I mostly use The Drummer in Logic Pro, or either EZ Drummer. Tried to use BB to build a drum track and didn't fare well at all, the navigation of the styles is a pain, as well as making any modifications to the track, to change fills, etc etc.
Too bad, because these Realdrums sound killer, and certainly are superior in sound to the aforementioned programs. But for speed, BB totally loses out. It only really work for a very short backing, if you do anything more involved, for example an instrumental track of several minutes, it takes too much fiddling because it's difficult to make modifications.
On rare occasions, I get lucky and get a really good sounding drum track to use with my other tracks in Logic. But it only happens when little to no mods are necessary, which is rare.
I keep dreaming of the day when I'll be able to use BB for all my tracks except my own recorded performances. Got a mountain of tracks to record, solid ideas accumulated over years. As it is, I have to record them without BB and use that mainly just to try an arrangement quickly, but not to record the tracks with.
I keep hoping, PG Music....certainly BB has a ton of potential. I just wish I could involve this software a lot more in my recorded tracks, than I do.
Last edited by ghgtu7yrtfg6e67u; 03/16/2605:06 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs (90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
I have tried most of the things mentioned before, including cutting and pasting in the DAW. Yeah, who wouldn't think of that. None of that eliminates the fiddling, the simple fact is that one cannot easily modify the realdrum track without doing a lot of work. For example a particular fill might not fit in well, so you need to make it shorter or longer, and that's not the only problem , for the fill might be inappropriate even if the right length. There isn't an easy way of trying different fills. I have the previous update with the function that regenerates only that realtrack for that bar, and that didn't work well either.
Compared to the Logic Drummer, it snags behind, painfully. It's ok if you want to have a bit of fun and record very few tracks, but for those of us with more tracks than we can count, it's a painful experience, I timed using realdrums and the Logic Drummer for the same project, and the latter won by a huge margin. It's even faster than the otherwise excellent EZ Drummer by Toontrack.
Last edited by ghgtu7yrtfg6e67u; 05/10/2603:43 AM.
Have you used BIAB’s audio time-stretch editing inside the Audio Edit window. According to the current Band-in-a-Box User’s Guide, the feature is described like this:
“There are some handy features for stretching or shrinking regions of audio.”
<< Here’s the relevant explanation from the manual, translated into plain English by Chatgpt:
When you:
Select a region of audio Hold down Ctrl Click and drag with the mouse
BIAB creates stretch boundaries marked by those orange triangle markers. The area between the markers gets time-compressed or time-expanded. The manual explains three behaviors:
Click and drag within the selected region One side gets longer while the other side gets shorter Useful for moving timing around inside a phrase Click outside the region and drag into it The region becomes shorter Audio is compressed Click inside the region and drag outside it The region becomes longer Audio is stretched
The manual specifically says these tools are useful for:
“quantizing beats” “correcting mistakes in a recording”
So those orange triangles are essentially transient/stretch anchors that define the area being elastically time-edited. >>
I've never found need to use the feature, but it's there and may help your editing workflow in BIAB.
I use RealDrums all the time & what I can't do in BIAB I can do by cutting & pasting in Reaper...no problems and no hold up.
There's a trick to copy/paste RealDrums within the BIAB program. Saves a bit of time from having to import/export simple cut/copy/paste between the DAW and BIAB
The background: RealDrums aren't RealTracks in BIAB. So, in the Audio Edit Window when you attempt to copy or cut a region, a pop-up message tells you there's no RealTrack to edit and asks if you want to select one. Most folks select no and move on to an alternative copy/cut/paste method.
The trick is to tell BIAB there is a RealTrack on the Drums track. So, select Yes next time, and from the selection pop-up window, select any RealTrack, Then you can copy or cut the highlight region and paste it elsewhere. Once the paste is complete, Right click on the Drums track, from the menu, select Track Actions\Revert track to Style instrument and this will restore the original RealDrums to the track.
What happens: BIAB sees the Drums Track as a RealTrack which it treats as audio and allows the Audio Edit Window to perform the task.
The caveat is it's EASY to inadvertently screw up and either convert the Drums to audio or worse, generate the temporary RealTrack and replace your existing drums.
Also, I only cut or copy on the Drums Track. I paste to a separate track because BIAB now recognizes the highlighted region as audio, not RealDrums or RealTracks. Use separate tracks and you shouldn't have any issue.
Sorry, I can't help myselft but jump in with my 2Cents. I find BIAB RDs are great if you don't want anything special from your drummer. They sound fine and there is nothing faster. They enter and exit all on their own and the canned fills fit the bars automatically. But... if you want the drummer to follow your song, instead of a BIAB demo, well then you have to spend a little time in which case, I find EZDrummer 3 fantastic!!! Just one man's opinion.
Sorry, I can't help myselft but jump in with my 2Cents. I find BIAB RDs are great if you don't want anything special from your drummer. They sound fine and there is nothing faster. They enter and exit all on their own and the canned fills fit the bars automatically. But... if you want the drummer to follow your song, instead of a BIAB demo, well then you have to spend a little time in which case, I find EZDrummer 3 fantastic!!! Just one man's opinion.
You are not alone Dan. If you want a drummer to follow your song MIDI is the way to go. Good MIDI drum sound sources are not that expensive and drums are one thing where MIDI excels. One can easily edit MIDI and there are some great MIDI drum loops available, check out GrooveMonkee.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Have you used BIAB’s audio time-stretch editing inside the Audio Edit window. .
Sorry, but why would I need to stretch audio? All I am trying to achieve is easily creating a drum track with the right fills and the right dynamics (softer, harder, etc according to the sections.).
I understand. I wasn’t suggesting that time stretching is required for basic drum track creation or for choosing fills and dynamics.
I mentioned it because in your second post, you said “a particular fill might not fit in well, so you need to make it shorter or longer,” and BIAB’s Audio Edit time-stretch feature can sometimes help with exactly that situation when working with audio-based material.
For users who only want to assemble drum parts with suitable fills and section dynamics, there are definitely easier workflow approaches inside BIAB. I just thought the Audio Editor feature was worth mentioning since many users may not realize it exists.
didn't read everything here, etc, but I thought, ok forget trying to build a drum track IN bb, exactly the way I want. Instead, just mute all the other tracks and set bb to play only the drums, say a 16 bar phrase, with A and B substyle change every 8 bar, for 3 choruses, THEN drag the drum track as a wav file and import it in the DAW, and I use whatever phrase AND/OR fill, by chopping up the file. I thought I would get at least a few different fills.
It failed miserably. It plays the same two stupid fills, no matter how many choruses I had set. And wasted 15 minutes (that's a long time here) for nothing.
Tried the same with the Logic Drummer, it blew everything out of the galaxy. In less than two minutes I had a full drum track for my project, with as many variations I wanted, with fills that not only are never the same, but that can be fine tuned until kingdom come by just turning a knob and moving a slider up or down.
Oh yeah, I know, some realdrums have more substyles. Not for the style I wanted, metal or hard rock, even with the ultrapack +, my search in the stylepicker only returned about 7 results for the chosen tempo 65 BPM, ev16th, etc
Well at least I know this other bb experiment doesn't work, that way I'll never wonder about it again.
BB is only good for tracks that are 1 minute or less. Otherwise a ton of fiddling (that often bear zero results) is required.
Last edited by ghgtu7yrtfg6e67u; 05/12/2604:40 AM.
Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 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® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 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 22 requires the 2026 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 11 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 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® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 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 22 requires the 2026 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.
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Mac® to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
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