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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2015
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Just purchased and installed BIAB 2016. Never used this program before. If anyone can answer these questions I would appreciate it. I feel kind of lost without getting the answers to these questions.
1) Where is it mentioned that two programs get installed on my computer (BIAB 2016 and also RealBand) instead of just one?
2) I think RealBand uses real recorded instruments. Can't BIAB 2016 use these instruments? If so, why the need for RealBand?
3) I tried the demo songs located in the "Artist Performance Sets" but even though it looks as if I can move the artist notes around using the Piano Roll view, it looks like my changes don't make a difference and the song sounds the same.
4) More questions later if I can get these questions answered. Thanks!!!
Dell Laptop Core I7, 16 GB Ram, Windows 10/64, Studio One 5 Pro with Komplete 13 and lots of VST plugins, BIAB UltraPak 2022 Build 914
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Answer to 2) - BIAB uses the same RTs. In fact, I believe they are loaded into BIAB on installation and RB reads them. Think of BIAB as your "workpad" and Arranger and RB as its DAW.
HTH
Ian
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Welcome to the forum and welcome as a new purchaser. We are fellow users here. You can always contact PG Music for assistance if you don't get the answers you need.
BIAB comes bundled with RealBand as a free accessory sequencer, but it's more than that. If you are familiar with the term, RealBand is a DAW. Both BIAB and RealBand use the same files. There are some who use only BIAB, some only RealBand, but perhaps the better workflow is to write the song in BIAB and then open it in RealBand for the recording of additional audio tracks and for 'finishing touches' on the song. Other DAW software, like Cubase, SONAR, ProTools etc. cannot open a BIAB song directly, but you can move the tracks into those for further work.
There is a lot more to the explanation but look up DAW and sequencer if you're not familiar, and ask your next questions.
#3. BIAB comes with many demo songs, and in different forms. The Artist Performance songs are special demos that are not intended to be edited, only show what is possible in great hands. 'Regular' BIAB songs may be edited, and that's a great way to learn the program. Once you start working in BIAB, we'll need to go over freezing tracks, and the difference between the melody or soloist tracks that do not get regenerated, and the others that do.
Settle in; the learning curve is substantial but we can help as you need it. And there is always great support available from the company. The many videos available may be a great way to get started, or do what I did over twenty years ago: just dive in and have fun.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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1. I dunno, good question!
2. Yes, Biab uses the same recorded instruments, just differently
Realband allows features BiaB doesn't; rendering multiple takes of the same RT, recording multiple audio tracks, etc
BiaB makes things faster for the initial effort; like finding chords and styles, but RB offers more expansion.
They are similar but very different.
3 & 4 didn't really have questions, so they are hard to answer.
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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#1. This appears near the bottom of the main pgmusic.com Band-in-a-Box for Windows page: http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.htmBuy / Upgrade, & Download Now!
Band-in-a-Box® for Windows also includes RealBand, your
All-in-One Audio Workstation and Accompaniment program - learn more. [my emphasis]
Here is the beginning of what PG Music says: Welcome to RealBand 2016!
RealBand is a fully-featured and powerful music arranging, sequencing, and digital recording program that is included free with Band-in-a-Box.
Use RealBand as a stand-alone music workstation, or together with Band-in-a-Box as an all-in-one sequencing program with automatic accompaniment.
If you find you don't need or use RealBand, it installs in a separate folder from BIAB. You could just delete that folder and you're all set; it will not affect BIAB.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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huertaaj, There are also some great tutorial videos at the below URL. http://www.pgmusic.com/videos.bbwin.htmThese might give some extra insight, too. Regards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2025
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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3) I tried the demo songs located in the "Artist Performance Sets" but even though it looks as if I can move the artist notes around using the Piano Roll view, it looks like my changes don't make a difference and the song sounds the same.
As mentioned, the notes you see have essentially been manually transcribed from the previously Recorded Audio. This is meant as an indicator to show you what was played, but in this case it is a one-way street, you can't alter the notes to change what was previously recorded. You can do this with notes on a MIDI track though, just not RealTracks. Welcome to the neighborhood.
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Band-in-a-Box (BiaB) is predominately an auto accompant (I'm a bad speller sometimes so please excuse the spelling) program. BiaB has four special tracks (drums, melody, audio and solo) and accompanying tracks (bass, piano, guitar and strings). You "build" a song by entering up to four chords for each bar or measure. The program's strength is defining the structure of a song by identifying the unique intro, one or more repeating choruses and a two, four or fading bars ending. The program does not normally or necessarily display the song in a linerly manner; the song is not displayed against a timeline.
