For full discloser I initially hesitated to purchase my yearly update of BIAB due to financial constraints. I have just built my retirement home on the lake and have not yet sold the home I have been in for the past 20+ years. The dual home ownership is nearing an end but also nearing the breaking point for my saving. As a result, I felt it best to just sit back this year on any discretionary spending.
But I followed the PG Forum from the day of launch Dec 1, to the end of the year. What a roller coaster it has been –initial excitement for the new VSTi and 64bit features, then disappointment for their reported shortcomings, then love for the new folk guitar real tracks, then anger for the loss of CoyteForte, my favorite GM synth. At times when reading the forum threads it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Patches came, and Patches went and still problems continued to be reported. Best I could figure from the forum was PGMusic had made a colossal mistake in releasing this new update. I am not new to rough launches for the company, but this year seemed more challenging than most. As a result, up to the point of closing the sale at midnight on Dec 31, I was convinced that my decision to hold my cash and not purchase a problem product was the right thing for me.
On Jan 01, 2019 I woke. Switched on my computer… What’s this? The sale is still on? The 2019 update is still in my Cart for the same discounted price? In the breaking of a new day and a new year all I could imagine was, “ What could I have been thinking?” As the sun rose a new clarity came over me - Of course I am going to update, it is all so clear now! it was always just a matter of when! If I don’t jump off the fence now it will cost me more $$ at a later time. I need to save those extra $$ for when we move to the new home! And with that, I jumped off the fence and pushed the order button.
On Jan 1, 2019 I Downloaded and Installed BIAB2019 v208. My first 20 minutes of use was a revelation. I pushed each button with extreme care expecting smoke to come up from my PC at any time. I specifically tried the new features including opening the VSTi in Reaper. In this short period of time everything has been flawless!
Now I don’t expect that I could have put BIAB 2019 through all its paces in this short a period of time and it is likely that some bugs continue to hide, but I will not look back and I don’t regret for a minute the purchase. Workflow has always been a critical aspect of BIAB and with so many ways of getting things done I know I will find a way. And if and when I find a problem\bug that prevents me from getting it done, there is always the Forum to raise holy heck to get the attention of PGM and the help from our Forum mates.
Have a Happy New Year all and remember to have fun.
congrats ... now you're finally in RealTrouble tracking all them new goodies
BIAB2019 - Now introducing for the first time release of the new feature: RealTroubles! ...that is cute That is what I will be in when my wife sees the charges on the credit card.
Happy New Year Dan. Whats this about CoyoteForte Dxi?Are you saying it no longer works in BB?Ive not managed to get any other,like Vacuum Pro etc to work without horrible distortion.If all ive got for midi therefore is the windows bilt in thingy then thats a GameChanger for me. All I want from midi are for the instruments to sounds like what theyre supposed to be.Techies love allthe fancy screens,pretty knobs and buttons and jumping through hoops to get stuff to work.Not me.I just vwant to make 'X' my default like my Forte is now and it "work". No? Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
one of the best GM2 synth VSTs is free: Halion Sonic 3 SE Probably with 32 bit OS/BIAB you'll need jBridge; i found that this worked flawlessly with BIAB 2018 on a 64bit OS last year.
Happy New Year Dan. Whats this about CoyoteForte Dxi?Are you saying it no longer works in BB?Ive not managed to get any other,like Vacuum Pro etc to work without horrible distortion.If all ive got for midi therefore is the windows bilt in thingy then thats a GameChanger for me. All I want from midi are for the instruments to sounds like what theyre supposed to be.Techies love allthe fancy screens,pretty knobs and buttons and jumping through hoops to get stuff to work.Not me.I just vwant to make 'X' my default like my Forte is now and it "work". No? Wendy
Wendy,
What kind of sound are you trying to get out of your synth? Synthy sounds (evolving swirly shimmery stuff, or pumping trance) or natural instrument sounds to feed MIDI into and have them sound like natural instruments?
TBF, I picked up Vacuum pro as well, and it's layout and sounds are modeled on classic old-school hardware synths, and, although it excels at hitting the specific mark it aimed for, it's also unfortunately one of the least intuitive, and visually incomprehensible VSTs I ever encountered in my life :-( It also uses terminology and naming conventions that are trying to be clever instead of the industry standards.
