I don't use RB at the moment but have been thinking about it. What is a good DAW that is inexpensive and works well with BIAB if RB has limitations? Just wondering:-)
Personus Studio One Prime. It's fully functional and free.
++ HERE ++ is a link that compares the features of the free Studio One Prime version with the two, paid upgrades.
The only thing that is modern is the new splash screen in BB, no more EGA graphics WOW ! the rest is still DOS, a mindset still there from the DOS Days at the Helm. Come on PG You are out of touch, hand it over to the young people from the new tech industry, LET GO ! bring the new blood in.
Solidrock, I understand your frustration. Your points are all completely valid. I honestly cannot imagine having to use RB as my DAW! Not saying that to be mean. I am just waaaay more demanding in the software I use and could never settle for all the warts RB has. Every time I try to use it I am reminded of this. Even little things like load times and smoothness (or lack thereof) in the controls. The clunky Windows 95 interface. And on and on.
But, I think what I have come to terms with is this...RealBand is not for me! Plain and simple. There are far better DAWs available for free and at very low cost. If it were not for the single feature of generating RealTracks bar-by-bar (which I have yet to completely figure out) I would not even install it on my system!
Band in a Box is where the magic is. Or, rather, the engine of BIAB is where the magic is. The BIAB interface has the same issues as the RB interface!
So I guess I'd advise you to maybe accept the limitations and develop work-arounds as many others have. Because, at the end of the day, the music I am able to make using RealTracks is nothing short of AMAZING!! And, after demoing the new RealTracks, I am just dying to send PG my upgrade money!! And the truth is, even if they never fix RB or the BIAB interface, as long as they are delivering such amazing stuff under the hood I will continue to upgrade!
And I will repeat my suggestion to PG you mentioned...
BIAB is GREAT! RB, well you know how I feel about that! But where your real magic lives is in your RealTracks and the engine that generates music along with your back-end process that turns top-notch studio playing into RealTracks.
If you were to create a VST/VSTi version of RealTracks with the same available library and the ability to generate bar-by-bar you have forever changed the music business and would guarantee your future success and place in the history of music innovation!
Your points are valid, and it was an oversight that we missed many of these RealBand suggestions in the wish list. I apologize.
On the bright side, we plan to rectify this by adding many of these things ASAP. We have a Band-in-a-Box and RealBand free patch coming this afternoon with the new and requested feature of Stereo Usertracks. And the RealBand patch has some of the wish list features/fixes added too. More to come in the next week.
Hi Peter, I am very happy with this release, but: we are asking since the introducing of the user tracks,almost 2 years ago, for working waltzes. Hope that bug will be patched too. greetings from the Netherlands Rob
I found a bug in producing waltzes! Here is a part of my correspondence with PG music:
Hello Rob,
Thank you for your message. We forwarded your issue and song to our development team and the identified it as a bug. They will need to look into this further and release a program patch update with a fix.
Thank you, Alyssa PG Music Inc. Important Reminder: Please include all previous correspondence when replying to this message On 27/03/2014 1:31 AM, Rob de Klerk wrote:
BIAB is GREAT! RB, well you know how I feel about that! But where your real magic lives is in your RealTracks and the engine that generates music along with your back-end process that turns top-notch studio playing into RealTracks.
See, for me, using this engine in the RB interface as opposed to the BB interface is much better. At least it acts close to the other DAWs. BB does not have enough control for me once I get into a song.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
BIAB is GREAT! RB, well you know how I feel about that! But where your real magic lives is in your RealTracks and the engine that generates music along with your back-end process that turns top-notch studio playing into RealTracks.
See, for me, using this engine in the RB interface as opposed to the BB interface is much better. At least it acts close to the other DAWs. BB does not have enough control for me once I get into a song.
Understood but imagine if every company that makes VSTis also tried to force their customers to use their own DAW! They would have far less sales than they do by focusing on what they do well...VSTi!
RealTracks and the engine would make a killer VSTi! And it would attract the interest of far more pros and young musicians in my opinion!
Peter, please, please, please give us something to automatically change midi control commands to external patches in an upgrade. I'm losing the plot trying to stamp on my Niva Multieffects pedal and/or my Voicelive 2 etc. I'd give up wave files and use BIAB live for that. I have no issues with it live (rock steady) since I upgraded my PC hardware. I can't see what my feet are doing, given my stomach and I can't stop playing to press the buttons with my hands - although I keep trying. Streetjelly already has me tying to talk, type, sing, play, jiggle to backing tracks.... but please not tap dancing.
Windows 10 Home 20H2 Build 19042.487 BIAB 2021 (Build 818) Intel(R) Core(TM), i3-4160, CPU @3.60 GHz RAM 16 GB, 64 Bit X64-based processor Zoom UAC-2 (USB 3 interface-built in midi) VoiceLive 3 Extreme, Sputnik Valve Condenser Mic
Peter, please, please, please give us something to automatically change midi control commands to external patches in an upgrade. I'm losing the plot trying to stamp on my Niva Multieffects pedal and/or my Voicelive 2 etc. I'd give up wave files and use BIAB live for that. I have no issues with it live (rock steady) since I upgraded my PC hardware. I can't see what my feet are doing, given my stomach and I can't stop playing to press the buttons with my hands - although I keep trying. Streetjelly already has me tying to talk, type, sing, play, jiggle to backing tracks.... but please not tap dancing.
lambada This would be a good post to put in the Biab Wishlist forum Trev
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Win 10 Professional, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
Peter, please, please, please give us something to automatically change midi control commands to external patches in an upgrade. I'm losing the plot trying to stamp on my Niva Multieffects pedal and/or my Voicelive 2 etc. I'd give up wave files and use BIAB live for that. I have no issues with it live (rock steady) since I upgraded my PC hardware. I can't see what my feet are doing, given my stomach and I can't stop playing to press the buttons with my hands - although I keep trying. Streetjelly already has me tying to talk, type, sing, play, jiggle to backing tracks.... but please not tap dancing.
