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Band-in-a-Box ® 2021 for Windows Band-in-a-Box ® 2020 for Macintosh - English. The award-winning Band-in-a-Box ® is so easy to use! Just type in the chords for any song using standard chord symbols (like C, Fm7 or C13b9), choose the style you'd like, and Band-in-a-Box ® does the rest. The 2020 edition of the premiere automatic music accompaniment software. PG Music Band-in-a-Box Pro 2020 with USB flash drive is award-winning software for auto accompaniment and style-based music creation. Perfect for musicians, songwriters and educators, Band-in-a-Box l Show More.
By Joanne Coppers
Hello music lovers!
Just type in chords, and Band-in-a-Box Pro software builds auto-accompaniments from samples of live musicians. Overview - Band-in-a-Box 2020 has enhancements to RealTracks (Smoother Sounding Vocal RealTracks, RealTracks Thickening, 'Find-a-Sub' RealTracks, and MultiRiffs).
In this blog post, I am going to be attempting to answer some questions I get asked quite a bit. “What version of Band-in-a-Box should I buy? Should I choose the entry-level Pro version or should you go all out and buy the Audiophile Edition? Should I buy the Mac or the PC version? What add-ons should I buy?”
The quick answer is “it depends!”
It is important to note that, unlike other tiered pricing software packages, both the Band-in-a-Box and RealBand program functionality is identical for all the different price points. The main difference between the various versions is in the other “content” delivered alongside these two programs. I can summarise the content differences as follows:
The difference between the PRO, MegaPak, and UltraPAK is in the number of styles, instruments, and loops that PG Music delivers with your purchase. The PRO version is a 15-gigabyte installation, the MegaPak is 25 gigabytes, and the UltraPAK is well over 120 gigabytes. That will give you some idea about the differences between the various versions.
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The UltraPAK Plus comes with everything in the UltraPAK version as well as additional songs and lessons.
X plane 1972 free. The AudioPhile version comes with songs and lessons and also has high-quality WAV versions of all the RealTracks
The OminPAK version is the full set of music creation and productivity software. Terracotta bookends minecraft. It includes PowerTracks (which is PG Music’s premium DAW) as well as other music creation software, documentaries, and trivia. It is quite literally the whole hog, barn, and field.
So you can see that this is going to be a personal decision and one that I can only guide you on.
If you have a limited budget and music making is your hobby, or if you only want to experiment with BIAB before making a more significant decision, or if you want to use the program to practice your guitar playing then you should consider the PRO or MegaPak version.
I use the UltraPak and highly recommend this version if you have the funds to invest. The UltraPak is an excellent choice if you want to perform with your backing tracks. It is also suitable if you would like to record and release radio-ready songs. If you are a songwriter and like to experiment with a variety of styles that you would not usually try then the UltaPak will provide you with plenty of material from which to choose.
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If you are an earnest music student or are a professional musician and want to use BIAB to take your musicianship to the next level, then the UltaPAK Plus would suit you. (I am not personally at this level…yet)
If you are a studio owner and professional producer who is charging other people to create radio-ready songs for them, then the AudioPhile Edition or the OmniPAK would be the one for you. (Maybe in my next life…)
Please note; these are only suggestions. What I can say is that having access to all the styles, instruments and loops in BIAB has given me such freedom, growth, and opportunities in my own musical life that it has been well worth the initial investment.
If you purchase only the PRO or MegaPak versions you may get frustrated because you don’t have access to all the styles and RealTracks that people are waxing lyrical about on the PG Music forum. I offer free downloads of SGU files here and I have found that people will often comment that the song “sounds different” on their computer to how my sample MP3s sound. This is because these folk have not purchased a style that I used for a demo song and they often end up slightly disappointed with the product.
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Mac vs. PC
It may seem like a simple suggestion, but you should think carefully about whether to buy the Mac or PC version of BIAB. Even if you have a Mac computer and do all your other work in a Mac environment, you may want to consider purchasing the PC BIAB version.
The first reason is that PG Music originally developed BIAB as a Windows product. It was born in the MS-DOS era. Users of the Mac version often complain that the Mac version seems to be the second-class citizen when it comes to upgrades. For example, the Mac version of BIAB 2018 only came out in July 2018 whereas the Windows version came out in December 2017 already. PG Music appears to have been following this release pattern for quite a few years. If you are one of those ultra-keen people who love upgrades and you purchase the Mac version, then you may get slightly frustrated waiting for the latest version of BIAB to come out.
