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I was struck by these two bits from JOM's "M.2 and PCIE" thread: Fortunately, if doing audio, you don’t need a very fast computer. Indeed. I regularly use a 10-year old laptop that has a 2nd gen i5, 16gb of ram, and a 500gb Sata SSD. No problems whatsoever. ... another thread about whether Core-i9s were worth the extra, and my own relatively modest machines (the most powerful is an i5-7400 with 8GB of RAM and conventional hard drives. And I wondered what really are the best optimisations. There are lots of layers to the question, which probably makes the answers to the question many and varied, and dependent upon what software is in use and what's being done, like off-line production or live-performance. My thinking goes like this: Any application using samples should, whilst feasible, be loading those samples into RAM, so a generous amount of RAM seems pretty much de rigueur. CPU power is power is almost certainly not an issue. I/O throughput from bulk storage might be of interest, though. Any application using modelling to create the sounds will have a modest RAM footprint, but will want a generous amount of CPU. Applications that do extensive signal processing, ditto. As a general rule, more CPU-cores should be beneficial, though the applications must use them sensibly to get benefit. I/O bottlenecks to the CPUs and to the real world may still be a major bottleneck on real throughput. In these days of mixed core types, e.g., performance-oriented and efficiency-oriented, which type(s) are the most valuable for audio? Is overclocking/turbo-mode/whatever really of value for audio, or does it really only increase the power consumption, heat and fan noise? I suspect the main contribution to performance of SSDs, of whatever type, will be in reducing load time to RAM and probably doesn't have much, if any, beneficial impact on actual audio processing. Latency has numerous factors ... time to digitise and de-digitise, time to transfer data to/from the I/O device(s), number of devices demanding data be moved, including non-audio devices like SSDs, Ethernet, graphics, and the like, time to gain access to a CPU, processing time within the CPU, DMA channels/lanes/streams/whatever-you-call-them. My own main understanding of those things comes much more from work with embedded ARM processors than with x86-derived processors. I imagine that the latter have, for some time, all come with hardware floating-point engines. On an embedded ARM, I would carefully select which core to use for which task and lock the code and data to that core. I imagine the options are rather more limited with PCs if only because the number and type of cores are a moving feast.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Byron Dickens BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency. https://soundcloud.com/athanorsoundlabs
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Thanks Byron,
The devblogs article is excellent, very informative and useful, though mostly addressing slightly different considerations from mine.
For me personally, less so the Sweetwater article, but that's mostly as I tend to use Linux where possible, rather than Windows, and again addressing different considerations. Most people will use Windows or Mac, though, so it's highly pertinent.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Gordon. one reason i love refurbs soooo much is...if one buys from the right company the refurb comes already OPTIMISED,... boots fast from cold (mine boots into win in a few secs), and comes already free of junk/bloat...with lots of ports (eg usb) ive yet to have even one problem over many many years useing refurbs. nada , zilch probs. crikey , my refurb company i deal with, pre-covid and even let me test a refurb with my music software. and i just point my refurber to various pc optimisation sites. heres another optimisation site ..with vid. https://audient.com/tutorial/optimise-your-windows-pc-for-audio/right now there are a slew of i5/i7 refurbs on the market that come with 1 year warranties, are optimised, and even often include ssd..and support added ssd's.for less than a couple hundred bucks. if someone doesnt want to do a zillion traks with zillion plug ins. frankly if i were looking at pricey i9 retail pc prices , and couldnt diy a pc build i would spend under 2k with a company that specialises in building pc's for recording studios. eg a adk pro audio or studiocat or silent pc...and there are many others. now i'm gonna listen to some songs in the showcase cos , phew...i'm free of family commitments today...lol
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 07/15/22 07:59 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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Thanks OM,
A useful video on optimising Windows, though I'm primarily interested in what the best tradeoffs are for the hardware.
A refurb is unlikely in my case as I'm planning this for a new very-short 2U rackmount, so I'd end up throwing quite a bit of a refurb machine away. I want as far as possible to avoid high dissipation, to help keep the fans (etc.) quiet. I'd like also, of course, to keep good value for money.
In particular I was interested in the real performance tradeoffs between RAMs, M.2 SSD and SATA SSD. In an ideal world I'd have as much and as fast RAM and M2 PCIE as was possible, but that can make for some very large budget numbers indeed. My gut still tells me that the best place to put the bulk of the money is into the RAM.
