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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3 |
Hi , i m about to order the UltraPlusPak Audiophile for Mac . It comes loaded on a USB drive. I always prefered to work with audio installed on a Firewire which is supposed to deliver higher speed , faster access and therefore better performances.
Do the owners of that Audiophile Pak for Mac ever complained about slow access or any problem due to the use of that USB drive.?
Maybe people use that drive as a back up and transfer the files and data on a Firewire drive for pro use ?
Any feedback will be appreciated since i m holding my VIsa card in my hand
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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I don't find any noticeable difference in the case of Band in a Box, USB2.0 is plenty fast enough.
Consider that BIAB does not multitrack in the usual sense of the word, there is a single stereo output going on there.
Couple that with the fact that BIAB does not stream from drive, it accesses the drive to load things, the RealTracks being the thing that takes the longest to do, but the drive throughput is only a small part of the problem here, it isn't streaming so Sustained Transfer Rate doesn't even come into play here, the Realtrack time is more about processing which parts of the root RT file to place where in your song than about streaming. That can be accomplished with the Burst Rate of USB 2.0 quite easily. Once the song is generated, the playback you hear is actually being derived from a Temp storage on your internal hard drive anyway.
Loading times of RealTracks don't seem to be affected all that much differently on the FireWire drive as vs the USB either. (I copied my USB drive's BB contents to a FireWire at one point just to see.) Now I just use the original USB drive that PGMusic sent me.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3
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Thanx a lot Mac. I read your posts on the forum, quite interesting. Now i m just waiting to know the shipping delay and cost (i m in Europe) before using plastic :-)
(i asked the PG support for that and i ll get an reply soon i hope)
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 812
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Posts: 812 |
Hi sam7,
If you want real speed, you might want to check into the new Solid State Hard drives. They come in many flavors (USB, Firewire, PCMCIA) and both the read and write speeds are far above the fastest Firewire drives. There is no spinning platter, so the data has a much longer and more secure lifespan, there is much less heat also.
The downside is the cost, right now they are a tad pricey. You can check both tigerdirect and newegg, they both have many models available. I'm waiting for 3 things right now>
1. The cost to come down
2. A portable enclosure without need of a power supply
3. Making sure that the drive doesn't suffer from the Windows format problem (for example, a 500 GB drive formatted for Windows loses almost 90 GB. Frustrating!)
Good luck, hope this helps,
Ed
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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There is indeed a failure mode with solid state drive.
It is catastrophic.
And it is instantaneous.
That said, it is as minimized as can be, but it exists. Because a problem with power can take the thing out in a few nanoseconds. Not. Pretty. Unlike a crashed hard drive, there is no clean room or data recovery solution should it happen.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992
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likkle birdies are floating around saying usb could get vewy interesting
in the next few years allied with improved pen drive wead/wite performance n
larger storage sizes..
oops likkle birdie just dropped a doodoo on my head for telling..
but mebe i'll be wrong n people can throw egg at me..lol.
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE !
"what is the black art of audio engineering ?"
my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning
see my tips in the tips section.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 166
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 166 |
Ed, could you enlighten me on this?
If a drive is connected to the Mac over USB (or FireWire), is this connection not the bottleneck? Meaning that no matter how fast the drive is it is always faster then the connection UNLESS it is connected over the bus (like an internal drive)?
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,110
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I drive a PC and know nothing about Mac so if I'm volunteering worthless information here please excuse my ignorance of the operating system and the file formats involved. For what its worth, I opened up the usb enclosure on my 2009.5 Audiophile last month because the fans started making a loud screaching noise. I couldn't fix that problem but found that the drive inside was a 3.5 inch SATA, so I just pulled it out and installed it in an eSATA enclousre that I had laying around, or I could have installed it in an empty bay in my desktop.
We can debate USB and Fireware until the cows come home but right now neither approach the transfer speeds of SATA. You might want to consider that option.
Keith
2025 Audiophile Windows 11 RYZEN THREADRIPPER 3960X 4.5GHZ 128 GB RAM 2 Nvidia RTX 3090s, Vegas,Acid,SoundForge,Izotope Production,Melodyne Studio,SONAR,3 Raven Mtis
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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Well, since the iNTEL Macs, we no longer enjoy the good old SCSI drive interface, it is now the same as Windows.
BUT -- USB 2.0 can do Burst speeds that rival FireWire. Both can do Bursts that rival the internal connections, but with Audio that streams direct to or from disk, the Burst spec can be meaningless for us, what we need to know really is the specification that most manufacturers won't publish and that is the STR or the Sustained Transfer Rate of the drive.
Now that I've said all that, I don't think it really applies in the case of BiaB because it seems that the drive is only accessed when building the RealTracks/RealDrums for the song and that is not a direct disk stream situation such as we want when multitracking many simultaneous channels of Audio into and out of the computer at the same time.
That means that the Burst spec is likely what is applying anyway.
That said, the internal connection methods are always going to be a better way to go if you can go that way. At this point in time, anyway.
But I wouldn't spend too much of the time and money resources chasing after faster loading times. Technology marches on and if the past is any indication, some day in the not too distant future something will come out that will better handle large file situations like these. You can almost feel it. But the larger consumer market of digital video is certainly driving the developments.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,110
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The point that I was really trying to make that may have gotten lost within some of my other commentary is that unlike some other usb drive versions of BIAB that are contained on a laptop size hard drive, the 2009.5 audiophile version comes on a 3.5 inch SATA drive that is readily placed in an eSATA enclosure or an empty internal bay on a desktop.
Keith
2025 Audiophile Windows 11 RYZEN THREADRIPPER 3960X 4.5GHZ 128 GB RAM 2 Nvidia RTX 3090s, Vegas,Acid,SoundForge,Izotope Production,Melodyne Studio,SONAR,3 Raven Mtis
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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Quote:
The point that I was really trying to make that may have gotten lost within some of my other commentary is that unlike some other usb drive versions of BIAB that are contained on a laptop size hard drive, the 2009.5 audiophile version comes on a 3.5 inch SATA drive that is readily placed in an eSATA enclosure or an empty internal bay on a desktop.
Not a problem to connect the laptop SATA drive to the desktop if you've picked out the right adaptor.
Here's one, there are others that are less expensive, too!
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
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I started this topic before buying the 1T USB drive Pak for Mac. I must thank all the people who helped with their contribution. Afer having read a few posts I bought the Pak through the Internet from PG , it all worked perfectly, got the parcel within 48 hours (from Canada to Europe) and it works great. I confirm those drive are Hornettek Hover HDD SATA , there are 2 models , the one i got is the USB, there s also a SSC Model (eSATA/USB) but it s not the one that comes standard when shipping from PG.
I confirm that installation is a breeze (Mac Intel 2x2.66 Dual Xeon, 5GB) , and it works as expected.
The soft is brilliant , i hadn t used BIAB since the early MIDI versions, the concept was already here but now;..wow !!!! brilliant !!!
Thanx again to all , even if now i got the answers to my initial post i continue reading the posts , very interesting because it s now about larger issues with HD that apply to all HD users, not only PG original package.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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Quote:
But I wouldn't spend too much of the time and money resources chasing after faster loading times. Technology marches on and if the past is any indication, some day in the not too distant future something will come out that will better handle large file situations like these. You can almost feel it. But the larger consumer market of digital video is certainly driving the developments.
--Mac
Well, the march of technology continues relentlessly on.
When I typed the above we were in beta testing the new Windows BiaB2010 and I knew it would feature MUCH FASTER REALTRACKS LOADING TIMES.
On average, the loading time is now around 7 secs on my long in the tooth windows machine here.
If there is a RealTracks Soloist involved, it does still take a bit longer, I guess for the computing processing more than the disk part, though.
And I'm thinking that if PGMusic could speed it up that much for the PC environment, the future of Macintosh BiaB RealTracks loading times is very bright indeed.
Stay tuned.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 812
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Hi,
I just learned something that I thought was pretty amazing. I was looking at buying a new DA interface. I always considered firewire, because I thought the transfer rate, throughput and sonics would be better. BUT.....I stand corrected>
RME has a new USB 2 interface and they explained that Firewire has a built in latency of 6ms, whereas USB 2 high speed with AC power (No Buss power) has latency of 2-4ms. Not a huge change, but better than firewire. This new device looks amazing and the first USB interface I have seriously considered. RME is expensive, but it's just about the best, unless your pockets allow you to buy a Lynx Aurora, Metric Halo ULN 2, or Apogee Ensemble, all above $2,000. The RME UC is about $1,300 but the converters and Mic Pres and drivers/cuemix are supposed to be amazing.
Ed
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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Don't think if a 2mS difference is really worth being the sole criteria for picking one over the other, though.
There are other inputs to this problem that should also be considered carefully when choosing a sound device.
Bandwidth, for one. If you are only ever considering streaming in one stereo track at a time, USB can do that. But if you need multitrack multiple channel streaming, FireWire may still represent the better choice due to its Sustained Transfer Rate.
Also consider carefully your use of higher bitrates here, too, if that is of importance to you.
--Mac
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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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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®
With your version 2026 for Windows 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)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
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)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Video: New User Interface (GUI)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch 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!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch 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!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch 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!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch 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.
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