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I know I have joined quite a few folks on this forum who live in the sticks. After about 35 years in the LA area I bought a house in Warner Springs, California which is about 30 miles up the mountain from Temecula. After coming from LA where anything and everything concerning cable, fiber optic and all that is available, none of that is easily available here.
I want to talk about sat service. For years all I've heard about is HughesNet which is expensive, limited, requires a 5 year contract and is...expensive.
A new old service is now available called ViaSat/Excede. I don't know the history but if you do a search you'll find tons of posts/articles talking about how bad it is, worse than HughesNet. Not any more. Early this year they merged and put up more satellites. I didn't want to post this until I've had it at least a month and it's actually about six weeks.
They have several tiers, mine is the upper tier but not the top tier. I get 25mbs download speed and 60 gigs a month guaranteed to not get throttled down but it is an unlimited data plan, it's just if the network is busy I could get cut back after 60 gigs. It costs $71/month. I can check my account any time to see my usage and I've been averaging about 1.7 gigs a day. I watch a lot of Youtube vids, some streaming but not a whole lot and tons of regular online internet surfing, doing remote login's to my old office, efaxing, etc. So far 60 gigs is plenty.
Every few days I run Speedtest and I've always been between 25 and 30 down and 1-2 up. Surprisingly I've had only minor issues until today when a big thunder thumper was right on top of me for about 45 minutes pouring rain. Those will block sat services so I was offline for a while. ViaSat can be bundled with DirecTv which I also have and I have to say it's worked really well.
I live in a community with 332 homes and there are several folks here who've been using HughesNet for years and have been waiting for me to have this service long enough to say it's pretty good. After six weeks it's pretty good.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I have no advice for you, but I enjoyed Temecula. I played their jazz festival in old town 12 years ago. Great music.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Congratulations on your move. Small towns have that trade-off with convenience.
I investigated satellite service back in the Internet Dark Ages (1990s) when my phone service was undependable.
They guaranteed me the satellite gear would work but not that I would be able to get on the Internet. I'm sure it's much better now.
Now I get DSL-Lite with the phone company, I'm too far away from the end of the fiber optics to get real DSL, so even YouTube buffers a few times.
I live along a 15 mile road with a two mile wide lagoon on one side, protected wetlands on the other, and huge houses with 50 acre lots and only 4 or 5 short dead-end spur streets. I live on one of those in a small house and a half acre lot.
What that means is Telephone and CableTV pass very few homes per mile of cable, making the return on their investment very poor. The physical plant of those two utilities is very expensive to build and maintain, so they put most of their attention in suburban areas with plenty of side streets.
So I'm reading your post with interest and it might lead to an investigation.
Have you gone through any severe rainstorms yet? Does it still work?
My neighbors tell me that Satellite TV service is very intermittent in the rainy season when it's stormy around here.
Bob
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Check around you might find some sat related forums and find folks in Florida to ask about it. I had a big storm yesterday and the service went down for for a bit. I had other stuff to do and didn't time it but I'm guessing about a half hour maybe.
Where I'm at is referred to as the High Desert. It can be total sun for 6 months with almost zero clouds but in the summer we do get monsoons coming up from Mexico. I have friends in Tuscon and they get the same. Monsoons affect the whole southwest US and it's why Vegas has a huge storm drain system. Thunder, lightning and a ton of rain for anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. It just depends on how intense and the altitude the storm is when it's directly in the path of the signal as it relates to your dish.
Overall I don't think it's that big of a deal, the signals are strong enough to get through a lot of weather but of course there are limits. I had DirecTV for years in LA and only lost signal a few times. There were times when it was blowing and raining pretty hard but no issues. It has to be really intense and directly in line with your dish. You might lose it but a person a mile away won't.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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In the summer, we have intense rainstorms. A half inch or more in an hour.
Often they are accompanied by lightning in which case I'm turned off and unplugged anyway.
For most of my life they were of short duration, an hour at the most and then the sun comes back out. But for the past few years the weather patterns have been changing. We had a week of rain early this spring, but I think most of it not intense enough to block the signal.
Thanks. I think I'll investigate.
Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Just to update this. No more thunderstorms here but I have had two brief outages for no apparent reason. A few hours ago with a clear sky it suddenly went down and I looked at the modem and it has a weird looking light that I've learned means it's offline. It only lasted about 10 minutes. Several days ago the same thing happened and again it only lasted a few minutes.
Still not a big deal at least for me but so I don't come off sounding like a salesman, the service is not perfect. I'll still rank it pretty good compared to the alternatives. If it starts going down for a day or even a few hours, I'll report that but it hasn't happened yet.
One thing I forgot to mention, they insist on automatic debit for payment. They just charged me the $71 yesterday and now I'm going into my third month.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I think if I was moving, and I hate moving, the two foremost questions in my mind regarding house and area are, is it prone to flooding, and quality of internet services.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I know a family that has to move somewhat regularly and one of their top criteria is they only consider neighborhoods within 5 miles of official Apple stores. They figure Apple only puts stores in areas of high quality services, Internet has included.
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That's a situation I was faced with last year when we moved in. The cable co wanted $12,000 to run the cable under the road and 900' up a clear right of way. I turned them down.
I checked into Sat I-net but didn't trust it to be always on as I've had sat before and weather knocks it out. And.... the cost vs speed wasn't good IMHO.
I got the phone co to install DSL for $50 install cost and $60/mo. We stream our TV and have Magic Jack phones that all work well on a 20MB service. In other areas, the DSL speed is much higher but we're out in the boonies and they need to upgrade the equipment at the service distribution point to deliver higher speeds.
