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#867152 11/05/25 10:06 AM
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It would be nice to see a version of BIAB for Linux sometime in the near future.
We have one for Windows and Macintosh.
We had one for Atari years ago.


A BIAB user for more than 30 years (if you can believe it) !
BIABman #867155 11/05/25 11:26 AM
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❓ Would one version of Band-in-a-Box for Linux work with all Linux Distros or would the program need to be Distro specific?

Also, wouldn't the audio and midi settings be complicated since each Distro has a unique set of features?


Jim Fogle - 2026 BiaB (Build 1224) RB (Build 8) - Ultra+ PAK
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Originally Posted by Jim Fogle
❓ Would one version of Band-in-a-Box for Linux work with all Linux Distros or would the program need to be Distro specific?
Mostly not other than for the different CPUs, mostly x86 and Arm. The OS architecture remains the same, so that should mostly be a build. A number of applications have targeted installer to suit specific distributions, but just about every distribution supports both .deb and apt. Some applications use an install script, which allows making decisions about the specific distribution, e.g., do you want this installed for just you, or for everyone, installed in home, or in /opt or in /usr/local. Some decisions can be automatic, e.g., if I'm installing as root, then this is likely an install available for everyone on the machine.

Originally Posted by Jim Fogle
Also, wouldn't the audio and midi settings be complicated since each Distro has a unique set of features?
There is a bit of an issue on Linux in that there are several audio-handling systems around, those intended for serious use and those aimed at naive users and they don't always work together as seamlessly as one might like. That said, I think the low-level drivers now are probably always ALSA, to which one can always connect and the "serious user" layer above that in the Jack Audio Connection Kit, which links all the audio and midi signals via a patching system. There are software bridges between things so the applications don't have to worry too much, though sometimes the users do.

The layers for naive users are PulseAudio and PipeWire. The are for the "I want it to just work" users.
Generally there are bridges between those and Jack, so serious audio applications probably ignore them.

Reaper Audio is Jack or ALSA or PulseAudio or "Dummy Audio" (I presume the latter is a fake audio port).
Ardour/Mixbus is Jack or ALSA or PulseAudio
My older Renoise is Jack or ALSA
MuseScore Studio uses "System Default"
PianoTeq is Jack or ALSA

There's a quite helpful explanation of Linux Audio here on YouTube (from 4 years ago and fairly techy).

It explains some of the complications of audio on Linux.
Against that, it shows things that simply can't(?) presently be done at all on Windows.


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This might work - one day- if PG moved to a codebase that is - for example - entirely - or say 90% based on a cross platform C++ library like JUCE or QT.. But as I understand things - the two current platforms supported now - Windows and Mac - still use ad require quite separate codebases - most likely mainly for the standalone GUI - although I'm pretty certain that over the decades much code has - for obvious reasons - become common to both wherever time and resources permit.


Were they to have a largely shared codebase - based as much as possible on - say JUCE - then Linux would become far more likely - seems to me anyway ...

Jus my two-centeth

Last edited by nonchai; 11/20/25 09:37 AM.

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nonchai #880858 02/26/26 08:01 AM
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I have a BiaB 2019 running in VirtualBox, win7 guest on Ubuntu. Works fine.

sebb #880860 02/26/26 08:34 AM
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Originally Posted by sebb
I have a BiaB 2019 running in VirtualBox, win7 guest on Ubuntu. Works fine.
Thanks for letting us know!
So from your experience do all BIAB features work seamlessly and
there is no lagging etc.?


A BIAB user for more than 30 years (if you can believe it) !
BIABman #880910 02/27/26 12:43 AM
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I had problems with lagging - midi against audio - using a midi output like microsoft gs wavetable synth or virtual midi synth. I could adjust latency but it run out of sync after a time anyway.

But Dxi synths don't have these problems, they run out of the box without adjusting the latency. Only the built-in soundfontplayer VSTSynthFont64 (from BiaB 2019) is buggy and BiaB was unstable with it. I solved this getting a new version from here: synthfont.com.

I use BiaB in Virtualbox for a week now and don't have problems to report up to now.

BIABman #881118 02/28/26 10:58 PM
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I love the Linux platform. I'm on Windows since that handles most of my programs, but a Linux version is a great idea!
John

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PG Music News
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!

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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!

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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.

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  • 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
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  • SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
  • iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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  • MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
  • MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
  • Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
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