RealBand (RB) is a "value added" program given to Band-in-a-Box users that also use the Windows operating system. RealBand is an adaptation of PG Music's digital audio workstation (daw) program, PowerTracks. As a daw, RealBand has 48 track capability that displays each track along a timeline so two differences immediately recognized are track count (8 vs 48) and song display (song structure vs timeline). RB has traditional daw features such as track editing but special functionality has been added to let the program work with BiaB song files. BiaB regenerates by track while RB can generate just highlighted track sections. RB can generate seven or eight selections to choose from (that's called multi-riff).
One way to think about how or when to use each program is to think about BiaB when you're perfecting song structure or how the song is laid out and RealBand when you're wanting to construct perfect instrument tracks.
Both programs can do much more but perfecting song structure versus perfecting tracks uses the strengths of each program.
Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk Sonar - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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So , if I understand this correctly; Use BIAB to create the basic song or backing track. Then "somehow" open it in RealBand to do things like edit a midi drum pattern with the Piano Roll, lengthen the notes of the midi Strings track, copy/paste/replace RealTracks sections, record my voice and instrument on audio tracks along side the BIAB generate and RB edited tracks. Add VST and DXi effects, render the song to .wav or .mp3, etc...
Is that the basic idea?
Does the noise in your head bother me ?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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That's about it, if you have specific melodies/harmonies, etc in mind.
RTs can't be changed unless you slice and dice. MIDI is as flexible as it's always been
Cheers, Mike My Music * Asus ROG Strix G15CF 32 GB DDR4 4TB HDD + 1 TB SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB Win 11 AKAI EIE PRO Sound Interface. BIAB/RB 2024 UltraPak Build - Latest
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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OK, getting the picture here but still a bit confused. When I open a song from one of the Artist Performance Sets I hear some nice music with realistic-sounding instruments. How did these artists perform those songs? Did they use their own instruments (like their own sax or guitar, etc.) or did they use a RealTrack instrument that is available to me? Are those like "loops" that I can use or is the "sound" that I hear (like the sax) something that I can replicate from scratch using my keyboard?
Dell Laptop Core I7, 16 GB Ram, Windows 10/64, Studio One 5 Pro with Komplete 13 and lots of VST plugins, BIAB UltraPak 2022 Build 914
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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RealTracks are 'LIVE' performances by artists. They will adapt to any chord sequence you enter into BIAB. There are Rythm, Melody and Soloist RTs. All of them play variations on your chord structure according to the style you chose. You cannot alter the outcome by 'editing them'. You can regenerate the BIAB tune you created as many times as you wish and save what you're happy with. Point is... you can save as many iterations of the RT performances you wish, then import them into a DAW and edit, slice and dice them until you hear what you want. Here is an example of how I altered a Demo and added different RTs and modified them in my DAW... http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13261813Hope, this helps.
Last edited by MikeK; 12/26/15 07:45 PM.
Cheers, Mike My Music * Asus ROG Strix G15CF 32 GB DDR4 4TB HDD + 1 TB SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB Win 11 AKAI EIE PRO Sound Interface. BIAB/RB 2024 UltraPak Build - Latest
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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RealTracks and RealDrums are actual studio-recorded performances by real musicians, using real instruments. They are essentially audio samples of what was played by the artist. BiaB can use these pre-recorded sounds to form a complete song, including tracking the user's own chords, tempos and even key changes.
As an example, if you don't wish to use the RealTracks Sax sounds that are available, you can only create your own Sax sound using MIDI and a Sound Module. It's unlikely you'll get the same results, as all of the nuances of the live musician's performance are difficult to replicate with MIDI.
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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2) I think RealBand uses real recorded instruments. Can't BIAB 2016 use these instruments? If so, why the need for RealBand?
BB only gives you a few tracks in a certain style. But lets say you use a hard rock style and decide you want a fiddle in it plus a dobro, and mandolin. The hard rock style has bass, drums, guitars, and no room for the other things in BB. So.... save the file in BB close it, and open it in RB. First, it populates the tracks that BB has in it's style. But now, you can add the other tracks by simply generating them. I use it all the time in this manner. That's why...well one reason why, you need real band.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Just purchased and installed BIAB 2016. Never used this program before. If anyone can answer these questions I would appreciate it. I feel kind of lost without getting the answers to these questions.
