Been wanting to get Biab for a while but wasn't sure if it's the right fit

Just want it to make jazz backing tracks that don't sound too robotic and maybe record with it

Does the omnipak have more jazz stuff on it the descriptions are kinda vague and fluff

The music produced by each is the same. The audiophile version just has better sound quality. EDIT: this is not the appropriate answer. I was thinking UltraPak, not OmniPak, and talked about quality. I think the right answer is Yes, since the OmniPak appears to be the Audiophile version, plus other add-ons including the Piano Series, which alone is some really excellent "more jazz stuff".

Great tune, Nica’s Dream.

Wes mo version!!

According to PGM's website the OmniPAK is audiophile, but with possibly all the add-ons.
I say 'possibly all' because I so often struggle to fully understand what is or is not included in any particular package.

The content is listed in outline here: https://www.pgmusic.com/omnipak.features.htm

Any of the versions are good. Unless you are doing high quality recordings.... you are fine with any of the non-audiophile versions. Of course, the further up the line you buy, the more styles and real tracks you get. Audiophile uses wave files so you get the highest quality with that version.

The way to get real sounding tracks is to use REAL TRACK styles. THese tend to sound absolutely amazing.

This is an old track I recorded with BB real tracks. I play a bit of the lead guitar. Everything else is BB real tracks.

https://soundcloud.com/guitarhacker/one-for-the-lady?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

It's a very cool program.

UltraPak+ would get my vote.

+1 on RealTracks.

Unless you've made the investment (time and money) to be a midi master, Real Tracks allow you to quickly put together stuff that sounds like a real band.

The link on my stuff is all real tracks except the guitar.

As I understand it, and I don't claim that I do fully understand all these Paks, the UltraPak+ will get you everything they make but not in WAV file form. The Audiophile version has all the styles and RealTracks and RealDrums in WAV file form. The Omnipak is the Audiophile version plus all the other stuff they make such as the Piano Series. Something like that. And any of these that you buy has the same base program functions.

If the question is whether or not to get the quality of the Audiophile or OmniPak version version versus the other choices (Pro, Mega or UltraPak), then I suggest you might like to read the article I wrote on this subject, here: https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=378939#Post378939

I feel a little better for that :-)


I think it doesn't, but again it's hard to be sure ... the link fromUltra+ to OmniPAK suggets it adds "Xtra Style PAKs, XPro PAKs and more!", and I think the 'more' is artist sets and the like, but it's so hard to know!

I'm fully prepared to be corrected, partly because then I'd hopefully have a better grasp of the content. As it is, I(we) waste hours trying to work it out and it's so frustrating.

You nailed it (twice) by saying it’s hard to be sure. We are fellow users and only PG Music can say for sure.

Same here!

FWIW - the Ultra-Pak, Ultra-Pak+, and audiofile edition all contain the same amount of styles, melodists, soloists, Relatracks, etc. The difference is:
1-Ultra-pak = Realtracks are in compressed form - usually OK for many users including myself
2-Ultra-Pak+ = Realtracks are in compressed form AND included are Band-in-a-Box songs and lesson paks
3-Audiofile Edition = Realtracks in uncompressed form (Wav files) AND included are Band-in-a-Box songs and lesson paks

Nowhere does any of the above say anything about including the extra paks that have been offered every year, thus I don't think they are included.

I know this is as clear as mud.

I hope someone from PGMusic would respond to this thread and tell us exactly what extras, if any, are included in the Ultra-Pak+ and the Audiofile Edition that is not listed in their all package page.

And then make that answer a Sticky post to which we can refer.

FWIW, the impression I get is that the OmniPAK really does include everything PGM produce ... it even includes PowerTracks Pro Audio and other stuff from the "Other Products" page.

I thought so, but I would surely like to see a table with checkmarks for what is and is not in each pak.

Part of my problem that shows in my lack of knowledge here is that we users who have been around for decades bought what we have before the nomenclature changed. We just bought the yearly upgrade and had a chance to buy whatever separate packages they were selling. It was simpler in those olden days...

I agree entirely with the first part and fully understand the second part. Any lack of knowledge on your part is not, IMHO, any fault of yours.

