So my point is that no matter what PG calls their product (Everything, Max, Ultimate, Supreme, etc.), short of "almost" or "just about" in the title, some people are probably going to feel mislead.
It is certainly not the fault of the buyer for feeling mislead! We all know what terms like "Everything" and "Komplete" mean. Companies use those terms to make their potential customers think they are getting everything and complete! It is misleading and I wish all companies would just STOP it!
You don't have anything to apologize for! There are still a few hardcore BIAB fans that try and stifle any sort of criticism. Just ignore 'em! Thanks for raising the issue and getting PG's attention with hopefully some results that are better for them and their customers!
... Well, when I open up the stylemaker the only choices I see for instruments are MIDI patches. So how does one go about creating a new real style -- one that uses realtracks instead of midi instruments? What am I doing wrong that I can't access the realtracks instruments?
Open style editor, them "misc", then "more" ...
But i just found out doing so is that i really miss one cannot select "halftime", or "doubletime" in the stylemaker, as with the normal realtrack selector page. F.
I read David's Bailey thread on the Yahoo forum and decided to post here myself.
I've been a long time user of PG products since the early 90s. Certainly I felt misled by the "clear" package label "Everything" which is the package I choose when I upgrade.
No intention to upgrade this year even PG Music includes the Xtra Realtracks.
I came across this thread and have finally read through the whole thing. I can understand the confusion over the word "Everything," and when "Everything" is not really everything. I think that I too would be somewhat miffed. BTW, I bought v2017 with the Everything Pak in December 2016. I haven't made my mind up about upgrading to v2018. It'll depend upon finances and priorities.
But I wanted to report that I actually used the directions that a few members here posted as to how to create your own style. So I gave it a try and stumbled through the process. What I ended up with was a style with realband instruments playing in grooves that I preferred. I was able to save it as a style. Then I went into the style page (by clicking on the guitar and drum symbol button), elected to do the (Slow, Complete) Rebuild Styles List option. It immediately found my style and updated the list to include it.
So, success! Yay! I'll be using this style quite a bit, I expect.
I understand the confusion with the naming of the various options for BIAB. Marketing tends to push companies toward names that imply the package contains more than it does. And no naming system will perfectly describe what the option contains.
Personally, I don't care what they call the different options; name them after sandwiches, for all I care: egg salad sandwich, ham sandwich, turkey sandwich, foot-long sub with extra pickles.
The important thing for me is this: is there a clear description of what comes in the "foot-long sub with extra pickles" option (that's the one I always get).
Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts on the current Band-in-a-Box package names - we appreciate the feedback!
We've heard you, and we're on it! You will see some name changes to the different Band-in-a-Box packages offered with the release of our 2018 version... stay tuned!
Well, for me, and probably quite a few non US or Canadian resident, a download system, especially for the (large) Audiophile files would be a great thing, as import duties charged are sometimes around 28% over a parcel containing a hard-disk. Some other companies selling large software packages offer that, Toontrack, Steinberg, to name just two. IMO a torrent system makes that even easier, although probably hard to organize properly with copyrighted material- F
Yes, I was a bit bummed about this as well. (Just set up Band in A Box, and am realizing everything didn't mean everything.) Well, I knew that already because in the comparison page you can see you have to upgrade from everything to get the Wave files.
But the real bummer is that there is no way to really know what I do or don't have (as far as I can tell by looking through the site for a while) - There is no explanation page as to what really comes with the everything pak, etc.
Why is it so difficult to have a page listing what comes with what - why demos will be greyed out until you buy this or that, etc. If anyone knows where this page is, (I'm hoping,) please correct me.
On the other hand, I'd buy it again in a second. It's a very cool product.
Welcome to the forum. Yes, this is a terrific product! I've been using it since 1993.
They said they are going to work on clarifying the terms, which is good.
There are also added extras they call Bonus Paks that come along every so often, for an added purchase no matter what you have. If you get any of these, be sure to keep the installer for it in a safe place.
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.
... there is no way to really know what I do or don't have (as far as I can tell by looking through the site for a while) - There is no explanation page as to what really comes with the everything pak, etc.
Why is it so difficult to have a page listing what comes with what - why demos will be greyed out until you buy this or that, etc. If anyone knows where this page is, (I'm hoping,) please correct me.
On the other hand, I'd buy it again in a second. It's a very cool product.
Although it can be a little confusing to interpret, under "Options" have a look at "What add-ons do I have?". This will list all that is installed.
It's possible to copy the contents of each window of information and then collate it in a document.
If you want to do that and then post a link to the document here on the forum we'll be able to help you determine what you do not have.
