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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Hi all,
My main laptop broke. So I am on the lookout for a new one that is perfectly suited to do music production with medium skill but big plugins and BiaB. Low latency is always a mayor criteria but also enough connections (USB 3.0/3.1), second slot for a disc for more data storage...
What are your recommendations, with what hardware do you have good experiences without breaking the bank.
Any pitfalls that I should avoid?
I looked in the signiatures of you guys, lots of different hardware in use. But I cannot see, how happy you are ;-)
Thanks for your suggestions!
Cheers Stefan
DAW: Studio One 6.2 Pro
Interfaces: StudioLive AR12c, Scarlett 8i6
Windows 11 Professional
AMD Ryzen 9 4900H, 16GB, 3,30 GHz
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I don’t use a laptop for music production.
My laptop for other purposes is an average i5 Toshiba.. Notes Norton performs with laptops and he loves his older Thinkpads.
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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Stefan. heres what i recommend. if you have a big budget of several thousand dollars, look at what a lot of big rich recording studios purchase. ie custom computers specifically built for the rigors of daily recording studio work. eg https://pcaudiolabs.com/ https://www.adkproaudio.com/https://silentpc.com/and here is a custom builder that seems to be favored also by lots of studios. (read the impressive references on the site.) https://studiocat.com/opencart2/index.php?route=common/homethere are many others. research user references on google, and also on gearslutz.com is a good site for user feedback. make sure you do due diligence before sending money etc etc. also on gearslutz are many threads regarding suitable systems for music production work. eg https://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/the advantage is you literally get a "turn key" solution. also reaper.fm has lots of info from users useing laptops includeing high end. if i ever win the lottery lol i will probably get a company like one of the above to build me a pc "beast" based on an amd threadripper cpu. stuffed with ram and ssd's. HOWEVER if your a cheapskate like me and have not won a lottery lol. here is my cheapie recommendation. FOR 700 dollars. get TWO REFURBISHED COMPUTERS. 1. COMPUTER 1. a refurb intel i5 laptop with ssd for " trying out song ideas in biab etc" while your away from home eg on holiday or travelling. and also for useing on the net. 2. COMPUTER 2. a static at home "beast of a pc " like this, which never sees the net stuffed with ram and ssd's. the advantage over laptop being EXPANDABILITY. eg this beast A HP Z REFURB WORKSTATION. (450 dollars !!) https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/hp-z440-workstation-xeon-e5-1620v3-3-5ghz-4-cores-8gb-ddr4-256gb-ssd-nvs-510-2gb-quad-monitor-support-win10-pro-refurbished/14666686lenovo is another good brand. BE AWARE THEY SELL FAST. cos a user is getting powerfull performance without spending a lot. notice loads of usb ports. AND pci if you wanna use a pci sound card unlike a laptop. make sure you get a 1 year warranty. total cost for 2 refurbs above about 700 dollars. cant be beat imho. another advantage is, at worst , if one system goes kaput you can still get work done. best oldmuso. ps.stefan. something to be aware of. a friend of my wife and i was recently shopping for a new computer. (i urged her to consider a refurb, as no bloat.) long story short she bought a new pc from a typical computer store. she has had problems due to bloat on it. and "now" wishes she had bought a refurb pc like i always do.
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 04/10/21 02:53 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs(90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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Yes, be prepared to put up with a lot of bloat-ware on any new purchase.
Not hard to resolve, but it'll all be part of the experience.
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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Stephan, I'm on the same quest too! What I'm finding is that "without breaking the bank" might be hard to do.
First, laptop are more expensive than desktops by their very nature. If you want to save some money and get a high performance machine, get a desktop. Best part about desktops is that you can change, upgrade and "play" with the insides. Not as easy to do with a laptop.
Second, if you want desktop performance in a laptop be prepared to spend big bucks. Intel 10th and 11th gen processors and Ryzen processors are good but expensive.
Third, if you want desktop performance you'll probably want to go with an SSD for programs and a mechanical HD for data. This "dual drive" setup will limit the number of options you have from the manufacturers.
