Just restarting BIAB use after a 20+ year break. Well, a lot has has been added and there is a plenty to learn to use it to its fullest capabilities. … and it sure sounds a lot better too! That said, I seem to remember that there was a way to do partial 2-bar count-ins when a song starts with 1 or more pickup chords, but I haven’t found how to best go about doing this w/o loosing the built-in count-in features (e.g., producing or not producing MIDI for the count-in measures). I was able to change the first bar to have only as many beats as the pickup length, but there seems to be no way to shorten the count-in beats to match the pickup beats for a full measure. The default solution of just adding the count-in in front of the the full pickup bar creates 3 beats of silence for a 1-beat pickup chord, which is really not what a soloist would want to hear when he/she wants to come in on the pickup beat. Is there a simple solution or at least a better way to address this?
how finished will your song be? the reason i ask is that once you've done everything in BIAB - leaving the count in the same and with no need for further editing, if you open the BIAB file in Realband you can edit the file any way you choose.
I'm assuming you get the count in for two bars and then the pick up is on beat 4 of bar 3 with silence on beats 1,2 and 3.
delete bar 2 on all tracks so bar three become bar 2, and then copy and paste the first three count in beats from bar one to the new bar two before the pick up beat.
should work! but don't forget you can still regenerate and mix and edit in RB so its not a once and for all decision.
maybe its possible in BIAB but i'm so used to doing anything a little confusing in BIAB in RB because its obvious and much easier.
I must admit when i had this issue singing live i just sang over the fourth beat in bar 2!
If you go to Options | Preferences, on the left hand side of the window you'll see there are different settings for the lead-in. You can change the type of instrument, the pattern, and volume of the lead-in.
RealBand is a Windows only application. So the above suggestion by Bob for further editing in RealBand would alternatively work in other DAWs that are compatible for Mac, like Garageband.
Thanks for all the tips. If possible, I’d prefer a solution within BIAB and not be forced to patch things up in a DAW.
Originally Posted By: Chantelle - PG Music
If you go to Options | Preferences, on the left hand side of the window you'll see there are different settings for the lead-in. You can change the type of instrument, the pattern, and volume of the lead-in. ...
Chantelle, I explored your suggestions but did not find a solution to my stated goals. I do have a few follow-up questions though: 1. It seems the Options | Preference window defines global preferences, i.e., any song-specific adjustments would not necessarily work for other songs. 2. The song-specific preferences do not support specifying a count-in pattern; only a lead-in type is selectable per song (though it’s called ‘Drum Count-in’) 3. The purpose/function of the ‘Allow Lead In Bars’ is unclear. I hear lead in counts with it enabled or disabled and it does not produce any lead in bars as far as I can tell. Can you elaborate what enabling/ disabling actually does? 4. How do I add a Melody pickup that is muted to take advantage of the smart lead in option before my first measure with chords?
One more question: The Global Preferences Audible Lead-In Volume setting does not have any effect on the actual volume of my selected count-in pattern. Is there something else I need to enable or disable, or is this a bug?
Make Bar 2, the first bar of your song. This means that Bar 1 can then be used as a pick-up bar,
If you right click on Bar 1, select "Insert bar" to insert a single bar.
BEFORE DOING ANYTHING, though, save your song and then save it with a slightly new name. This will give you two versions of the song—the original version and the version you modify. It's always good to keep the original so that you can get back to it if you need to.
<< If possible, I’d prefer a solution within BIAB and not be forced to patch things up in a DAW. >>
Is this what you're trying to achieve?
An instrument starting early on beat 4 of Bar -0- and the remaining instruments starting normally at Bar 1 and also silencing the drum count-in for beat 4?
If so, I can post step by step instructions how to do this in BIAB.
Here's how to make a pick up riff start before Bar 1 in BIAB 2021:
* Generate the song normally. * Select a track and instrument. * Open the Audio Editor. The editor should open on the correct BIAB Mixer Channel you previously selected, if not, select that channel from the drop down menu and the WAV file should be visible. This is for RealTracks. If the instrument is MIDI, then it must be converted to a WAV file. * Select the Riff you want to use for the early pick up notes. Tip: Check the Snap Box if necessary to insure the very first of a measure is captured if this is necessary. Otherwise, just be sure to highlight all of the riff. * From the Edit Menu or use Alt-C or Command-C, Copy the highlighted riff. * Select the target Track to copy the audio to. (Audio Channel or a Utility Track) * Place the curser where you want the riff to begin and Paste. For instance, if you want the riff to begin at beat 4 of Bar zero, place the curser there.
To silence the fourth beat of the Count-in:
*Select the Drums Track, highlight and copy the full Drum Track. *Paste the count-in on a Utility Track. *Highlight the fourth beat and from the Edit Menu, select silence. Optionally, if you also want to increase the volume of the count-in, highlight the full count-in and Normalize to -3db.
The reason the full drum track needs to be copied is so the original drum track can be silenced and only one drum count-in will play. Otherwise, both tracks will count-in and the fourth beat on the original track will sound and the two tracks may also not be synced correctly. Mute the original Drums Track and place the volume level to -0- (Zero) otherwise it can still be heard.
