Well, it also helps that my parents owned the main music store in the area, so I have been around the local guys since we were knee high.
They don't need BiaB because they play with other musicians. Except the retired ones, who like it for practice.
Fun fact, we use RB/PT a lot; simple, quick, and just works. Although Reaper and Pro Tools are available if needed. Most guys never ask what we use, they just want the results.And the room.
As for using the generation tools, yeah, we like to freak them out occasionally with a generated part.
Drummer is going to be late? No problem, we can fake it until he gets here.
Last edited by rharv; 10/25/2505:18 AM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
[quote=Gordon Scott I notice that some of the higher-end such keyboards get described as "Workstation", rather than "Arranger". I presume by that that they mean they do more than "just" the arranger function Some of them are very impressive, though of course take some mastering.
My usual method for deciding if something like that does what I want is to download the manual, search it with suitable keywods and read the relevant bits. That can be tedious/frustrating. [/quote] Yep, we have workstations, arrangers, high-end keyboards, mid-end keyboards and probably another category or two. And lot's of overlap amoungst them. As technology progresses, it will probably become even more overlapping.
I also download manuals which has proven to be useful. Another source of product data and commentary are the dedicated forums such as Keyboard Forums
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
Well, it also helps that my parents owned the main music store in the area, so I have been around the local guys since we were knee high.
So you've been around studio cats since a kid, cool. You must have a ton of stories.
I wonder what they'd have to say about mid to high-end keyboards on the market these days.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
When I used one, I would spend hours on a song. Take it to rehearsal/practice and play it for them.
They'd say "let me hear it again"
If they liked it we would play 'our' version of it. If we kept playing it after that, I would be tasked to make the workstation control the lights and such moving forward.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Well I decided on the Pa5X-61 and it arrived today. All I can say is that I love this instrument.
I basically plugged it in, connected it to my digital interface, the menu came up, I selected the default Pop style, tapped the Chords button to display a pre-programmed chord progression, picked up my bass, and started jamming along to one of its many built-in progressions. Everything so far is well laid-out and easy to navigate. I didn't have to consult the quick start manual or the more detailed user manual at all. Before I knew it, 3 hours of fun had flown by.
This will replace my previous keyboard, also a Korg that had 88 keys but the Pa5X has an octave +/- button which works just fine.
The funny thing for me as a bass player is that this keyboard with it's real-time chord display will actually contribute to my knowledge of music theory. If I play a 3-note chord while a style is playing the rest of the band will instantly follow that new chord allowing you to arrange a song in real-time. Plus, when the screen is configured properly, it will display the chord you are playing. I already built a mini song fragment just by cycling from C to Cm to Csus4 to C even though I didn't know how to construct those chords 4 hours earlier. You just play 3 (or maybe 4 or more) notes and if it's a valid chord it will display it on the screen. Neat technology for sure.
Kudos to the musicians and engineers that designed this, in my mind they hit a home run.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
Well, ya went fro $400 to $4000 so I HOPE you like it. <grin>
I admit, I thought the original Roland you gave as an example also defined the budget range. I've eyed the Pa5x, but never pulled the trigger. Sounds like the arranging part works good for you, how are the sounds?
Can it also record your input with/without the arranger feature?
I had a couple W-30s as the my last workstations, sync'd at times. Since a laptop can do most of the job since then, I have done without, but lugging stuff around gets old (all in one is convenient). The sound may tip the scales, which is why I ask.
Yeah, I know listen to videos (compressed formats that had production involvement). Just wondering how it sounds when it's in front of you.
Last edited by rharv; 10/29/2503:22 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Well, ya went fro $400 to $4000 so I HOPE you like it. <grin>
Yeah, I know listen to videos (compressed formats that had production involvement). Just wondering how it sounds when it's in front of you.
Oh yeah, I more than just like it and there's a mountain of features I've yet to explore and grow into. I can easily see this as my last keyboard. It's got a bunch of factory styles and the ones I've sampled sound good to my ear. Also the individual voices; pianos, strings, brass, percussion also sound high quality. This unit also has built-in mixers so if you don't like things you can mix onboard. And of course you can record to your DAW and EQ at will.
