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In the process of switching from using a CD player for BIAB files to an MP3 player.
What is the best MP3 choice for a gig situation? (Really rather NOT use a computer)
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I don't think it really matters. Most are adequate. As one who has recently made the move to MP3 from laptop at gigs, make sure your naming conventions are something easily used on gigs. I have over 400 arrangements and to find a song on the fly must be an easy process.
I use the Sony Walkman 344. No problems.
R
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Too many available to possibly find "the best".
My advice to you is to go shopping, use the internet to find out the basics about these players, with an eye towards a few key salient points that would aid the use of such device in the live performance situation:
*I'd want the largest screen I could find, to make it easier to see what's going on under stage conditions.
*Same for buttons and controls, I'd try to find one that had large, easy to identify controls and buttons.
*Perhaps a larger than the average sized pocket mp3 player device, such as a disk player that also played mp3 format as well as CD format would be a good choice. But I would not rule out those that use memory cards, for there may be some that have the screen that is easily readable, controls easily accessed and it may represent a good economical solution.
Any of them, you could use the Earphone output jack as a stereo line out to PA, with the proper audio cord and adaptors.
--Mac
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I use an iPod Nano, Works great, it's small and light. I have 10 set lists setup as playlists. Battery lasts for 8 45 minute sets at least.
I do recommend you use a High bitrate and VBR for your MP3 tracks. It might take up more file space, but sonically it's more than worth it.
Ed
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It really pays to do not only your research but also spend time testing the one you will buy. I used to use an M-Audio MicroTrak. It's fine in most respects, but the display would go dark just as you needed to see it in the wings of the stage where it was dark. It had an odd pushbutton that you could not know if you had pushed it, and a delay in the screen so you couldn't see if it did what you want. Neither of these things would be apparent by reading any manual. I now use a SONY http://www.amazon.com/Sony-PCM-M10-Porta...7495&sr=8-1The transport buttons are great. The screen is very readable and clearly shows what I need. It is expandable in memory but comes with 4 GB built-in. It has a speaker so you can double-check that you have the right song loaded. The built-in mics are good. It plays and records WAV as well as MP3, which I think is important. Of course, being a recorder as well, it's probably overkill for what you need.
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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Your suggestion makes a lot of sense to me, Matt. I have an Archos w/20gb drive. I bought it rebuilt for $170. It has the buttons on the outside like the Sony. I like that it shows the songs for the folder in a list so that you can play the tunes in order or choose them at random. It's pretty simple for a techno minus guy like me. If it fails, you Sony suggestion is first on my replacement list.
Stan
Cornet Curmudgeon
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I researched for at least two weeks before I made my decision. Of course a large part of the decision for me was the price-to-feature issue. After owning several brands and models over the years, I now have the SanDisk Sansa Fuze 8 GB Video MP3 Player. I've fallen in love with this little machine and it's packed with features. It's also very well put-together -- it's going to last me. It cost me all of $65 dollars and it has a huge following of users -- therefore, it also has lots of accessories too. I read lots of independent test results prior to selecting this (over the Sony). I actually owned the Sony and I have several thousands of dollars invested in Sony audio equipment -- they have a great sound that nobody can produce. But, I couldn't justify the cost of the Sony. I also don't like the feature Sony has built in to prevent you from listening to your own music -- my wife buys 99 cent music tracks off amazon and she can listen to it but if i use my music library software to copy the same song to my Sony MP3 (I use Mediamonkey), it won't let me listen to it because Sony says I'm violating the license -- which is NOT the case. I have the same problem with all of my Sony audio also but I'll never buy anything but Sony as audio systems go. Sound quality wise, the Sansa is great. Also, I can pull out and replace the SD card anytime I want or need to. I've got something around 400 tunes and videos and pictures and voice recordings on my Sansa 8GB and I haven't filled 50% percent of it yet. I haven't even started to touch my SD card! SanDisk Rocks! They ought to ... they're one of the originators of SD cards and are still tops! On a final note ... I suggest that you do not buy any of the cheap one's out on the Internet right now. At the time of this writing there is a flood of sub $100 dollar players that previously (prior to Christmas 2009) were selling for over twice that price. Most of these do not support the higher capacity and faster plug-in cards (i.e. SDHC, miniSDHC, microSDHC). Yes you can purchase older SD cards that are very inexpensive, but they will not have the capacity and the higher access speeds that the newer players now accommodate. Check it out at amazon.com http://amazon.comNow having said all that, I'd like to say that having looked at Matt's recorder over on the amazon site, there are two features on this Sony model that might make me want to pay the extra money (assuming I had it to spend). These two features alone might make me think twice since they do in fact pertain to us musicians and Band In A Box people. Recording (and playing back) your backing tracks from a WAV (versus MP3) might well be worth it! Here's the two I'm referring to: 1 The PCM-M10 includes both digital pitch control & key control. Digital pitch control maintains pitch while slowing down or speeding up playback speed. 2 The PCM-M10 conforms to the USB 2.0 Mass Storage Class Device standard and this recorder's native recording file formats include .WAV and .MP3.
Last edited by ikeinblackriver; 03/23/10 01:19 AM.
Ike
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Some of those players are expensive the sony was $250 Wow you could get a Net book for that and have a screen big enough to really see the songs and folders. The MP3 players can fail as well there are so many folks using netbooks and laptops that it is well documented that with care they work well. Then have a cheap MP3 player as back up! That way you can use all the features BiaB has to offer.
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB/RB 2026, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 11 , Presonus Audiobox USB96
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Stan,
My first mp3 player was an Archos, and I purchased another one to replace the first. I will NEVER buy one again. The one I have is slow, hard to use, totally touch screen, apt to fail regularaly, need constant reboot, and had to be returned for repair because the mobo failed within the first year.
While it has a 7" screen, and is very easy to see, I would not recommend an Archos for any live performance application.
Gary
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
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Rob, The nice thing about the Netbook idea is that you can get 160gb hard drives, or even bigger, attach an external drive, and more importantly, selecting a file is VERY easy to do. Plus, during breaks, you can check your e-mail!  Gary
I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!
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Hi Gary. I have an older Archos. It does not have a touch screen. It is the "Jukebox" model. We've used it for over a year on gigs with no problem. The main thing that it doesn't have is .wav file capability. There are good points said about netbooks here. We have one that we use for traveling. That Sony that Matt has really looks nice, though. What we were using before was a little boom box via cds. It's just too hard to select stuff at random on a gig with that setup though. In a post above, it said that there were problems putting non-Sony songs on it? That sounds weird.
Stan
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Quote:
In a post above, it said that there were problems putting non-Sony songs on it? That sounds weird.
Hello Stan. No what I meant to say was that somehow the Sony technology knows when a file you're using is on another machine and it interprets this as a copyright violation. Next thing you know, you're digging through the manual and on the Sony website to find out that they have a special technology built into their equipment that tries to prevent copyright infringements on music files.
I just pulled out the manual for my Sony stereo audio system and here's what it reads ...
Music discs encoded with copyright protection technologies. This product is designed to playback discs that conform to the CD standard. Recently, various music discs encoded with copyright protection technologies are marketed by some record companies [Sony is one of those record companies]. Be aware that among those discs, there are some that do not conform to the CD standard and may not be playable by this product.
My Sony MP3 player that I paid almost $300 dollars for reads ...
About the Serial Copy Management System (SCMS). The SCMS allows you to make only a single copy of a digitally recorded source. This unit conforms to the Serial Copy Management System. You cannot perform a DIGITAL recording from a digitally recorded CD-R or CD-RW. In this case, make a ANALOG recording.
Stan, you'll note that by ANALOG recording that they mean a recording that is no better than the voice recorder function through the player's built-in microphone. Imagine that! A digital recorder that prevents you from making a digital recording.