Having been looking at that, though, I'm starting to recognise that there are really too many factors to inform a simple choice. I end up also trying to account for DDR4 and DDR5 differences and how many memory slots. Even my default strategy of buying a a modest way below the top is now looking fragile. :-/
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Remember that if you go out and spend a fortune for the fastest processer available and jammed every RAM slot full that 1 year from now it will be outdated anyway. I bought 2 PCs with i7 when the i7 was the best thing out there. Now they are yesterday's (or last year's) news. So in the longer ranging future, you are chasing your tail no matter what you do.
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... you are chasing your tail no matter what you do. Absolutely! I don't buy the latest, greatest, whatever, machines for precisely that reason. I can manage just fine with 2/3 or 1/2 the performance at 1/3 or 1/4 of the cost. Some years back I replaced an old fileserver. I couldn't even get the local "recycle for the third world" people to take it. Too old and under-powered apparently. It was working just fine for me, but I wanted to reduce the power consumption ... the old machine was a 486 tower with multiple HDDs. The new one was a fanless ITX with one HDD (I back-up to a second machine, off-site). The thing one notices now is things like Core gen 7 through 12, Pentium, Celeron and Atom all available concurrently, not to mention the ever increasing digits after the 'i'. It's all a bit crazy, really. And that's all before one considers AMD, Apple and others. My DMZ and mail machine is a Raspberry Pi and despite doing all the spam and malware rejection, its not even trying -- Load average 0.00, CPU ~ 0.5% not so much "no sweat" as couch potato.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Gordon. (btw i enjoy our exchange of ideas,) From what ive researched so far ive concluded the following for music production. 1..M.2 is a no brainer . uber fast and dirt cheap. Eg 256 gb. I’m getting 2 . 2..Selecting a processor with a single thread passmark score over 3000 is a good idea. In case you havent seen this at passmark, and for any 3rd party reading this… Heres the pass mark table.as of today. (my b’day is next week and my new studio Gadget from amazon just arrived , but my lovely wife wont let me open it…till b’day…lmao.).. https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.htmlAs one can see from above the i5 cpu’s prolly offer the best price/performance ratio. my only concern with 12th gen cpu's is reading net articles re'heat'. 3..I think it is important to keep things in perspective..viz my current old i5 refurb normally boots into win (from cold) or biab or realband or reaps in around 4 secs. So i ponder how much am i gonna shave off the 4 secs. And biab stereo mixes that take 40 secs. As to performance diffs tween ddr 4 and 5 , i havent come up with anything definitive.I surmise this topic might increase more in importance if one goes bonkers on huge song Projects. As i normally do a song with max 40 traks, and often way under with asmattering of plug ins…i dont think it will affect moi. 4..For more info on cogent articles bout music production on a pc , slick audio has some interesting articles. … https://www.slickaudio.com/music-production-blog/ Also lots of interesting info on gearspace.com . loads of posts like this big long thread.eg Build a pc…..for music production.... https://gearspace.com/board/music-computers/560019-quot-today-we-build-our-studio-pc-quot-thread.html re above go to the latest dated posts. Frankly from my research for my needs a under ik dollars or 800 uk quids pc with fast i5 on the single thread passmark , 2 m.2 ssd, pcie4 or later, lots of usb and other ports and 32 gigs ram ddr4 or later will more than fill my needs…till 10 ghz cpu’s and pcie version 99 lol comes out. re 'tails' of course eddie is right. Best om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 07/16/22 06:00 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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Gordon.
(btw i enjoy our exchange of ideas,) Yes, me too. From what ive researched so far ive concluded the following for music production.
1..M.2 is a no brainer . uber fast and dirt cheap. Eg 256 gb. I’m getting 2 . As I mostly use Linux and BiaB in Wine needs .wav files, I need 2T for BiaB alone. That makes the SSDs a fair chunk of my budget, whatever. I am, though, weighing up the Audiophile edition as a consequence.
2..Selecting a processor with a single thread passmark score over 3000 is a good idea.