Keep in mind I don't wear or need hearing aids and the Pa5X does not contain speakers, so I'm routing its audio to my interface and then to a single JBL studio monitor. It has plenty of output capability but I want to reserve my other monitor for other audio. There may be times where I'll route both channels to each monitor but I did that rarely on my old Korg.
Another feature I've yet to explore is the style fader. I've seen in the YouTubes that you can allocate 2 different styles to a performance. And use the slide fader below the screen to fade from one style to the other. I'm thinking that each style's tempo would need to be an integer multiple of the other (if not identical) for the tempos to seamlessly align. I'm not aware of any other keyboard that can do this but I haven't done an exhaustive search. The large, multi-color screen, chord progressions and large quatity of styles/voices is what I prioritized. You're simply not going to get all this for $500.
Right now I see absolutely no limitations for my needs; it's professional grade.
Since this is an international forum there may be some here (like me) that find Korg's global footprint impressive, although I'm not sure why the US is not shown.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
$5200 at Sweetwater!!! I hope you love it for a long time.
The Korg design team must have had a ton of fun engineering this instrument. Much like how today's late model vehicles are a massive software program with 4 wheels and safety/comfort features, this instrument is an elegant piece of easy-to-navigate software, that is housed in a box with buttons, knobs and 61 responsive and weighted keys. The onboard storage must be measured in GBs. According to the quick-start manual the sounds are processed by an elaborate chain of effects including final effects for each of the Player and Keyboard Sounds. So it looks like they borrowed much from the DAW folks. This is definately not your grand daddy's keyboard!
And it does pay to shop around, you saw how much lower the price is at Amazon compared to Sweetwater.
My own creativity is the only limit of how well this will become integrated with my DAW, BiaB, my bass guitar and my Roland drum pad. One thing is for sure, my game just got upped
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
0:00 – 0:26 Automatic Intro when I play the C major chord with the style that is at the top of a very long styles list, "Pop '21".
0:26 I start playing using Voice 1 (e-piano) and play chords on my right hand; C – Cm – C – Cm – Csus2 – C and the band follows me. And the cool thing is it shows me on the display the name of the chord I’m playing in real-time!
0:50 I push the “Break” button twice for it to give me a stream of repeating breaks during which I switch over to Voice 2
1:01 I start playing the above chords, now with Voice 2 (female vox)
1:31 I hit “Break” again to switch over to Voice 3 (organ)
1:41 I again play my chords with the Voice 3 and the band follows
2:12 I hit one of the ending buttons and it brings us nicely to an end.
2:23 It ends the song
2:26 For grins I played the major scale chords (I think) from C to C and then messed around a bit when I reached the top. This shows a little better how the band follows my right-hand chords and when no new chords are played it just vamps on the last chord until told to do otherwise.
The point of this isn't to show off my dismal keyboard chops but rather to show a tiny bit of what a 21st century keyboard can do. We are truly living in a neat time in history regarding music gear.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
I thought the drums and guitar sounded good, the organ did not. Voice sound was average
Thanks for sharing it, it helped me. .. FWIW
Reinforced my opinion of Korg sounds, whatever that means, YMMV, etc. Also, I hear glitches before the breaks (36 second mark or so) that were distracting Just being honest, I appreciate you sharing it. It's nice to hear a raw version of the output without all the production from marketing, much appreciated.
"We are truly living in a neat time in history regarding music gear." very very true, even thinking of this stuff was a dream not so long ago
Last edited by rharv; 11/02/2501:45 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Also, I hear glitches before the breaks (36 second mark or so) that were distracting Just being honest, I appreciate you sharing it
That may well be related to chord entry timing. It can be quite a challenge to get the timing right, not too early, not too late. A small timing error can have a noticable impact.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
Somewhat impressive, some nice features, but I also felt that the backing was particularly repetitive. Perhaps there are settings for variations that could be added?
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.
I thought the drums and guitar sounded good, the organ did not. Voice sound was average
Thanks for sharing it, it helped me. .. FWIW
Reinforced my opinion of Korg sounds, whatever that means, YMMV, etc. Also, I hear glitches before the breaks (36 second mark or so) that were distracting Just being honest, I appreciate you sharing it. It's nice to hear a raw version of the output without all the production from marketing, much appreciated.
