PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows 26 Years with PG Music!!!!

Greetings! My name is Edward Buckley, I'm writing because I just upgraded to BIAB 2017, and I wanted to take a moment to thank Peter Gannon and his great company for changing my musical life forever!
In 1990 I was a Trumpet player working at Walt Disney world in Orlando Florida. As a Piano player, I never missed an issue of "Keyboard" magazine. At the back was a small advertisement for a software program called "Band in a Box". At that time i was using the Atari system. I ordered BIAB, and after getting it set up with my trusty Korg M1, I was transported into a new world!! I spent countless hours creating files and jamming with my keyboard and Akai EWI wind controller. This is my 26th year as a VERY loyal and happy customer, over the years I've seen many changes, improvements, and additions, BUT one thing has never changed: PG music's commitment to its customers!! Congrats Peter for a wonderful product that has changed countless lives!! Merry Christmas and i hope to have many more years with this great company!!

Hi Ed. Wonderful post. I'm only two years behind you in using BIAB. As a composer who plays neither piano nor guitar (and forget bass and drums), BIAB literally changed my musical life.

Matt, even though we haven't had the chance to play together, I've admired your playing and learned a LOT from your posts over the years.....hey us Trumpet players have to stick together!!! Merry Christmas my friend!!!

Thanks for the kind words, Ed. I know I would pick your trumpet brain if we met - you're so versatile. Merry Christmas to you, too! You're in Mexico City now, yes?

I came on board in 1995. My solo hotel gig needed to be "livened" up and BIAB was perfect for the gig. I still think of BIAB as an accompaniment program and everything else in the program as "gravy". Ray

Ed, Matt and Ray,

Thanks for those posts and your great support over the years.

I am probably close to 26 years as well. When I started it was DOS and only Drums and bass were generated - but those two instruments into a Roland MPU-401 to a Roland SC-55 along with my guitar or keyboard I could still operate as a one-man-band.

Those were the days...


Kevin

Great stories guys, enjoyed reading every one of them.
Trevor

I started back in 1999 with BIAB version 8, so it's been about 17 years for me. I started with the basic Pro version, but quickly realized that it was too limited style-wise and quickly upgraded to the MegaPak when version 9 came out (at that time, Mega was to the one that had all the goodies).

Haven't look back since and usually do something with BIAB almost every day.

Great stories guys....I'd love to read more success stories from BIAB users, please share your experience with the program and how it's helped you over the years, for me: I've been able to create backing tracks for my solo events all over Mexico, write quick arrangements for Latin Jazz Fest's, write studies, etudes and duets for my students, and I've been able to save a ton of time writing for Big Band and Salsa bands here by using BIAB as the bed, importing to Finale and quickly getting parts ready for impromptu rehearsals! It's been a God send and I hope to upgrade to the Audiophile version soon!

I must be around 26 years as well. Back then it came on 5 1/4" floppy disks, DOS only, and drove my brand new Casiotone MT240. Even with the wonderful sounds possible today, the first time I fired up BiaB on my PC it sounded SO GREAT...

+1 to what Trevor said! That's awesome guys.

Awesome postings here ... I can only hope to be around as long as Mr. Buckley! That, Ed, is some great history with BIAB, you are sharing with us!

Hope, you will share more for many, many more years, good Sir!!! Respect!

When I started with BiaB, I got the first version that was available for the Atari. Probably close to 1989 or 1990. I too saw that ad in Keyboard or Electronic Musician mag. I saw it for the IBM first, and wished they made it for the Atari. This was my first of many wishes to be granted by PG Music.

It was a primitive program with no user styles, 3 instruments and no endings, but it was awesome for its day. As a sax player, I used it for a practice tool. It's difficult to try out improvisational ideas without a band and hear what works better and what doesn't work at all.

Then, still with only 3 styles, BiaB came up with the ability to make user styles. Well, I had arranging in school, I played drums, sax, flute, bass, guitar and keyboards at the time, so I thought I'd give it a try. I figured BiaB styles were limited, there were thousands they didn't cover, and as a different musician, I would have different ideas.

I wrote a couple of dozen styles, gave them to my friends, and they told me that they liked them better than the built in BiaB styles. (Aren't friends wonderful for your ego?)

So I took out an ad in Electronics Musician Magazine (now EM) selling my styles to other Atari users.

One day I came home and found a message on my answering machine from Peter Gannon asking me to call him. I was very nervous, thinking that perhaps he might be putting a stop to my little business. Nothing cold have been farther from the truth.

