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BiaB has by far the worst user interface of all my programs on the Mac! I once showed it a friend of mine, he broke out in laughter! I 'm wondering if I actually still want to install BiaB on my new iMac retina.
But worst of all is that you can not import text files. Otherwise, you could just create or modify a song outside BiaB and then let BiaB create the audio files. A user interface isn't even needed for this workflow!
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All:
Okay, all well said and points well taken. What I'm hearing is that, for the most part, and technical issues aside (things that don't work should be addressed to Technical Support, imo), you all love what BIAB does, you just don't like the way it looks and feels and sometimes HOW it does something.
So, getting back to the point of this forum: What, exactly, do you want PGMusic to change? The colors? The lay out of the ChordSheet or the entire screen? the menu structure? how chords are entered? the fonts? the big (and yes, ugly) keyboard on the main screen (although you can hide that)? order and grouping menu items? all of the above?
Merely complaining that the GUI is ugly and not modern looking or you have to click 7 different nested menus to find what you want is not productive. Exactly HOW is it not modern looking? Where would you put that menu item your looking for? How would you change chord entry?
You know what you don't like and you probably have well thought out suggestions on what you do want it to look like and how to make it better, more intuitive and which features you want added or moved. Articulate those suggestions here and give the developers something to work with.
Make specific suggestions ... the feed back that will garnered here, in this forum, will create the gauge PGMusic can use to prioritize and manage change.
Ron95
As a teacher, Experience often begins the first lesson with the final exam.
BIAB user since 1990 - Yes, I really am that old!!
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...the feed back that will garnered here, in this forum, will create the gauge PGMusic can use to prioritize and manage change. ...you must be new here  . Welcome to the forum  .
Dan, BIAB2024, SoundCloud Win11, i7(12thGen), 32GB, 1TB SSD(M.2 NVMe SSD), 2TB Libraries, 1 TB(WD-Black), 2TB SSD(M.2 NVMe SSD)Data, Motu Audio Express, Keystation 61, SL88 Studio, Reaper
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jazzmandan:
Thanks.
("..you must be new here." - I'm assuming you meant that positively.)
New to the forums, yes, but an old, old BIAB user. I actually have BIAB versions in my dusty old studio closet that came on 5-1/2" floppy disks!! Heck, I started using DAW's and other music software when Cakewalk (now 'SONAR' for you young bucks) was merely a SHAREWARE midi sequencing program running in MS-DOS !!
I've used BIAB do to everything from sketching ideas, to guitar and keyboard practice, to live performance and final song production. The program really is unique on the market. The only thing that came close is "Jammer Pro-6". And if anyone thinks this GUI is archaic, check out Jammer ... although that program has it's strengths too. (and to be fair, the Jammer folks fell on hard times several years ago and haven't really updated the program or been able to keep up with BIAB.)
Anyway, thanks. Glad to be here. I'll try to keep MHO in check...
Ron95
As a teacher, Experience often begins the first lesson with the final exam.
BIAB user since 1990 - Yes, I really am that old!!
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I think the GUI refinements made in 2014 & 2015 indicate PG Music recognizes the interface needs to change and has started the process. However instead of a "complete overhaul" the interface is changing in steps. Both overhaul and steps are moves in the right direction just one is much more drastic than the other. Enhancements like use of acidized loops and UserTracks are major steps forward to widen the appeal of BiaB & RealBand.
I strongly believe true 64 bit editions of RealBand and Band-in-a-Box are being developed and those editions will be new from the ground up. I also believe the number of devices using 32 bit operating systems are declining but will continue to exist for the next decade. So there will continue to be a need to serve the 32 and 64 bit customer bases for the near future. I believe PG Music is maintaining the 32 bit editions while much of their attention and resources are directed to developing 64 bit programs. Starting over new is a huge task but offers the opportunity to intergrate all existing features and plan ways to merge future enhancements.
