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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 3
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Newbie
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 3 |
Hi All,
I'm considering buying BIAB for Mac. I currently use iReal Pro but am looking for better backing, just not sure if the 'Pro' version of BIAB is sufficient, being on a budget that's probably the only one I could afford. I just don't want to buy a $129 piece of software and find that I need to spend $100s more.
Additionally does BIAB Mac have all the features of the Windows version?
Thanks,
James
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,937
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,937 |
Hello and welcome. I'm a jazz player and I have both Windows and Mac versions. The Mac version was just updated to version 2018 and it has MOST of the features of the Windows version. If there is something specific you need to know, we can answer. In addition, the piano roll which is one of the main differences is expected soon for the Mac version. The Windows version also comes with RealBand, a free DAW that integrates with BIAB. The Mac version does not have that, but you can drag tracks into Garageband.
The advice you will get here is to buy as much as you can, but the base program is the same no matter what version you buy. You can always add styles and RealTracks later. It's more expensive to add individual paks than to just get the UltraPak with them all.
+1 for Monk and Kenny Clarke
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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Joined: Apr 2009
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Yup.... my advice is to buy up the food chain as far as your budget allows....maybe even stretch it a bit. The main difference between the lower cost vs higher cost versions is the number of real tracks that are included. The basic version is essentially midi with a few real tracks included. Real tracks absolutely are the way to go. There's almost no way to tell it's not a real studio musician playing when you use real tracks because that's exactly what it is. Midi always sounds like midi..... and practically anyone can spot a midi track immediately. Not so with the Real Tracks. Listen to my music. I do not use Midi tracks in any of it with very few exceptions.
There is a 100% money back no questions guarantee offered by PG Music if you don't like it.
Very few people return the product.
I've found that BB does Jazz exceptionally well. I don't think you will be disappointed.
I've heard that the MAC version doesn't include Real Band.... which is where I create a lot of my real tracks that don't fit in a given style..... fiddle or steel guitar in a hard rock style for example. It might be worth getting a PC to run the music program if you really wanted to get the full power of BB/RB at your disposal. I know the PC version has thousands of styles and hundreds of real tracks and they keep adding more. I did this.... essentially, I built, but you could just as easily buy, a dedicated PC to run the music programs. Transfer the files and tracks from the PC into the MAC as waves and mix them in the Mac. I have a song where the singer was recorded in a studio running Pro Tools (Mac) and the file works perfectly well in my PC.
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: Jul 2018
Posts: 3
Newbie
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Newbie
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 3 |
Thanks for the responses. Is it possible to buy the pro version then upgrade to MegaPAK or UltraPAK, or indeed buy MegaPAK and then upgrade to UltraPAK for the cost difference, or close to the cost difference? Or is it upfront or much higher costs?
Re Mac vs PC I have Logic Pro (& obviously GarageBand) is there anything RealBand does that wouldn’t be abale to fairly easily do with those?
Thanks
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Joined: Aug 2011
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Posts: 10,766 |
RealBand is a Windows only product so the program does not ship with Band-in-a-Box for Mac.
The Mega PAK includes all the material included in the Pro PAK plus additional content.
When you purchase the UltraPAK or Audiophile you purchase at a discounted, upgrade price instead of the first time purchase price. PG Music sales can better answer your pricing questions.
Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - 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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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2018
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Newbie
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Thanks, I understand that RealBand is Windows only, Guitarhacker suggested buying a PC so I can run the windows version, which I’d rather not do if possible, my question is whether RealBand adds anything that I can’t do with my existing DAWs on the Mac instead.
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,768
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Hi James, Many people who have Windows BIAB do not use Realband. While I do use Realband every once in a while, these days I mostly I do everything I want in BIAB. For what I do, I could live without Realband. I write songs and then arrange them. To this, my plan of attack is... 1. Write the song in BIAB. 2. Transfer audio tracks from BIAB to my DAW. 3. (This step I sometimes do. It's not necessary to use Realband here because I can also do what I want in BIAB.) Open the BIAB songfile in Realband and generate some additional tracks. 4. When all my audio is transferred to my DAW, I then mix the tracks in my DAW and add vocals, audio effects, etc. 5. I create a final, single (compiled) audio file using my DAW. In a nutshell, I use BIAB to generate instrumental and rhythm audio files. I then take those files to a DAW and mix them down into a final, single audio file. If you want to have a listen to some of my work and get an idea of how BIAB (Windows) sounds when I use it, go to... https://soundcloud.com/noel-adamsThe below link is to Janice and Bud Merritt's website. They are very productive with BIAB (Mac). https://soundcloud.com/mootsmanLastly, Alan and Di at the below website, obtain finished products straight from BIAB (no DAW is involved in most of their work as I understand it). https://soundcloud.com/alananddiHopefully this helps. Regards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2025
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,937
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Posts: 26,937 |
RealBand reads BIAB files directly. No other DAW does that.
RealBand can regenerate part of a track. BIAB cannot do that; it regenerates the whole track.
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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Joined: Dec 2006
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 393 |
Re Mac vs PC I have Logic Pro (& obviously GarageBand) is there anything RealBand does that wouldn’t be abale to fairly easily do with those?
Thanks
In a word, no. As someone who moved to a Mac 5-10 years ago, the one thing I saw that you could do with Real Band was to regenerate a small part of a song rather than regenerate the whole thing. Say you were trying to generate a 12 bar sax solo, and were happy with all of it except the middle four bars of it. Real Band would allow you to just regenerate those middle 4 bars of the solo - over and over - until you got something you were happy with. With the BIAB and Logic combination now, I'd just have to regenerate the whole song and drag-and-drop the sax part into Logic over and over - where I can cut and paste to my heart's content. Bruce
Macbook Pro 2018
2.6 GHz 6-core Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM
OS Monterey
BIAB for Mac 2022
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414 |
Thanks for the responses. Is it possible to buy the pro version then upgrade to MegaPAK or UltraPAK, or indeed buy MegaPAK and then upgrade to UltraPAK for the cost difference, or close to the cost difference? Or is it upfront or much higher costs? Hi Epistrophy  We're glad to hear you're considering Band-in-a-Box! The users posting in this subject have basically hit the nail on the head. For pricing inquiries, feel free to give us a call at 1-800-268-6272, or + 800-4746-8742 if you aren't in North America. You can use the Live Chat option on our site in the top right of the main page too if calling isn't ideal where you are.
Cheers,
Deryk
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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 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!
Update to RealBand® 2025 Build 5 Windows Today!
Already using RealBand® 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 5 now from our Support Page to ensure you have the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.
Get the latest update today!
PowerTracks Pro Audio 2025 for Windows is Here!
PowerTracks Pro Audio 2025 is here! This new version introduces many features, including VST3 support, the ability to load or import a .FLAC file, a reset option for track height in the Tracks window, a taller Timeline on the Notation window toolbar, new freeze buttons in the Tracks window, three toolbar modes (two rows, single row, and none), the improved Select Patch dialog with text-based search and numeric patch display, a new button in the DirectX/VST window to copy an effects group, and more!
First-time packages start at only $49. Already a PowerTracks Pro Audio user? Upgrade for as little as $29!
www.pgmusic.com/powertracks.htm
Video: Summary of the New Band-in-a-Box® App for iOS®
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new Band-in-a-Box® app for iOS®! Designed for musicians, singer-songwriters, and educators, this powerful tool lets you create, play, and transfer songs effortlessly on your iPhone® or iPad®—anytime, anywhere.
Band-in-a-Box® for iOS® :Summary video.
Check out the forum post for more information.
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