Its all about whats in a name.I bought BIAB for the first time-2017ULTRA and the Extra packs that went with it. But before I spent my husbands money(LOL)I did actually READ what each of the various options contained.SO, if you didnt,how iis it the fault of PG that you didnt get what you expected? However I do think that calling the most basic option a "PRO" is wicked(as in Naughty, not as in the modern parlance)-its next to useless in my opinion unless you are a devoted midi user. Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
IMO: PG is a quite musician friendly company with fairly priced, and sometimes even priceless, stuff. Not to forget: with a very good & supportive forum/support system; users like Noel and VideoTrack deserve a lot of credits besides the staff.
What indeed could improve is a kind of (advisory?) list of the (useful or not) extras depending of what you want or need from a program like BIAB, and maybe an option to opt out on certain stuff included with the PG package when you buy. Difficult decisions maybe, especially when someone is a rookie midi-software wise.
For me personally i am not that much into jazz, and RealBand i never used other than trying it and quickly moved on to a "proper" sequencer. In my case Cubase, but at a price compared to "freebee" Realband; shifting audio level adjustment and time stretching, inserting plugins, editing MIDI data like groove, velocity, selecting sounds and a lot more is so much easier & quicker there. All quite dodgy and complex in RealBand IMO. I would like to see a better integration with BIAB (more and more flexibillity regarding tracks within BIAB instead of a separate program?).
(BTW 64bit, the can of worms question ... Jbridge and 32bit compatible plugins no longer necessary. A lot of companies flunked or even stopped support for 32bit, like Steinberg's newest stuff, it must ring a bell somewhere in the PG offices. But hats off, & fair is fair; Halion Sonic 3 64 bit works from within BIAB; as there were questions on this forum about this i remember ... )
I must say with buying "everything" sometimes you run in to some style or realtrack you wouldn't have purchased if you had a choice, but that later turned out quite useful unexpectedly in some musical context. Why the "everything" deal each year keeps intriguing me: "what's the surprise this time?"
However, compared to what other software companies ask for their software, PGmusic's stuff is quite budget friendly, especially regarding all the work that went into the Realtracks. Just looked f.i. at Realivox "the Ladies" 399 dollars for a bit of oo-ing and aah-ing choir sounds from a VST plugin? My foot. Apparently it sells, even at 50% black Friday prices, still $199. Some software is expensive and worth it, to name stuff: Wavelab, Toontrack Easy or even Superior Drummer.
Thus, all IMO, just in case some would-have-been policeman wants to meddle with or criticize me for personal opinions .. -F
For those of us that are familiar with BIAB, and PGMusic's "nomenclature", we pretty much know what to look for and what should be included in each "package".
But for a "first timer", it's a dizzying array of information to wade through. What is/are ...
- RealBand, RealTracks, RealStyles, Real Midi (and if these are "real", is everything else "fake"?)
- MIDI Styles, MIDI Soloists, MIDI Supertracks (if you haven't been exposed to MIDI, this in itself is daunting)
And then there's (as has been discussed, probably ad nauseum)
- BIAB "Pro": wouldn't you think this would be somewhere near the "top" of the selections, that is, "this is what the Pros buy"
- MegaPAK, PlusPAK, UltaPlus Pak, EverythingPak, (and what's the advantage of an...) AudiophilePAK, not to mention the OmniPAK and then those pesky Xtra Style Sets, Melodist Sets, Soloist Sets, Andy LaVerne Solist Sets and likely a few others that I've missed
Glad to hear that PGMusic is going to try to make sense of it all to post with the 2018 Edition. Hope they get some input from the Beta Testers, and maybe ask a few people who have never heard of BIAB to take a look at what they come up with to see if it makes sense.
It's good to read that the naming convention will be changed. Every year, I have to call the fine people at PG Support to determine what I should get.
My secondary hard drive failed me last spring, and it required surgery to bring the data back. A couple of weeks ago, I was reinstalling BiaB, and I found that a number of RealTracks were being reported as NA. I was sure that I had the complete set, so I talked to PG Support.
It turned out that - despite talking to PG Support before ordering - I'd ordered the wrong pack. Perhaps I just asked the wrong question, or read their answer wrong. No problem, the matter was set right by PG.
My point is just to echo that the current naming convention is confusing, and it can be confusing to figure out where particular tracks came from.
It's probably too late to suggest names, but I think "Basic" or "Core" are good. But "Basic MIDI" is better, because it's more clear in the name what you get.
"Audiophile" is also mostly clear, mostly because it's the "top tier", so all the tracks are included.
But I'm not a fan of names like "Mega", because it gets back into the squishy naming convention that we've currently got.
Because of all the extras, it's hard to come up with a good name for some of these products. The decision to make some RealTracks "Bonus" tracks also muddies the waters.
But it's encouraging that the problem is being addressed.
So for upgrade purposes what is now equivalent to the everything pack? I have the 2017 everything pack with all of the extra styles when I upgrade 2018, to make sure I don't miss anything, what do I order?
Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!
It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!
We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!
Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:
Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana, Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes, MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano, Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!
Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 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 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 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 and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 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.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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!
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.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 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 and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 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.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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!
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.
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