I fail to see any good reason why the OmniPAK does not appear under BiaB packages and I fail to see why they list the contents of so many other add-ons there when they could simply give a very short precis and a hyperlink to the detailed content of each component. Only things that are exclusive to any package need to be listed with the package. As it is, to try to establish what's where, I find myself searching the text of the omnipak_features page to see if the component or feature is mentioned. That's perverse.

Whilst on OmniPAK, there also doesn't seem to be any upgrade path, at least not from my UltraPAK and add-ons ... it's just buy it outright.

That might be the best argument so far for choosing it over the standard Audiophile version.

For that particular question, I would recommend Live Chat with Sales. I'm reasonably sure you would get some amount of credit.

Maybe someone who has purchased either the Ultra-Pak+ or the Audiofile Edition can chime in and tell us what is included with the Pak.

Mac users can ignore this thread. Nothing here for us:

OmniPak System Requirements

I thought it was pretty clear in regards to the original question.
OmniPak will not really increase your Styles/Reatracks/Realdrums .. but it will give you other bells and whistles

Audiophile gives you the Ultrapak in higher definition though not more Styles/Reatracks/Realdrums .. just higher bitrates

My suggestion; start with the Ultrapak, if you think you here sound quality issues upgrade to Audiophile

Omnipak seems to include 'everything' (including lessons etc) which is not why I'd buy the program nor pertinent to the original question.



I don't think OmniPak has 'more jazz stuff' (at least for generating in BiaB).
I used to get the 'EverythingPak' back when it was available, which seems close to the 'OmniPak' .. and it included a lot of stuff I checked out, but didn't need personally.
Stuff like piano lessons, and some kind of ear training game, etc .. not really related to the core use of BiaB, but could be valuable to some.

Like I said. I'd start low and upgrade as the need arises, but do start with the package (UltraPak) with all the Realtraks/Styles and such.. It'll save $$ down the road.
If you feel the need to upgrade for sound quality later it is pretty affordable. Maybe even beneficial.
Cheaper than adding Styles/Realtracks individually for sure if you get a lesser Pak. Get them all initially in your first package and upgrade as needed.

It's worth being aware that it sometimes is cheaper to buy and entry-level package and then upgrade, than to buy the top package at the start. As I read the chart at the moment, one can but Pro for $129 and then upgrade to Audiophile for $499, so $628 rather than $699.

Matt, Talking to PGM is a definite if I do decide to go to an OmniPAK. Maybe they don't show that as an option because of allowing for the various other add-ons one may already have. I've clicked the buy via the "My Products" page, but perhaps the online software is limited in what it can do. It may be complicated to handle and a talk likely makes more sense.

Actually, I thinks it's a little cheaper than that again.
Pro first time purchase (2022 version): $129
Then purchase the Audiophile upgrade from 2021/2022: $479
Total: $608

I'm unsure whether that's OK, or whether one has to crossgrade.

Hmmm, you may be correct. I understood that crossgrade was from one platform to the other (Win to Mac).
There's a post here with some discussion on the same subject.

I'm definitely correct that I'm unsure.

Me too. I call it precision guesswork

I guess something else that may be worth adding is that one could get the Pro version now, live with it's far fewer styles and RealTracks, etc., whilst you learn your way around, and then update to a full package of whatever standard with the new version that's normally(always?) released just before Christmas and sells at an advantageous price.

A caveat is that that the new program is normally a bit 'buggy' for a while and it may be worth keeping the 2022 program in use until the worst of the early bugs are resolved. Even if you update to Audiophile or OnmiPAK, the 2022 program will work OK with most of the new data, as the program itself is the same for all versions.

I upgraded to an UltraPAK a couple of years back and the bugs that year were a bit of a struggle. Last Christmas-ish, I updated to 2022 earlier than I'd intended, as there were good changes and far fewer bug issues. I now have the feeling that my first exposure to that process was very unlucky and that most years the early bugs are fixed reasonably quickly.

I think that ‘normally’ is accurate, and the question mark after ‘always’ is wise.

While you ‘can’ load new material into an older version of BIAB, the difficulty is finding it. You have to know the names and numbers because the new styles and RealTracks won’t show up in the indexing.

Indeed; and there's no guarantee new material will work, either, as it might rely on new features. But new material is a modest amount of the whole.

I didn't realise BiaB wouldn't even find it.

Finally purchased the Biab audiophile version

And it asked me to buy some Xtra styles packs
Or some other stuff so who knows lol