<< your position, correct me if i'm wrong , is. it can all be done in bb. >> Yes. my position is it can all be done in BIAB. Not only is it my position, it's indisputable, demonstrable and has in fact, been doable for many years.
<< if that was the case, why are you seeing bb users useing other compositional products ? eg mac people using performer and logic and others. >> I can't speak for others nor speculate for their workflow choices nor does it matter. BIAB is one of many, many compositional tools. BIAB is a choice for composition, accompaniment, education, learning theory, creating backing tracks, creating Karaoke, soundtracks and more. It is a fair and obvious statement to say "they haven't discovered all the things bb can do". None of us have completely I guess. The most common estimate I see here on the forum is users suggest 10% of BIAB's total capability is all they use.
Like many users, I also use DAW's and other software as well as guitar, keyboard and piano for composition. That's a moot point for this discussion because this discussion is about BIAB's capability as a complete and singular, stand alone software program. There will always be tasks and procedures a DAW or software is the 'better' tool for a particular technique.
<< BUT, actually charlie i'm trying to protect pg long term. follow my logic. >> I appreciate your logic but I have to say that in my opinion, it's misplaced logic. It's always futile to concern yourself with any matter one has absolutely no control over. As far as I know, you have no demonstrable control with PG Music. You may be developing scenarios and solutions to problems that internal monitoring by PG staff doesn't expose or validate. Your every opinion, scenario and solution is a personal perception, conjecture and supposition.
In contrast, if you want to be an actual help to do what you can to promote BIAB/RB is rather than create solutions to problems BIAB doesn't have and wish for things that BIAB can do and criticize PG developers as antiquated, behind the times and out of touch with your perceived BIAB target market -- I suggest you explore what BIAB does have, test the features, adapt to what the features offer with and without the inclusion of other software and then pass these techniques to the existing and prospective customer base and target market. Use the product, learn it and make suggestions to enhance existing features and post new uses and alternate ways to apply them to your workflow. More people can immediately and directly benefit from those suggestions than will ever benefit from suggestions PG Music may never adopt or implement.
Regarding my thoughts of your marketing scenarios that some other software is going to steal the BIAB niche from under them...
Unless you have stake in the company, you 1) have no authority, voice or company commitment to you. 2) In the decades since the introduction of BIAB, no other software has come close to replicating BIAB. 3) Over that same period of time, dozens of high quality, multi featured DAWs have come onto the market and all of these companies are surviving nicely together. 4) Real competition would likely do more good for future growth of the BIAB suite of products than your concerns will ever generate.
<< ... my own frustrations. last night i'm working on a song in chord view. right clicked over a marker and one can choose a letter. then i'm thinking "what use are letters of the alphabet to me ?" it would make more sense if the marker lettering said V3 say for verse 3. or B1 for first bridge etc etc that could be typed in by the user ie flexible. IE LARGE LETTERS. because i find the text above the chord too small. cos of my eyesight.
charlie, its little things like this that bug me. >>
As it is with BIAB today - BIAB offers colors, Letters, Text and Numbers. You can use the Part Marker "Bar based section letters" feature and with the 2021 version, make the measures, Part Markers and letters/numbers quite large. So, you should be pro-active to what BIAB is rather than worrying by upgrading and diving into what BIAB really is rather than what you think it's not...
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
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.
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!
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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)
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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)
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