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Hi All, I am new to BIAB.
I saw it around in the 90's but never tried it out (how wrong I was), what a great tool for songwriting and arranging. My friend owns the 2016 PC version and my School (I am a music teacher) own the 2016 mac version.
I would like to buy a site licence to add it to our mac school systems for the next academic year, but I am not sure which version is best. We run both OSX and Windows 10 on our macs.
One big difference I find is that my friend can export full musicxml files from the PC version but the mac version only exports a maximum of 32 bars of music into musicxml (maybe I am doing it wrong). This is one of the biggest things my students would need so they could bring their BiaB creations into Logic 10.3 and Sibelius.
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Given a music school situation, it might be that Realband will also be useful. This is included at no extra charge with the Windows version of the program. The Mac version does not have this.
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Good information above.
The latest features in the Windows version usually precede the subsequent release of the Mac Version by about 6 months.
Windows = Band In A Box + Real Band.
Mac = Band In A Box only.
Real Band has a lot of great additional flexible features that use the same tracks that Band In A Box creates, essentially providing an additional dimension to song creation flexibility.
The choice is of course yours.
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.
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Hi All, I am new to BIAB.
I saw it around in the 90's but never tried it out (how wrong I was), what a great tool for songwriting and arranging. My friend owns the 2016 PC version and my School (I am a music teacher) own the 2016 mac version.
I would like to buy a site licence to add it to our mac school systems for the next academic year, but I am not sure which version is best. We run both OSX and Windows 10 on our macs.
One big difference I find is that my friend can export full musicxml files from the PC version but the mac version only exports a maximum of 32 bars of music into musicxml (maybe I am doing it wrong). This is one of the biggest things my students would need so they could bring their BiaB creations into Logic 10.3 and Sibelius.
Welcome Adebisi. For a school setting I would suggest highly that you contact PG staff and discuss this issue with them. I don't know but it is possible they may have educational licensing available where you either get a discount on the price or you get to use this on a group of computers under an educational license.... Like I said, they can tell you what, if any, perks you get in an educational setting. Regarding the 32 bar thing in the Mac version..... yeah, you're doing it wrong. You should always be able to export the entire song. Regarding the version....PC vs Mac. The PC version comes with Real Band which is a DAW (similar to Logic X) that opens up a whole world of using real tracks and editing the audio so much easier. RB lets you generate the real tracks that sound like live musicians that you hear in many of the songs here. Even if you have Mac computers.... if I understand correctly, there is a Windows OS that can be installed to run on those machines if you do not have PC's in the music classroom. That would allow you to use the PG music PC version and export the files to Logic X. Call the support line and talk to the people in the office. They can answer the questions you have accurately. BTW: I think it's really cool that you are using BB with kids in school.
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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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 7
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 7 |
Hi All, I am new to BIAB.
I saw it around in the 90's but never tried it out (how wrong I was), what a great tool for songwriting and arranging. My friend owns the 2016 PC version and my School (I am a music teacher) own the 2016 mac version.
I would like to buy a site licence to add it to our mac school systems for the next academic year, but I am not sure which version is best. We run both OSX and Windows 10 on our macs.
One big difference I find is that my friend can export full musicxml files from the PC version but the mac version only exports a maximum of 32 bars of music into musicxml (maybe I am doing it wrong). This is one of the biggest things my students would need so they could bring their BiaB creations into Logic 10.3 and Sibelius.
Welcome Adebisi. For a school setting I would suggest highly that you contact PG staff and discuss this issue with them. I don't know but it is possible they may have educational licensing available where you either get a discount on the price or you get to use this on a group of computers under an educational license.... Like I said, they can tell you what, if any, perks you get in an educational setting. Regarding the 32 bar thing in the Mac version..... yeah, you're doing it wrong. You should always be able to export the entire song. Regarding the version....PC vs Mac. The PC version comes with Real Band which is a DAW (similar to Logic X) that opens up a whole world of using real tracks and editing the audio so much easier. RB lets you generate the real tracks that sound like live musicians that you hear in many of the songs here. Even if you have Mac computers.... if I understand correctly, there is a Windows OS that can be installed to run on those machines if you do not have PC's in the music classroom. That would allow you to use the PG music PC version and export the files to Logic X. Call the support line and talk to the people in the office. They can answer the questions you have accurately. BTW: I think it's really cool that you are using BB with kids in school. I would like to keep it mac but that 32 bar thing is really confusing me!
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I'm not aware of any 32 bar limitation on either PC or Mac versions.
If you want to take advantage of the benefits of RealBand also, get the PC version and run under Windows 10 on your macs.
As advised by others, definitely contact PG Music Support and get them to clarify for you.
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.
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Mar 2017
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I'm not aware of any 32 bar limitation on either PC or Mac versions.
If you want to take advantage of the benefits of RealBand also, get the PC version and run under Windows 10 on your macs.
As advised by others, definitely contact PG Music Support and get them to clarify for you.
It's only with exporting to musicxml - the note information stops at 32 bars and then only shows the chord info. The PC version does the full song correctly into musicxml format. Shame I really wanted to use the mac version so there would be no need to switch OS while they were working.
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Do you have the latest update for Mac installed? To double-check, it can be found at the below link. http://www.pgmusic.com/support_macintoshupdates.htm
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Just did the update but it still does it? Seems strange, i've looked all over for the settings in the program.
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What is the structure of the song that you're trying to save as XML?
Is it multiple choruses (i.e. the default 3x through)?
How many bars long?
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Could you email the song to PG Music support and ask them to verify in their mac environment?
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.
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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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2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
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- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
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XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
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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!
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Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours
Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
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