This is already possible in both BIAB and RealBand by using the Piano Roll. You can use it to send pretty much ANY kind of MIDI control to external devices... patch changes, volume changes, etc, whatever MIDI control your device allows.
Here's a Very quick overview... if you have more questions, PM me.
1) Piano roll has an upper and lower pane. The upper pane is usually used for MIDI notes while the lower pane is used for assigning values (like volume, velocity, etc) that define the MIDI note... but it can also be used to assign value to Continuous Controllers and patch change commands.
2) in the same way that a note gets played wherever it appears on the piano roll timeline, a continuous controller or patch change command gets executed at the point on the time line where its value is assigned.
3) you can send different data to different MIDI channels. In the graphic, note that there is a place at the top of piano roll to pick which channel to send to. This must match the channel to which your device is set to receive.
4) Once you pick the MIDI channel, then you pick what kind of command to send: a CONTROL (continuous controller), PROGRAM (patch change) etc
5) if you pick CONTROL, another list box will appear so you can pick WHICH CC to send
6) once you've picked the CC, you must assign it a value. Do that by clicking in the lower pane (which is incremented from 0-127) at the location on the time line where you want the event to execute. Then when the song gets to that point, it will send the data you defined to the MIDI channel you defined
example: Lets say you want to send a value of 64 to CC#7 on Midi channel 7
see graphic to locate where MIDI channel, CC and CC number are selected. The value goes in the lower pane. Since the pane is incremented from 0-127 (bottom being 0 and top being 127) a value of 64 would be in the middle.
You don't have to guess at it... when you hover the mouse cursor over the line you made when clicking in the lower pane, it should show the value.
here's an example of a patch change: we're changing the device that's receiving on channel 4 to patch #35. The display shows the name of the GM patch, but your device will change to whatever you have on patch 35.
Note: if your device has more than one bank of 128 patches, it's a little more complicated. But for most gear that has one bank of 128 patches, that's all there is to it!
and the good news is, once you take the time to get your song files set up this way, you can change all sorts of stuff in real time, and it always works the same way!
Your vocal harmonies can be turned on and off with precision timing, guitar effects that are MIDI controllable can seamlessly turn up volume or gain for your solo, then back again automatically, leaving you free to concentrate on playing rather than stepping on pedals!
This is very interesting Pat. I have a question, in your example you placed the change at 1:02 by moving the insert point. My question is, can you somehow, dictate exactly where the insertion point is, such as 1:02:312, or can you only do this by physically moving the line? Hope that makes sense...just don't want to slide it but rather tell the program exactly where I want it.
Please repost your short tutorial in the Tips and Tricks section of the forum. It will be seen by more people and much easier to find in the future. This is too good to be lost.
This is very interesting Pat. I have a question, in your example you placed the change at 1:02 by moving the insert point. My question is, can you somehow, dictate exactly where the insertion point is, such as 1:02:312, or can you only do this by physically moving the line? Hope that makes sense...just don't want to slide it but rather tell the program exactly where I want it.
Jeff
That's where the EVENT LIST comes in handy! The EVENT LIST takes all of your projects activity and puts it in a grid where it can be edited. It is especially useful for fine-tuning times (as opposed to visually dragging lines around.
In fact, you can bypass the piano roll and do all the same stuff directly in the event list!
In RealBand the EVENT LIST is on the tool bar (Top right corner) and also available from the Dropdown menu : WINDOW > EVENT LIST
In BIAB I don't think it's on the tool bar, but you can get there a bunch of different ways via the menu. (see bottom of graphic for menu path)
remember I said you can send different data to different channels? In Realband, whichever track you have selected when you open the EVENT LIST, ONLY THE DATA FOR THAT CHANNEL will appear in the event list!
This makes it very easy to keep from changing the wrong stuff.... but it can be confusing at first if you go back to change something and you can't find your data. When that happens, you are probably looking at the events for a different track.
RealBand's event list has a drop-down list box that lets you select the track you want to view in event list.
The main takeaway here is to make sure you are editing/viewing the correct tracks events. Its easy to get mixed up if you are clicking on a lot of different tracks.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 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!
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.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 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 Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 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.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 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!
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.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 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 Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 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.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows 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 60 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 Windows and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until December 31, 2025. 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 Windows packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49. Browse the full contents of each package and listen to demos here.
XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!
Ready to take your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 experience to the next level? Now’s the perfect time! Expand your style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs—packed with a wide variety of genres to inspire your next musical creation.
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 1-9 includes 900 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). With over 3,500 styles (and 35 MIDI styles) included in Xtra Styles PAKs 1-20, the possibilities are endless!
Get the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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 Windows or for Mac.
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.
Get Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 19 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.
Note: 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 because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!
Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!
It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!
We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!
Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:
Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, 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, and more!
Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
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Streetjelly already has me tying to talk, type, sing, play, jiggle to backing tracks.... but please not tap dancing. 
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