Finally, if you really want to go the laptop route, start looking at gaming machines. These will have the processors, memory and HD's to give you what you want but...and here's the big but...these will all have high end video cards that you don't need for music but will drive the price higher. Look for a gaming machine with the lowest level video card that you can find.
You seem like a guy who's really digging into all of this music production. It's not for the faint of heart!
Like I said in the beginning, a desktop would be better choice unless there is a compelling reason that you must have a laptop.
The only reason that I'm looking at a laptop is to get out of the house...can't see me dragging my desktop out into the wild....but I still want that kind of performance. Hence the problem.
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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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Thanks OldMuso, Video and Jeff for your valuable feedbacks.
I was looking the whole morning (in Germany) for the posibilities through long list of laptops. Being a commuter during the week away from home I have the request for portability. Yes Jeff, the gaming computers are big, high-end and expandable, I saw one from MSI that could absorb 4 discs (3 M.2 slows and 1 SATA). That looked like it can cover a damm lot of space for sample libraries, stuff and BiaBs Wave files. The grafik power is not needed though. Still on the privy side.
My second laptop I am using now is a refurbed one from HP. It holds to discs which I have at 1 and 2 TB now. Just sufficient for the moment. But when Corona is keeping me from being more active, nailed to my computer I probably buy more stuff for compensation :-(
Since this morning I spoke to an IT service guy, my power socket is broken in the mainboard, not letting power in. I decided due to the fuss of reactivating als hardware based installation to my computer, to look for a repair of the "main" laptop. Thank god I have this refurbed, slower but also setup laptop to cover this phase. So lets cross fingers, that my sweetheart can get fixed!
Thanks again folks. I learned again a lot.
Good you are there!
Cheers
Stefan
DAW: Studio One 6.2 Pro
Interfaces: StudioLive AR12c, Scarlett 8i6
Windows 11 Professional
AMD Ryzen 9 4900H, 16GB, 3,30 GHz
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and yes Matt, I remember Notes Norten mentioning the thinkpads he uses for this gigs.
I forgot to mention it. In the town I work is an Laptop PC refurbisher as it is a big town with logs of corporate companies regularly spewing off their hardware to replace it within their workforce. That will be an option I will consider next time and see what the offer.
Cheers
Stefan
DAW: Studio One 6.2 Pro
Interfaces: StudioLive AR12c, Scarlett 8i6
Windows 11 Professional
AMD Ryzen 9 4900H, 16GB, 3,30 GHz
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Being a commuter during the week away from home I have the request for portability. Biab runs perfectly smooth on a Microsoft Surface i5 here - easily expandable with TB size sd cards.
Martin
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Hello Martin,
is reading from SD cards or other external devices not a performance killer?
Or are the ext. devices rockets by now....
I thought that all I/O related tasks will be much slower if the programm needs to access external storage.
Thanks for your insights.
Cheers
Stefan
DAW: Studio One 6.2 Pro
Interfaces: StudioLive AR12c, Scarlett 8i6
Windows 11 Professional
AMD Ryzen 9 4900H, 16GB, 3,30 GHz
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is reading from SD cards or other external devices not a performance killer?
Not at all. Reading speeds are quite sufficient these days. An installation of a full fledged BiaB Ultra PAK with RealTracks, RealDrums and all that stuff onto some SD card may take a couple of hours, potentially some 10 hours or so - yet once installed I do not perceive any performance differences compared to an installation on an internal drive of some desktop PC.
Martin
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Stefan. instead of useing the slow sd card slot on a laptop. just make sure you get a laptop with spare usb ports. THEN just hook up a very fast external solid state drive over usb eg https://www.newegg.ca/External-SSDs/SubCategory/ID-2022or put a nvme or m.2 in an emclosure and hook up to usb. small enough to carry in a pocket etc. eg https://www.startech.com/en-ca/hdd/sm2ngffmbu33the startech above is vedry fast 5gbps. the KEY is a laptop with spare high speed usb ports. NOTE i dont like huge 4tb drives. too much data to loose. better to use multiple drives. another idea is , if you have old pg usb drives you can use those also. best oldmuso
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 04/11/21 03:29 PM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs(90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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Some of those 2 in 1 Tablet/Notebooks come with TB internal SSDs. That's plenty of space without having to make do with external USB drives.
