|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Veteran
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693 |
After much thinking I finally decided to get a tablet for charts, pdf's, irealpro, etc we've all talked about for gigs. This is all I'm using it for, nothing else so all I need is a good, basic inexpensive large screen tablet. The el cheapo's I see online all have terrible reviews, poor screens, etc so I wind up checking out the new Amazon Fire HD 10.1 and bought it last night from Best Buy. It's only $149, has a high resolution screen and gets great reviews. Any other Android tablet with decent reviews costs twice that or more with a 10" screen. Yes I know iPads are great for musicians but for the money I just don't need one, all I need is something for charts. I had already read the Fire cannot access the Google app store, it uses Amazon's app store so of course I do more research. I find all of the apps I'm considering are available including MobileSheets, Fakebook Pro and...irealpro. I thought. Turns out I didn't look closely enough. When I did a Google search for "Amazon irealpro app" the page that certainly looks like it's available has a little blurb off to the right that I didn't see on my phone that says "You are not eligible to purchase this app due to geographical restrictions". What!? What the heck is this? I do more looking and find this: https://technimo.helpshift.com/a/ireal-pro/?s=purchases&f=ireal-pro-in-amazon-app-storeWhich leads to this: https://www.howtogeek.com/232726/how-to-install-the-google-play-store-on-your-amazon-fire-tablet/Talk about blindsided. I think it's cool that I could turn this into a Google tablet BUT...if doing this winds up turning it into a frisbee I may not be able to return it (well I could try, haha) but they probably would if I exchanged it for a Samsung for double the money. My question is has anybody done this, does this look legit? Or is trying to save $150 not worth it and I should get a double the money tablet. Which would put me into the ball park of the new iPad 9.7 for $350 but dammit all I need is a stupid 10" or larger chart reader. Thanks
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,819
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,819 |
It would have been nice if they had at least explained why they quit "officially" supporting the device. Doesn't help any to wonder though.
My wife has impaired vision. I'm using the laptop she use to have (Dell Inspirion) because she couldn't she the screen anymore. We went to BestBuy and looked at Microsoft Surface, Windows laptops, Apple laptops and Ipads before settling on a Samsung Galaxy with a 10.3" screen. For her the screen is easier to see than an Apple with a Retina screen. She's had it going on two years and she still likes it.
My guess is it would work well sitting on a stand with you looking at the screen from a short distance.
Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk Sonar - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,032
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,032 |
My eight inch fire that I bought last Christmas can access the Google play store, took me about 5-10 mins to do it following the instructions from the net. Its only a matter of installing four or five apps in order that they tell you to.
I don't think it can mess up your tablet, like other stuff like rooting can do, as its only installing apps.
But then again you can never be 100% sure what nasties are in those apps, I was willing to take the chance, but took the precaution of removing my credit card details from google play in case anyone else could access my account. If I want to buy an app, I will only put the details back on temporary.
Google play works 100% as well as other google apps like google books and drive.
As amazon update their tablet automatically there is a chance that it might disable google play.
But there again if you are one of those people who follow the rules to the latter then amazon didn't put google play on your tablet, so they don't want you to have it.
You make up your own mind, I did!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693 |
Good info, thanks. No, I'm not worried that I'm somehow cheating Amazon. I found a little tidbit on the net that said the same thing you did, these mods are only apps not something that digs down deeper into the OS so I'll go ahead and give it a go.
It's also a good point about automatic updates, a Google search found how to disable it.
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693 |
Ha, it worked perfect! It took a few minutes for the Google App Store to open up the first time. I logged into my account, the apps appeared and there's a tab for apps already purchased and IrealPro was there so I clicked Install and voila!
No nastygrams from amazon probably because it's still an Amazon tablet. All that happened is I have access to the Google App store in addition to the Amazon one. The home screen didn't change, it's all Amazon. Just to show them I'm not a total ingrate I'll buy Fakebook Pro through them.
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,032
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,032 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693 |
Fakebook Pro is amazing. $3 from the Amazon app store. It is partially integrated with irealpro and is preloaded with their jazz and pop/rock playlists. But the really big deal is access to a boatload of other playlists in many genres fully indexed and ready to go. I spent the evening installing 7 or 8 of these that are 400-500 songs each. Those along with the irealpro playlists has to add up to 4-5,000 songs. And that is just to start. Fakebook Pro also has the ability to import anything you want from handwritten cheatsheets or pages from a music book you can take a pic of with your phone, or online or from a scanner or whatever. I found a bunch of songs I wanted in the irealpro forum that are not part of the preloaded playlists. All I did is click on the share icon, hit pdf and Fakebook Pro is listed as one of the destination options so it's an instant transfer that gets integrated into the master song list.
Am I ever going to play 5,000 songs, of course not but I'm an active gigging player and I'll get called by either people I know or a referral. If this huge list includes a new bands list it's a big help.
I really cannot believe I didn't do this sooner. I was afraid of the cost and learning curve I guess but $149 for a pretty nice 10" tablet and a no brainer access to all that content is really, really cool.
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,819
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,819 |
Bob,
Glad you are pleased with the results so far. It seems that having a tablet and the right app can provide a lot of opportunity and enjoyment.
Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk Sonar - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
|
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693 |
Enjoyment...well, not so much but I'm getting there.
First for $3 you don't get a help file, you don't get a forum, you get squat. The website that does have all that amazing content has a FAQ but it's not sorted or anything and it's pretty useless for specific questions. Google searches are the same. Not enough people using it probably. You're on your own and all I can say is man o man it ain't easy.
My problem is basic. After I downloaded all those 5,000 plus songs there are still a whole bunch I need that are not there. There are multiple ways to get new songs into Fakebook Pro. I'm not going to list them all, suffice it to say initially, like half of yesterday, none of them worked for me. None, nada, zip.
Finally I figured out the "trick" for one and now this afternoon I've been whipping through quite a few songs. Two other ways that I would like to work, still don't and I emailed the developer in Sweden. Still, one good way is enough for now. If someone is having issues let me know.
I keep reminding myself this is really no different from nooby's having a tough time getting started with Biab. Tablets and Apps are new to me so I'm having a tough time too. These things are always easy once you know how...
Oh, almost forgot I created a playist and started with the tunes that are in my downloaded database. I put about 25 into my new playlist, went to put another one and the playlist is gone! GONE?! At least they're all in the master songlist so I had to recreate my playlist and put them all back. No issues since and I'll chalk that up to me fumble fingering around and touching something my mistake. The lesson there is you gotta be careful with touchscreens!
The other lesson is I need to run out and get an SD card. You can do a full backup that way so if that happens again it's there. I can also do it to the cloud but a cloud transfer of new songs is one of the ways that is not working for me right now and believe me I've tried. Amazon Prime, Google Drive, OneDrive, nope. Ain't happening.
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2025!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
Check out all the 202 New RealTracks (in sets 456-467)
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
The 2025 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2025 49-PAK!
Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
- Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
- Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
- Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
- Playable RealTracks Set 4
- RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
- SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
- 128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
- Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
- Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
- RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®!
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 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.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 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.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
Join the conversation on our forum.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums58
Topics84,390
Posts778,613
Members39,644
| |
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean