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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 64
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 64 |
Ok so after a period of time I have accumilated 4 pre 2020 hard drives containing Band in a Box. I'm thinking of chucking them but maybe there might be an alternative use for them. I've tried to open one of the older versions to see if I could delete the BiaB program and use it as a hard drive back up somewhere but that didn't go so well for some reason.
Any Ideas?
BinaB 2023 for Mac all updates current.
Focusrite Saffire pro 40
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,976
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,976 |
They are regular hard drives, nothing special. So it should be fine to delete the files and use it for whatever you want.
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Dec 2002
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Reformat is what I do. That cleans them good.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jan 2010
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For my $.02 they are basically worthless.
who really needs another backup drive especially with limited capacity.
I can't even give them to my friends.
I wish PG Music could come up with some alternative product delivery system.
A "smart" download perhaps that only updates what is new on your target drive.
Seems like that could be done.
biab2026(Mac) Latest Build
Mac OS (Latest)
Apple Mac Mini M2 pro 32GB Ram
Logic Pro (latest or pretty close)
Blue and White Sea Star
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Aug 2018
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You need to find some poorer friends. A 2TB thumb drive is almost 50 dollars on Amazon. I don't know if read/write speeds are faster on old BB USB drives or not, but I use one permanently plugged in. It's larger than either of my internal drives. And I reformatted and gave one away to a local kid (middle-school age) who was very appreciative and likes it because it's harder to lose. Thanks, Peter.
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jun 2012
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They are definitely not worthless. They can and should be re-purposed for backups, even if it's only to make a copy of the children's photo album. Don't even think of 'chucking them', create backups of all of your critical / treasured files files.
My rule: everyone will suffer a catastrophic disk failure one day. Be prepared.
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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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jul 2000
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If you still plan on chucking them, send them to me  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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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 64
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OP
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 64 |
I'll most likely reformat and keep them on hand for a while. I have a bunch of Mac devices and I'm sure that I could use backups for a few of them.
Thanks for the advise.
BinaB 2023 for Mac all updates current.
Focusrite Saffire pro 40
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: May 2020
Posts: 2,766
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A 2TB thumb drive is almost 50 dollars on Amazon. A 50-dollar 2tb flash drive is likely a fake - scammers modify the drive's table of contents so that it looks bigger than it is, but it won't actually store 2tb of data. "Real" 2tb flash drives cost hundreds if not thousands more. They are definitely not worthless. They can and should be re-purposed for backups, even if it's only to make a copy of the children's photo album. Don't even think of 'chucking them', create backups of all of your critical / treasured files files.
My rule: everyone will suffer a catastrophic disk failure one day. Be prepared. I was taught in college that, as a professional, if you don't have 5 copies of your file you don't have any. Backup backup backup!
I work here
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I had not thought about reformatting them and using them as backup drives.... I have a bunch of them. I think I just found my new source of free SSD backup drives.
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 had not thought about reformatting them and using them as backup drives.... I have a bunch of them. I think I just found my new source of free SSD backup drives. We don't use SSD's in our drives, so if they came from us they're probably normal 2.5" hard drives. Still useful, of course.
I work here
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I was taught in college that, as a professional, if you don't have 5 copies of your file you don't have any. Backup backup backup! Not quite in college - that was 50 years ago - but since then I taught my students in college something much the same. As important as how many you make, though, is where they are. Keep a copy off-site. Maybe one in the car etc. And especially not all connected to the same PC at the same time. But you knew that.
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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I was taught in college that, as a professional, if you don't have 5 copies of your file you don't have any. Backup backup backup! Not quite in college - that was 50 years ago - but since then I taught my students in college something much the same. As important as how many you make, though, is where they are. Keep a copy off-site. Maybe one in the car etc. And especially not all connected to the same PC at the same time. But you knew that. Absolutely! Where they are is probably more important than how many. If your house floods, and your computer and all your backup hard drives are ruined by the water, how many backups do you have left? Scary!
Last edited by Simon - PG Music; 05/21/21 09:48 AM.
I work here
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jun 2012
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At any one time we are running multi-terrabyte backups to a minimum of 6 separate incremental disks and separately the same number of imaged disks.
At least three of each of them are always stored off site, all in different locations, and all continually updated - with the offsite copies both verified and rotated.
As a programmer and developer with software that has involved more years than I wish to mention, and several millions of lines of code, I can't start again.
Years ago, a friend placed all of the photos of her baby on her computer hard drive - from the time he was born until he was about two years old. 'All the eggs in one basket'. The hard drive had a head-crash and the platters were destroyed and unrecoverable.
Whatever you do, backup, you need to. My motto: 'Be prepared - everyone will have a turn'
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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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Oct 2017
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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A friend of mine had one of those Tascam recorders with the internal hard drive. He used it for years.
A little over a year ago, the hard drive crashed hard.
Not sure if he was able to recover any of the data or not.
...Deb
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Everyone should know this by now.
There are 2 kinds of computer users:
1) Those who have had a hard drive crash
2) Those who haven't had a hard drive crash yet
If you don't want to lose your data, back it up.
Apps can be replaced, data cannot.
Insights and incites by 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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Joined: Jan 2010
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Expert
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Like the outdated minimal capacity spinning hard drives many of us longtime BIAB users have stacked in the closet, the backup approaches suggested by some on this thread seem so totally last century.
There is a better way.
First and foremost ditch any spinning drives. They are dinosaurs. Give them to relatives you hate and sell them on your existing backup stratedgerie.
Cloud Backup and perhaps an additional quarterly local snapshot on some SSD gives you all you really need to feel comfortable. Do it more often if you don't trust the cloud. Big brother is really watching, especially if you've given him reason.
Trust, but verify. And do it on SSD.
If you really have TB's worth of you are far from the average user, even a music user.
In which case you need a real backup system and the BIAB drives are pretty much useless.
More likely you probably have a poorly managed file system with your user data strewn over every application folder on the drive. That is your fault and not really corrected by a bunch of tiny hard drives. Clean that mess up and it all fits nicely on an SSD.
I know many of us (Myself included) are aging tech people but there's no reason we need antiquated hardware coupled with outdated methods to preserve our most precious data.
As always do what you want. For now, Its a free country.
biab2026(Mac) Latest Build
Mac OS (Latest)
Apple Mac Mini M2 pro 32GB Ram
Logic Pro (latest or pretty close)
Blue and White Sea Star
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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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I can sort of see some of the point you are making, but this one: In which case you need a real backup system and the BIAB drives are pretty much useless.
There are many disk based backup systems available, but I wonder could you explain why BIAB drives are pretty much useless? Are they not capable of being used for backup purposes? Why would that be?
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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Help! Tech S.O.S (Off topic)
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jan 2010
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capacity.
if you need multiple TB you dont get that from a biab drive
biab2026(Mac) Latest Build
Mac OS (Latest)
Apple Mac Mini M2 pro 32GB Ram
Logic Pro (latest or pretty close)
Blue and White Sea Star
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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!
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!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
Holiday Weekend Hours
It's Victoria Day Long Weekend in Canada. Our Customer Service hours are:
Saturday, May 16: Closed
Sunday, May 17: Closed
Monday, May 18: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Regular hours resume Tuesday, May 19th!
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Don't wait - order today!
Check out all the new features in the redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
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!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
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.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
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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