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a low 30 buk linux pc ? arm cpu check it out. i wonder if biab would run on it. lol. 'tings are getting interesting'... crazy low price…. https://www.inovato.com/page down page for SPECS and 'looky' at the ports. surprised me…wowser. i wonder if someone will code a daw for it...lol. happiness om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 08/27/22 03:45 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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i wonder if biab would run on it. lol. Quite possibly as it's been run on a raspberryPi: https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=690351&Searchpage=1&Main=93896&Words=raspberry&Search=true#Post690351 I'm increasingly using raspberryPis for jobs for which I would previously have used a mini-ITX machine. The Pi is cheaper and uses less energy. I have my mini-ITX-based BackupPC here for a rebuild at the moment and I've been wondering if I dare commit such a critical task to a $50 (or $30) computer plus $100 4TB USB-hdd.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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/interruption if I may
Can I hijack this a trifle and ask you who use Linux if you can recommend using Linux on an older laptop PC by booting from a USB stick? I've seen several references recently to the instructions to do this, primarily as a way to try Linux. I did that, maybe 15 years ago, but had no reason to continue. Now, with an aging laptop, I do, since I expect the performance of the equipment would be better. Thanks.
/end of interruption
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. 1. how old is the laptop ?. i suggest you google 'best lite linux distro old laptop'. lots of choice. or 'usb stick linux distro' eg puppy linux. 2. a linux distro that caught my eye recently is ZORIN OS....info here. https://zorin.com/os/page down re reviveing old pc's. every happiness om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 08/28/22 01:49 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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Thanks! 8 years old hardware, a good Toshiba Satellite. However, I installed a new SSD boot drive two years ago and installed Windows 10. The small amount of RAM (4 Gb) limits the effectiveness after Windows loads.
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. with this linux thing i think often the only thing to do is dive in and try a few distros. i would definetely try zorin,,maybe puppy too or lubantu. but i defer to gordon on linux. OR the tech in you might find the following os intrigueing done in asm. v small footprint https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MenuetOSbut not linux. read the reviews of it. lotsa fun. i just find it v interesting. been around a looong time. best mate. om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 08/28/22 02:04 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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/interruption if I may
Can I hijack this a trifle and ask you who use Linux if you can recommend using Linux on an older laptop PC by booting from a USB stick? I've seen several references recently to the instructions to do this, primarily as a way to try Linux. I did that, maybe 15 years ago, but had no reason to continue. Now, with an aging laptop, I do, since I expect the performance of the equipment would be better. Thanks.
/end of interruption An 8 year old laptop should be just fine for most Linux systems. Linux tends not to drop support for old hardware and 8 years is by no means old yet ... middle aged. I've only ever used the USB-stick try out arrangements very temporarily and some are unable to save data on the stick, though all should allow data to be stored on an existing hard drive. You may have to 'mount' the hard drive to do that, though often it'll just appear on the desktop and you can open it normally. There are several popular distributions around. Most will offer try on USB, install alongside existing, replace existing, roll your own custom installation. Most or possibly all are based upon Debian Linux, the 'stable' of which is about as mature and stable as you'll find, but it tends to evolve slowly. Derivatives are often more appropriate. There are several "best Linux Distros" pages around, but the choices become overwhelming. They'll all do everyday stuff like web, mail office, etc.. An increasing number of distributions offer a "long term support" bundle, that changes slower than the front line edition. To be honest, though, most I've used have been very well behaved in recent years. Most hardware is supported. Ubuntu is well established looks rather Mac-like to my eyes, there are variants xubuntu or kubuntu which have different desktop styles as a default. I've used xubuntu for a long time. Arch Linux has been around for some time and is popular. Mint Linux ditto. One that might be interesting is AV-Linux is now based on MX-Linux and customised for audio-visual work. It comes with a good stable low-latency core and a bunch or AV-related applications, all of which work well together. A particular aspect of this one is that Glen who manages it is careful to ensure that things like Wine support are stable for music ... Wine elsewise still sometimes has some issues. I've recently changed from xubuntu to AVL:MXE for my office platform. https://www.bandshed.net/avlinux/https://itsfoss.com/best-linux-distributions/
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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i'm as geeky as the next bloke , but 'i'm curious what to use linux for..cos i have an old i5 laptop here. the reason I'm asking is because the 100 bucky chromebook I picked up already does soooo much. also gordon whaddya think bout dam small linux. distro ? this is a tech company i'm watching right now…mini pc new. https://www.geekompc.com/geekom-mini-it11-mini-pc/ie 11 gen i7/i5 … they also do ..celerons. <<<celerons poor single thread passmark for music . best om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 08/29/22 02:52 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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i'm as geeky as the next bloke , but 'i'm curious what to use linux for..cos i have an old i5 laptop here. the reason I'm asking is because the 100 bucky chromebook I picked up already does soooo much. also gordon whaddya think bout dam small linux. distro ? this is a tech company i'm watching right now…mini pc