"We are truly living in a neat time in history regarding music gear." very very true, even thinking of this stuff was a dream not so long ago
I'm an engineer and we engineers are always after the truth so thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've listened with and without cans and don't hear any glitches. Could it be your hearing aids need adjusting or was there an internet glitch while you were listening? Could your house have creaked while you were listening?
If you think what you heard is real can you capture and share the waveform pointing out the glitches? Plus there is no break at 36 seconds as you say. The 1st break happens at 0:50. So there is some confusion there.
I've asked several others to specifically listen for glitches in that quick and dirty demo, none of us wear aids and none can hear glitches. I guess mileages do vary.
Without evidence I have to categorize this somewhere between a micro-nit and non-existent.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
It is 'before' the breaks, as I said and starts at the time I said. Both of those items are in your quote. It may have been late entered chords as Gordon said (makes sense), but it's definitely there. Also, I opened the page a few times to confirm before posting, and it is in the same place each time. Maybe my house liked the song and creaked with it each time
Post the file as a wav and I'll mark the waveform for you, kind of hard from the source given It is possible that Soundcloud caused it, but I doubt it. Gordon's idea makes the most sense, but only you could verify or discredit that possibility.
Last edited by rharv; 11/03/2502:16 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
That may well be related to chord entry timing. It can be quite a challenge to get the timing right, not too early, not too late. A small timing error can have a noticable impact.
I absolutely agree that chord timing can be a challenge and go a step further, my chord timing is guaranteed to be imperfectly timed. Some refer to that as "off-grid humanizing", for me I call it less than good keyboard playing That said, I still don't hear keyboard-generated glitches.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
That may well be related to chord entry timing. It can be quite a challenge to get the timing right, not too early, not too late. A small timing error can have a noticable impact.
I absolutely agree that chord timing can be a challenge and go a step further, my chord timing is guaranteed to be imperfectly timed. Some refer to that as "off-grid humanizing", for me I call it less than good keyboard playing That said, I still don't hear keyboard-generated glitches.
When I made my original observation, I just did it from memory having been aware of some slight timing issues as per my description.
I've just listened again, a couple of times, focussing on the 36...50 seconds area and I don't hear anything untoward, though my old ears are no longer good.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
OK, maybe it's just me. I apologize., sorry for the inconvenience.
/FWIW, on listening for the fourth time, I hear the timing being off between the played chords and the backing strat sound. That's all it was. They were close enough to make me think it was a glitch somehow at first.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Somewhat impressive, some nice features, but I also felt that the backing was particularly repetitive. Perhaps there are settings for variations that could be added?
AudioTrack, Yes, I agree that this demo is repetitive and there are setting buttons including 3 different intros, 4 variations, 4 different fills, 1 break and 3 different endings. But the intent wasn’t to build a complete radio-ready song but rather to demonstrate the ability of this keyboard’s “band” to follow in real-time, the chords played by a human player. I hope this was clear. I find this technology not only amazing but a ton of fun.
The fun continued yesterday when a family friend came over to play on it. She doesn’t know what a DAW is and never heard of BiaB but she was classically trained on the piano as a child as is now getting back into it after a several year lapse of interest.
I duplicated the demo I posted earlier for her and when I looked up when finished, she had a dumbfounded look on her face. Her brain couldn’t reconcile the fact that this machine could follow every chord change I made with no detectable time lag. So I showed her a few main buttons and within minutes she was cycling thru the pop, reggae, rock and other styles to which I’d jam along with her on my bass. I think this was her first jam session. She finally stumbled upon a demo called Movie Swing and wants to build an entire song from it and put a concert flute lead on top.
Here is the beginnings of that song (only an idea fragment) which is 100% a factory demo except for me telling it when to transition from one section to the next. Although this is not really my preferred style of music, I’ll enjoy the challenge of developing a bass line to accompany this piece. It’s all about growth and fun.
The chords I show were displayed on the Pa5X screen. And as many here like to say, “Your mileage may vary.” Meaning, someone may very well arrive at different chords after analyzing this song fragment.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 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.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
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.
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)
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!
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!
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!
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.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean