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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15 |
If I switch to a Mac (been using Windows), will the BB and Real Band songs I created in Windows open in the Mac version of BB and Real Band?
Thanks
EDIT: Looks like I found the answer in the Mac FAQ (yes)
"36. Are Mac and PC versions of Band-in-a-Box® songs compatible?
Yes, Band-in-a-Box® songs are compatible between platforms."
Last edited by dmunday; 03/22/21 11:46 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 393
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 393 |
Be forewarned: there is no Mac version of Real Band.
Macbook Pro 2018
2.6 GHz 6-core Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM
OS Monterey
BIAB for Mac 2022
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 836
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 836 |
One thing to be careful of is that your songs that you are sharing between the Windows version and the Mac version uses RealTracks that both computers have installed. For example, the Band-in-a-Box UltraPAK includes all of the RealTrack Sets for its particular version/year and the Pro PAK is the smallest PAK with a limited number of RealTracks. If your Windows is an UltraPAK and you made a song with it, then open that song in a Pro PAK for Mac, it is possible to accidentally use RealTracks from the Windows UltraPAK that are not included in the Mac Pro. Thus the RealTracks would then show as N/A and not play.
Best,
Chantelle
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15 |
Gotcha, thanks. I'm planning on avoiding that problem by getting the Mac version with all 2,500 tracks 
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15 |
Be forewarned: there is no Mac version of Real Band. What, no Real Band for Mac? Wow, I just assumed that would be part of the package. Darn, I've always liked moving songs from BB to Real Band. So you make a song in BB and move it to another DAW?
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,766
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,766 |
Be forewarned: there is no Mac version of Real Band. What, no Real Band for Mac? Wow, I just assumed that would be part of the package. Darn, I've always liked moving songs from BB to Real Band. So you make a song in BB and move it to another DAW? Correct. Since all Mac users have access to Garage Band for free, most users would likely not use RealBand. Some users certainly would miss it, of course, but likely not enough of them to be worth the amount of time and programming it would take to port RealBand to Mac (and because RealBand depends on a number of Windows-only libraries and API's, that would likely make the task quite difficult). That's just my educated guess though, I don't know the full reasoning behind the decision.
Last edited by Simon - PG Music; 03/23/21 12:19 PM.
I work here
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15 |
OK, thanks for the heads up. I'm just so used to Real Band. Guess switching to one of the other free DAWs is not a deal breaker, though
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 7,954
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 7,954 |
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,991
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,991 |
Since all Mac users have access to Garage Band for free, most users would likely not use RealBand. … Really, that's the reason? Oh dear… I'm one of many who would purchase RB for Mac if it was available. I've no intention of ever firing up my Windows laptop again, however.
BIAB 2025 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15 |
Since all Mac users have access to Garage Band for free, most users would likely not use RealBand. … Really, that's the reason? Oh dear… I'm one of many who would purchase RB for Mac if it was available. I've no intention of ever firing up my Windows laptop again, however. So would I - easier than having to learn a new DAW PS - I'm a "newbie" on the forums, but as you can see from my sig, I've been using BB and PowerTracks - was that what it was called before RealBand? - since 2002 My Windows laptop died, and I'm strongly leaning toward replacing it with a MacBook, thus the questions EDIT: PG Music's algorithm put an ad on my Facebook today for the plugin that puts Band in a Box into GarageBand. OK, I have to say that makes sense. https://www.pgmusic.com/support.bbmplugin.garageband.htm
Last edited by dmunday; 03/24/21 08:46 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 7,954
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 7,954 |
RealBand is basically PowerTracks that calls on bbw2.exe that is just Biab that runs silently in the background, it generates up tracks, renders them to RealBand's temp folder that are then loaded into RealBand tracks. So basically this in what the BBPlugin does within your DAW, so you have the Band in a box plugin you load in your DAW, it then calls on bbw_64.app that runs silently in the back ground, it generates the tracks, renders to aiff into the SavedTrack folder, you then can drag them into the DAW. The future of the BBPlugin should be to generate and play the RT RD direct from the source files. This way the tracks will generate instantly, quicker than Biab, load frozen SGU's, no aiff/wav files will be rendered until you are happy with the results then as you drag them out of the BBPlugin into the DAW track they will be rendered. With the Sends now in the BBPlugin you could leave them in the BBPlugin and just render the DAW session to wav without the BBPlugin ever have to render to file. There is also a ReWireVST Mac/Win that will let you slave any slavable DAW to Biab. https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=648011You will need BB21Mac for the plugin to work.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,766
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,766 |
It's interesting you bring this up, as I've personally experimented with BB on Wine. Definitely not ready for prime time, but I did manage to get it to make sound. Didn't play with it much further than that. Of course, this is completely unsupported territory. I would personally use VirtualBox before I used Wine for this. Since all Mac users have access to Garage Band for free, most users would likely not use RealBand. … Really, that's the reason? Oh dear… I'm one of many who would purchase RB for Mac if it was available. I've no intention of ever firing up my Windows laptop again, however. I wouldn't say it's the reason, just potentially one of many. So would I - easier than having to learn a new DAW PS - I'm a "newbie" on the forums, but as you can see from my sig, I've been using BB and PowerTracks - was that what it was called before RealBand? - since 2002 My Windows laptop died, and I'm strongly leaning toward replacing it with a MacBook, thus the questions EDIT: PG Music's algorithm put an ad on my Facebook today for the plugin that puts Band in a Box into GarageBand. OK, I have to say that makes sense. https://www.pgmusic.com/support.bbmplugin.garageband.htm Yep, I prefer using the plugin over RealBand myself, though that's mostly because I'm a Pro Tools/Logic guy so I'm more comfortable sticking with those.
I work here
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Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
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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!
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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®.
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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.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
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