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For the first time since 1983, I did not build my own computer. The new one has Windows 11, 32 Gig RAM, and two M.2 Samsung SSD drives. What a dream. I bought the i9 Intel CPU specifically for processing speed without over clocking, rather than more cores (it has 10 anyway). The graphics is in the CPU. So, a gaming machine it isn’t, but for BIAB it flies. The program is on its own SSD and the RealTracks for the first time have their own SSD.
It still takes a while to regenerate tracks. I learned that will never be instant, but I remember back in 2009 when you would regenerate a song and go make a sandwich while the operation completed.
The new speed didn’t hit home until today when I regenerated the same song on my backup machine, a seven year-old i5. SLOW! Still acceptable, but now I appreciate the new computer more.
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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What brand and model did you purchase? Did you purchase online or from a local retailer?
I got the computer of my dreams two years ago. It is an off-the-shelf Dell Inspirion tower. My only complaint is the primary M2 drive stick is 256GB.
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I had parts assembled to my specs. I didn't have the knowledge about CPU cooling and M.2 drives and wiring up the new cases and motherboards to feel confident doing it myself. My M.2 drives are each 2 TB, and I have a few other SSD drives in the case that I brought over from the old machine to facilitate loading data and programs.
As long as you don't put much more than Windows on the boot M.2 drive, 256 should be OK. I assume you install most programs elsewhere if they allow it.
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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Any idea how relevant this is for 2023?
10. What are the recommended system requirements for Band-in-a-Box?
Band-in-a-Box runs on Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 (32 or 64-bit) and require at least a 1.0 GHz processor (2GHz+ multicore recommended). Basic MIDI features require a less powerful computer than the latest RealTracks features. For best performance, we recommend a fairly up-to-date computer with Windows 7 or higher, a fast processor, and at least 2GB RAM. Without RealDrums or RealTracks, you need a minimum of about 1GB of free hard disk space (15GB recommended). More hard disk space is required for the RealTracks and RealDrums, roughly 100-400MB per Set. A full install of the PRO version (including RealTracks/Drums) requires about 15 GB. A full install of the MEGAPAK version requires about 25 GB. The UltraPAK is about 120 GB total, and you have the option of either downloading, or shipping "pre-installed" on a USB hard drive. You can run the program directly from the hard drive or install on your computer.
A MIDI sound source is required. This could be a sound card, a MIDI keyboard, MIDI sound module, or software synthesizer. We include a software synthesizer with Band-in-a-Box.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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In my opinion, this is now a description of the very minimum needed to run BIAB. But that’s good news: BIAB runs on a very modest machine. It then just becomes a question of how much faster you want it to be.
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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In my opinion, this is now a description of the very minimum needed to run BIAB. But that’s good news: BIAB runs on a very modest machine. It then just becomes a question of how much faster you want it to be. Yep, I suspected that to be the case. Maybe PG Music should provide 2 detailed paragraphs of answers to the system requirements question to particularly help new users. One that deals with the minimum, which is probably already posted and a second which addresses the recommended requirements with some pad for future growth. I have a modest machine, an i5 core and only 12GB RAM. And it is good news that BiaB needs a relatively small footprint to run. My machine regenerates and handles BiaB just fine and that is with several Office applications, Studio One and other programs running at the same time. I know I'll need an upgrade at some point but I usually wait until I have at least 2 compelling reasons to do so.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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PG Music actually had that same thought. They have in the past published, then changed, the minimum requirement. It's always a moving target though, and there are a few other things on the website and in the documentation that could stand revision.
My point about recommended requirements is that this is very hard to determine. You have an i5. So do I. Mine is seven years old. With so many variations, it's possible to buy an i5 today that blows the doors off the i7 I've been using for production. PG Music for a while were using a minimum single-core score in a standardized free utility, Geekbench, to give a good idea, but even then, it was a rough guess: anything over 2000 for example.
And as I said, if BIAB can run on a system, the only thing you gain by buying a better system is that it runs faster. How fast is that? What's your threshold for patience? It's totally dependent upon CPU first, and storage drive second. Graphics is not even a factor. RAM is a problem only when you choose to run other programs at the same time, which I do not recommend when processing digital audio, ever. And, believe it or not, the audiophile version runs slightly faster.
Does that help?
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.
congrats on your new pc.
i'm stoked so far with my new pc too,cos i went from rb reporting 155 traks on old i5 refurb to 255 traks on the new pc. bb and rb running great.
twas a b'day present from my wife.
i'm really impressed by the ryzen and m.2 ssd tech.
the price i paid made it not worth my while building my own new system.
out of curiosity in rb performance test what no of traks does your i9 report ?
of course i dont use crazy trak counts, but it means i can use more resource intensive plug ins now.
happiness.
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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Matt, I am actually excited for you and envious. I'm sure that new beast will serve you well. 
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Thanks, everyone. I didn’t mean to brag, just to make the point it’s fun to have BIAB run so fast! I will try to remember that, when given great power, one also has great responsibility.
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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Bass Thumper, There's two important information specification groups you cited. First there are the minimum operating system (OS) and hardware program run requirements. Second is the storage space required for the Pro, Mega and Ultra packages. I do not remember anyone ever remarking or complaining about the minimum program run requirements. The fact is the minimum requirements are so low the program seems to be able to run on any operable computer using Windows. As with anything computer related, the faster the hardware the faster the program will run. However package storage space, especially for the Ultra PAK, seems to be a constant concern that generates many questions within the forum. The questions are posted by both newcomers and long time users. Because there are so many questions, I've posted a +++ wishlist request +++ for a utility program that automates the process of moving Band-in-a-Box, RealBand and their associated content from primary to secondary storage drives.
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Jim,
I read your wishlist post and I guess such a utility would be useful. But I'm a little confused on something. If a user is getting low on available space on the drive where BiaB is installed and he wants to upgrade to a bigger BiaB package and he has a larger drive available, why can't he uninstall his current version of BiaB and then pay for and install the bigger package to his larger drive?
Indeed, even if he doesn't want to upgrade to a bigger version but simply wants to move his existing version to another drive couldn't he just uninstall and then re-install?
Wouldn't PG Music help that user if he needed help to do this?
This is [almost] my situation right now. I have the bare-bones version installed on my C: drive which is filling up fast. I'm thinking of upgrading to the 2023 version with the Ultra Pak and install it on my E: drive which has almost a TB of free space. My thinking would be to uninstall BiaB 2022 and then install BiaB 2023 + Ulra Pak on E:. I'm assuming that when build-fixes come along in 2023 that the installer would be smart enough to know to install the fix on E:.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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Steve, there are so many possibilities.
You don't have to uninstall BIAB, and in fact, I would leave the program where it is on your C drive, and just move the RealTracks and RealDrums. MOVE = Copy, test, then delete. To make this work, you have to go into Preferences, RealTracks and specify the Custom location. Same for RealDrums, although that folder is far smaller.
Since I have the audiophile version of BIAB, the RealTracks and RealDrums require almost 2 TB of space! It's been over a decade since I used the BIAB installers for these large files. I move them around as I need to when hardware changes, but then again, I used to teach computer science and I'm quite comfortable doing that. Jim wants to help those who ask questions here and can easily get lost, and I think that's a good idea.
And yes, you can always get good help from PG Music Support.
As far as the BIAB installers, the first time you run one, you must specify drive locations for the location of the main BIAB program and of the RealTracks / RealDrums (which may be different), but after that, the installers remember your preferences. You can accept them the next time or override them with new choices.
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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You don't have to uninstall BIAB, and in fact, I would leave the program where it is on your C drive, and just move the RealTracks and RealDrums. MOVE = Copy, test, then delete. To make this work, you have to go into Preferences, RealTracks and specify the Custom location. Same for RealDrums, although that folder is far smaller.
Hmmm, so there's no penalty in speed or performance if the program is on one drive and the RealTracks/RealDrums are on another? I would have thought that you'd want to minimize disk jumping/thrashing or is everything needed dumped into memory?
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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In fact the opposite is true. It's good to split up the program and its data.
In a perfect world, the operating system would be on its own drive, all programs would be on a different drive, and the data used by programs on a third drive. Not only would that maximize efficiency (a little, admittedly) but it would make it easier to back up the data.
Also, we're pretty close to being rid of hard drive thrashing (when you run out of free space on the drive) and hard drive jumping (assuming you mean the movement of the hard drive read/write head in and out and to other platters). All these problems are improved by using SSDs. The only related problem that remains is you must keep around 20% free space on an SSD.
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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When you say "data" I understand you mean user-created files; in this case the BiaB ***.SGU file or in Excel ***.XLS files.
Years ago back in the VAX-11/780 superminicomputer days, an IT guy suggested that we all place our user-created files in subdirectories under a master folder called "Data" ideally on it's own separate drive. Then it's a snap to backup all these files by simply dragging that folder to an external backup drive (today a thumb drive). I've maintained that approach to the present. [As a side note, I don't compress these files. Years ago I did compress them using some kind of "Zip software" but when it came time to uncompress and retrieve them the Zip software failed and my files were lost.]
But back to BiaB, I consider the RealTracks and RealDrums a part of the software and therefore not needing to be backed up. So they are not part of my backup path. So are you saying that it's still better to have the RealTracks/RealDrums on a separate drive along with my user-created files?
Prior to the climate-controlled VAX days we were on the UNIVAC 1100 Mainframe where CPU time was prioritized and highly controlled (remember that one?). The systems people dealt with all backups on that useful monster.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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BIAB is an unusual case. Your songs and user-created styles are data and must be backed up. RealTracks and RealDrums come on the supplied hard drive or download, so those do not need to be backed up. But in the context of what is a program and what is data, and where they should optimally be, I would call RealTracks and RealDrums data. I think, with no proof whatever, that separating the program from the RealTracks and RealDrums would perform slightly better.
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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OK, thanks for your insights and enjoy your new machine. Snappy new hardware is always fun.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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Congrats Matt on your new PC and enjoy, Maybe a picture of the Beauty if you have the time. 
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Thanks, but it’s the throwback black box. No lights (and no sound!). Nothing to see here….
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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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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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Mac® to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac 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 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
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®!
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