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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2011
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User Chris_Kn, Is Halion 5 a sample player comparable to Kontakt? I followed your link and that was the first impression I got. If so, why do you recommend HaLion over Kontakt? While I do not have either sampling system if someone was to ask I would recommend Kontakt just because there appears to be more free and paid third party support for Kontakt than there is for HaLion. Also, what general midi type of sound library do you prefer to use with HaLion?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,806
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Halion has some excellent sounds. I have Halion 4 (but Halion 5 is out, so can't comment there). Of course, as with all things Steinberg, you have to use a USB dongle.
Halion Sonic is the "lite" version of the full blown "Halion". Not as many instruments and not as much control.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2011
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jford,
I agree. The samples I've heard indicate Halion is a nice sounding sample player. What I'm trying to figure out is it more of a proprietary sample creator and player or more of a system like Kontakt which is also a proprietary sample creator and player but also has a underlying development system that encourages third party adaptation.
Musiclover,
What product is the Roland DXi? Is it the VSC (Virtual Sound Canvas), HyperCanvas or another product I'm not aware of? Roland has released bunches of DXi products over the years. I'm sure you are aware the Cakewalk TTS-1 also was made for Cakewalk by Roland.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,143
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Jim,
Its the VSC which as you know will only work on windows 7 32 bit, does gave an error message on exit of biab as well, no big deal.
musiclover
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 3
Newbie
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Newbie
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 3 |
Dear BIAB friends,
I'm using BIAB since 1994 now and started with a Roland VC 50. When I got a new computer cuouple of years ago I couldn't find a driver and did not have the serial interface anymore.
Currently using standard Coyote which comes with BIAB.
Maybe a stupid Question after being a fan and user for such a long time:
I would like to improve the sound quality (want it to sound much more realistic) and I only use real styles.
Will I gain in quality with Coyote forte DXI or Roland SD 50 if I only use real styles and no Midi styles?
thanks a lot for your answer.
regards
jean
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 2,498
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Roland VC-50? is that a sound module? I can't find anything on a SYNTH module called a VC-50 (there is a video field convertor but that's a differ animal). But if you have ANY Roland synth gear that has an RS-232 (serial) interface I'm sure it ALSO had 5 Pin DIN MIDI? So you can still trigger it over MIDI from any OS: DOS up to current Windows 10 and from most any (all) Mac's. That aside, and I don't mean to be rude but your basic question (and it's been asked by almost every new person to computer music) is analogous to asking which is better a golf club or a cheese bagel to fly an airplane. If you are saying you ONLY use real styles that have zero (zip, nada, zilch) MIDI in them (no MIDI drums, no MIDI guitars, no MIDI pianos, no MIDI strings, horns, reeds, organs, vibes, etc.) than it is immaterial if you have ANY MIDI synths whether virtual (software plug-ins Like the Coyote Forte ) or actual (like the SD-50) and irrespective of cost: free, cheap, expensive, or astronomical. If you mean you ALMOST never use a MIDI instrument - then it's a matter of WHICH or what type/class (brass, strings, chromatic, etc.) of MIDI instrument you do use infrequently and need to sound "realistic." If only MIDI piano than you don’t need a full "spectrum" synth or even a GM synth you just need a really good dedicated piano plug-in or an external HW synth that has a really good piano. at least if narrowed to one or a class - folks can point you to a specific dedicated HW or SW solution that duplicates that one "class" of sounds really well. If you mean you, and this is what I think you are really asking, use a lot of real styles but in reality you ALSO use more than a few BIAB styles that have more than one or two MIDI instruments, then it is a question of how much to you want to spend (see above discussion[s])? The sky is the limit on that one. Coyote Forte is ~$40, or Music Creator 7 for just a few bucks more, $50, and you get the TTS-1, it is included with MC 7(TTS-1 is similar to, but different from, Coyote Forte - both are GM synths) on the other hand a Roland SD-50 (new, not used) is an order of magnitude more ($450). If you want only acoustic instruments a lot of folks here swear by the Ketron SD-2 (a little cheaper than the SD-50). Note, you JUST missed a good one (holiday sales are over) if you have or have access to the FREE SampleTank 2.5 (the one that has both VSTi as well as DXi and also has a standalone .exe) then you can still get inexpensive libraries for that, that are actually pretty good for the price and in a lot of cases better than the Coyote or TTS-1 instruments. As matter of fact, Sonic Reality (eSoundz) has a GM lib called Omnisynth 2 that when not on sale is $26 and when on sale is $10 or $15. https://www.esoundz.com/sounds/omnisynth-2-sampletank-expansion/4736.html eSoundz also has the same lib for Kontakt (OmniSynth) but setting up GM libs is a P.I.T.A. in Kontakt and requires a lot of memory (not an issue for me with 32GB) and you need the NOT free version of Kontakt - but if you have the full Kontakt 4 or later then you have the factory lib and that already has a lot of good usable sounds (more than Coyote, TTS-1, or even SD-50 and I am a ROLAND "fan boy."). Finally, you can start virtual fist fights over the question "what is best sounding piano (guitar, sax, solo violin, cello,...) ?" And that's without even considering best sounding piano (guitar, violin,...) for what use: solo [and is that solo for Jazz or solo for a piano concerto] or is that for comping and "sitting in the mix." To compound that "which is best" piano (guitar, sax, violin...) you get the actual ivory-ponders (pickers, blowers, bowers) weighing in that that swear NONE of them sound real - because they can’t get sympathetic resonance coming out of wood into their finger tips (blah, blah, blah, whine, whine, whine, BS, BS, BS). Good Luck and Welcome Larry
Last edited by Larry Kehl; 01/16/16 01:22 PM.
Win10Pro,i9,64GB,2TBSSD+20TBHDDs,1080TI,BIAB'24,Scarlett18i8,Montage7,Fusion 8HD,QS8,Integra7,XV5080,QSR,SC-8850,SPLAT,FL21&others,Komp.14,IK suite&others, just a guitar player-AXE FX III &FM9T, FishmanTP, MIDIGuitar2, GK2/3'sw/GI20
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,974
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Jean,
Real styles use RealTracks that are made up of audio files. Audio files do not use midi. PG Music includes a midi transcription with many RealTracks so the Band-in-a-Box and RealBand piano keyboard windows can work and so that notation can be printed. The midi has nothing at all to do with what you hear when you're listening to a Real style using RealTracks.
Of course Band-in-a-Box also includes midi (only) styles and hybrid styles as well as midiSuperTracks. All of these use midi commands to tell a soft synth what to play and how to play it. The most common format for songs to follow is general midi. General midi has 16 channels (like a mixer channel) and each channel can play one instrument from a standard list of 128 instruments. The 128 instrument list is standard so that when a midi or Band-in-a-Box song file says load up instrument number 1 a piano instrument sound will always be be loaded. While the general midi standard has 128 instruments, it is not the only standard midi instrument list. Roland and Yamaha also have midi instrument lists. General midi added additional instrument sounds that is called General Midi 2 (gm2).
The most popular midi instruments are keyboards that have midi instrument sounds built-in. If a keyboard has a USB or five pin midi connection and it has speakers then the keyboard most likely is GM or GM2 compliant and can play all the instruments in a midi song file at one time. That is also the way the midi players built into Windows and Android works but, it is not the only way midi players can work. Some players can play only one instrument sound at a time. That's the way many synths works. Some midi software players like Kontakt and SampleTank work that way. That means there has to be a player for each instrument in a song.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 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 process 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, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
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- 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)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
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- 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 PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
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