One may have to vary the audio selected to come in early in order to maintain the cohesion and continuity of the track but that will be obvious. All of the other tracks will begin at Bar 1 normally. Of course, any audio from the channel can be selected to use for the Pickup riff. For example a guitar RT solo beginning at Bar 24 can be selected and copied and pasted at Beat 4, Bar 0 and be the pickup riff.
With the introduction of BIAB 2021, multiple instruments can easily be copied in this way, they can also be made to create a staggered intro. (This is also possible in earlier versions but is a bit more involved so I'll only explain if for version 2021)
This reads a lot busier than the process is and a single instrument pickup riff takes less than a minute to complete solely in BIAB.
Hope this helps and just ask for clarification if there are any issues.
Thanks a bunch, will probably be able to try this over the weekend and report back how it worked out or what problems I ran into. Seems like not too much trouble to adapt to slightly other needs.
Just started my first dive into the audio editing part of the exercise. After a few startup issues (BIAB crashed twice on me) I believe I managed to produce and capture a four track full band pickup and place it all in 4 utility tracks. Ran out of time to do more, but the rest of the instructions seem pretty straight forward to successfully finish what I was looking for. Big thanks again Charlie. Now I just need to develop a routine on how to do this quickly for songs with 1, 2, or 3 pickup beats. As an added benefit it will also be useful to polish up endings.
Just started my first dive into the audio editing part of the exercise. After a few startup issues (BIAB crashed twice on me) I believe I managed to produce and capture a four track full band pickup and place it all in 4 utility tracks. Ran out of time to do more, but the rest of the instructions seem pretty straight forward to successfully finish what I was looking for. Big thanks again Charlie. Now I just need to develop a routine on how to do this quickly for songs with 1, 2, or 3 pickup beats. As an added benefit it will also be useful to polish up endings.
That's wonderful. You'll get the hang of it and develop a workflow quickly because the BIAB Audio Editor's functionality is similar to other DAW basic editor functions. As eduardodsv noted, the BIAB Audio Editor is versatile and adaptable to many other uses like trimming the intros and endings, copying and pasting chords to replace wrong inversions or a riff that's repeating too often.
All finished now. Decided to not copy the whole drum track and just overlayed the count-in with a louder version and pasting in the the drum part for the pickup beat. My first regenerate did not produce synchronized count-ins, but subsequent regenerate requests produced very acceptable results. On the positive side of this work around I can still change the speed and regenerate tracks and make any other structural or chordal song changes. On the negative side I can no longer make style changes as those would introduce a non-matching pickup / song style change going into the first bar. A couple of BIAB behaviors I unexpectedly stumbled over are that 1. The count-in volume control does not seem to work for real track drums (based on the parameter value range it looks like a MIDI specific setting) 2. The count-in pattern is only a global preference and not song specific, which would be nice to have for songs with different number of pickup beats. But maybe the smart lead-in option combined with a muted pickup will produce a dynamic count-in adapting to the song pickup length. 3. There seems to be no option to move an audio track segment. The workaround seems to be using repeated cut and pasts to get it in the right spot when a fine lineup with other tracks maters. 4. The snap option is almost useless for real track segment identification as track segment entries relating to different instruments are pushed slightly different and the length of notes held goes slightly beyond bar beat times. That said, a bit of patience and trial and error got me close enough to grab what I needed and placed it in sync with the rest of the song. 5. The cut function does not seem to always remove every ‘sound’ from the selected region, even when repeatedly selected and cut. The left over ‘waveform’ does not have a lot of amplitude and is always short (at least what I saw) and may just be a waveform display artifact, but it’s hard to tell for sure.
Thanks again for all the feedback. It got me moving in the right direction and a good result.
<< 3. There seems to be no option to move an audio track segment. >>
There are actually two ways to edit audio in BIAB. The Audio Editor and Edit Audio under the Audio Tab at the top of the main screen. The Audio Editor works with both the Audio Channel and the 16 Utility Tracks in BIAB 2021 although some features are disabled on the Utility Tracks. The Edit Audio is specific to the Audio Channel in every yearly version since 2014 I think and it does have a command to timeshift audio in miliseconds. The default resolution is 120 but this can increased incrementally to 1920 if my memory is correct.
I recommend you continue to use and experiment editing audio in BIAB because over time you will find other behaviors of how Audio and BIAB interact that aren't duplicated in third party DAW's and some behaviors aren't to the extent in RealBand as they are in BIAB.
<< 4. The snap option is almost useless for real track segment identification >>
This may take some experimentation and additional use. I use the Snap to option a lot in selections and placing audio as well as copy/paste tasks. It's a very powerful tool for the interaction of BIAB with audio. It allows BIAB to make very professional automatic smooth transitions, intros, endings and cross fades.
I truly appreciated your support and the detailed process description. Saved me whole bunch of time trying to find the least effort work around. Just one final question: what is the most effective way to communicate with PG Music support to resolve undocumented details of BIAB options/settings or to report potential bugs (including experienced program crashes)?
I truly appreciated your support and the detailed process description. Saved me whole bunch of time trying to find the least effort work around. Just one final question: what is the most effective way to communicate with PG Music support to resolve undocumented details of BIAB options/settings or to report potential bugs (including experienced program crashes)?
There are two recommended methods: 1: Use the Chat option when this is available (see bottom RH corner) 2: email: support@pgmusic.com
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.
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.
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)
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!
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean