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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 57
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 57 |
Hello community,
Here an user of BIaB Ultrapak+ 2021, 2022, 2023 and now considering 2024... Possibly the Audiophile version, I am still debating what to get.
I learnt from different pages that the Audiophile Edition contents (Real Tracks, Real Band) can be directly accessed from the 2.5'' HDD delivered, there is no need to copy to a faster 3.5'' HDD or much faster SSD.
To what extent this is working well? Do I need to back-up the delivered HDD locally or can I download any missing file from the server if accidentally deleted (as in Ultrapak+ versions)?
Finally, how large is the audio contents of the included .wavs on disk? I mean approximate GBs. If it is smaller it is easier to put in my existing disks, if larger I'll need to consider to use directly... but then I must know how to deal with back-ups.
Sorry if this information is somewhere in the forum or FAQs, but I could not find it. I only got the information that the HDD delivered is 2.5'' USB3 and 4TB (but I have no clue if contents are 1TB or 3.5TB).
Thanks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,089
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Firstly, welcome to the Forums. The Audiophile drive storage contents are as follows: ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=26912&filename=2024-01-06_10-20-10.jpg) I run the program directly from the Audiophile drive (after having performed a minimal install of the necessary files to the computer itself, which is one of the setup options).
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,564
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I’ll look for the size of all the RealTracks and RealDrums in my 2024 audiophile version, but right now I can say they take up a very high percentage of the total space. All the WMA files are also there; they take up roughly 1/11th the size of the corresponding WAV files. The audiophile version used to run on a 2 TB drive. With BIAB 2024, it goes just over so it now requires a 4 TB drive.
Yes, BIAB runs fine from that drive.
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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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 57
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OP
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Thanks a lot both for your help, this is exactly what I needed to know.
@ Matt Finley, there is no need to look for more information, it is clear. ~1.85TB (just above 2e12 bytes), ~1/12 of which is WMA and a small part (probably 2....60GB, I do not care at all) for the smaller files.
I'll make a decision before the deal expires
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,625
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I moved the slightly over 2T+ content to a 2T (slightly under) M2 drive but in order to do it I had to hand select and copy the RTs (about 95%)
It took like a day to do it that way.
I run two version from the Task bar. The full one (slow) and the fast one (95%)
I will try moving the drums to a separate drive from the RT someday to see if I can get a little better solution.
Studio One (latest version), Win 11 23H2 , i9 -10940X 3.3 GHz, 32GB Mem, a 4K 40" monitor, PreSonus Studio Live III Console as interface/controller. secondarily test on Reaper, Cakewalk, and S1 on Surface Pro 3 Win 10 (latest versions).
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2022
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OP
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Finally I bought Audiophile... well, not exactly: I bought OmniPAK! I will receive it next week, but I already downloaded the WMA version to try the new features in BiaB standalone and VST3 plugin.
Deciding between WMA and uncompressed WAVs was not easy. Because I think it depends a lot on the type of track. I think sharing what I found could be useful for BiaB users. Very summarized:
1) For real drums (no pitch stretching, and cymbals sound much better in WAV than in WMA), there is a real gain. None will notice in a car or in music shared through WhatsApp in a cell phone. But there were projects where I decided to substitute the drums at the end... just to have some contents beyond 14 kHz : )
2) For organs, some synths, even pianos the differences I expect are less. But it is nice to have higher quality. Especially if the other tracks sound well.
3) For some guitars, especially overdriven guitars... well some of them sounded really bad to me. Even inside a car or through WhatsApp + Mobile. The "voicing" was so different depending on the chords. I suspected this had to fo with pitch-shifting on an instrument "with a strong voicing" (like human voice, we can hear formants). Then someone helped me to run a render of these guitars with the Audiophile version... and as I suspected it was equally bad. Unusable for me.
But then reading the manual of the 2024 software (I was serarching for something totally unrelated) I realized that there might be an easy solution: The DI version of the suspect tracks is available!
So there is no problem, the strong voicing in the overdriven guitars is coming 90% from the FX chain + amplifier + CAB. This takes really bad the pitch shifting. But pitch-shifting the clean guitar (not so problematic) and then applying the "channel" (any VST combination of my choice) this 90% of the voicing is not altered by the pitch-shifting. This converts my "unusable guitars" (same with WMA or Audiophile version) in something really nice and flexible.
Once I could improve by leaps and bounds some guitar tracks (really the weakest link of the chain even in the WMA versions), I was totally motivated to go to Audiophile version. Well... OmniPAK!
To hear what I mean you can listen to anything with some variety of chords in style: _PUNKRK1.STY (Punk w/ Held and Muted Guitars)
If you solo Real Track 2585:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PunkHeldPlus Ev it does not matter much if it is WMA or WAV.
This one is not much better: 2584:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PunkMuted Ev 165
Using the DI version and any guitar amp VST (in my case I quickly tested a preset from Guitar Rig 6 that sounded similar to the original track).
My advice: Use DI + guitar channel emulation (after pitch shifting!) and not "amplified" or any overdriven Real Tracks. The cost is like 4...10x more processing power (it added like ~2.1% CPU load in my old 6-core computer, who cares?).
By the way, this works exactly the same with sampled guitar libraries. Add, combine the multiple notes first, then apply FX or amplifier. Never get a chord like the addition of a few overdriven samples. Instead first sum the clean samples, then overdrive them with any model of the amplifier / FX chain.
I hope it helps. Looking forward to receive my OmniPAK. I'll need to finish the other project before I start playing again with BiaB
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,564
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Congratulations on your upgrade.
You might enjoy comparing notes with the article I wrote about the differences between the audiophile and ‘regular’ versions. It’s the first post, a sticky, in the Tips and Tricks Forum. Your observations about Direct Input instruments are valuable.
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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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 57
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 57 |
Congratulations on your upgrade.
You might enjoy comparing notes with the article I wrote about the differences between the audiophile and ‘regular’ versions. It’s the first post, a sticky, in the Tips and Tricks Forum. Your observations about Direct Input instruments are valuable. I did indeed! It was very useful. Thanks! Then Thomas S helped me rendering some tracks, this helped a lot. And then looking at the 2024 manual... I found the unexpected availability of the DI version for reamp! So, problem solved!  First "play" (with pitch-shifting), then reamp. And it gives me the flexibility to decide which kind of guitar channel I am using (including my Helix Native that emulates my Helix pedalboard for live gigs!). I mean, once the weakest link of the chain was improved it is worth it (for me) to get Audiophile level.
Last edited by parapente; 01/12/24 02:20 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,312
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,312 |
...plus, by choosing to go with the OmniPAK Audiophile Edition, you also receive all of the XPro & Xtra Styles Sets! Don't forget to check out the other programs that will be in your OmniPAK - you might stumble on a program that you never thought you needed!  -Callie
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2022
Posts: 57
Enthusiast
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2022
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Yes! I bought OmniPAK to have all Xtra Styles after 11 (I already have 1....11) and the pro styles. I knew some of the VERY old music teaching programs and I have some limited interest. But I installed all the contents and I found lots of really good stuff, at least for me:
Songs and lessons PAKs, loops & riffs, instrumental studies, "modern" MIDI styles (normally released as bonus PAKs), fakebooks...
Now I understand better the different contents and the way they are released, it is not trivial.
Totally worth it for me to pay the extra for OmniPAK. Actually what I am enjoying now is the program and VST new features and the contents you mention because I'll receive the HDD in 1 week (so I cannot render anything in "Audiophile quality" yet).
Thanks for the tip.
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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!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
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!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
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.
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Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
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PowerTracks Pro 2026 for Windows is Here!
PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.
The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.
The Master Volume is now applied at the end of the audio chain for consistent levels and full-signal master effects.
Tablature now includes a “Save bends when saving XML” option for improved compatibility with PG Music tools. Plus, you can instantly match all track heights with a simple Ctrl-release after resizing, and Add2 chords from MGU/SGU files are now fully supported... and more!
Get started today—first-time packages start at just $49.
Already using PowerTracks Pro Audio? Upgrade for as little as $29 and enjoy the latest improvements!
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