Those are fair questions. Surprized that support did not have a clear answer.
If they don't know, who does... but here is my input based on having all that are currently available.
Right now there are likely as many as 120 - 180 Playable Realtrack Sounds (PRS). Here is a picture of just those set up for Acostic Guitars. These have been made avialable over the past two year releases (2021 and 2022). I would have thought that these are now part of the "core" BIAB sounds which maybe enhanced with each new release. So a core purchase should get you all, IMO. Otherwise, how would they ever sell this feature if you could not get the sounds to use it? The current avialabilty may be sufficient to handly the need, after all we got by with what we had in 2021 before the additions in 2022.
"The answer is that ALL RealTracks are playable, provided that you have installed (a) Sforzando plugin (which is installed along with the main BB program), (b) HiQ Instruments, and (c) Playable RealTracks." <snip> "It (Playable RealTracks) works whether or not the RT has RealCharts. You can still add PRT notes even if there isn't existing notation. Sorry for the confusion. If it DOES have notation it's true that you could edit existing notes / convert them to PRT notes which might be useful in certain cases. As Tobin points out in the video though, the RealCharts aren't necessarily meant to be heard, since they are a transcription rather than what was actually played.
The drop-down menu to the right of the PRT button has a number of useful options - e.g. converting notes to playable, muting RT audio for a region, or choosing a different sample. Also, in that same menu you can see which sample it's using - the ones that start with a number (e.g. '026 xxxxx') are typically ones that use material recorded in the actual RT session. The ones that start with 'HiQ' (e.g. 'HiQ 025 xxxxx') are closest matches that we currently have. Hope this helps."
I just notice that if you search for "Playable Realtracks" on the Band-in-a-Box® 2022 Bonus PAKs/Band-in-a-Box® 2022 49-PAK page (https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.bonuspaks_2022.htm) you get two hits, one in each sections.
If you do the same on the Band-in-a-Box® 2023 Bonus PAKs/Band-in-a-Box® 2023 49-PAK page (https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.bonuspaks_2023.htm), you only get a hit on the first section which leads me to believe that there is no "Playable Realtracks" in the Band-in-a-Box® 2023 49-PAK... I wish they had put playable Realtracks as the are progressive rock track in the 2023 49-PAK this year!
So now I am of the mind that I should only buy Band-in-a-Box® 2023 Pro without 2023 49-PAK...
There are no mistakes, save one: the failure to learn from a mistake. - Robert Fripp
You might be right about the sale prices extending well into January... You have more experience than a newbie like me!
But I guess theses prices pertains only to updates whereas I have a coupon code and I wrongly thought I was told that it was valid until the 31st as I remembered it but I went and re-read the email minutes ago and realized that it actually says "You can use this coupon for ??% off. It will be active until the end of December"
So I'm good until tomorrow 23:59:59 I guess
There are no mistakes, save one: the failure to learn from a mistake. - Robert Fripp
I was gonna say: "With this info I now might buy the 2023 49 PAK" but I wanted to make sure it was "49 PAK" and not "49PAK", so I went I clicked on buy the BIAB 2023 Pro and the page that loads list both the 2022 Bonus 49 PAK & 2023 Bonus 49 PAK as being in my cart! Is that normal? I thought you could not buy the previous year Bonus 49 PAK once the newer Bonus 49 PAK was out!
Ah, I wonder if this is a continuation of the extremely generous offer by PG Music before, to minimize the effect of the VAT on shipped hard drives? Is the UK continuing to levy that after Brexit?
Or it could be something else entirely …
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.
All Band-in-a-Box packages (except for the $49 program upgrade from 2022) include both Playable RealTracks Set 1 and 2. PRT Set 1 was introduced last year. PRT Set 2 is new this year so more RealTracks have a better PRT match. It is included in the free bonus PAK. Each set adds 400 (more or less) Sforzando 'patches'. You might have added a 2022 version PAK via a link on an old page, or you had it in your cart from before.
Many thanks Andrew as this help clarify some stuff
Yeah I went looking for the 2022 49 PAK via Google because I remembered that there was a mention about it containing Playable Realtracks, it does indeed! And clicking on the yellow arrow puts it in my cart!
So I search via Google again and was able to add the 2021 49 PAK to my cart as well! So now I have the 2021 49 PAK, the 2022 49 PAK & the 2023 49 PAK in my cart! I then search for the 2020 49 PAK and found it but this time when I clicked on the yellow arrow, the trick did not work! It simply loads a "404 Page Not Found Sorry, this page doesn't exist" page
So essentially, you are saying that if I simply buy BIAB 2023 Pro version I would end up with the Playable Realtracks set 1 & 2, right?
So adding the Bonus 2023 49PAK would simply add 60 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 10: Acid Jazz, Instrumental Studies Set 19: Modern Country Soloing, MIDI SuperTracks Set 36: Funk & Jazz Piano, MIDI SuperTracks Set 37: Contradance Piano, Artist Performance Set 14: Songs with Vocals Volume 4, and RealDrums Stems Set 3: Jazz, Latin & World!
But no Playable Realtracks...
I wonder if PGMusic's cart processing would let me buy the aforementionned previous year 49 PAKs?
It seems it would work! Unfortunately money is tight right now...
By the way! Now that it is known that I have a coupon code that is good until tonight 23:59:59, I was wondering... that 23:59:59 is in accordance to British Columbia time right, meaning, if I am in an eastern province, I have less time, right?
Last edited by pattoocool; 12/31/2212:08 PM.
There are no mistakes, save one: the failure to learn from a mistake. - Robert Fripp
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Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
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