I bought 2018Mega but unfortunately never used it due to heath reasons which have now resolved to the point I can again pursue learning/bettering guitar.

As a virtual newbie, most of the what’s new stuff [b][/b]goes over my head, not to mention I’d need to watch five years of “What’s New” videos to get even an incline of all the changes.

My current computer is modest:
Quad core Celeron 1.1Ghz w/8G RAM and 120G drive

My current thoughts are to make learn and use my 2018Mega so that I can get a good grip on the basics, and then next time there is an upgrade sale reevaluate.

UNLESS: Over the last five years things have changed that would really make the latest BIAB a significantly better tool for at home guitar learning and practice.

I would work with what you have.

Around December BIAB has really great sale prices on the next version. Yes, you will be missing out on some newer features but by the time the end of the year comes, you will have a better idea about how the program works.

...Deb

Thanks Deb!

PHarker
heres my best advice before you do anything...

1. run latency mon which will assess your pc's suitability for music productions.

https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

2. post your stats for following.

..boot from cold into win 11 time.
(I'm bout 4 secs.)
..click on biab icon...how long for biab chord sheet to appear.
(i'm bout 4 secs again.)
..when you generate a biab song is there a long lag before you hear playback.?
(here practically v little lag.)

frankly you can get nice 3ghz refurb pc's for under 200 bucks with lots of memory n' ssd drives. the markets flooded. run latency mon if you can prior to buying.

i personally just upgraded to a new ryzen 7 mini pc
(not a refurb ..it cost 400 buks.)
latency mon shows one of the lowest core latencies on the market. so far i love it. it hasnt annoyed me.
(i used to use refurbs.)

i would start with latency mon and then post back result.

ps in realband you can test also how many traks you can get. please post what TEST PERFORMANCE says.

hth/best

om

OM, thank you for the considerate post. Regarding LatencyMon, it says I'm good to record realtime audio with an average latency of about 250microseconds and a max of 400.

Realband says I can play 51 tracks.

At the moment, I don't see myself doing much (any) recording, but if I do it looks like I'm good to go. BTW, I also have a rather powerful 2nd computer should I find the need. But for now this modest fellow is my music room system.

It really looks like BiaB Ultra is the way to go, so for now I'm going to move forward with 2018 Mega and then upgrade next holiday season.

Thanks again.

PHarker,

suggested "latencymon" has almost nothing to do with BIAB. Your computer is modest...but it will be fine, since BIAB is not a live arranger. Just generation time might be slower than on fast computer, but once generated it should play ok.

You are right, BiaB Ultra is the way to go, as it offers most content. Only thing to consider, your hard drive is small for Ultra Pack, but you have an option to ship external drive with Ultra Pack from PGmusic. It will require base program files installed, but you can run BIAB Real Tracks from that external hard drive, without full installation.

Suggested Real Band is more like a DAW like program, which is not used by most for various reasons. BIAB will fully suite you to make custom realistic backing tracks / loop section to practice guitar.