That's why my hope is PG Music concentrates on bug fixes and stabilizing the current RealBand and BiaB programs. I am well satisfied with the feature set of these programs. I can, and do, make do with the current GUI.
Another issue is documentation is not available for download from the site. A customer has no way to look through the product manuals prior to purchase. I can not think of any other musical product, hardware or software based, that does not have manuals available online.
Should a customer get a product manual the customer would find a manual that is either out-of-date or in disarray. Neither RealBand's or Band-in-a-Box's documentation offer comprehensive feature descriptions or how-to-use explanations. Both are gross in size (number of pages) and difficult to use.
As with all comments posted on this thread, I am a diehard fan of PG Music products. These opinions are just that, my opinions.
Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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Hi JimFogle
Well said and you are right-on with your observations.
As far as documentation goes, on a MAC, if you click on the "View Band_In_A_Box full Manual" in the HELP menu, MAC opens it with the PREVIEW App. In the Preview App file menu you have the option to "EXPORT TO PDF..."
Works great ... printing out all 364 pages, will, however probably run your printer out of ink or toner!! ;0
You are correct also that the documentation in that manual is not as detailed as it could ... or should ... be. Some functions just require Step-by-step instructions.
Ron95
As a teacher, Experience often begins the first lesson with the final exam.
BIAB user since 1990 - Yes, I really am that old!!
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I've been using BIAB since the "floppy days" as well. The interface has never bothered me. The functions of the program are what matter to me. I use BIAB for solo gigs and all I need to know is where to pick one of my charts and what button to play it. Obviously, my use of BIAB is limited but it suits me perfectly. What looks outdated to some of you is "modern retro" to me. Later, Ray
Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
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jazzmandan:
Thanks.
("..you must be new here." - I'm assuming you meant that positively.)
Anyway, thanks. Glad to be here. I'll try to keep MHO in check... Yes, you assume correctly. And regarding your "MHO", don't hold back, just weigh in when ever. This is a friendly place.
Dan, BIAB2024, SoundCloud Win11, i7(12thGen), 32GB, 1TB SSD(M.2 NVMe SSD), 2TB Libraries, 1 TB(WD-Black), 2TB SSD(M.2 NVMe SSD)Data, Motu Audio Express, Keystation 61, SL88 Studio, Reaper
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What looks outdated to some of you is "modern retro" to me. Later, Ray I love it! It's not a problem; for those of us whose age is what it is, this is a feature!
BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
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I strongly believe true 64 bit editions of RealBand and Band-in-a-Box are being developed and those editions will be new from the ground up. I also believe the number of devices using 32 bit operating systems are declining but will continue to exist for the next decade. So there will continue to be a need to serve the 32 and 64 bit customer bases for the near future. I believe PG Music is maintaining the 32 bit editions while much of their attention and resources are directed to developing 64 bit programs. Starting over new is a huge task but offers the opportunity to intergrate all existing features and plan ways to merge future enhancements.
Another issue is documentation is not available for download from the site. A customer has no way to look through the product manuals prior to purchase. I can not think of any other musical product, hardware or software based, that does not have manuals available online.
Should a customer get a product manual the customer would find a manual that is either out-of-date or in disarray. Neither RealBand's or Band-in-a-Box's documentation offer comprehensive feature descriptions or how-to-use explanations. Both are gross in size (number of pages) and difficult to use.
As with all comments posted on this thread, I am a diehard fan of PG Music products. These opinions are just that, my opinions.
I do hope your right Jim, this could be the reason why the update lacks lustre (IMO) the work is going into 64 bit rewrite. I hoped this one would be 64 bit too. Good idea about having the manual on line for new customers to look at. I often think that a demo version would also be useful, at the moment you tell a friend and she/he has to rush straight to a cheque book. A thirty day trial would be good for many. Another fan here, despite all... Z
Win 11 64, Asus Rog Strix z390 mobo, 64 gig RAM, 8700k
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I agree, but do any of these other programs have the functionality BIAB has? I don't think so. We would all love for PG Music to catch up to the rest of the world but frankly, I don't believe that will happen anytime soon.
