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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Journeyman
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OP
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Posts: 589 |
Hi Because of all the problems Im having running biab 2011 Ive decided to go for a new machine.I'd be interested to have advice on which one would suit me best but not one that is overly priced Thanks Frank
AMD Athlon 7550 dual core
processor 2.51 ghz
1 87 gb ram
windows 7 Ultimate
yamaha rev 500 effects
tacam DP-24 DAW
Samson Resolv NF monitors
Yamaha PSR-620 Keyboard
Fender semi accoustic guitar
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
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I have a new mobo and CPU coming in a couple days, I'll let you know how it works out. The Phenom triple core and motherboard with 2 gig of ram was only $185 ... I plan on adding some drives and more RAM too.
Last edited by rharv; 07/13/11 10:37 AM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I have friends who are pulling out their hair because they bought off-brand stuff and can't make it work right. I don't mind that approach for someone who is quite knowledgeable. BUT, Brand name computers that are not clearance items, and run Win 7 (64 or 32 bit) with 4 gigs of memory and a 500 gig hard drive are to me the best purchase. If I was in the market right now I'd be looking at something like this HP, mind you this is the CDN price in our bucks $599.00 http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06a/12454-12454-4144617-4144618-4144618-5035316.htmlBecause the computer is built into the display along with the DVD optical drive there is no tower. I see this becoming a wide spread standard.
John Conley
Musica est vita
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
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Recently got the wife an Emachines at BestBuy that was only $499; win 7 64, 4 gig RAM, 500 gb drive, dual core at 1.8gHz. Not the fastest but runs well.
Barry got a new W7 64 machine too, but he went a little better and got a terrabyte drive, 2.6 gHz quad-core, 6 gig RAM for $585
Both prices seem good for what you get.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 886
Expert
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Expert
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Posts: 886 |
If your handy you can always DIY it yourself. This System is a good deal IF you have the OS you want...with the OS it still comes in around $400 I built my system from one of the kits... ASRock M3A770DE MB / AMD Phenom II 4x 2.9GHz (the MB can handle a 6 core AMD when the prices come down) 6GB DDR3 1333 Kingston Value Ram, x2 WD 500GB SATA HDD, 1 TB WD SATA HDD, 24x DVD Burner 600watt Pwr Supply, Mid tower case, no OS, for a little over $400 6 months ago. I got a kit & had 5 coupons to use, so I also got free shipping for it all. If your not a DIY'er the other deals mentioned seem good also.
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 589
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
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Posts: 589 |
thanks everyone for the advice.My son has built computers and is Microsoft certified(does this as a hobby)but I wasnt sure if I should go down the "build your own road" but JCS might have just about convinced me to do exactly that with his post.Thanks again Frank
AMD Athlon 7550 dual core
processor 2.51 ghz
1 87 gb ram
windows 7 Ultimate
yamaha rev 500 effects
tacam DP-24 DAW
Samson Resolv NF monitors
Yamaha PSR-620 Keyboard
Fender semi accoustic guitar
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 589
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 589 |
John,I love the look of this machine now thats what I call a professional neat looking piece of kit ...so Im really confused now. If this computer will more than handle biab 2011 biab 2012 etc etc I might just go for it.Cheers Frank
AMD Athlon 7550 dual core
processor 2.51 ghz
1 87 gb ram
windows 7 Ultimate
yamaha rev 500 effects
tacam DP-24 DAW
Samson Resolv NF monitors
Yamaha PSR-620 Keyboard
Fender semi accoustic guitar
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697
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Posts: 7,697 |
The big thing is what exactly are you planning to do with it and what are you using for your audio/midi interface. You want to leave possible options as open as possible because you may not know what you'll need next year. I'll use myself as an example. A few years ago I bought the EMU 1820M Audiodock system. Retail price on that is about $500 and it requires two PCI slots on the motherboard. Just that alone required me to pay attention to the motherboard in any new system I get because not all of them have two PCI slots. The other thing is USB 3. USB 3 is out now but there's not a lot of stuff that can take advantage of it yet. Some mobo's have USB 3 ports built in but mine does not. I did however check on how much it costs to do an upgrade later and there's already add on cards for $30-40 that I can plug right in to give me USB 3 if and when I decide I need it. You may not need that now but ask if any new box you're considering has an available slot for that upgrade if it doesn't have USB 3 already.
What I wound up doing is having a guy custom build my PC using a Gigabit mobo for $600. When you see the specs in my sig a name brand PC with those specs would be a more than that plus I have a very nice Cooler Master case. Also, all the name brands load up their new PC's with all kinds of crap (bloatware). The first thing a lot of people I know do with a name brand PC is remove all that stuff. Mine of course never had that in the first place. If your son knows how to build a PC, I would go that route or if not your local Craigslist or other online sales sites have tons of guys who do this. You can probably find one within 5 miles of you.
