Band in a box 2023 end of year sale

[InstrEd]

11 minutes ago, husker said:

So you are saying that Dream Theater probably doesn't use BIAB?

I don't think B IAB could keep up with the playing of Dream Theater 😆

[abacab]

56 minutes ago, InstrEd said:

I don't think B IAB could keep up with the playing of Dream Theater 😆

In the short video of new things they do mention some prog rock additions. But I doubt they had Dream Theater in mind! 😂

[Reid Rosefelt]

Just to add one odd thing about buying BIAB.   One time I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy the $49 pak.  I figured I had the length of the sale to think about it.

Anyway, I eventually decided to buy it.  But it was no longer on the site.   So I called customer service.  To get it, I had to buy the upgrade again and put the $49 pak in my cart.  And then delete the upgrade from my cart. 

Buying BIAB and all their xtra products is unecessarily complex.  I can't imagine how complex it is for a total noob with no access to a forum like this.   But their customer service is great.

 

 

[InstrEd]

BIAB  so I can write my unmasterpiece

[Yan Filiatrault]

2 hours ago, abacab said:

I got the 2021 UltraPak+ which came on a hard drive.

If I just upgrade the BIAB program to 2023 Pro with the 70 new features for $69, will all of my existing 2021 UltrPak+ content continue to work? I really don't want to add any more content if I don't have to unless the new features would require it.

You should contact their customer service. Very active and friendly.

[kevin H]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:05 AM, Reid Rosefelt said:

I can't imagine how complex it is for a total noob with no access to a forum like this

I have access to this forum but I’m totally lost. I bought the ultrapak for Mac earlier this year and doesn’t matter what style I bring up it shows I’m missing something so can’t play it.  I’ve tried reinstalling a bunch of times.  I’ll try customer support.  Agree this thing is overly complex for no reason.

[Reid Rosefelt]

On the home page they should say something like, "if you want to get the most out of BIAB, we suggest you take a look at the Xtra Styles Packs.  And then have a link to the page.

Or maybe even slap a video on page one that shows people what they are. 

Instead, if by any chance you happen to got  to the Add-ons page, and there are so many options that most people don't use.   Songs and Lessons?   MIDI Soloists? 

https://www.pgmusic.com/addons.php?os=win

It's like they don't even know what is good about BIAB--which is the Real Tracks.  Get performances that sound like real musicians played them (because they did). 

For most people who are really deep into BIAB, the Xtra Style Packs are necessary.  The more the better. 

Of all the software I own BIAB is the one that gets the most better every year--while still looking like the way it came out in the late 1980s, with that wowza Windows 95 User Interface.😃

[Byron Dickens]

1 hour ago, kevin H said:

I have access to this forum but I’m totally lost. I bought the ultrapak for Mac earlier this year and doesn’t matter what style I bring up it shows I’m missing something so can’t play it.  I’ve tried reinstalling a bunch of times.  I’ll try customer support.  Agree this thing is overly complex for no reason.

PG Music has a forum just about as busy and helpful as this one.

[abacab]

30 minutes ago, Reid Rosefelt said:

Of all the software I own BIAB is the one that gets the most better every year--while still looking like the way it came out in the late 1980s, with that wowza Windows 95 User Interface.😃

I keep hoping that one of these years the annual BIAB update would include a modern facelift. But since that might upset some long-time users, it would be cool if it was a skin or workspace that you could just toggle Legacy/Modern whichever one you wished...

[lawajava]

I think it would be a hefty lift to modernize it. But they do a great job each year of adding to it!

[John Maar]

7 hours ago, lawajava said:

I think it would be a hefty lift to modernize it. But they do a great job each year of adding to it!

Anyone here remember the growing pains of SONAR's Skylight interface, starting with X1? Would I love to see BiaB get a modern GUI? Yes. Would I want to deal with years of GUI issues during its development? I don't know about that.

 

[msmcleod]

On 12/1/2022 at 4:31 PM, Byron Dickens said:

Still can't handle time signatures other than 4/4 and 3/4 properly. ☹️

Yeah, this is a major issue for me. I use 5/4 and 7/8 all the time, and just can't use BIAB in these scenarios.

Apparently you can use RealBand for this, but I've not taken the time to learn that yet!

[Jim Fogle]

On 12/1/2022 at 3:08 PM, Yan Filiatrault said:

@Reid Rosefelt Did you get the extra 49$ pack? How do you find it?

I will upgrade, just not sure about this pack, but it’s now or never if I ever want to get it.

@Reid Rosefelt, I have the 2023 49 PAK.  I copy the textbox information that appears in the beginning of most PG Music install files.  The text file I attached lists everything (including the RealTrack names) included in the 49 PAK.

There is also a 0 PAK included with any package purchased during the sale.  It includes some MIDI SuperTracks and some styles that feature SynthMaster sounds.

