I know this sounds CRAZY, but when I got my first starter copy of Band in a Box in 2014 (and boy was I overwhelmed with those 26 real tracks) I thought that COMPOSITION was the name of the game.
I did not yet realize (in my ignorance) that is was all about the 21 Tigabytes of RAM in Windows 15, running a super-quad, water-cooled, AMD flexchip with the latest installation of Imitation Guitar Box 12.
Are you sayin' that it still IS about writing a song people would actually want to listen to?
Just give it to me straight man.
I can handle the truth.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
The solution to sluggish performance is NOT "get a faster computer" when comparable DAWs do NOT suffer from the same sluggishness.
In my time working here, the only times I've ever heard complaints of sluggishness in RealBand were the result of the hardware. Computers with Celeron or Intel Atom CPU's and only 1gb of ram technically meet the minimum requirements for BIAB and RealBand, however they're not really up to the task, especially once you start adding plugins to the mix.
That said, RealBand works great on my low end 2012 desktop - it has a CPU rating of 4760. I've also had success using it on an "ultra-thin" laptop that I got for free out of a junk bin, which had a super low powered CPU rated at a mere 1795 (this is a sub-ghz chip!), and for a handful of tracks and lightweight plugins it was fine - not that I'd recommend that particular CPU for people who want to do music production.
On these older slower systems, other DAWs aren't nearly as quick for me, with the possible exception of Reaper considering it's so lightweight - but it still doesn't generate Realtracks and I personally find the workflow for arranging to be slower, which is nothing to do with how quickly the software moves and everything to do with how quickly I move.
Originally Posted By: David Snyder
PG. DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS NONSENSE AND DO NOT MAKE REALBAND OBSELETE.
Don't worry, we like RealBand.
Originally Posted By: David Snyder
As a metaphor, I have a LOT of instruments but I don't play the same one every time. That would be stupid. RealBand is one such instrument.
Exactly! RealBand is not the only DAW I use (I probably use more of them than most people due to my work here), but what it does is unique, so it remains part of my toolkit. Whatever floats your goat though - if you prefer to use Studio One, or Pro Tools, or Logic, or whatever, we're not forcing you to change - that's exactly why we created the DAW plugin, so that you can add to your existing workflow rather than trying to replace your workflow.
Originally Posted By: David Snyder
To me, an overwhelming number of posts go on like, "I have 21 Tigabytes of RAM now in Windows 15, running a super-quad, water-cooled, AMD flexchip with the latest installation of Imitation Guitar Box 12."
So I guess you don't want to hear about my new 8-core 16-thread 5ghz i9 build with 64gb of ram eh?
I love these posts! I always get some new ideas. I used Real Band at first. but could not get 3rd party plug ins to work and it would randomly crash. I think it might be a 32 bit thing the the file size gets huuuuuge. Then heard about Reaper. It had better (for me any way) instructional videos. The series "how to record your Band" got me going.
So right now I make tracks in BB then export. When I need some more instruments I open BB again and then export more tracks.
I have the BB vst loaded in Reaper but I only use it their for the track settings and following the chords when I play along. I don't like the way the BB vst needs to generate a set of tracks to your temp folder that you have to go and clean out.
Simon. thanks for your hardware comment, and the fact rb will carry on as a product. Marty. i use vsti plug ins in both reaps and rb. i would suggest you contact pg support , and detail the plug ins your trying to use in rb plus your computer configuration. i would be surprised if they couldnt help you. best to you marty. ---------------------------------------------------------
SUBJECT : DRUM FILL GENNING. this next trik/idea is for people new to rb. one of the neat things i like about rb is DRUM FILL GENERATION. its so neat to do in rb.
all included FREE ! and cos there is so much trak flexibility rb has certain advantages over other methods with its large no of 48 traks. i mean you could go bat crazy with drum traks and generating fills for same out your ying yangs. and drum trak comping from different traks etc.
IN SUMMARY FLEXIBILITY IN CREATING DRUM TRAKS/FILLS. in the past in big studios i would have had to hire a session drum player. and they were very very good. but not a lot of us can afford that. neither can i (and many others ) afford to spend large on big drum sample libraries and vsti plug ins. i have other family responsibilities.