However, BIAB does what I need it to do, and what it was designed to do, and that is to create automatic accompaniment by inputting a set of chord changes. In a very small amount of time, I can input a tune and have a band play behind me and have the ability to change the style, tempo, or key and play it however long I want to.
A newer interface wouldn't change this, just make it nicer to look at and more appealing to the ipad generation. XML export ability would sure be nice though. It has been on the wish list for several years.
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Z, you are right about that stuff. I love PG, and all their stuff. I do wish it was all i needed. I would love to put all my money in one basket. I currently upgrade BiaB and Studio one each year. The later because i still need some features that RB does not excel at or have. I differ from your opinion in that i don't care about GUI nearly as much as features. I can say i see your point that a less cluttered GUI and more modern Windows environment would make things easier at times.
I see on many forums that GUI is the rage, at reaper everyone wants to skin the system. In the end it looks cool, but is just that looks, not function. Both Studio one, and Reaper are big on custom setups, that is nice, but i worry if major GUI, and function changes would make it even more unstable. Look at what has gone on over at sonar.
I would love to see the system be stabilized, and the long term broken features fixed, and then once it is a well "Solidrock" then rework the looks and add cool feature sets.
I also agree that Jbridge is not the answer, if you are going to go 64 bit go 64 bit. have a 32 bit program that can access a 64 VSTi on a 64 bit computer seems kind of weak to me. But maybe this is step one. We all know the programs have some old vintage code, and as function rich and deep as BiaB is, and by extension RB. These things are not going to change over night. Until then i will upgrade two systems, and go as far with one as i can, then jump ship.
You guys bring up some interesting and thought provoking ideas and dialog. it is fun and interesting to read. Keep it up. SR, don't get frustrated, i think your observations are valuable.
Lenovo Win 10 16 gig ram, Mac mini with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2022, Realband, Harrison Mixbus 32c version 9.1324, Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app, Komplete 49 key controller.
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As a relative newbie to BIAB since 2013 and upgraded to 2014 and now 2015 here's my take.
As a rhythm guitarist and singer who cannot play anything else apart from some percussion, I find BIAB has given me the ability to make music with other musicians, albeit virtual ones. So BIAB stands alone. I cannot play keyboard so MIDI is no good for me either. I wish I could play more instruments and record each one but there you go, we all have limitations.
The GUI has got better so I'm all for an improved GUI and to make the program easier to learn with more video tutorials please. The easier the programs gets the more people will be drawn to it. Also like to see more Realtracks of different styles. In my opinion there's too many that sound the same. We need good quality Realtracks for different genres.
Now Realband to me is a complete headache. It looks like a DAW but isn't and universal functions don't seems to work in RealBand. So what seems intuitive to do does something else or does nothing.
All said and done, it's a great product that needs better design to make using it easier. But I am a fan!
Last edited by PaulH; 12/05/14 01:25 PM.
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Hi all,
I agree that BIAB is great for some things. But when I try to get my students to check it out, to actually use it, most of them laugh. They don't take it seriously, because it still looks like it was written in 1995, and I just bought 2015 (Im not very impressed actually, thinking about returning it, some of the RTs are OK, many of them are lame, and the whole "Loops" concept is not at all important for me)
Here is what BIAB needs in my humble opinion, keep in mind I've been using it as a teaching and gigging tool since the Atari days!
1. Complete rewrite of the Program in 64 bit, and GUI. Please take a look at Digital Performer, or Logic.
2. The midi section is SO outdated, I STILL can't use a decent midi sound set to record midi with in BIAB, We should be able to use Kontakt without issues, including ASIO issues that I STILL have.