Band-in-a-Box 2024. Custom Build Desktop PC W/ Windows 10 Home 64-bit. CPU: Intel Core i5-9600k @ 3.7GHz (6 core x 6 threads) RAM: 16GB DDR4. Storage 238GB SSD + 2.7 TB HDD. GPU: ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
Whats this about CoyoteForte Dxi?Are you saying it no longer works in BB?
I might have misunderstood, but I understand that currently, the existing Coyote Forte works with the 32-bit version and VSTSynthFont64 works with the 64-bit version. Also, that Coyote Forte will probably be released soon as a 64-bit version (maybe this has happened).
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.
one of the best GM2 synth VSTs is free: Halion Sonic 3 SE Probably with 32 bit OS/BIAB you'll need jBridge; i found that this worked flawlessly with BIAB 2018 on a 64bit OS last year.
Thank you for this info fiddler,
Can I just ask whereabout's did you browse to on your computer to find the Vsti for Halion?
I do have Cubase elements 7 which includes Halion?
I do have Jbridge.
Or wonder do I need to download something else from your link?
Windows 10 (64bit) M-Audio Fast Track Pro, Band in a Box 2025, Cubase 14, Cakewalk and far too many VST plugins that I probably don't need or will ever use
Usually here, C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VSTPlugins\HALion Sonic If you have Cubase 7 legit (there's a much used illegal one around) you might have Halion Sonic, the more extended version compared to SE. F
set it to GM mode, and configured it in BiaB as default synth it still has no sounds I can see the midi data hitting it as the channels light up but no joy
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB/RB 2026, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 11 , Presonus Audiobox USB96
RobH - Are you running build 610? There was an issue in 609 where certain synths didn't produce sound. That might be your problem with not hearing it.
Quote:
Summary of changes for build 610 (Dec 28, 2018) --------------------------
Fixed: Some VST plugins were silent (eg. SampleTank 3). Fixed: Some ASIO drivers might not work. Note that the bug can cause the driver to remain open after using Band-in-a-Box, so this bug fix might require you to restart your computer. Fixed: The drop station would not allow M4A export (highlights red) if QuickTime is not installed. This should only be necessary for Windows Vista or XP. Fixed: The Find File dialog was not displaying folders, and not loading the song chosen. Fixed: If there is a RealTrack on the Drums track, Band-in-a-Box might crash when rendering a region of bars. Fixed: Opening a song file from Windows Explorer would not work if Band-in-a-Box was already open. Fixed: (for the VST DAW Plugin) Generating multi-riffs would sometimes generate an error. (tips: make sure to first select a multi-riff before generating. Also, highlight a region of the chordsheet first to generate just that section as a multi-riff) Added: (for the VST DAW Plugin) Shots, holds, rests, push chords now read in from BB files.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA
Happy New Year Dan. Whats this about CoyoteForte Dxi?Are you saying it no longer works in BB?Ive not managed to get any other,like Vacuum Pro etc to work without horrible distortion.If all ive got for midi therefore is the windows bilt in thingy then thats a GameChanger for me. All I want from midi are for the instruments to sounds like what theyre supposed to be.Techies love allthe fancy screens,pretty knobs and buttons and jumping through hoops to get stuff to work.Not me.I just vwant to make 'X' my default like my Forte is now and it "work". No? Wendy
Wendy,
What kind of sound are you trying to get out of your synth? Synthy sounds (evolving swirly shimmery stuff, or pumping trance) or natural instrument sounds to feed MIDI into and have them sound like natural instruments?
TBF, I picked up Vacuum pro as well, and it's layout and sounds are modeled on classic old-school hardware synths, and, although it excels at hitting the specific mark it aimed for, it's also unfortunately one of the least intuitive, and visually incomprehensible VSTs I ever encountered in my life :-( It also uses terminology and naming conventions that are trying to be clever instead of the industry standards.
Happy New year Deacon. Ok-lets try and sort out what i want.Im using BB in 32 bit-no interest yet in 64. Ive got Forte DXi and the midi sounds FROM PRE-EXISTING MIDI STYLES are better than the original ones.But not great-as in they dont often sound like the instruments theyre supposed to.Im looking for a BETTER DXi or VSTi hopefully free that will give the existing instutments in BB midi styles more reality.Id make it my default. So am I just chasing rainbows? Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. 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!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
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.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
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.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 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 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
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
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
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
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
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That is what I will be in when my wife sees the charges on the credit card. 
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