One of my candidate processors, i5-11600t is only 2885, but it's a 35W TDP processor that I could run fanless in an ultra-short 1U case if I wish. I probably won't. (my b’day is next week and my new studio.. My 70th is in a couple of weeks, but my 45th wedding anniversary is the week before (bad planning, that!), so I must be patient. Actually I'm still waiting for the short 2U cases to arrive anyway.... ... So i ponder how much am i gonna shave off the 4 secs. I'm not too bothered about boot time. I often have a pause that long at the bootloader so I can choose which operating system to boot. I am quite interested in the time for Biab and/or Reaper to load up a project, but if I halve the 5G/second I'll be pretty happy. Frankly from my research for my needs a under 1k dollars or 800 uk quids Sadly it's 1k UKP, too, as most things here get a 20% tax stuck on top. Incidentally, it isn't easy to tell from cpubenchmark.net whether the results accumulated are baseline or "turbo" or overclocked. I think they just collate results from end-user tests, so I suspect many CPUs are running in the faster modes. I don't want to do that, which makes me wonder whether, for me, there's actually a benefit in using a 12-series CPU. I'm suspecting that I'll likely end up with an i5-11600, 32G RAM and 2x2T M.2 SSDs. 64G RAM if I can find a suitable board that will take more DDRs. Most seem to take only two.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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My 70th is in a couple of weeks, but my 45th wedding anniversary is the week before (bad planning, that!), so I must be patient. Actually I'm still waiting for the short 2U cases to arrive anyway... Wife 2.0 was born Oct 19th. We were married Oct 21st. And that was also around the wonderful jeweler, florist and candy business created holiday of Sweetest Day. Fortunately we didn't make it to our 1st anniversary... (It was euthanasia, trust me.)
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Gordon. That i5 11600 …has better specs than the ‘t’ version on passmark. At 18257//3303…but of course the tdp is more of course. Frankly i’m fed up with laptops due to expandability constraints i run into vs desktops as i said before. Been there , done that. Just some more thoughts …. What really surprises me is apples market approach. Right now they have a superb opportunity to make serious inroads into the win pc market and possibly bring it to its knees with the super duper m series of cpu’s. But from reading articles on the net apparently apple maybe are more interested in the phone market rather than computers. Also it seems they are protecting their higher priced computers above the base mini. Which has limited expandability etc. Crikey ive seen el cheapo refurb win pc’s with way more ports as just one example. Ive seen this strategy play out before in a ‘products role’ in a previous life in a tech company. It didnt work, ..due to severe competition. Of course i told snr mgt we would have probs… They didnt listen so i left ..and within a few years…you can guess the rest… This was one reason (and others like never seeing my wife and family) i got out of working for a tech company. Yes the money is groovy but if ones soul isnt happy …..etc So many tech companies try various strategies…but the wider publict isnt ‘stupid’ . In summary If i was in a product role at apple i would be pushing mgt hard to revamp the base mini with its m cpu. Allow up to 64 gigs, and up to 3 m2 ssd on board and add more ports to it. All for just under 1k…i’d prolly get fired…lol… i'd be all over such a mini. but as you know , the one i’m ‘rooting for is the PI (with chips and maybe a knickerbocker glory desert for afters…lmao.)... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knickerbocker_gloryI reckon you prolly will ok with your stated i5 config with lots of ram etc. But, as always 2023 will prolly bring more new pc’s we might have wished we’d waited for. i reckon whatever year i get a new pc...next year i'll wish i had waited. Best om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 07/16/22 12:41 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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The "T" version is specially selected for low energy consumption and is partially throttled to help achieve that low TDP. 35W TDP is the most the 1U fanless case can handle and that's why I'll likely end up not going that route.
Apart from a few very special versions, laptops have always been significantly constrained. It just a fact of trying to get suitable bits into a compact box at a reasonable price.
Apple don't like to compete head-to-head with Microsoft and the various PC-makers. It's "race to the bottom" price strategy and Apple prefer to market as "premium". Also the end of the PC market has been predicted for a long time now, because tablet and 'phone sales surged and PC sales fell. But there are still many tasks for which a tablet really isn't suitable (e.g., trying to run a big CAD system of a tablet would be ludicrous; multiple 24" screen are typical).
Yes I'll be fine with whatever path I finally take. I'm just reluctant to waste hundreds of beer tokens on bits that don't really make a significant difference. I don't really want to go above 65W TDP as that would start to take me into fan noise in a small-ish 2U.
I use a small, old-ish notepad PC when I want compact portability (like on the boat, mostly I use headphones, I have a Q49 contoller-keyboard on board); I have a Focusrite Scarlet (and wooden case for the notepad+scarlett+PSUs) if I want better sound quality and still compact. My "stage portable" is a 6U Gator flight-case, and that's where the 2U PC goes. The preset PC in that is a mini-tower screwed into a 2U shelf, but that's a horrible hack.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Gordon.
I’m more a occasional rum and pepsi or tequila sunrise or newcastle brown beer bloke.
Yeh i know , my mates say ‘girlie drinks’ Lol
Yep i see where your coming from and reasoning. Its darn tough as the tech changes.
