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RealBand
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eddie1261
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eddie1261
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Look at a couple more things and follow some logic.
Programs run in RAM. That means that if you have a lot of TSR (terminate and stay resident) programs running, your RAM is full and you are using swap space for your executable program. Thus when the program needs to make a call back to the memory page holding the program, you need to go back through your processor, back to the swap space on your hard drive, find and load what that call is asking for, and then come back through your processor toward your RAM. This is why IT nerds preach about having as much RAM available as possible. (If you are running XP you can only really utilize 3gb of RAM no matter how much your system says you have available. AVAILABLE and ACCESSIBLE are 2 very different terms.) Bottom line is to make as much RAM as possible available, so load nothing besides RB when you use it and test to see if that makes the problem go away.
Also, and you may already do this, click START ==> RUN and type in
%temp%
That will open your system temp folder. Delete as much as you can. (Anything in use will not delete. That is normal. Just get rid of all you can.) Your system refers back to those temp files and that slows your system down by wasting CPU cycles doing it. You RB cache of temp files will clear and reset every time you start the program. Save often and restart RB. As soon as you notice RB starting to be sluggish when you select anything (to change gain, for example), save your song and reboot.
As far as number of tracks, I have been as far as 23 tracks on one particular song that Rog had his students do "choir" vocals on. That song ended up with 2 lead vocal tracks, 6 backup vocal tracks from Rog, and 6 vocal tracks from me. 14 tracks for JUST vocals.
But bottom line, get back to computer basics for what you are seeing. This sounds like a computer performance issue more than software. Defrag will not help this. Think about what defrag does. It takes segmented files and makes them contiguous. Those files will load no matter what, and once they load, it no longer matters if they are fragmented or not. Defrag may speed up loading time by 2 milliseconds but means nothing after the loading is done. Most worthless utility out there, and one that techs at the level of Geek Squad who know nothing better will tell you is a fix for your problem. (DO NOT use Geek Squad. All they are trained to do is upsell. I set them up once and busted them but that's a whole other story.) You sound like you are having a system interrupt (an IRQ) that is "breaking in" on the CPU as it runs your RB process.
Just my dime.
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RealBand
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,109
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OP
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,109 |
Also, and you may already do this, click START ==> RUN and type in
%temp% actually, I don't do that already.. this is the first time I ever heard about it.... thanks, Eddie!
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RealBand
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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I agree about use of %temp% - a good tip, Eddie, but there have indeed been times when performing a defrag fixes bad operation, stuttering audio and poor loading of Realtracks - BUT - it is always something that happens when I'm using Band in a Box, defrag doesn't seem to cause issues for me with RealBand.
Not trying to argue with Eddie, his point is valid enough, especially in these times of hard drives that are very large in storage size as compared to those of a few years back, just want to make sure that those reading won't decide that the defrag is not necessary with Band in a Box, which has indeed been "cured" of various playback probs using a good defrag program like Defraggler. The two programs may appear to "do the same thing" as regards the ability to load and play BiaB Styles, Realtracks and Realdrums, but the two also do it in distinctly differing ways "under the hood" apparently.
--Mac
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RealBand
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,641
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In my experience, a good geek can use defrag effectively when needed.
It's definitely not the first 'go to' here, but it can help, depending on the system set up.
Especially for those using the same drive to read audio output data and write the audio input data. Having a large reliable open chunk of drive space can help in this (and other) situations. Drive thrash and all ..
The way I use RB it is often 'reading' (playback of existing tracks) over 20 tracks. With effects.
Then I ask it to record another bunch .. it may be 2 or it may be 8 or 16 more. If I can have one drive 'reading' and another one 'writing' the incoming data, that's the best scenario. However if I am expecting a single drive to do both, defrag can be helpful.
Experiments have found that using defrag as a first step, then re-saving the RB file (so it interweaves the tracks as the file saves) has improved performance also.
Props to Silvertones for that tidbit.
Recording audio, generating tracks, and doing what we do with BiaB/RB (including FX etc) is a pretty specific/touchy thing. Things keep getting better and better for us; enjoy!
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Joined: May 2000
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Things keep getting better and better for us; enjoy!
Yes indeed, remember recording under Win95 when you had better remember to stop the Taskbar Clock so that it wouldn't interrupt audio streaming? And all the other "must do" tweaks to the system as well. Today you can pretty much just purchase a laptop or desktop, attach a USB sound device, install drivers and your favorite music making software and expect things to work fairly nicely. --Mac
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RealBand
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697
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Pardon me if I missed it but do we know the specs of the PC? All it says in your sig Pat is Win 7 Home, nothing about the computer itself.
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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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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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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Holiday Weekend Hours
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Saturday, May 16: Closed
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Regular hours resume Tuesday, May 19th!
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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!
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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.
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-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
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-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
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- 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
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