new. https://www.geekompc.com/geekom-mini-it11-mini-pc/ie 11 gen i7/i5 … they also do ..celerons. <<<celerons poor single thread passmark for music . best om My fastest machine here at the moment is the i5-750 that I'm on right now. My music PC and my notepad are both Celeron series, not core-i series. The notepad is fine with Linux, though can struggle a bit with PianoTeq, which is CPU intensive. They all have the usual domestic stuff like web browsers, office suites, email, various graphics tools, various video tools, various audio tools. I use my office machine for development work with multiple IDEs for different languages/targets (I'm mostly an embedded developer). The only thing I can think of off-hand that I need to use Windows for is my PCB CAD and in truth, I haven't tried that recently in Wine on Linux. Oh ... I have a USB sniffer that is Windows only, but I haven't used that for ages. Most installations are painless. The install process identifies all the hardware and installs modules, if required, to suit. There are post installation tools to install the many applications that are freely available. To be frank, there are probably thousands of them now, many free but enterprise grade, some not so great. I make donations for quite a bit that I use as people put their own time and effort into making them. There are commercial applications, too, and I'm more than happy to pay for them and use them when appropriate. My main IDE is commercial (and around $1500), though these days and for many jobs, the open-source Eclipse is nearly as good and support a great many targets. I mostly use ARM. I have Linux native commercial version of Reaper, Mixbus, Renoise, Traktion, PianoTeq, Transcribe!, maybe others. Video editors are a little fragile still, but a friend who's a retired profession video editor says he likes Olive. In the past I used to spend some time investigating whether hardware was Linux supported. These days I rarely do, as most is. Firewire support is a bit hit-and-miss. That is worth checking if you use it. What's not so easy to explain is the stuff that's on Linux that isn't on Windows. though an awful lot of good Linux stuff has been ported across now (Ardour, for example). The thing to remember is that Linux is different from Windows and packages like LibreOffice (ported to ages ago Windows), for example, is different from Microsoft Office, so there's a bit of a learning curve. On Linux, you're more likely to be advised to use the command-line for some jobs. Very often the command to use are given in the examples. Just cut and paste, though the familiar Ctrl-X/Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V aren't available on the command line, so one has to use menu->Edit->Cut and so on. They work in most GUIs.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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@Matt - Years ago when I was taking Linux Administration courses for work they had supplied all students with the Red Hat Linux OS. It's their version of Windows and is a nice visual interface if you like that better than command line. I haven't kept up with that OS lately but I had always used it on older machines that I had no need for. There was really no issue on those older machines, kind of like running BIAB on them.
 Steve BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
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Thanks, Gordon and Steve. I remember when Red Hat was the popular version. When I first looked at Linux it resembled Unix from my DEC experience .
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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ALL.
The problem I have with some linux distros is they are SO BIG.
I want a small nimble low resource useage distro that runs music production software. eg puppy or damn small linux.
ie a small one to run… eg ardour, reaper, bitwig, waveform, audacity etc etc. if i wish.
to name a few.
its been slow coming but finally it looks like there is more music software for linux coming out.it looks like finally Linux is becoming interesting.
(if only bb and rb ran on it..sigh…lol.)
please tell me what you all think of that zorin distro i linked to upthread.
looks v nice dont ya think or am i wrong ?
(ps..thanks for supporting my flac wish…Gordon and Matt,)
best
om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 08/29/22 01:36 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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Regarding the Quadra & BIAB + DAW...
From their description:
"...can be used as a server or light-use desktop..."
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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The problem I have with some linux distros is they are SO BIG.
...
(if only bb and rb ran on it..sigh…lol.)
...
Linux distributions do tend to bundle quite a bit of "stuff" that one doesn't necessarily need. Much of it can be uninstalled if that's your wish. What had you in mind as not big? I have both BiaB and RealBand running on Linux, though there are a few issues, mostly around the lack of Windows Media Player and a few minor issues relating to dialog boxes. The AVL:MXE distribution that I'm using for music is around a 4GB image, though again it does come bundled with quite a lot of toys. Glen makes no apology for the size as it includes much or even all of what one needs to produce music, including demos of some commercial packages. In this day and age, frankly I don't really see 4GB as big ... quite a few sample libraries are bigger than that. The reason I like AVL:MXE is that it always seems to work as one would like. Most Linux distributions are not geared to music as most users don't do music production, so music critical stuff sometimes gets broken. Glen who produces AVL:MXE weorks very hard at avoiding those breaks, to the extent that only recently has he moved from customised real-time kernels to generic low-latency kernels. He's also careful to use lightweight windowing systems to keep the load off the CPU. If I can remember the name, there was a music-oriented lightweight distribution some years back. It had mostly a number, not a name. Sub 1GB. For non-music work there are quite a few small-footprint choices, e.g.': https://linuxhint.com/smallest-linux-distributions/Puppy Linux has been around for years, so must have a decent following. For most things I do, I simply don't worry about the size. 2TB of hard drive is < $100. Even 1TB of SSD isn't much different.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Gordon.
wonderful info. thanks so much. your a prince mate.
if i ever get back to blighty i'll buy you a few pints lol.
i really like the idea of a low latency kernel obviously.
the way i figure it is if the baby os Menuet can do it …a small footprint AND a gui ....
why cant a linux distro ??. maybe its cos menuet is coded in asm rather than C/C++ ?
sometime check out the size of menuet ..its tiny size is brilliant for an os.
i was hoping for a linux distro under 2 gigs.
if you would bear with me…...when you load reaper linux version ..under the x at top right hand side what latency does reaps report in millisecs ?
i wonder if my audient audio interface would work in linux.
i love it for its v low latency and its not given me one prob ever in a years use.
i WAS gonna use the audient as a stop gap while i saved for a higher end interface like rme…or a uad but audients been soo blinkin' brilliant i might not bother..ive recorded sooo many audio traks with it flawlessly in reaps and no probs in biab…so i'm a fan.
also i read recently where a person…i think on gearspace preferred the audient mic pre's over rme…thus i'm in the proverbial quandary….lol. i just dont want to make a change and everything goes 'pear shaped'...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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the way i figure it is if the baby os Menuet can do it …a small footprint AND a gui ....
why cant a linux distro ??. maybe its cos menuet is coded in asm rather than C/C++ ?
sometime check out the size of menuet ..its tiny size is brilliant for an os.
One of the reasons for the size of most Linux distributions is that they include a huge number of drivers and the like, and also many options that people may use. As an example, my fileserver has the Apache2 web-server on it and that includes many/most of the loadable modules for all sorts of things, but uses symbolic links from an 'enabled' directory to the modules to "turn them on". If they didn't do that, then the instruction to set up the many functions Apache2 can do would have to "first download and install the following..." I'm not convinced these days by "coded in assembler". A good C compiler will do a pretty comparable, sometimes better, better job of optimising the machine code for most things. More likely a smaller size is more a reflection of omitting things. That's absolutely fine unless one wants those things. Horses for courses. As Menuet nails it colours to "not within Unix or Posix standards..." you may find you're limited to what they offer, or you'll have some significant work porting applications to it. i was hoping for a linux distro under 2 gigs. I'm curious why that matters to you. The smallest USB flash drive from Curry's is 16GB. I can get 256GB for ~$30 just down the road. https://sourceforge.net/projects/flashlinux/ Claims to run from a 256MB USB drive. if you would bear with me…...when you load reaper linux version ..under the x at top right hand side what latency does reaps report in millisecs ? Bear in mind that this is an old-ish PC. It's reporting ~11/34ms. Conky, the resource monitor that's bundled with AVL:MXE reports that it's using about 2% CPU whilst idle. Reaper is now available Linux-native. i wonder if my audient audio interface would work in linux.
i love it for its v low latency and its not given me one prob ever in a years use. If it's USB class complient, then it certainly should. If it has non-compliant features, like built in mixers or audio processing, then it may lose those features. A brief look around suggests that some Audient interfaces may not be class compliant (why not?) and some "work perfectly". Which device? BTW, I think this is one place where a runable USB version is handy ... it'll likely let you know if the device you have works properly. i WAS gonna use the audient as a stop gap while i saved... If you're happy with it, assuming it does work well with Linux, why change?
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Gordon
1..linux
you make good points but i just wish i could find a linux distro for music production without all the other 'faff' like net browser/office stuff etc etc as my studio never sees the 'net'.
i use other devices for the net.
my studio currently runs win10 of course and i only run the combo of bb//rb//reaps. done 90 songs with the combo.
but all the other win 'stuff' i never use so its wasted on me.
maybe i'm an 'old codger'...lol. cos i coded in the days
when we had competitions tween coders to see who could do the most features useing least computer resources..which is the way i was originally taught.
i'm a stickler for setting a project studio up right , as a result i get no probs from win or the music apps i run.
yep i know reaps runs on linux.
2..my interface audient.
the evo 4 i run is usb class compliant , with obviously some feature extensions not covered by the usb spec..but so do lots of interfaces mate.
i seem to remember vaguely the evo 8 however might have had probs on ipad IOS whereas the evo 4 didnt ?
i have to say for me the evo runs flawlessly and is a 'champ'.
dont matter anyway , if i get probs with linux i'll just rent a new interface from my local gear store like a motu m4 or a uad arrow ...
till i find one that works well with linux. and keep the evo on the pc.
happiness.
om
ps did you check out zorin linux os ?
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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In this day and age, frankly I don't really see 4GB as big ...
Yep, whilst I do think wistfully of w95 running on 8meg and a hard drive being less than a gig and still getting heaps done or even running Cakewalk ProAudio3 on a 286 with an INCA breakout box, I know that high resolution often means high quality and I'm keen for that. I also recall having a 14meg thumb drive given to me as a tease from a hardware company...it was the ant's pants at the time and carried a couple or three Word documents happily. I still have a 128meg MP3 player stashed away somewhere. BUT I have portable drives, (bought my 1st 100gig one for $100), thumb drives all over the place and use multi gig internet transfers all the time plus use a wonderful D.A.P. that gives great sound quality playback of FLAC, 24 bit wav etc. Oddly enough I'm collaborating with an old friend co writer who insists on sending me his parts as MP3s...he's stuck in a mind set that he can't seem to shake.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Gordon
1..linux
you make good points but i just wish i could find a linux distro for music production without all the other 'faff' like net browser/office stuff etc etc as my studio never sees the 'net'.
i use other devices for the net. It isn't the same, of course, but it's pretty easy to remove all the stuff you don't, though if you have it and don't use it it does nothing except take up a little hard drive space. You may want to be on the 'Net at install time, as it will collect stuff from online if necessary, though it's fairly likely it'll need nothing. Some 'standard' stuff gets included simply because most people use it. For that stuff, the quickest way is on the command like and looks like: sudo apt remove firefox thunderbird libreoffice chromium ... give it your password when asked and it'll remove them all. It'll not fight back like MS does with Edge and removing most applications like that is unlikely to break anything. If command line doesn't suit, there are GUI apps, e.g. Synaptic, that allow searches and have check-boxes. Users call. You can also go through the list and see what's installed/recommended and add/remove things then. To give you an idea how far you can go with that, there's nothing that says Linux has to have a desktop environment. In the past, most of my infrastructure machines have been 'headless' as typically I administer them over an SSH login using command line only. Incidentally, most or all Linux systems will pop up a dialog when there are updates asking whether to update now or remind you later. If/when you do the updates and (fairly rarely) a reboot is advised, it'll offer Reboot Now or not ... reboot when you're ready. None of the dirty Windows trick of popping up in the background and then rebooting without our say-so. my studio currently runs win10 of course and i only run the combo of bb//rb//reaps. done 90 songs with the combo.
but all the other win 'stuff' i never use so its wasted on me.
maybe i'm an 'old codger'...lol. cos i coded in the days
when we had competitions tween coders to see who could do the most features useing least computer resources..which is the way i was originally taught. My approach to both hardware and software was to get the job done as well as I could. If that meant a faster processor and more memory, then that's what I did unless the on-cost would be greater than the time saved. If I had to get down and dirty with assembler and registers, that that also is what I did. In my last job, I did all of that alone. I did around 70% of the development work. The other 30% was done by five other people. Do it right, do it efficiently, do it well, don't close doors unless you have to. There are many different ways to optimise ... that's why computer teaching loves sorting and prime numbers ... lots of possibilities. i'm a stickler for setting a project studio up right , as a result i get no probs from win or the music apps i run. That's why I run AVL:MXE ... iit's already optimised for audio and generally it works as one would like. There are a bunch of multimedia apps that you might choose to remove. Video editors, for example. the evo 4 i run is usb class compliant , with obviously some feature extensions not covered by the usb spec..but so do lots of interfaces mate. From +++ here +++ So this is my contribution on this piece of hardware: based on my personal experience, you should be fine with making it work on Linux, as long as you plug it once on a Windows computer and update its firmware using the software provided by the manufacturer. ps did you check out zorin linux os ? Not yet ... I'm spending much of my time up ladders at the moment, sanding and painting. I'll try to remember to have a look, but as all distributions differ a little, I try to stay with one when I can. At present I have two (well, three including Raspbian).
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 2,065
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 2,065 |
So, amid all this yak yak yak, is anyone actually running BIAB over LINUX?
BIAB 2026 Audiophile Mac
24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia/Tahoe, M1 & M5 MBAir, 2012 MBP
Digital Performer11, Logic, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScore/Notion/Overture
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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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Holiday Weekend Hours
It's Victoria Day Long Weekend in Canada. Our Customer Service hours are:
Saturday, May 16: Closed
Sunday, May 17: Closed
Monday, May 18: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Regular hours resume Tuesday, May 19th!
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!
Don't wait - order today!
Check out all the new features in the redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
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.
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®!
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!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
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.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
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Forums57
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