meanwhile pg is kind enough to provide us with a nice big real drums library. i'll now summarise genning drum fills. the steps. 1. open up chord view and experiment with various combos of k.d. (k = song key ) you could fill every bar with k.d eg k.d,k.d etc etc, the whole chord sheet.... or just here and there. k.d indicates to play only drums. 2. then experiment with different combos on the chord sheet of shots and pushes in combination with different part marker breaks etc etc. you have to generate of course the fills like you do a regular drum trak from the huge pg real drum library. (read the manual for more detailed info.) 3. this is really important..IF YOU WANT OODLES OF FILLS INSTEAD OF THE OCCASIONAL FILL, PUT A PART MARKER AT BEGIN OF EVERY BAR eg green or blue. i was doing this this morning to gen a funky urban more modern drum trak with fills. in fact further , you could build a whole library of drum fills. midi and/or audio if you wished. 4. you could gen lots of drum and fill traks on different traks and then comp the ones you like for a final great drum trak if you wish. you could mix various perc and regular rd styles together. maybe mix latin with rock for example. and IF THAT ISNT ENOUGH , remember those old drum machine hardware sounds from years back ?
tother day i used a free plug in of such from the computer music mag suite of plug ins called cm 505 drum vsti plug in. clacks and chirps and kiks n old skool sounds etc etc...lol, and generated a trak of that. then i experimented with "dune" a fab synth with oodles of sounds included free in the computer music mag collection of 80 plug ins. (note pipeline i think the on line cm mag only costs 5 buks ? once a year i pay 20 buks for the paper mag. cheap considering what i get .)
what i mean to say is useing rb it opens up a huge vista of possibilities/flexibility. for drum comping includeing useing plug ins AND.. 4. there are different views in rb for moving around all the genned fills etc. both audio and midi.
for example say you like a fill at bar 5 , but not bar 43. no problem. good old copy and paste. space limits me. but i really dig the flexibility rb gives me in comping drum traks n fills. (i would urge the new user to read the manual and go through all the different rb "views" and "windows". they all are very usefull in moving bits of audio and midi around till you get what you like.).
as you can see, and as david noted correctly , rb is just great for song arrangeing and composition, and testing out lots of different arrangements. let me finish by saying , lets say, for example your really happy with a song arrange, but you want to experiment further. no problem , save as eg arrangeone.seq. while working on arrangetwo.seq. and experiment away in arrangetwo.seq ---------------------------------------------------------
i'm done for now /hth/ymmv/till next time and happiness to all...vivre le rb.lol. om ps other day i slowed down a drum trak , and i was able to isolate a sample of a rd single hit i really liked. pps. forgot to mention. in rb you could do a minute of a drum solo if you wanted like a live drummer might at a live show if you arrange it right.
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 10/09/2108:11 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.)
Simon. tother day i used a free plug in of such from the computer music mag suite of plug ins called cm 505 drum vsti plug in. clacks and chirps and kiks n old skool sounds etc etc...lol, and generated a trak of that.
I have a pair of TR505s. Mid 80s poor cousin to the 808. Fabulous for its time (though some say otherwise) though the tempo would drift ever so slightly.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
I usually laugh out loud when I read these type of posts and I wonder if it is just me.
To me RealBand serves as very useful purpose as a TOOL. Let me explain where I think it fits.
1.) RealBand will generate, ugh, Real Tracks. Last time I checked, Reaper and Cakewalk and Studio One do not do that. (I like the BIAB VST but I don't use it that much. It is cleaner for me to work in RealBand until my tracks are ready.)
2.) Real Band will open a BIAB file. Last time I checked, aforementioned DAWs will not.
3.) My workflow (if I use Real tracks) is normally this: BIAB basic file, open it up in RB, add extra tracks if I want, export .wavs, then import into Cakewalk.
4.) I LOVE recording audio in RB because it is so easy to edit, copy, paste, manipulate. Way easier than Cakewalk, to me. It records great audio. I MIX in Cakewalk. I RECORD in RB.
5.) Audio Chord Wizard works great for me in RB. The other day I recorded a pretty complicated Flamenco original in RB.
Then I turned on ACW and let it rip. It was pretty accurate. If you are analyze something you RECORD there at tempo it seems to be super accurate. But FIXES on the fly were super easy as I listened to the track and corrected a bar here and there in just seconds.
THEN I chose a backing Flamenco style. It synced up perfectly. Song is ready to mix.
I challenge anyone to try this in Pro Tools.
So, I see everything as just another tool. Good old Real Band will generate tracks and midi charts for those tracks for you. What's not to love???
I'm with you on 1,2,3.
4 & 5... not so much.
I've used Sonar so long that it's second nature to record anything in it. Regarding ACW..... it's amazing what that thing does. However, it's not foolproof. Ive had a few projects that were easier to simply type in the chords myself.
For making my backing tracks on the songs I write and having them sound professional and not midi/mechanical, nothing beats using RB to generate those tracks. NOTHING.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 10/14/2105:44 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add 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.
A lot of limitations in RealBand can be remedied with a few add-ons.
KV Element allows chaining midi vsti, using Vst3, plugins that won't work in RealBand normally, advanced routing, allows all vst windows to be opened at the same time...
It's all about the habits of our work when we create and RealBand is an integral part of my work, although I also use DAW (Studio One) and other music applications (eg RX9 from iZotope), I work with Realtrack with the modem "Also Generate RealChart" and also with Midi SuperTrack and I also use MultiRiff, so far I haven't worked only with the Band-in-a-Box VST DAW Plugin, because I'm used to creating tracks in RealBand and my habit is connected and strongly inspired. However, a user who uses his DAW and uses the Band-in-a-Box VST DAW Plugin can also have an inspirational connection. However, it doesn't have one thing (at least in the BIAB application) I didn't find it. And this is the function "Split midi drums ...", because I like to mix drums separately and if I use, for example, Contact with instruments "DSK MUSIC HQ Instruments" it will make my work easier. In RealBand, I set in Preferences that I don't want RealDrums for this case, that I want Midi. There are a lot of other tasks where I don't even realize how important RealBand is to me. I have had a band-in-a-box since 2005 and with the arrival of RealBand, which came later, I started to work better.
BIAB 2025,RB 2025,PTA 2024,Windows 11,Studio One PRO 5.5.2,Melodyne Studio 5.4.2.006,Sibelius 8.4.1,Acoustica 7.4.14,Notion 6,Progression 3,Harmony Assistant 9.9.5c,RX9,Ripx DeepAudio 7.5.1,Kontakt 7.10.7,DeCoda 1.3.2,Synthesizer V Studio Pro 1.12.2
nice to hear other people like rb as i do. i was beginning to doubt my sanity. lmao. briefly i typically do a song as follows. 1. finish chord layout/sheet. 2. go through zillions of styles noting down the rt id's etc i like for the song. i normally end up with 30 to 50 i like. 3. right cliking over traks in rb //genning traks based on my shortlist of rt's//midi supertraks//other midis. 4. if i want fx on a trak i plug in a dx pg for roughing things out without hard printing....the old trik is to dupe a trak, so one trak is dry and second has the fx on.
and that normally gets me started on a song. and building the sound picture i'm always hunting for. i like bars view a lot for manipulating midi n audio bits.
om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 10/18/2101:35 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.)
Now that it's 64bit there are many things that can be done to modern it up, BUT I don't know how enthusiastic they are to improve it, or is it just what it is and that's it, take it or leave it ? Jeff could be over in Hawaii these days just taking it easy or helping with Biab ?? Did the RealDrumsCharts get put in yet ?
When you save it seems to have to write all the wav files again, if it just imported the wav files into an associated folder to the project file and used non destructive editing. This will make moving, cutting, copying, fading, crossfading, volume etc.. a breeze.
They had destructive editing from back in the 90's when you had to process the wav offline because there was not enough processing power to process in realtime.
When I vertical scroll the tracks there is a delay and it keeps scrolling after you have stopped the mouse wheel, should be nice smooth and responsive. As I scroll this webpage it's smooth and responsive.
So do you think it's something that's worth improving or just make do with it as it is ???
And with non destructive editing, if you copy or cut a section it won't create a new wav file to build the size of the SEQ up, it will just reference the original wav file start and end points in the wav, this way the section I cut can be resized out to the same size if need be by dragging the ends. If I copy the track 100 times the SEQ file folder will still be the same size there won't be any extra files created.
If you want new users to come to RB then I think this is a good idea to modernize it. These are things that put me off using it rather than another DAW. The Instant Gen/Play that I talk about in the BiabVST Plugin can also be done in RealBand especially !! RealBand will tell bbw2 hey I need these chords for this RT, it will randomly choose the chord sections from the RT files, but rather than then generating those sections to RAM then rendering them to more wavs it just tells RB what section to playback direct from the source RT files. The RT files don't need to be copied to the SEQ folder as they are a permanent location reference.
Sure, it would need a re-write to compete with modern DAWs, but what needs to be done to RB that will make you use it more ???
With the vertical track scrolling I move the mouse wheel up/down a few times then go and get a cup of coffee when I come back it's still going up and down by it's self with the cpu usage on 95%. Do you need to have all 48 tracks in there when you don't use them ? maybe if you have an Add Track, Delete Track so you don't need it to scroll so many tracks and all the track bmp images, maybe do away with the bmp track images ? Be able to drag a track up/down to change it's position.
I have the same issue with the scroll and have mentioned it to Jeff. I think the Save takes longer mainly because RB also makes a backup of the previous version, and THEN writes the new SEQ file, which a lot of DAWs don't do (at least in the way RB does). So that may explain the longer save time anyway. I do like a lot of the suggestions you've made above Pipeline, FWIW
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
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!
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!
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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.
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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.
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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)!
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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.
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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.
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