Another option is a cell phone hot spot if you have solid coverage. I think it's comparable in price to Hughesnet and has the same throttle issues with usage limits. But it was the one I was looking at before I called the phone co. Two of my customers are using it for their home internet.
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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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I'm struggling with the same issues here since we recently moved from southern Florida to Lake Keowee outside of small town Seneca South Carolina. The only options here are HughesNet and AT&T. I choose AT&T over Hughes due to the spotty coverage and outages during storms. Even so, it's a great disappointment after having 150Mbps download and 20Mbps uploads from Comcast in Florida. I mean come on, 25Mbps down and 3-4Mbps up....ancient technology! Anyway, a couple of things I have found out that may help all of you rural folks: 1. Chrome is much faster than IE (IE is becoming less and less capable with with videos...some websites no longer suppport IE for vids); 2. and this is a big one, change your DNS to a public DNS and get away from your ISP's DNS. ISP DNS's are notoriously slow as they try to contain bandwidth. For me, Google's public DNS improved my internet response time significantly. Here's how to change your DNS: https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/usingHope this may help, Jeff
Win11, Intel i7 7700K 4.2Ghz, 32Gb RAM, 2x1Tb HD, 500Gb NVMe, BIAB/RB 2026, MOTU 828MK3 audio, MOTU Midi Express, Yamaha Montage 7, DX7II, TX802, Motif XS Rack, Roland Fantom XR Rack, Oberheim Matrix 1000, VoiceLive3 Extreme, Kontakt 6, SampleTank 4.3
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Here's how to change your DNS: Thanks sir! That's a cool tip. Jeff, P.S. - While I was looking at this stuff I found a free utility you can use to scan the fastest DNS hosts in your area if you are uncomfortable with Google storing all your browsing history. Trying it now. DNS Benchmark
Last edited by sslechta; 08/01/18 08:14 AM.
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Google DNS servers have nothing to do with Google browsing history.
Your ISP may be watching, but Google DNS servers could care less. Much more likely that your browser has that history data.
Pop quiz;
When setting up a DNS server, what do you use for it's DNS setting (as mentioned above)? <grin>
DNS is one of my day job aspects that I think is fun, and pretty cool.
If you realized how many requests your personal computer makes to DNS servers and how fast they respond so you get to the requested website, you would likely be surprised.
Many times two/three other servers are involved; your DNS server is first (after checking locally for Hosts Entries) .. and if your DNS server doesn't have the answer cached, it checks the NameServer computer for the domain (Start of Authority) which then tells your DNS server either the correct answer or the location of where else to check (which may be a third computer) and then your DNS server sends this info back to your computer, before the website even launches/loads (because only now your computer knows which other computer has this site).
Sorry, I deal with DNS a lot & that was probably more than you wanted to know.
Last edited by rharv; 08/01/18 02:38 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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If I tried to change my DNS server, I'd probably crash the internet as a result. World wide, is what I'm talking about. I know nothing about this new-fangled stuff.
At the very least.... I'd be off the internet and no clue how to get back on.
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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Funny clip.
Speaking of ATT's DSL over the cell network solution, that was the only thing available up here other than HughesNet until recently. My neighbor has it and so does a bunch of folks around here. The problem here is there needs to be an available portal and there have been none available since I bought my house last October. I didn't actually move in until the end of April but starting last October I kept calling ATT every few weeks and I got the same answer, no portals available, they're working on building out more.
It was the last call where the lady transferred me to Viasat. The other thing is someone said they're getting 25mbs downloads with ATT rural DSL. Nobody here is getting more than 4 or 5. Here it's some kind of combination of phone line DSL and the cell network. They do allow you 180 gigs a month. When I've told people I'm getting 25mbs D/L speed from Viasat they're amazed which is why people keep asking me how it's working out.
I have a few clues to my short outages. It seems to be related to me leaving the system unattended for several hours while I'm working on my office computer. I'll come back and the browser can't go to a new site. Either closing/reopening the browser does it or rebooting does it. All I can tell people is it's only once or twice a week and for a short duration except when I had that bad thunder thumper for an hour.
To the comment above about IE. This is why I've been harping about Win 10 for months now. Edge is not IE. Edge works great while IE can have occasional issues.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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If I tried to change my DNS server, I'd probably crash the internet as a result. World wide, is what I'm talking about. I know nothing about this new-fangled stuff.
At the very least.... I'd be off the internet and no clue how to get back on. I doubt you'd crash the internet, but it's possible to put yourself at increased risk. That's what makes products like Cisco Umbrella have so much value, especially for large networks. Need to be careful with DNS servers, fixing a failure is pretty easy, but using a bad one (successfully) is risky.
Last edited by rharv; 08/03/18 02:14 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Another update. No issues at all with ViaSat, it really works well. I'm convinced now that my issues with the occasional drop out is related to me using both my personal system and being logged onto my remote system for business at the same time. Obviously I'm not physically at both computers simultaneously. If I'm working remotely and leaving my personal computer for a few hours I'll find it's lost internet connection and closing the browser and reopening it reconnects it but it can take maybe 30 seconds or so. I also think it's related to my office computer being connected to the modem by wire but my personal one is by wifi.
Other than ViaSat being about $20 per month more than a similar internet only plan in LA it works just as well. Download speeds seem to be exactly the same as I had with Frontier even though I was on a 100mbs plan and now it's about 25. I think the deal there is it's not your plan that determines how fast you can download, it's the website you're downloading from. You can have the fastest plan in the world but if the site only has a max of 5mbs then 5 is what you get.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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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 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
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Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
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Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac 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)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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 PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: 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.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
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