Peter told me that his biggest market was for IBM (now called PC) and if I sent him my Atari disks he would be happy to convert them to IBM format styles so I could sell them to IBM users as well. This is the friendly, helpful attitude Peter Gannon and the entire PG Music staff has displayed since day one!!!

A company doesn't get any better than this.

The PC (IBM) version of BiaB was still DOS at the time. The first Windows version wasn't born yet. and they were still shipping on 5.25" floppy disks as well as the brand new 3.5" version, so I bought an "IBM Clone" PC and later a Motorola CPU Mac Classic computer.

Since those humble beginnings I've watched Band-in-a-Box change and grow. Windows version came, then 5 instruments and endings, support for more chords, and yearly update at a time it grew into the monster of a music utility program it is today.

Wow, what changes, from a practice aid 'toy' to a full blown music making machine which I consider one of the 3 programs every musician with a computer should have.

But one thing hasn't changed; Peter Gannon and PG Music's commitment to their customers.

Friendly, professional, customer service has always been first priority with PG Music. Peter obviously cares about us, and this reflects on the staff choices he hires, so the entire enterprise seems like it is here for me personally, and judging from what I read on these forums, each one of us probably feels the same way. It's here for me, John, Russell, Mac, Ed, Mario, Pat, Joanne, Mike, Leo, Janice, Bud, Steve, Eddie, Don, Charlie, Matt, and the rest of us.

So it's my turn to say "Thank you for the wonderful program that has blossomed through the years", and just as important, "Thank you for caring about your customers and supporting us as well."

Notes

Awesome post Bob Norton!! this is a great thread for me to learn more too.....

Also a 1990 alumni, Oct 1990 (still have receipt but not for Atari, it was for a "8086" MS-DOS machine).

But unlike you I cannot remember where I first saw the the ad's. I THINK it was Electronic Musician (?) OR a guitar rag magazine, or?? I do remember seeing the ads a few months before buying it and they were very BUSY ads, it listed everything but a kitchen sink, so was intrigued.

Being a guitar-only player since the 50's (still am really) I had just started down the "EM" and synth path the year prior ('89) with a GR-50 MIDI guitar synth (STILL have it), an MT-32 for some Sierra games (it's long gone), and a sequencer Cakewalk V2 DOS (a hex on DAW's ) that opened me up to possibles I never thought possible (at least at home) using my TEAC 4070 and Fostex X15 together.

But after getting BIAB V2 DOS I was simply floored and happy as a "pig in fecal matter."

Have been on the BIAB in particular, PG in general, band-wagon ever since. I have never missed an upgrade.

Larry

Kevin, John, Ron, Bob, Larry,

Those are great posts, bringing back lots of memories! Thanks for posting, and also for your support here and elsewhere over the years.

My introduction to BIAB was by a salesman in the Pro Audio department of Sam Ash in White Plains, NY.

I had been using a small Yamaha hardware sequencer (QY10). This was about the size of a VCR tape and although it was an amazing tool it had some annoying omissions in chord types. I asked if he had any newer, more capable units (remember, this was several years before you could research such things on the Internet). He instead showed me BIAB. Even as a comp. sci. prof I was skeptical a computer would be able to do what I had been doing on my Yamaha.

Boy, was that wrong.

Not long after, I too saw an ad, also I think in Electronic Musician, for Bob 'Notes' Norton and his aftermarket styles. I called Bob, who was great and most helpful. He also knew all about setting up my WX5 wind controller.

I think it's interesting that this thread is not only a tribute to PG Music, but apparently also the effectiveness of placing a small ad in the awesome Electronic Musician magazine!

I've also enjoyed reading these anecdotes. I got my first version of Band In A Box some time in the mid-90s.It came bundled with some hardware (or maybe software) I bought at the time. I think, from memory, it was a restricted version and only had the built-in styles. I really liked it so I went to my local music store to buy the latest boxed version, which I knew they had. I was pretty naive about music software then and unfortunately the owner persuaded me that Jammer was a better option so I bought that instead and used (and upgraded) it over the next few years. While I am not critical of Jammer I really regretted not buying BIAB and by the time version 8 came out I decided I had to have it.

I think it came with three extra stye packs when I got it but you could buy extra packs and then, like now, I figured you couldn't have too many. I used to drive about 60 miles to the only store I knew of that sold them. I was so glad when I realised PG Music was selling the EverythingPak.

Since I bought version 8 I have only missed once or twice upgrading. I love this program and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Does anyone remember being on PG Music's newsletter snail mail list years ago? Every so often I'd receive an advertisement in the mail detailing the new features in the new release. It was fascinating because sometimes the paper was colored and sometimes white.