Secondly, BIAB for the Mac does not come with RealBand. That means that if you are a Mac user and are planning to record and release radio-ready songs you are almost certainly going to have to choose and invest in another DAW. However, there are many well priced and even free DAWs that you can choose.
You can install the windows version of BIAB on an NFS – New Technology File System – formatted partition on your Mac. Here is a link to PG Music’s FAQ on this.
If you buy your version of BIAB from the PG Music website, you will be offered various add-ons. Here is my take on these.
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Xtra Styles: These Xtra styles consist of exciting and unorthodox combinations of existing RealTracks. For example the exotic sounding, “Baffin Old Canadian Fiddle Waltz” is described as follows: “This Canadian folk waltz features a fiddle soloist. Joining in are strumming acoustic guitar, tenor banjo, acoustic bass, and ethnic waltz drums”. Isn’t that just wonderful? Doesn’t it make you want to write an old Canadian waltz? I am sure you can guess that I would highly recommend that you purchase at least some of these Xtra styles. They will provide you with hours of entertainment. Please note: The Xtra styles use pre-existing RealTracks so if you purchased the PRO or MegaPAK version you may not get full value from the Xtra styles.
JBridge: This is a plugin for use within RealBand that allows you to use third party 64-bit plugins. You would only require JBridge if you are going to use RealBand as your DAW. Please note: the use of RealBand or any other DAW is outside the scope of this eBook. Suffice it to say the RealBand is a “32-bit DAW,” and many modern third-party plugins are “64-bit plugins.” JBridge will allow you to use these plugins within RealBand. I do use this add-on since I use RealBand as my DAW.
PGMusic Key chain. Come on… support your favorite music production software company by buying a key chain.
If you want a detailed step-by-step guide on how to make and perform with Band-in-a-Box backing tracks, have a look at my eBook “Band-in-a-Box 101: A beginners guide to making and performing with Band-in-a-Box backing tracks”
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A full box of surprises that brings you endless hours of joy: an endless jam with well-known studio musicians.
by Alex Arsov, Mar. 2020
Two years ago I made a rock album playing all the instruments myself except drums. I used EZ Drummer for arrangement and Superior Drummer 2 for the finished result. A friend of mine, a well-known professional musician, a bass-player, asked me if the drums were real (he knew I was a lousy drummer). I told him: If even you can’t spot the difference, then yes, they are real.
What is my point and what does this have to do with Band in a Box 2020? Almost everything. As a musician you generally don’t go for Band in a Box, because it might sound like you’re cheating. You’ve heard about it and know it’s some sort of instant General MIDI composer, right? Well, you can’t be more wrong. It is a hell of a fine tool. And what is cheating these days anyway? Using a loop? We all use them. Where is the line? Making a song using just five loops? If that is all you do then it probably won’t sound like a song anyway, but if you add something unique, which could be your vocal or anything, then it can become a hit. So, the difference is not in the number of loops or phrases used or even the whole arrangement, but the difference lies with you. In your creativity.
Band in a Box 2020 is far more than just some General MIDI instant composer. First of all, thanks to real tracks technology, you have a wealth of professional sounding lines recorded by talented, well-known studio musicians that can play along with your arrangement. It is like having a session musician for your song at home. It’s a tool. Use it and abuse it. It is up to you and your imagination how you will use it. You can build the whole arrangement with Band in a Box and just sing along to it. Turn your radio on. There are loads songs that rely on a good melody without offering anything out of the ordinary in terms of arrangement. Or you can make an original song in the electro genre “hiring” the Band in a Box session country guitar player to play along with it. Thinking that way, you can easily consider this as one of the best tools in the last few years.
VST
The new Band in a Box comes as a VST plugin, so you can now work with Band in a Box directly inside your favorite DAW. No more exporting and importing takes. Now you can go live, adding just that particular session musician directly to your arrangement. Years ago, when I tried Band in a Box for the first time, I was amazed by these “Real tracks” – and I still am. As they are compiled from audio clips, played by real players, they sound like the real thing simply because they are the real thing. Band in a Box just stretches, transposes and combines those tracks to give you the real experience in real time. The PG Music fellows did their job perfectly, just like good session musicians.
Making music should be fun, and this one is a toy par excellence. You can go really crazy mixing genres, using some players from one genre to play in other genres. Or, if you aren’t into those kinds of experiments, you can still use it in a standard, one-genre-one-mind way, using those great session players just to add some spice to your song. I know some folks use Band in a Box just to jam along with some great session players or even using it just as a backing track for practicing purposes.