Just going though this process of deciding what components you want in a new PC will teach you a whole lot about PC's and the more you know the better. Name brands work fine, a lot of folks here use them but you run into all sorts of things like you open the case and you void the warranty, you want to upgrade something do you have to get it from Dell or HP, what if they don't have what you want, will this other brand work or will I screw something up etc, etc. Using the best name brand components in a custom built PC avoids all that. You can easily use Google to research mobo's, CPU's, ram, hard drives, controllers, cases, power supplies to determine just which ones really are good and only use those.
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.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
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My personal experience is that I have avoided eMachines. Best Buy will tell you "They are made by Gateway." That is not true. Gateway OWNS eMachine, but they are still their own company. Gateway does NOT build eMachines. I worked for Gateway during that acquisition and the plan was to buy a company that already had a retail store presence, then leverage the retail stores by saying "Okay now that we own eMachine, we will put Gateway on the shelf next to them or you will get neither." That was all with an eye on closing the Gateway retail stores. (Which resulted in me and a lot of people losing out jobs.) Try to reach eMachine tech support sometime.
I will always steer people toward Dell. I own 5 Dell's right now and in the rare occasions I have needed tech support they were very good.
The only downside of a kit is that YOU are tech support for a kit computer, and the parts typically have 90 days warranty vs one year. I used to build too, and still would if I needed a computer for a specific application, like a gaming system would have THE latest and greatest state of the art video card at the time of build, etc.... and it's not a bad way to go. I typically find that buying pieces parts and assembling runs me about 30% more than buying a name brand computer. And when you factor in that if you order your case from here, your mobo from there, your RAM from the other... you are paying $100 in shipping.
But again, it is not a bad way to go IF you need anything special in the computer.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
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I can see why you have a bad taste for eMachines. However myself and others here have ran them for years with great success. The system I toted around for recording for 5 years was an eMachines, just added RAM and a second drive, the Delta 1010lt and an SBLive (for quick MIDI sound) and it is still in service to be honest! Probably 6-7 years old now. Athlon 2.2 Has gone through a couple power supplies in its day. 
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,492
Expert
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Expert
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In a couple of days I will get an i7-2600k based machine. That will be a boost from my current 600 MHz machine on my desktop. And Band-in-a-Box will move from laptop to desktop.
Desktop; i7-2600k, 8 GB mem., Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
Laptop: i5-2410M, 4 GB mem, Win 10 Pro, BIAB 2017; RB 2017 - latest build
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Posts: 886
Expert
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Expert
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Your Very Welcome tributeman, and Good Luck no matter which way ya go! Quote:
I typically find that buying pieces parts and assembling runs me about 30% more than buying a name brand computer. And when you factor in that if you order your case from here, your mobo from there, your RAM from the other... you are paying $100 in shipping.
That is why I have built all of ours from the kits from either Tiger Direct, New Egg, or Geek's. You can save a lot over the individual prices, including shipping. But like you mention, there is no support except for your knowledge of the system & it's parts.
There were a few reasons I went with the kit that had the ASRock MB for the studio
2 PCIx + 3 reg PCI clots
Could handle AMD 6 core CPU's up to 140watts
Could handle 16GB of DDR3 1600
Solid-state VRM
And as a side note, I have an old Dell P3 700MHz system with 768mb of memory and a huge 64mb AGP graphic card that is still going strong & playing all my old DOS & Win98 games just fine, I just can't kill this thing!  
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Posts: 589
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
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I was asked a question what I wanted from my computer.I have a small recording studio for my songwriting and the computer is 99% used for this purpose.When I first came across BIAB I was blown away it got me to write again after not bothering for many years.I need a machine to run this software eg BIAB|RB without the problems Im experiencing now which is very slow regeneration(because its an old machine)and playback judder which on the task master shows it going to 100% cpu usage.I know nothing is perfect but the more capable the computer to handle such things the happier I'll be because at the moment these glitches are driving me mad.Cheers Frankie
AMD Athlon 7550 dual core
processor 2.51 ghz
1 87 gb ram
windows 7 Ultimate
yamaha rev 500 effects
tacam DP-24 DAW
Samson Resolv NF monitors
Yamaha PSR-620 Keyboard
Fender semi accoustic guitar
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,869
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,869 |
I have run as home studio now for twenty years or so, I am no techy but I do know that I had years and years of using a sequencer that could not behave as it should becuase of hardware limitations, until I got a core i7 920 and ran it in Win 7 64 bit.
