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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
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Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271 |
Greetings all… I’m not sure if I’m posting this in the right forum, but if not, I apologize in advance.
I am at a total loss trying to figure out what happened to my BIAB setup and am hoping that someone may be able to help me clear up the problem.
It has been a few months since I last used BIAB due to health issues. I recently bought a bass guitar and wanted to set up some practice exercises because my bass playing abilities are somewhat primitive as of yet.
The last time I used BIAB everything was working well, but for some reason things went south when I fired it up yesterday. I primarily use BIAB to set up all my songs with the styles and chords, export them as a MIDI file and then open the file in Sonar Platinum. Once in Sonar, I usually end up using only the drums and bass by the time my song is finished. I use a MIDI keyboard to enter the rest of the instruments used in the song. I usually only use MIDI. I have 2 MIDI modules that I have been using for years without any problems – a Ketron SD-2 and a Roland JV-1010. But now with my wanting to just practice and learn how to play my new bass I’ll only be using BIAB to play along with and will not be using Sonar at all.
Here’s my problem, that started yesterday; When I first opened BIAB yesterday and hit “play” it sounded like all of the instruments were totally out of whack. They sounded like a mish-mash of old “general MIDI" sounds. Almost like some badly tuned toys.
I went to the styles screen, picked a different style, played the audition and everything sounded great. I loaded it into the song and it seemed to be ok – until I pressed the “play” button. I spent a lot of time looking over and trying different settings in the “options” menus but coming up with the same results.
And so I decided on a complete reinstall, and after doing so I opened up the program and found that there was no default “C” in the first bar. It was blank. I tried to enter it from my keyboard but it wouldn’t do so. In fact, I couldn’t enter anything on any other bar in the song either. And once again, the styles played well in the style picker audition screen. A picked style also correctly loaded into the blank song. But, no “C” in the first bar and I couldn’t enter any key from my keyboard.
My software: “BIAB 2009 UltraPak with RealBand”. A couple of years ago I updated to “2017 BIAB with RealBand Upgrade” with three discs. There has been virtually no hardware ha been changed in my computer within that time. I'm running Windows 10. Keep in mind that this whole setup worked fine – until yesterday.
And so yesterday I went to the PG live chat for some help and started chatting with Ember. She told me to reinstall the 2009 program and after that reinstall the 2017 upgrade. Again, after doing so the default screen didn’t have the default “C” in the first bar, nor could I enter any chords from my keyboard. The style picker sounded as it should both in the style picker screen and after loading into the main song screen. I just can’t enter any chords.
I was toying with the idea of buying another upgrade but I’m afraid to do that if I’m still going to have the same problem. I’d like to get my current software working properly – as it always has up until yesterday – before trying to put in another upgrade.
It’s a totally frustrating situation as I’m sure some of you can understand. Has anyone else ever run into this problem and if so, how was it corrected?
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!!!
Bobby
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 25,071
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Bobby, I have never had that problem but here are some thoughts that may have caused the problem.
1-Did you have anything running in the background when installing BiaB? Things like anti-virus, anti-malware or anything in the background can cause installation problems.
2-You are infected with a virus or some kind of bug that is causing havoc with your install.
3-Maybe your hard drive is failing? Have Windows check your hard drive for errors: right click on C:/, properties, tools and then error checking.
Good luck.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,382
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,382 |
Hi Bobby, Can you give our tech support line a call this week and ask for me? The number's 1-866-983-2474, I'll be available 11-5 PST. If you install TeamViewer first ( www.teamviewer.com), that might make troubleshooting this issue a bit easier. Thanks Kent PG Music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,982
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,982 |
Hello Bobby,
Regarding the chords not appearing, I think you just need to reboot your computer. Sometimes if a font needs to be replaced by the installer but is currently in use by the system, it will have a "pending" state until a system reboot. This might be the case with the currently selected chord font. You could also just choose a different font for now in Chord Display | Choose font.
Last edited by Andrew - PG Music; 03/11/19 10:17 AM.
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
Apprentice
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OP
Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2009
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Hi Kent...
Thanks so much for your speedy comeback!!! So very appreciated. I will give you a call tomorrow for sure.
Just as an update... I reinstalled my BIAB 2009 and it seems to be running fine. I haven't installed the 2017 Upgrade as of yet.
Correct me if I'm wrong - I should be installing the Upgrade on top of my 2009 version, right? I shouldn't be installing the upgrade on it's own after getting rid of the older version, right?