Notice intels strategy ? apple are now using their own silicon and ‘bingo’ intel brings out the affordable i3 12300 with a nice single thread passmark of 3673. Maybe giving some people pause in going to apple ? but 13 has a high tdp it seems.
You said ‘ But there are still many tasks for which a tablet really isn't suitable’.
Totally agree. Much as i like the cheap amazon fire i couldnt use it for applications that demand lots of ‘oomph’. We might see it in the future as tech advances further.
Ive looked at the ipads with the superb apple m cpu, but once again from what i see limited expandability. Cant put 3 m2 ssd in em for example.
I will give huge kudos to one great product including the responsive tech support thats cranked me after my initial ‘scepticism’ and thats my audient evo interface.
Just rock solid asio drivers/very low latency…and v nice mic preamps, and the smartgain feature that means one dont overload into the daw.
For me it was initially ‘ok i’ll take a chance and use for a short time till the tech gets even better at the low end and expecting possible probs’.
Not one prob.
Multi client and works a treat with my music apps. Believe me..it take a lot to impress me.
I mean i would love a high end interface like a RME with their sterling rep. or also the apollo but when gifted musicians often are lucky to make money out of their songs via streaming (20 quid a year ??) i really cant justify.
I've listened to audio examples from many interfaces//ada and the difference tween high end and low end is narrow imho.
Remember when one would buy a hifi for a few quid and it was junk ? but then if you paid a few hundred quid it was very nice ? and got you 98 percent there compared to spending lots lots more moolah ? same deal with interfaces imho.
So i’m hanging tight right now waiting for something to rock my world.
Happiness gordon.
om
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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Ah, yes, my HiFi was never cheap and occasionally eye-watering. But my big Tannoy Dual-Concentrics are around 45 years old now. They did sterling service in the 70s/80s when I ran my disco, helped along by separate big folded-horn bass bins and ceramic tweeters.
I renewed the cones about 15 years ago as the roll-surrounds were disintegrating. They're still in use everyday and will still take the breath away with the wick turned up. With all those years of use, they've actually turned out to be pretty good value. Sadly my ears have fared less well :-(.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Gordon. Ah yes tannoys. Groovy. Respect… you lucky bloke lol.… Ive used em in studios. My dad loved tannoys also For some history (in case others are reading this…) https://musictech.com/reviews/studio-icons-tannoy/As the article says most of the uk top studios used em 50’s//60’s//70’s etc. Todays speakers are wimpy imho. Cant crank em like old voice of the theatre lol. Ive been in the market for new monitors for awhile..but nothing cranks me up (thats affordable )...sigh cept ADAMS for some reason i find difficult to explain. Prolly the ribbon/heil tweeters….heres a yt vid from adam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv1PgxMy6BUHeres Dirt cheap diy speakers using ‘audio exciters’....i heard an example playing back classic music that was pretty nice given the silly low cost. Great diy video on yt. Impressive clarity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGzNkUmPdXcalso at the uber low end..dayton audio stereo cheapo. https://www.amazon.ca/Dayton-Audio-B652-...01181&psc=1dunno how good they are. seen slew of positive reveiws. bout 100 quid in quids. unpowered. Lots of fun…lol. om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 07/17/22 05:59 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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Tannoy are still around and I think one can still buy their big speakers, but I think they're in the "you have to ask for them" class. I had a friend who had a pair of proper GRF Autographs. One needs a big room for those. About 5ft high and 4ft wide.
The big Tannoys are also in the "if you have to ask the price, you can't afford them" class.
My replacement cone assemblies alone were £350. But as I said, they're now about 45 years old and still amazing.
iPod killed Hi-Fi, IMHO.
This has gone way, way, off-topic.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
.
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Gordon.
Re…’way, off-topic.’
So sorry mate. I’m in a high state of elation after going thru medical stuff i wont bore you with. Oh the joys of getting older…lol
Best
om
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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So sorry mate. I’m in a high state of elation after going thru medical stuff i wont bore you with. Oh the joys of getting older…lol
No apology needed to me. I was every bit as guilty of going off topic. I was told many times "don't get old", but it appears I didn't listen.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Ok, one last off topic ............. No apology needed to me. I was every bit as guilty of going off topic.
I was told many times "don't get old", but it appears I didn't listen. I don't mind getting old. Its just falling apart as I do that's hurting me!
I think my wife has started to show the first signs of dementia.
She said she can't remember what she ever saw in me!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Its just falling apart as I do that's hurting me! I'm not falling apart too badly yet, but it's definitely starting.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
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 new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 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 process 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, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows 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)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
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 PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
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