1) Where is it mentioned that two programs get installed on my computer (BIAB 2016 and also RealBand) instead of just one?
2) I think RealBand uses real recorded instruments. Can't BIAB 2016 use these instruments? If so, why the need for RealBand?
3) I tried the demo songs located in the "Artist Performance Sets" but even though it looks as if I can move the artist notes around using the Piano Roll view, it looks like my changes don't make a difference and the song sounds the same.
4) More questions later if I can get these questions answered. Thanks!!! Hi Hubert, Welcome to the forum. You will find this is a great forum. Bottom line is that Band in a Box is an essential program for practice, there is no real competition and they know it. Real Tracks are fantastic and there is a huge selection. Just having the ability to change chords and keys with live tracks is worth a great deal, but... The whole program is cranky, unintuitive, unnecessarily hewn into two portions and very, very buggy. Bugs have been around for years, even decades before they are fixed. That's the reality, BIAB is in some kind of time warp, no 64bit, no VST, no touch, no real development, they think that being able to see a chord as you type is a real leap forward. That's not to say that there are not workarounds for most problems, so its always worth a post. Do remember that many features are MIDI only, as the original program was designed in this way, though this is rarely explained in the app. Z
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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The whole program is cranky, unintuitive, unnecessarily hewn into two portions and very, very buggy. Bugs have been around for years, even decades before they are fixed. That's the reality, BIAB is in some kind of time warp, no 64bit, no VST, no touch, no real development, they think that being able to see a chord as you type is a real leap forward.
Z
On the other hand... I disagree with a few of those points and agree with a few others. BB/RB works smoothly and without issues or bugs for me. Sometimes I apply the updates PG sends out and like now, on 2016, I have not and yet it works fine. As far as it being 2 programs, that has never been an issue for me as you can run them both open at the same time. The 64bit controversy... yeah I agree they could come out with a 64 bit version, but it works well for what it is and what it does. They have no real competition and perhaps that's behind the slow progress as others have mentioned. Touch would be cool but none of my computers are touch screens so that doesn't matter to me. All in all, it's a great product that works well and does what nothing else out there at the moment can do.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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"All in all, it's a great product that works well and does what nothing else out there at the moment can do."
Exactly. It was my impression that 'seeing' the chords was no big development issue but rather answering a Wish List item that required a programming change.
When it was introduced to Biab, it was clear many Biab users were already familiar with Jbridge for other software they used. It's use was not expressed for those programs as a stopgap measure as it was here where there's a lot of desire for 64 bit function.
It's of no consequence other than curiosity if Biab users are on forums of the DAW programs they use, programs that are 64 bit, 192khz,24 or 32 floating bits and telling the staff how antiquated, outdated and they're lost in some time warp because their DAW cannot function like an old 32 bit, partially midi software called Band in a Box.
It seems to me, we Biab users, don't climb the ladder as high as the DAW's before we all fall off - having our final product squashed to a streaming mp3 or 14.1/16 CD.
My money's better spent on Mic's, keyboards, preamps, interfaces, midi sound modules and RealTracks.
Last edited by Charlie Fogle; 12/29/15 04:31 AM.
BIAB 2025:RB 2025, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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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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Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
Join the conversation on our forum.
Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll also keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
From overviews of new features and walkthroughs of the 202 new RealTracks, to highlights of XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAKs 18, the 2025 49-PAK, and in-depth tutorials — you’ll find everything you need to explore what’s new in Band-in-a-Box® 2025.
Reference this forum post for One-Stop Shopping of our Band-in-a-Box® 2025 Mac Videos — we’ll be adding more videos as they’re released!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac with savings of up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special—available until July 31, 2025! Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
2025 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Mac 2025 packages, but for even more Add-ons (including 20 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.
If you have any questions, feel free to connect with us directly—we’re here to help!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 Italian Version is Here!
Cari amici
È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.
Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.
Band-in-a-Box 2025 - Italiano
RealBand 2025 - Italiano
Band-in-a-Box 2025 French Version is Here!
Bonjour à tous,
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music
Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:
BIAB 2025 - francisation
RealBand 2025 - francisation
Voilà, enjoy!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 German Version is Here!
Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!
Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.
Stay up to date—get the latest update now!
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