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), 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.
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.
Thanks Pat for the great tutorial Yes, please move it to the tips and tricks section. Valuable information for sure.
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.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed 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 transcribe 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, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
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.
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)
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!
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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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