Again, thanks so much for your offer of help.
Bobby
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
Apprentice
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OP
Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271 |
Hi Andrew... thanks for the comeback...
I really don't think I tried the reboot. I also haven't tried to change the font. I will give that a try as well.
As I told Kent - My 2009 version installed without issues and it is running as it should. I don't remember if I leave this older version installed and then install the 2017 Upgrade on top of it. It does say "Upgrade" on the newer version.
Thanks again!!!
Bobby
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,142
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Correct me if I'm wrong - I should be installing the Upgrade on top of my 2009 version, right? I shouldn't be installing the upgrade on it's own after getting rid of the older version, right?
Do Not uninstall the 2009 version first. Just install the 2017 version over the top of the 2009 version. That is the correct way to upgrade versions of BiaB Trev
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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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
Apprentice
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There is some great news - of sorts - to report!!!
I reinstalled my BIAB 2009 and then installed my 2017 upgrade. I didn't install the other two DVD's that came with the 2017 upgrade. I then opened up BIAB and lo and behold, it is running as it should. My plan is to try installing them later on today and will keep you posted.
Bobby
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,142
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,142 |
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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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
Apprentice
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OP
Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271 |
Horse??? That's not a horse!!! That's a picture of me, taken on the day I announced my retirement.  I worked on a song this afternoon in BIAB 2017 - I still haven't installed the other two DVD's yet. Actually, I'm kind of afraid to do it because it is running so well as it is. Truthfully, 99% of what I do musically is done in MIDI, in Cakewalk. I only use BIAB to lay down my chords and quite often I only end up keeping the drums and bass tracks once over in Cakewalk. And now, with my new bass guitar, I may only be using the drum track. But I have to learn how to play it first. This is where BIAB is going to come in handy... it's really great for practicing. If I do work up the nerve to install the other two DVD's at some point this week I'll let you know the results. Again... thanks for all the comebacks!!! Much appreciated. Bobby
Last edited by bobbyt9999; 03/12/19 01:14 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2011
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Bobby,
Before you install the DVDs why not use Windows Explorer to view the DVD contents? Make sure you temporarily turn off the "Auto play when a DVD is inserted" feature first.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271
Apprentice
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OP
Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 271 |
Update...
And so I sucked it in and held my breath and installed discs two and three that came with my 2017 BIAB upgrade this morning. I'm pleased to report that everything seems to be running fine. I opened it up to find the default "C" is now there. I added a bunch of chords, ran it and and found that this is working as it should.
I'm still baffled as to why I was having problems with the two complete re-installs that I did the other day. I did everything exactly the same way this morning. The only difference was that I installed the 2009 version and actually ran it. Everything was fine.
I then installed the first disc of three of the 2017 upgrade over the 2009 version and again, I ran it. Everything was fine. I even did a song with this setup yesterday.
I this morning I installed the second of three discs and then ran it. Everything was fine.
I then installed the third of three discs and then ran it. Again, everything is fine. This was a real head scratching situation for sure.
That being said, I did notice that when I was using the style picker I got a yellow message box on the right bottom corner saying that two or three drum sets couldn't be found for a couple of styles that I picked at random. Dunno why because aside from this the style auditions still work fine. Oh well...
Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my initial problem!!! Much appreciated.
Bobby
Last edited by bobbyt9999; 03/13/19 05:39 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
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After all the installations, you should do a full rebuild of the StylePicker (if you didn't).
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Hi John... I sound like a complete newb when I ask you how to do a complete style picker rebuild. Think you could help me out on it? I would be forever grateful..  Bobby
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,853
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I don't have the 2017 manual handy right now, but if you just open Style Picker, at the bottom of the screen there should be a button to rebuild the styles list. There is a Fast Rebuild (which just rebuilds the styles provided by PGMusic) and the Full (or Slow) Rebuild, which rebuilds both the PGMusic Styles list and any user styles you may have copied to your BIAB installation. I would start with the Fast Rebuild first and see if that helps.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
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Hi again, John
Thanks so much for your help!!! I did the "Fast Rebuild" and everything is now working great. No more messages telling me that it can't find such and such drum sets. In fact, the rebuild found 217 new sets. Wow.
Thanks again
Bobby
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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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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 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 11 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 22.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 22 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 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 11 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 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 11 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 22.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 22 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 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.
Peter Gannon Talks Band-in-a-Box with zplane
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
Check out the full interview here: https://products.zplane.de/blog/peter-gannon-interview-pg-music
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
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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!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
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Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
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