Desktop i7 system BiaB boot from internal SSD drive -> Bootup time in milliseconds =2,531
Microsoft Surface i5 BiaB boot from SD card -> Bootup time in milliseconds =8,072
Martin
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Martin.
yes those i7 laptops are very very nice, but problem is price.
i thought stefan didnt want to spend a lot and was interested in low budget refurbs.
here , a refurb i5 laptop with warranty and internal ssd can be had for as low as 200 dollars. i got my wife one. works great/fast/boots fast etc etc.
the other issue for me is "doing everything off the one internal ssd".
so ya got win running plus apps, then stefan talks bout big plug ins, then lets add in sample libs possibly, and "now" everything but the kitchen sink is on that lonely ssd. sure ssd's are fast. but imho its asking for trouble. if people get lazy and dont do their back ups, if that one ssd goes kaput; loads of work is lost etc etc.
the "problem" is the lack of really low budget laptops with 2 internal ssd's and fast processors.
you notice whats happened to processor prices ?
i mean the good high ghz stuff. crazy prices.
the PROBLEM is the really good laptops custom built for recording studio work are so very expensive.
thus imho there is no perfect low budget solution.
on a low budget the 200 buk refurb i5/ssd suggestion is the only alternative imho. with external over usb "pocket sized" drive. for a total of around 380 bucks or less.
best.
oldmuso
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 04/12/21 01:24 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs(90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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Hey Martin and Muso,
interessting to hear your experiences there.
In fact I would be prepared to invest some money in my setup, but obviously not in the state of the art high-end things. I wait 3-5 years and the performance is available in the mid-range market and I even save the money for the next gen some years in the future.
I found an IT service guy, that tries to fix the hardware issue with my power supply.
Than I use my old I7 6th gen laptop for some more years ;-)
External drives is definately something I will consider more ( I have already a collection of those for back-up reason).
How are you doing your back-ups? I tend to be a little messy and stick a nut under every tree like a squirrel ;-)
Are you using special programs for that, that do synchronizations?
Cheers
Stefan
DAW: Studio One 6.2 Pro
Interfaces: StudioLive AR12c, Scarlett 8i6
Windows 11 Professional
AMD Ryzen 9 4900H, 16GB, 3,30 GHz
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Hello Martin,
is reading from SD cards or other external devices not a performance killer?
Or are the ext. devices rockets by now....
I thought that all I/O related tasks will be much slower if the programm needs to access external storage.
Thanks for your insights.
Cheers
Stefan The majority of your external devices, actually the software it is running, and samples as well as VST's and FX are loaded from the external drive into memory. So it doesn't matter where the info is stored. It all loads to memory and runs from the RAM which is astoundingly fast. I have always run my BB and VST's from drives other than my main one and BB has always been external with the minimal install option for the past many years. It works flawlessly this way. And my machine is seriously old.
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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This is interesting GuitarHacker. I was originally thinking about a dual-drive laptop...one with an SSD for programs and a 7200 rpm drive for RT/RD and songs.
Based on your comments, I might be better off with saving some money on a dually and just putting that to more RAM and a larger SSD and running RT/RD/Songs from an external SSD.
What are your thoughts?
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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jeff.
my best advice.
go on you tube and look at videos of startech (and other brands) docking stations with one or two ssd in the dock with usb.
also check out on you tube m.2 and nvme ssd in enclosures and, hooked up to laptop via usb.
i personally , for a few years now use a startech dock with 2 ssd slots hooked up to host pc via usb.
benefits.
1. fast for back ups from host for large song projects.
2. can copy fast from one ssd in the dock to other ssd in dock.
ive found much much faster than sd card.
ie whereas i can sit and watch a back up to sd with a cup of tea.
the back up to the dock ssd is literally "whoosh".
BUT the only way to see is to run your own real life tests.
and see if its for you, and watch the scads of info on you tube and around the net.
best
oldmuso.
ps personally if i won a lottery i would get something like a custom built for recording studios i9 or threadripper pc stuffed with ram and ssd's .
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 04/15/21 03:21 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs(90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
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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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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
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Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
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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There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
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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!
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®!
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