3. Notation>Its nice to see the notes, but the notation is still clunky and inaccurate. Why can't we have real Notation features, like Finale or Sibelius? Why is it so hard to edit notes? Why can't we save different sets of Notation (ex>Bass clef only, Treble only, etc) and save it for EACH song so that it works with the Jukebox, you dont need to go into the Leadsheet view and waste time.
4. Intros and Endings? I think you all know this is a huge weakness of BIAB, its time to address this. I don't want 2 bars of Bass hanging over, etc.
5. Its time to start putting packages together that address the tastes of each buyer. Why pay big $$ for RTs/RDs that you never will use, and take up HD space? Have 1 Package for Jazz Users, another for Country, another for Pop, etc. It brings the cost down, and makes it possible to pay for what you would use on the gig. How many of you are going to use "Loops"? Why should I pay for that? If I wanted Abelton Live, I'd get it.
6. RTs>Is it just me, or do most RTs and Soloists sound like they took a Qualude? There just isn't any "Life" in them! As a Trumpet player, the Horn RTs are a BIG let down. The problem is that the way RTs are recorded is very restrictive, there needs to be a better process in terms of the rules used.
OK, I have my Helmet and Flack Jacket ready, fire away....hahaha
Really, I do like the program and I use it a lot everyday, I just think it could be SO much better......
Edward
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As a relative newbie to BIAB since 2013 and upgraded to 2014 and now 2015 here's my take.
As a rhythm guitarist and singer who cannot play anything else apart from some percussion, I find BIAB has given me the ability to make music with other musicians, albeit virtual ones. So BIAB stands alone. I cannot play keyboard so MIDI is no good for me either. I wish I could play more instruments and record each one but there you go, we all have limitations.
The GUI has got better so I'm all for an improved GUI and to make the program easier to learn with more video tutorials please. The easier the programs gets the more people will be drawn to it. Also like to see more Realtracks of different styles. In my opinion there's too many that sound the same. We need good quality Realtracks for different genres.
Now Realband to me is a complete headache. It looks like a DAW but isn't and universal functions don't seems to work in RealBand. So what seems intuitive to do does something else or does nothing.
All said and done, it's a great product that needs better design to make using it easier. But I am a fan!
+1 on that, Paul! I could have written it! I too am a guitarist with no other musical skills, no keyboard, no musical education. So I use BB to give me exactly what it says on the tin - my own Band In A Box by a few QWERTY keystrokes. I love the RTs which would be even better if PG realised that there is music over the other side of the Atlantic and gave us more appropriate Styles. Less Jazz - please!! RB - I agree 100%. I have tried and tried but in the end I have to export my BB wavs to an 11 year old DAW (Cakewalk Guitar Pro2) to work on the Mix. Some folks' minds might click straight on its Modus Op but for me its just too hard. Ian
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+1 on that, Paul!
I could have written it!
I too am a guitarist with no other musical skills, no keyboard, no musical education.
So I use BB to give me exactly what it says on the tin - my own Band In A Box by a few QWERTY keystrokes.
I love the RTs which would be even better if PG realised that there is music over the other side of the Atlantic and gave us more appropriate Styles. Less Jazz - please!!
RB - I agree 100%. I have tried and tried but in the end I have to export my BB wavs to an 11 year old DAW (Cakewalk Guitar Pro2) to work on the Mix. Some folks' minds might click straight on its Modus Op but for me its just too hard.
Ian
Maybe because we are both Brits? LOL
Last edited by PaulH; 12/06/14 12:43 AM.
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Hi all,
1. Complete rewrite of the Program in 64 bit, and GUI. Please take a look at Digital Performer, or Logic. Yes!
2. The midi section is SO outdated, I STILL can't use a decent midi sound set to record midi with in BIAB, We should be able to use Kontakt without issues, including ASIO issues that I STILL have. Yes, the ability to plug in other Midi instruments. I use Toontracks EZdrummer sometimes but it does not integrate into BIAB.
3. Notation>Its nice to see the notes, but the notation is still clunky and inaccurate. Why can't we have real Notation features, like Finale or Sibelius? Why is it so hard to edit notes? Why can't we save different sets of Notation (ex>Bass clef only, Treble only, etc) and save it for EACH song so that it works with the Jukebox, you dont need to go into the Leadsheet view and waste time.
4. Intros and Endings? I think you all know this is a huge weakness of BIAB, its time to address this. I don't want 2 bars of Bass hanging over, etc.
Yes intros and especially endings are not great and can spoil an otherwise great performance.
5. Its time to start putting packages together that address the tastes of each buyer. Why pay big $$ for RTs/RDs that you never will use, and take up HD space? Have 1 Package for Jazz Users, another for Country, another for Pop, etc. It brings the cost down, and makes it possible to pay for what you would use on the gig. How many of you are going to use "Loops"? Why should I pay for that? If I wanted Abelton Live, I'd get it.
Yes that would be good because I don't do any Jazz BUT it might be the only way BIAB gets paid for. If packages were cheaper it might not be cost effective to continue making?
6. RTs>There just isn't any "Life" in them! As a Trumpet player, the Horn RTs are a BIG let down. The problem is that the way RTs are recorded is very restrictive, there needs to be a better process in terms of the rules used.
Yes definately! I love having access to RT but I'd like to have new ones that sounds "hot" not bland. I wonder if they are over compressed?
Not trashing BIAB as you know, just giving feedback to an otherwise enjoyable program.
Last edited by PaulH; 12/06/14 12:54 AM.
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Hi all,
I agree that BIAB is great for some things. But when I try to get my students to check it out, to actually use it, most of them laugh. They don't take it seriously, because it still looks like it was written in 1995, and I just bought 2015 (Im not very impressed actually, thinking about returning it, some of the RTs are OK, many of them are lame, and the whole "Loops" concept is not at all important for me)
I have the same going on here, I also have a sound engineer set up my system every now and again, he (not I) regards BIAB as some kind of junk toy (though he was impressed when he heard it and that goes for a lot), when I ask him to look at the issues I am having with it, its like as we say in the UK 'flogging a dead horse' he just is not interested. If PG wished test this it could bring BIAB to a freshman class of musical students, (set up to make sure PG dont influence by their presence - i.e. blind) sit back and observe there real opinions. ASIO issues that I STILL have Same here, just had to increase the latency on my sound card to 256, Cubase was running at 64. I have to go in and out of these settings for BIAB. Can we loose the MME thing please? Notation>It's nice to see the notes, but the notation is still clunky and inaccurate. Why can't we have real Notation features, like Finale or Sibelius? Why is it so hard to edit notes? Why can't we save different sets of Notation (ex>Bass clef only, Treble only, etc) and save it for EACH song so that it works with the Jukebox, you dont need to go into the Leadsheet view and waste time. I never use it, except perhaps a quick glance at a melody - the pages break up into large rectangles. Becoming a serious Notation writing application is a challenge, I accept. Not a priority here, a notation display system that functioned well would be good a good first base though. Not sure how far one can go with this whilst a song is a mixture of real tracks and MIDI, unless there was some form of melodyne like component - a big challenge really. The Lead sheet view is very useful though. 5. Its time to start putting packages together that address the tastes of each buyer. Why pay big $$ for RTs/RDs that you never will use, and take up HD space? Have 1 Package for Jazz Users, another for Country, another for Pop, etc. It brings the cost down, and makes it possible to pay for what you would use on the gig. How many of you are going to use "Loops"? Why should I pay for that? If I wanted Abelton Live, I'd get it. I have always wondered why the Audiophile version costs so much and why its not given free to everyone as an option. Larger wav files don't cost extra. When it comes to marketing I wonder why there is no trial version to draw in the punters after all just looking at the interface can put some off. Maybe something that could only edit the chords and was supplied with ten representative real tracks.That sort of thing really. It's experiencing the power of real tracks that really sells the product IMO. A proper VST BIAB instrument would also be very useful - something like PLAY. Personally, I don't see why BIAB should not have more sequencing features, I never bought the idea of two programs (IMO). RB is never going to be big time. Frankly I never use it, it crashes here, (though I