PG Music Home Forums FAQ and Knowledge Base Band-in-a-Box for Mac FAQ How can I set up Rax to be used with Band-in-a-Box as an Audio Unit or VSTi host?

We're over the moon to announce that the latest Band-in-a-Box® 2023 for Mac Build 707 is compatible with macOS Sonoma!

Refresh your Band-in-a-Box® 2023 for Mac today with this free update to resolve visibility of notation in the Notation Window, apply smoother use of notation features, update to the Drums VU meter, and add the newest version of the DAW Plugin (5.5.13).

Learn more about Build 707 and download it here.

The Band-in-a-Box® 2023 for Mac German, French, and Italian language patches have also been updated with Build 707! Download your Build 707 language patch here.

In the past, Eyes on Success featured an episode that discussed our company history and Band-in-a-Box® program with Tobin, our chief development officer, including how Band-in-a-Box® is even more accessible with the help of their JAWS screen reader scripts!

Later on this month, Eyes on Success will be releasing an episode that features Gudrun Brunot talking about her new tutorials about how to use Band-in-a-Box® with JAWS.

It's a great idea to pair the two episodes together!

So, while waiting for their Gudrun Brunot episode, take 30 minutes and to listen to this episode from Eyes on Success. To download and listen to the podcast, use the link www.EyesOnSuccess.net/eos_2344_podcast.mp3

Eyes on Success is a weekly radio show / podcast geared to the visually impaired called "Eyes On Success" and that can be found at www.EyesOnSuccess.net.

Find out more about the show and get links to past episodes at www.EyesOnSuccess.net

Find their podcast on iTunes or use the URL: www.EyesOnSuccess.net/eos_podcast

MarioD has shared some great advice when it comes to adding drum fills without changing any other tracks in your song:

There have been a number of questions asking how to add drum fills without changing any other tracks in a song. This is especially important if one is holding a chord for a few measures and wants to add a drum fill prior to the next chord. The following is how to accomplish that:

1-get the instruments/tracks to play like you want but don't worry about the drums for now.
2-generate the song.
3-freeze all tracks
4-unfreeze the drum track
5-add your fills where you want them
6-generated the song again - note this will only generate the drum track and not the frozen tracks
7- when you get the drums like you want them freeze the track

Have your own program tip to share? Post it on our Tips & Tricks forum!

Dennis posted his very thorough Band-in-a-Box® review recently, where he dives into some of the new features added with version 2023: Sound-Guy's Band-in-a-Box Review

Read his thoughts on the Download & Install Manager, partial track regeneration, Playable RealTracks, Audio Editing, the addition of SynthMaster, the VST DAW Plugin, and more!

"Band-in-a-Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is, without negative connotation, a monster of a program. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. No DAW can do some of the things BIAB does, while BIAB can do a lot that DAWs do."

Our friends at EyesFree_Tutorials have just released their Band-in-a-Box Tutorials, Bundle 2!

Created for low-vision and blind program users, this collection of Band-in-a-Box for Windows tutorials includes 31 audio instruction files and 19 music files for practice, plus help documents. Specific topics include "ABACA, let's make a song form," "Recording melody and lead-in," "Playing and editing: part markers; the handy clipboard. The play function. Search and replace," and more!

Learn more about their new tutorials, and connect with Roy & Gudrun to order the Band-in-a-Box Tutorials, Bundle 2 here.

Looking for answers to your questions about Band-in-a-Box? From "How do I ____?" to "What do I ____?" to "What is ____?" and more, you'll find your answers when you ask ChatPG!

We will be constantly updating the resources for this powerful addition to our website based on suggestions & feedback, as well as all of the questions that have been asked by program users and website visitors.

XPro Styles PAK 5 adds 75 new RealStyles for rock, pop, jazz, funk, and country, and 25 styles based around MIDI SuperTracks that utilize the SynthMaster plugin!

Here's just a taste of what XPro Styles PAK 5 has in store: electronic Latin funk, spacey dancehall grooves, soulful Americana ballads, heavy house beats, vibin' cool jazz, rollicking country train beats, playful pop country jams, gritty blues rock, modern disco funk, moody synthwave, subdued bossa nova, lo-fi jazz, and many more! Pick up XPro Styles PAK 5 today!

What are XPro Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2023 (or higher). Each PAK includes over 100 styles!

XPro Styles PAKs aren't exclusive to Pro users, there's a huge range of RealStyles available for everyone - even Audiophile customers! That's right, XPro Styles PAKs can be used with ANY Band-in-a-Box® 2023 package!

XPro Styles PAK 5: https://youtu.be/QdhS9tc0y_s

Xtra Styles PAK 16 includes an absolute plethora of styles... 200 to be exact! 50 new styles each for Jazz, Country, Rock & Pop, and Praise & Worship!

Take a gander at what you can expect to find: modern disco funk, exciting gospel shout, busy jazz fusion, soulful R&B ballads, various Americana styles, modern pop country, blistering heavy metal, uplifting worship rock, lo-fi hip hop, a plethora of progressive rock, old-timey autoharp, modern surf rock, and many more!

What are Xtra Styles PAKs?
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2023 (or higher). With over 2,600 styles included in Xtra Styles PAKs 1-16, the possibilities are endless!

Xtra Styles PAK 16 requires the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® version 2023. They won't work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the 2023 UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition..

Xtra Styles PAK 16: https://youtu.be/KP1svm_RMfI

How do I know if I have XPro Styles PAKs or Xtra Styles PAKs?
You can find out in Band-in-a-Box® by clicking the "Add-ons" button in the StylePicker. Show me how.