk is quite large: 1.5Tb, and it contains more than 1Tb of data (much more than the 2014 version, which was less then 1Tb of data)
One reason PGM might have gone to USB 3 for this version is the time to load the files onto it in the first place.
Best
Trevor
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.
Thanks Guys, I don't actually have the audiophile version, so, I checked the plugs on the usb drives that I do have. Sort of got a bit confusing as an old Seagate back up drive I have, only had a single plug at one end, whereas the pg usb's have a double. I also have a new Seagate usb, and on closer inspection of the cable it has an icon with a diagram and an ss written on it , which my old Seagate and the pg drives don't have. So yes, I believe they are only usb 2. Thanks for that.
So is it really only that usb 3 loads the real tracks a tiny bit faster than usb 2, but makes no difference to the actual playback of the real tracks because the real tracks actually get loaded in. ie it's the computer that's the important part, not how quickly you load the tracks in.
I'm sort of getting myself a bit confused with some of the software synths I used to use a few years back, that used streaming, and I think maybe drive speed would have mattered?
So really, usb 3 speed is more important if you're using it for copying or backing up large amounts of data.
Great, you may have saved me money buying additional usb3 drive. haha
... So is it really only that usb 3 loads the real tracks a tiny bit faster than usb 2, but makes no difference to the actual playback of the real tracks because the real tracks actually get loaded in. ie it's the computer that's the important part, not how quickly you load the tracks in.
Yep, for the BiaB program, that's it in a nutshell
Originally Posted By: rikkisbears
I'm sort of getting myself a bit confused with some of the software synths I used to use a few years back, that used streaming, and I think maybe drive speed would have mattered?
So really, usb 3 speed is more important if you're using it for copying or backing up large amounts of data.
Yes, BiaB has been designed to work very flexibly with computers that have a wide range of performance capabilities (processor speed, memory etc).
USB3 has higher transfer rates, but BiaB loads whatever it needs to get going before it starts playing.
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.
Thanks Guys, I don't actually have the audiophile version, so, I checked the plugs on the usb drives that I do have. Sort of got a bit confusing as an old Seagate back up drive I have, only had a single plug at one end, whereas the pg usb's have a double.
The USB 2.0 standard limits current to a maximum of 500 milliamps (1/2 amp). In fact many front panel USB 2.0 connections are limited to 100 milliamps (1/10 amp) of current to avoid accidentally popping motherboard fuses while plugging and unplugging USB connections. Many external drive and enclosure manufacturers supply USB 2 cables with two connectors. Only 1 connector is needed for communication but the second is provided in case two connections are needed to provide enough current.
The Wikipedia photos Trevor posted are nice. Another easy way to tell if a connection is USB 2 or USB 3 is by the color of the plastic inside the connector. USB 2 uses black or white plastic. The USB 3 standard states the plastic color must be blue as shown in the photos.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
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