recognise some swear by it). If I wanted to export a track from BIAB it would be to a better sequencer, not RB. With 64 bit could we rejoin these siamese twins into one organism. I acknowledge this is not a unanimous opinion. Honestly I can't say too much about RB because I have never got it to function. It would be really good to rethink the style and song pickers (why two?) . I have never really understood the rationale behind listing the "Category" section the way it is, it seems cluttered and unnecessary. Say for example I am in the search for Latin I am never really confident that I have found everything, are there other things hidden away in the bonus tracks, or the MIDI supertracks. I realise that the fiter box is actually quite powerful, but its not explicit about how its used, one has to learn a skill to use it, life is too short for this. There are better layouts in other musical software. The more I consider the issues, the more I think its a total redesign, not just debugging and enahcement, I think in its present form BIAB has basically gone has far as it can go. IMO Interesting dialogue... Z
Win 11 64, Asus Rog Strix z390 mobo, 64 gig RAM, 8700k
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Z
This discussion comes up every so often; usually after a new BIAB release. It's good to see it conducted so decently. Ten years back the dialogue was anything but civilised but it did jolt PG into a change of direction that persists to this day.
Namely that midi was dead in the water and Real Tracks/Drums were the way to go.
Notwithstanding the improvements that ushered in, the down side was that very little of the original core midi capability in the stylemaker has been improved upon since then.
Midi styles still work off two or one or two bar patterns which more than anything limit the flow and realism of the randomised choices heard in playback. This is mitigated to some degree by pattern bar masks and the possibility of pattern chains and dedicated riffs for chords. Yet the chord masks are too generalised and could be doing with a lot of tweaking.
Styles with more varied sub-sections were eventually brought in but the feeling remains that BIAB has too many styles that lack varied dynamic levels and degrees of intensity. This only undercuts the undoubted sonic improvements that Real Tracks represent. Even then you have to wonder what the difference is between a really good midi sound set, patterns imported from a third party like XLN drums for example and real tracks. It may be that in the rush for all things 'Real' BIAB ditched midi just as it was beginning to fight back.
Speaking as a young person,a program that emphasises song structure at the expense of loop based modernisms and the various sonic manipulations of the DJ scene isn't the issue for me.
It's more that within it's chosen field, BIAB never really aspired to be a fully featured arranging platform to render a final performance that could stand comparison with the real-life thing.
Instead it still went for the initial approach that basically said 'let us do all the work for you with 'our' take on a particular style'.
That leaves a lot of end user definition out of the equation and severely frustrates any attempt to impose a more personalised rendition of a style or song that a more modular and elemental approach to style creation and hybridisation would have given.
Beyond technicalities the problems as far as the youth market lie deeper. In the modern music scene, the notion of 'style' and 'genre' as purist concepts have become so meaningless in the last 25 years. The culture of inventive stylistic cross-breeding that young musicians aspire to happens at a very organic and molecular level that goes way beyond the capabilities of BIAB style hybrids. In any event even if a batch of new styles or loops were available, the culture of making something fresh rather than recreating the past would likely tell against any significant uptake by creative musicians looking for their own personal style rather than a platform like BIAB that can only frustrate the aims of serious musical experimentation.
Alan
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Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,130
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,130 |
Alan S.
Some very asute observations and conclusions.
Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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User Video: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 German for Windows is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!
Wir waren fleißig und haben über 50 neue Funktionen und eine erstaunliche Sammlung neuer Inhalte hinzugefügt, darunter 222 RealTracks, neue RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, abspielbare RealTracks Set 3, abspielbare RealDrums Set 2, zwei neue Sets von "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 und mehr!
Paket | Was ist Neu
Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
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