2023_49pak.txt

2023_0pak.txt

Edited December 6, 2022 by Jim Fogle

[Jim Fogle]

On 12/1/2022 at 11:31 AM, Byron Dickens said:

Still can't handle time signatures other than 4/4 and 3/4 properly. ☹️

@Byron Dickens. I agree time signatures can be a real issue sometimes.  Alternate time signature RealTracks improved things a little bit since the audio recording is of a musician playing a time signature other than 4/4 & 3/4.  But there are not many alternate time signature RealTracks to choose from.

All in all, alternate time signatures has been a thorn in PG Music's side for a long time.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Jim Fogle

[Jim Fogle]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:56 AM, abacab said:

I got the 2021 UltraPak+ which came on a hard drive.

If I just upgrade the BIAB program to 2023 Pro with the 70 new features for $69, will all of my existing 2021 UltrPak+ content continue to work? I really don't want to add any more content if I don't have to unless the new features would require it.

@abacab Yes, all your content from the 2021 UltraPAK+ will work with 2023.  Just like Cakewalk, older Band-in-a-Box  files can be used in the newer editions.

I believe you will be disappointed with the 2023 ProPAK as you already have the overwhelming majority of the content in your 2021 UltraPlusPAK+.  Your 2021 UltraPAK+ should include all the package RealTrack sets up to set 375 as well as most of the MIDI styles, MIDI SuperTracks and so on.  The + is the Songs and Lessons PAK..  Your 2021 UltraPAK+ and the 2023 PlusPAK will provide you with ALL package content except for content issued in 2022.    RealTrack sets 376 - 400 were issued in 2022.

If you can scrape together the extra $30 over the cost of the 2023 ProPAK, the PlusPAK includes the RealTrack sets 401 - 429, the bonus 0 PAK I mentioned above and the latest version of Band-in-a-Box, RealBand and the plugin.

[Jim Fogle]

On 12/3/2022 at 4:49 PM, abacab said:

I keep hoping that one of these years the annual BIAB update would include a modern facelift. But since that might upset some long-time users, it would be cool if it was a skin or workspace that you could just toggle Legacy/Modern whichever one you wished...

@abacab try using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T.  That toggles between the normal (what I would call the classic) GUI and the minimal (modern or new?) GUI

[abacab]

36 minutes ago, Jim Fogle said:

@abacab try using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T.  That toggles between the normal (what I would call the classic) GUI and the minimal (modern or new?) GUI

Thanks! I saw that feature. I was actually referring to a total UI makeover, similar to what Cakewalk did with the "Skylight" interface in Sonar X1.

It's a deep program that has had continuous development and feature additions for years, and it works great. But I would still welcome some more intuitive workflow enhancements and a re-think on the many menus and dialogues. If I stay away from the program for a while, it takes a while to get up to speed again, like learning another DAW!

[John Maar]

4 hours ago, abacab said:

Thanks! I saw that feature. I was actually referring to a total UI makeover, similar to what Cakewalk did with the "Skylight" interface in Sonar X1.

It's a deep program that has had continuous development and feature additions for years, and it works great. But I would still welcome some more intuitive workflow enhancements and a re-think on the many menus and dialogues. If I stay away from the program for a while, it takes a while to get up to speed again, like learning another DAW!

One thing that blew me away when I first bought BiaB Ultra was Options | Preferences. Holy smokes. What's a newbie to make of all of that? I just hoped the defaults would work for me and never went back to it. Even the MIDI and audio setup was bewildering. REAPER suffers from the same DOS-based history, a great program with overwhelming menus, and a UI I could never get to look and work in a way I was happy with. When SPlat went splat, I went back to Studio One Pro. I actually started with Studio One, but moved to SONAR because of this forum. The PreSonus forum was, is and will likely continue to be of little or no use or interest. Like every other DAW/music production software out there, Studio One isn't perfect, but I get on with it really well, so that's where I've stayed. And that's what I compare BiaB against, UI-wise. Two completely different universes. Where are the Guardians of the UI Galaxy when you need them? 🤣

[Reid Rosefelt]

13 hours ago, Jim Fogle said:

@Reid Rosefelt, I have the 2023 49 PAK.  I copy the textbox information that appears in the beginning of most PG Music install files.  The text file I attached lists everything (including the RealTrack names) included in the 49 PAK.

There is also a 0 PAK included with any package purchased during the sale.  It includes some MIDI SuperTracks and some styles that feature SynthMaster sounds.

2023_49pak.txt 7.3 kB · 1 download

2023_0pak.txt 2.51 kB · 0 downloads

Thanks.  I would assume there are demos somewhere as they are selling it for $49.  I am just too busy with other stuff right now to check on this yet. 

[abacab]

13 hours ago, Jim Fogle said:

Your 2021 UltraPAK+ and the 2023 PlusPAK will provide you with ALL package content except for content issued in 2022.

When I looked at my available upgrades, they are only offering the 2023 PlusPak to the 2022 UltraPak/UltraPak+ users.

"Requires Band-in-a-Box® 2022 UltraPAK or UltraPAK+".

The upgrades are more limited for the 2021 or earlier users. So the only option I see is to upgrade to 2023 UltraPak directly from 2021. They don't show any upgrades to 2022 to make the step up in between to 2023 PlusPak... suppose I should have done that last year.

🙄