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Oh! Excellent! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.
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Of course you do know you should never mix new software with current project work? New software can turn around and bite you at the worst of times. Don't underestimate the learning curve associated with this software. But you know that... 
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Feb 2022
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Of course you do know you should never mix new software with current project work? New software can turn around and bite you at the worst of times. Don't underestimate the learning curve associated with this software. But you know that... Oh totally! I've had some bad experiences in the past with updates gone wrong and all that jazz. Today, I have a pretty solid Cubase/Pro Tools setup and an awesome team to keep it running like clockwork. Yet I always keep an eye open for new tech (or in the case of BIAB, older tech that I didn't know about) that can help me do more :-)
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Anthony.
Heres some tips.
Really peruse the faq’s and vids in pg support…includeing tutorials on you tube.
Make sure you save your settings by saving option with patches.
If you have a big commission // project split it into more than one bb file.
In the style picker..dont just go thru a few styles when youve laid out in bb your chord arrangement. Ive found many golden nuggets of sound by not following standard procedures. For example i do mainly rock, and occasional ballad…but i might explore other styles outside the rock and ballad genres. Ie happy accidents. I know it can be a lot of work going thru thousands of styles..but ive some v interesting results.
I make my own custom drum intros , and dont bother bout metronome…so lets say i have a ballad in key of E i enter in bb e.d/e.d/e.d/e.d ie 4 bars lead in only playing drums. This also useful for drum solos in conjunction with part markers….also lets say you need a 12 bar drum solo…experiment with 12 bars of e.d with different part marker colors at each or other bar. The KEY is experiment cos bb is very deep.
A final tip as i dont have loads of time today….what i do is …lets say i’ve done my chord arrange, what i do is go thru loads of styles , and lets say i go “hmm i like that soloist”..then what i do is save…and i give the save a filename like 2356NICESOLO as the file name whereby the number is the bb instrument number OR i might save as INSTRUMENT ID + INSTRUMENT TYPE + COMMENT eg 857BASSVERYFUNKY…now i’m on pc so on mac things might be different…
what i’m trying to say and its very important is i apply my final chord arrange to a ton of styles and then as i come across nuggets i save…THUS on any song i might end up…like a song i’m doing now 40 saved files….
FROM THESE 40 saves i then assemble my final bb song file….think of it like in a big studio a project one auditions session musicians for a major project , and then one decides which musicians are in the band.
Hth
om
ps..and please keep an open mind, try reaper for mac from reaper.fm...try a test run. its fast and nimble with small footprint. if you doubt me read up the thousands of fans at reaper.fm. and talk to users who have moved from other daws.
happiness.
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 02/21/22 04:57 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.)
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Joined: Dec 2019
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Apprentice
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Apprentice
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Posts: 103 |
You may also want to look at "EDIT" "SONG FORM" "SONG FORM DIALOG" and generate your own Song Form.
Band in a Box UltraPak 2026, Fender Studio Pro, Fender Notion, NI Komplete Audio 6, Nektar Panorama P6, KAWAI VPC1, Presonus Atom, Win 10 64 Pro
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F5 is one way and it’s very powerful. Basically you generate a bunch of complete tracks but use F5 to Mute them where needed. The opposite command is called Back to Normal.
You can of course do this kind of editing in your DAW, but it’s non-destructive in BIAB too, to use Mute via the options in F5 at different bars.
One thing you will run into for song form is that BIAB uses the term ‘chorus’ in the jazz sense, meaning ‘once through the song’. For example, ‘take a chorus’ means to blow a solo once through the tune. There are a few things in Edit, Song Form you might like to look over.
EDIT: I see Song Form was mentioned. Good. There’s more. There’s almost always more in this program.
Last edited by Matt Finley; 02/21/22 08:03 AM.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2002
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i Suggest you explore the user showcase choosing different genres where folks who use Band-in-a-Box post their creations and usually indicate which real tracks they use and sometimes other production details The user to user section can also help to ease the learning curve Of course the band in a box Mac forum is another resource User Joanne Cooper is also a resource worth checking out https://www.playiit.com/
Last edited by pghboemike; 02/21/22 10:37 AM.
Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface
casio wk-7500
biab & realband 2025 everything pk both with Current builds
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Sep 2001
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BIAB I think, now defaults to a linear structure as opposed to the previous multiple chorus format. Just enter the chords as you want to get the structure you want. Shame you don't have RB. I find it much easier to use for manipulating individual tracks and cutting and pasting large chunks of music.
Edit - at least that's how BIAB 2022 works. The mac version is still 2021.
Last edited by Bob Calver; 02/21/22 11:03 AM.
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Joined: Jun 2012
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Thanks. Actually, SonicFire is definitely not the tool for me. That's absolutely fine. Better for you to know about it and not need it rather than the other way around 
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 8
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 8 |
Anthony.
Heres some tips.
Really peruse the faq’s and vids in pg support…includeing tutorials on you tube.
Make sure you save your settings by saving option with patches.
If you have a big commission // project split it into more than one bb file.
In the style picker..dont just go thru a few styles when youve laid out in bb your chord arrangement. Ive found many golden nuggets of sound by not following standard procedures. For example i do mainly rock, and occasional ballad…but i might explore other styles outside the rock and ballad genres. Ie happy accidents. I know it can be a lot of work going thru thousands of styles..but ive some v interesting results.
I make my own custom drum intros , and dont bother bout metronome…so lets say i have a ballad in key of E i enter in bb e.d/e.d/e.d/e.d ie 4 bars lead in only playing drums. This also useful for drum solos in conjunction with part markers….also lets say you need a 12 bar drum solo…experiment with 12 bars of e.d with different part marker colors at each or other bar. The KEY is experiment cos bb is very deep.
A final tip as i dont have loads of time today….what i do is …lets say i’ve done my chord arrange, what i do is go thru loads of styles , and lets say i go “hmm i like that soloist”..then what i do is save…and i give the save a filename like 2356NICESOLO as the file name whereby the number is the bb instrument number OR i might save as INSTRUMENT ID + INSTRUMENT TYPE + COMMENT eg 857BASSVERYFUNKY…now i’m on pc so on mac things might be different…
what i’m trying to say and its very important is i apply my final chord arrange to a ton of styles and then as i come across nuggets i save…THUS on any song i might end up…like a song i’m doing now 40 saved files….
FROM THESE 40 saves i then assemble my final bb song file….think of it like in a big studio a project one auditions session musicians for a major project , and then one decides which musicians are in the band.
Thanks for all these great tips!
ps..and please keep an open mind, try reaper for mac from reaper.fm...try a test run. its fast and nimble with small footprint. if you doubt me read up the thousands of fans at reaper.fm. and talk to users who have moved from other daws.
happiness.
I know about Reaper, for sure. I've even made some plugins for it years ago. Now the reality is that film scoring is mostly done using one of the "heavy-hitter" DAWs (Cubase, DP, Logic, ...) and the mixing done with Pro Tools. My setup relies on Cubase, slave machines wired using VEPro, video on another slave runnning Video Sync 5 and everything routed to Pro Tools for stemming/mixing. You may also want to look at "EDIT" "SONG FORM" "SONG FORM DIALOG" and generate your own Song Form. Awesome! This is even more what I was looking for.
One thing you will run into for song form is that BIAB uses the term ‘chorus’ in the jazz sense, meaning ‘once through the song’. For example, ‘take a chorus’ means to blow a solo once through the tune. There are a few things in Edit, Song Form you might like to look over.
EDIT: I see Song Form was mentioned. Good. There’s more. There’s almost always more in this program.
This is something that was puzzling me, yes. Thanks for pointing it out. i Suggest you explore the user showcase choosing different genres where folks who use Band-in-a-Box post their creations and usually indicate which real tracks they use and sometimes other production details
Very good tip! Will do! I'm still going through the manual. Should be done shortly :-)
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,743
Veteran
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Veteran
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Posts: 3,743 |
You’ll find updates and other support info here including online manuals
You can save the pdf version in iOS/Mac books app
You could then markup the pdf in ways you find helpful
Last edited by pghboemike; 02/21/22 02:24 PM.
Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface
casio wk-7500
biab & realband 2025 everything pk both with Current builds
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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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Holiday Weekend Hours
It's Victoria Day Long Weekend in Canada. Our Customer Service hours are:
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Regular hours resume Tuesday, May 19th!
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Don't wait - order today!
Check out all the new features in the redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
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