Legal Issues
Years ago I asked PG Music if it was legal to use parts, or even the whole arrangement that you made with Band in a Box? The answer is still the same: Yes, as long as you use it in your own arrangement. You are allowed to take anything from Band in a Box as long as you created a song by building it manually, adding your own harmonies and not just using the demo songs. It’s the same as with many sample libraries. You can’t just export a line and sell it as your own sample to a third person – but if you use this line in your own arrangement, using it as a part of your arrangement or using the whole arrangement as a background for your song, then you are allowed to use it for commercial purposes, TV composition, movie trailers, stock libraries etc., etc.
Of course, the more shabby the harmonies, without adding anything personal, the less original it will sound and no one will care much about it. So, don’t make me repeat myself – it is just a tool and it is up to you to make something special with it.
And I almost forgot to mention. You can also export all Band in Box parts as MIDI parts, so you can replace any line built with Band in a Box and play it through your favorite VST instrument. The sky is the limit.
Band in a Box 2020
So, how does Band in a Box 2020 actually work? On opening, you will see the main arrangement window where you can simply write your chords inside bars. Before doing that maybe you should set a key for your song because if you do this later the chord will change with respect to the newly chosen key. At first, it looks a bit complicated, but in fact, it is not. It is just a new tool that you need to get to grips with.
If you have already chosen a root key you can then write as many chords as you want, set the tempo and number of bars inside the black rows above the bar window, to the right of the song name. In the row below you will find a style button. In a style window, you can preview any style you are going for. Find the right one, just press OK and more or less you are in business.
Of course, this is only the beginning. You have plenty of video clips showing you how to do more advanced operations, like reducing the number of instruments at the beginning of the song or changing an instrument along with the appropriate real track musician inside a song. Setting bridges, endings, intros, outros, or even changing a style in the middle of the song is just a click away (F5 on Windows or right-click on the bar and choose Bar Settings).
Above the bar window on the right-hand side, you have a row of buttons. Between them, you will find the Guitar window and Piano window buttons opening those two windows where you can see exactly which tone is played and where. Those two windows are really handy for learning licks that real players play in that song, showing you the right position on the neck or keyboard during the solo. Of course, you also have an option to add the solo part to your song.
There is much much more inside Band in a Box and, as this system is quite new, I recommend you take some time and go through a few videos first, along with trying things inside the program. After all, Band in a Box 2020 is a complete DAW and you will need a few days to familiarize yourself with it, no matter that it’s quite straight forward and easy to use. You have menus, you have buttons and there is mouse-over info that can lead you through all the functions.
Every new version brings a load of new features along with new real tracks. For me, the absolute winner with this new version are the gospel choir real tracks. Of course, this is along with VST plug-in that came with last year’s 2019 release.
I got the Ultra Pack version with 2,900 real tracks and over 2,000 MIDI styles, so I had to set up all these things on an external disk, seeing as real tracks are rather large, so the full installation with all real tracks easily goes over 100 GB. This version costs as much as your average DAW. For the price of a single VST effect of a VST synthesizer, you can get Band in a Box Pro which includes around 300 real tracks, 750 MIDI styles, and over 1,000 loops. There are also other versions offering various amounts of different elements, but once you start using any of them you’ll be hooked.
Also, don’t be fooled by the default settings, as this general MIDI arrangement you get when opening Band in a Box for the first time is not everything you can get out of the software. The real deal is just a few additional tweaks away. Switch to some real tracks and enjoy the magic.
Band In A Box Pro 2020
I didn’t investigate all the ins and outs of this software since those who already use Band in a Box know it really well. For the rest, they just need to give it a chance, leaving their prejudices aside. If you are a professional musician and composer then this piece of software can be a really handy tool for you. As there are always musical genres we are not familiar with, Band in a Box can come in really handy if for some reason you get a request to make a song in a certain style that you’re not familiar with. All you need to do is to set up your harmonies, pick the players and play along with your new band adding some unique interesting moments. It can also serve as a great tool for analyzing parts from that particular style or genre.
My dear readers, at least visit the PG Music site and watch a video or two, and you’ll get to see what I’m talking about. For me, I’m happy I finally have Band in a Box inside my Studio One. So now, if you don’t mind, I would like to go and play with my new toy.
Different packages:
Band in a Box Pro is $129 USD, up to the Audiofile Version which comes in at $669 USD.
PG Music site:
Video demos:
https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.videos.htm
Band in a Box is no longer Windows only, as they finally added a Mac version, currently still 2019, but I presume 2020 is on the way.