My wife downloads these 99 cent tracks (legally) off from Amazon.com. She puts that MP3 download on her MP3 or burns a CD of it. From then on, if that MP3 contains Sony's SCMS encoding in it, you'll not be able to play it on another player (my own for instance). In fact, until you 'return' the MP3 you downloaded to it's original download, you can't even burn a second copy onto a CD. Sony's plan to build this into their equipment has been around for years. At one time, you couldn't even use a Sony Walkman without using their own proprietary software to manage your music library (until recently when people stopped buying their products). However, more and more companies are setting up their players and their MP3 downloads this way, using Sony's proprietary protection scheme. Have you ever been given a file from a friend that wouldn't load up in your player (maybe opens your browser and takes you immediately to a website page)? Won't even run in Windows Media Player? There ya' go! Microsoft's been in on it since version 10 of Windows Media Player.
I'd be willing to bet that if Matt looked for it, he'd see it buried in the fine print of his owner's manual too.
Like I said -- Sony's got great audio but there's a price for it. For home audio I won't buy anything else -- I'll just pay the extra 99 cents they want so bad.
t
Ike
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Thanks for the explanation, Russell. We sometimes download tunes from Amazon for 99 cents, too. So far we haven't had any problems, but now I'm leery of Sony.
stan
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Russell, no mention of this in the owner's manual. I do read the manual, and I am familiar with the SONY scheme from several years back and would have been annoyed to find it there. I purchase downloads primarily from Amazon (I shouldn't, because they don't pay the artist well) and iTunes (much better corporate policy toward paying artists) and have never encountered a problem.
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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Quote:
Russell, no mention of this in the owner's manual. I do read the manual, and I am familiar with the SONY scheme from several years back and would have been annoyed to find it there. I purchase downloads primarily from Amazon (I shouldn't, because they don't pay the artist well) and iTunes (much better corporate policy toward paying artists) and have never encountered a problem.
Matt, the problem I've had can be traced back to Sony Records ... That is, if the artist recorded with Sony Records (the production company), that is where I've experience a problem.
Then for Christmas this year I got a card for some downloads to use at amazon. Two of the 10 that I downloaded had this issue and it wasn't even a Sony Records production -- I assumed from that experience that other production companies are jumping on the bandwagon.
I took the same two MP3's that I had trouble with and loaded these onto my new Sansa Fuze and they played fine ... from that, I concluded that it is a two-sided deal which is to say that you'll evidently only realize a problem under two conditions ... One, that you're playing back via Sony hardware and two, that the track you're playing (assuming it's a legally purchased track), was produced by Sony Records.
BTW my Sony CD unit (part of my stereo equipment), is only just over two years old.
Just my own observations kids ... I don't claim to know exactly what's going on here. And, I'd still purchase Sony home audio equipment despite this little snafu.
Ike
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OK, I understand, thanks. Not sure if I typically know what record company produces any of my songs, but I'll pay more attention next time, and let you know if I have a problem with any SONY records. I thought they dropped the scheme, though, after being deservedly raked over by the press.
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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Matt, I had the pleasure of checking out your CD on CDBaby. We like it very much and had a good time with your videos.
Q: I see you use other companies as well. I have a jazz guitar friend who records and markets via CDBaby. What's your take on this company versus some of the other well-known Internet distributors?
Ike
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Thanks very much for the kind words about my CD and videos. All nine songs on the CD started in BIAB. My percussionist has eight more of my BIAB-started songs about to be released on his new CD.
I am a huge fan of CD Baby, especially when they send me checks, which they do faithfully. CD Baby gets me onto many of the other services, too, especially iTunes.
I am NOT a fan of Amazon, as their fees, artist cut and shipping policy eats up any profit for the artist. Every time they want me to send them one CD at a time, I grit my teeth and ask why.
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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Quote:
My percussionist has eight more of my BIAB-started songs about to be released on his new CD.
Matt,
Your percussionist is awesome. I watched him play solo on one of your videos and my wife fell in love with him. I know he will do well with that CD. Do you mind telling me who and how (for his new CD with your arrangements)?
By the way, I've only found one flaw with you and your band -- you don't record enough CD's!!!
I mean that.
Ike
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Thanks again, Russell. My percussionist is Tomas Martin Lopez. When his CD comes out, I'll let folks here know. It was just mastered.
I plan to market play-along MMO tracks on a limited basis, too.
As for more recording, I might. Several regional songwriters have hired me to do arrangements, transcriptions, and solos on their CDs, but other than that, I only take the horns out of the case a few times a year.
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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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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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®.
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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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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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