Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 13
A
Newbie
OP Offline
Newbie
A
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 13
This transcript of a chat I had with support outside office hours tells my story.
The support person's name has been changed to protect their innocence...


Hi, I'm Support Person from PG Music. How may we assist you today?

Chat is now being translated from Hungarian, to English

Hi Support Person
I recently upgraded to BIAB 2024
I'm trying to audition styles in the StylePicker.
I'm on a Mac BTW.
In previous versions we could scroll thru the styles using the up and down arrows, click on the green play button and instantly hear what the style sounds like.
Now, when we click on the green button, BIAB generates the backing for the whole song.
Is there a new way to audition styles quickly?
Or has that feature been removed?


Do you mean it imports the style?
Or it lets you hear what it would sound like in the context of your song?
Because if the latter, yes, it changed to play the chord sheet.

The latter. However it's become extremely time-consuming to audtion a style.
Is there a shortcut to avoid generating the whole song?

Support Person
I am not sure - I can ask and find out for you. Is biab@andrewscottmusic.com an OK email to contact you at? The people I can ask have gone home for the day already.

Yes please, do ask.
The forum is rife with this topic.
Hardly anyone was aware of the audition feature on previous versions. And now that it's gone....!!! ??? Why would they take away such a handy feature?

Support Person
I will definitely ask and follow up with you.

It's like you ask someone to clean your house, which they do, but also permanently remove a door, so that everyone who lives there has to go around the back..
Very unhappy customer.
Words cannot express my frustration.
It's not only your company that does this, Support Person.
Finale and Cubase, etc are all famous for removing features that users know and love.

Support Person
I understand your frustration. I will ask as soon as I can tomorrow.


I'll stop now, before I make both of us too depressed.
Have a great evening.
I'll sit by my inbox.

Support Person
Have a good evening! Bye for now
Operator Typing


Have I missed something?
Does anyone know a way to get the StylePicker to play a sample of a style immediately?

Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 13
A
Newbie
OP Offline
Newbie
A
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 13
I received a reply to my complaint:

Hello,
We are following up to let you know that next to the green play button there is a little plus symbol. When you click on it, you have additional options. One of these included what the green button does. You can change it here to demo the style without the chords.

To which I responded:
Hi AAA,

thanks for getting back to me promptly.

The options provided by all those controls are numerous, and not exactly as you described.

Unfortunately, none of the options equate to the previous functionality.

Usually, when we are looking for a style, we need to audition many, maybe 20 styles before we find one suitable.

The style description is not sufficient.

We can tell within 2 bars if a style is going to work for our song or not.

We used to be able to flit down the list and hear very quickly a portion of the demo song, which would load instantly.

Now it takes up to 10 seconds to load, and only does so after multiple mouse clicks.

So to audition 20 styles takes 4 or 5 minutes, whereas it used to only take half a minute or so.

Is there some page where I can make a feature request for this functionality to be restored?

Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,602
PG Music Staff
Offline
PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,602
To make it work like 2023, click on the [+] button beside [Demo], and make sure that the "Double-click plays chordsheet, not pre-made demo" is NOT checked - see attached screenshot. Then, when you double-click on a style, it will play the pre-made demo. This has the exact same affect as clicking the green play button in 2023.

In 2023, there were two play buttons - one for playing the style in your song (play chordsheet), the other for playing the pre-made demo. In 2024 there is just the one play button which has the function to play your song with the selected style. Since 2024 generates tracks much faster than 2023 it makes sense that this would be used more often than it was previously. So in 2024 there is just the one play button, but as mentioned you can still double-click the style to hear the pre-made style demo. Is there a reason that double-clicking is not convenient for you, or did you miss that you needed to uncheck that "[+]" item?

Attached Files (Click to download or enlarge) (Only available when you are logged in)
Screen Shot 2024-08-28 at 8.37.21 AM.png (163.24 KB, 64 downloads)

Andrew
PG Music Inc.
Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1,751
Expert
Online Content
Expert
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1,751
This button is too well hidden, everyone got caught at the beginning....
What bothers me is the fact that if you want to pre-listen to any style with your grid, it is "destructive", it is not a bad word here. It means that you must be the king of backup if you want to find your little ones there.

I admit that I really missed this little table in the first weeks of 2024, but Andrew's arguments are serious, apart from this "destructive" side.

[Image jointe]


Biab Audiophile 2026 12.20 Win
Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,672
R
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
R
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,672
My only complaint is for both styles and RTs when you demo using the chord sheet it replaces the previous style and i feel that is not a demo it is a change. I would prefer to hear the demo but not have it change it yet. this keeps me from losing what i already had. sometimes i forget which i had before a couple back.


HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2025, Realband, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 9 32c , Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app.
Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,602
PG Music Staff
Offline
PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,602
Quote
My only complaint is for both styles and RTs when you demo using the chord sheet it replaces the previous style and i feel that is not a demo it is a change. I would prefer to hear the demo but not have it change it yet. this keeps me from losing what i already had. sometimes i forget which i had before a couple back.

See attached screenshot. (This is build 803, which has a new menu item to restore previous style)

A) When you demo a style with chordsheet, you can still see on the main screen what your style is. This has not changed.

B) If you right-click in the StylePicker, you can choose to set the selected style back to the previous ("remembered") style. That is also available by pressing the Options button.

C) If you cancel or close the StylePicker, no change is made to the selected style.

How else would you like it to work? For me anyways, this seems to be working as expected.

Attached Files (Click to download or enlarge) (Only available when you are logged in)
Screen Shot 2024-08-29 at 8.36.33 AM.png (460.94 KB, 49 downloads)

Andrew
PG Music Inc.
Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1,751
Expert
Online Content
Expert
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1,751
Andrew, would I dare ask the same thing for Windows? It's already planned, certainly ?


Biab Audiophile 2026 12.20 Win
Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,602
PG Music Staff
Offline
PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,602
The extra menu items (which are already present in Mac 2024) will be available in the next build update for Windows 2024.


Andrew
PG Music Inc.
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

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.

PG Music News
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®!

Video: New User Interface (GUI)

Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!

Watch the video.

You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!

Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!

Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.

Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!

Special offers until December 31st, 2025!

All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.

Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

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.

Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!

Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!

In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!

Special offers until December 31st, 2025!

All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.

Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!

Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.

Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!

Special offers until December 31st, 2025!

All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.

Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

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.

Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!

Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!

In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!

Special offers until December 31st, 2025!

All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.

Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

Forum Statistics
Forums57
Topics85,352
Posts791,196
Members39,859
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
Newest Members
Samuel Song, Max Gain, BEAN223, Brazilboyz, doccawudi
39,859 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
jpettit 321
MarioD 209
DrDan 191
DC Ron 153
Noel96 144
Rob Helms 116
Today's Birthdays
DarleneProctor, Lonestar Uk, MeisterMusic, Tim Anderson
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5