Now everything works as its designed to, and nothing is coming up against hard limits.
Maybe te core i5 is also a decent machine,
I know (OK I think I know) that unless an application is written for four cores then it does not use them, maybe just uses a sigle core, or at best uses the cores in a limited way (not sure).
If you run in 32 bit there is no sense in fitting over 2 gig as the operating system can't access it and so it is dead. Ther is a woraround - some sort of soft switch, but tghat only accesses a little more. I think win 32 uses about 1.2 gig of the 2 gig available and there rest is there for use by apps.
Win 11 64, Asus Rog Strix z390 mobo, 64 gig RAM, 8700k
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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The emachines name is still suffering a bad rep from the junk the original company put out there long ago.
Since the Gateway takeover, the Emachine lineup represents a very good value indeed.
Having bought several for myself and others, I have always been pleased with them - and with what I have found on the inside of them. Good stuff, for the most part.
Even the metal edges inside the cases are rolled and polished such that there are no sharp edges to cut fingers on.
I am fully able to build my computers and used to build all of them, then moved to only building the ones I would use for DAW music work, now, the last DAW bought here is an Emachine that has turned in yeoman's service as a DAW and works and plays well with pgmusic products. The only thing custom that I have done is to replace the original power supply with a larger capacity power supply with quieter fan, this to have a bit more power to run aftermarket soundcards when recording and also to reduce noise.
Many people who used to custom build thier music making puters are now using OEM off-the-shelf builds, not only from the Emachines lineup, but from other mfrs as well.
I see no reason why someone should have to build from scratch to enjoy home recording anymore.
Because, The Times Are A-Changin' on that front...
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 589
Journeyman
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OP
Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 589 |
AMD Athlon 7550 dual core
processor 2.51 ghz
1 87 gb ram
windows 7 Ultimate
yamaha rev 500 effects
tacam DP-24 DAW
Samson Resolv NF monitors
Yamaha PSR-620 Keyboard
Fender semi accoustic guitar
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 4,026
Veteran
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Posts: 4,026 |
I bought my IBM 3.1 gig w 3gig ram (room for 4),500 gig SATA on ebay for $65 that included free shipping and restore disks . Not lighting fast but workable ! I saw a 4 x 3.6 processor w 12 gig ram installed sever mobo on ebay for $99 a few days ago . You might just need a power supply and extra fan to cram that in your old tower . I bet your son could make that happen very cheap .
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 181
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 181 |
My current (aging - 2003) computer was from Carillon, the US branch of a UK company that made innovative systems optimized for music production. It was a bit pricey, but performed well, and I felt I needed it to produce the CDs LawTunes puts out for commercial sale. If possible, I'd like to not have to spend the extra money this time, and my sense is that mainstream (e.g., Dell) systems are far quieter, etc. than they used to be. I'd be interested in whether others have considered whether or not to go with specifically music-production-optimized systems recently, and if so what you decided and how you got there. Thank you.
www.LawTunes.com: The LawTunes - The Musical Scales of Justice - Original Lawyer Rock & Roll www.SurfChords.com: The SurfChords - The Endless Summer Continues and The Wave Never Ends
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697
Veteran
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Veteran
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Posts: 7,697 |
Frankie, there's nothing wrong at all with Dell, EMachines, HP etc. I bought an EMachines for my lady about 3 years ago, and it looks and runs great. When I was shopping around Best Buy had a sale on an HP that is basically identical to what I have now except the CPU was the Phenom 4 core while mine is a 6 core and that probably makes little difference. With tax the total would have been $689 while mine was $600 even. Pretty close except my Gigabit motherboard still has a couple of things on it the HP doesn't and my Cooler Master case is dead quiet.
My point here in this thread is what are you going to use for your audio/midi interface? Internal or external? If it's external then the available slots on the mobo doesn't matter and lately a lot of the good ones are external USB. Some here are strictly part time hobbyists and are happy to use the standard onboard sound for that with no extra interface at all while others like me want a higher end prosumer interface like my 1820M that costs over $500. Also, you get a Dell or HP and the first thing you do is open it up to install something like my EMU then poof, there goes the warranty so you're right there with those of us who built a custom box anyway.
Just some things to think about.
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.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Quote:
If you run in 32 bit there is no sense in fitting over 2 gig as the operating system can't access it and so it is dead.
A 32bit system can access 3.2GB of memory, which makes the remainder of the 4gb useless. In Reaper you can run, say VSTi's, in a separate process that can access this useless ram, but the most I have ever got out of a 32bit system natively is 3.2gb, according to Windows System Report...
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
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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.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac 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)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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)
Learn more about the Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: 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.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours
Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
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