Band in a Box

Monday 11 July 2022

For years, Band in a Box from PG Music has been gathering hardcore fans, but what is it about this chunk of software that makes it so extra-special? And what exactly is the difference between the various packages on offer?

Band in a Box - The Titles

Select the title you're looking for or scroll down for an overview of the different versions.

Always the Newest Version

When you pick up any version of Band in a Box, you're always getting the very latest edition. Click on the version you're looking for above, add it to your basket and once it's ordered and paid for, we'll email over a PDF including a download code and link so you can download the most recent edition. If we're out of stock, then your PDF will come through as soon as our supplier has delivered new download codes. If you want to be certain that you can get your software straight away, make sure to check the estimated delivery time on the product page. The Audiophile editions are the only titles that can't be downloaded. Instead, they come in the form of a physical USB drive pre-loaded with installation files.

Band in a Box: What is it?

There are plenty of people who can write a melody and maybe have an idea of a set of chords to go with it, but to make a complete, produced song might be a step too far. Technically, Band in a Box is a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), but it's also not. Most standard DAW software is laid out for users to build productions from the ground up, so you can add your idea for a melody, but from there, everything has to be written and arranged from scratch. For an experienced musician or producer, this is easy, but not everyone is an experienced musician or producer, which is where Band in a Box comes in. When you stick your melody into this package, it throws up an array of instrumental arrangements that you can choose from. This can be MIDI data for controlling virtual instruments, but it can also be real audio recordings of real musicians who have laid down a range of general 'phrases' that you can use to support your melody and build an arrangement. Obviously, the wider the array of phrases you have to choose from, the bigger the potential gets - which is exactly why Band in a Box offers various different editions.

Band in a Box: The Different Editions

PG Music offers four different editions of Band in a Box, each offering more content than the next. These are Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK and the Audiophile Edition, and each is available for Mac or Windows for a total of eight titles. In the table below, you can see what you get with each title, and then below that, you can read a more detailed description of some of the features.

RealBand

RealBand is only available for Windows users and combines the accompaniment functions of Band in a Box with the sequence options of the PowerTracks Pro audio software. RealBand comes with automatic accompaniment, RealTracks, RealDrums and more.

49-PAK

The 49-PAK is an expansion pack for RealTracks and RealStyles for the Windows version. Basically, it sets you up with even more content.

MIDI Songs & Lessons PAK

You can also get some add-ons for Band in a Box, so PG Music have bundled up a few of these add-ons in the MIDI Songs & Lessons PAK, which includes the titles: MIDI Essential Riffs and Phrases, MIDI Fakebooks, 200 Folk Songs and Instrumental Studies.

RealTracks

The RealTracks are the audio recordings that can be used to give your arrangements form. These are phrases of one or more bars and can be set to follow a chord progression that you input yourself. You can also adjust the parameters of these phrases, like the volume level and so on.

MIDI SuperTracks

MIDI SuperTracks is a creative bonus for anyone who finds RealTracks a bit limiting in terms of sound. Instead of audio phrases, it provides MIDI data for controlling VST instruments, which immediately opens up more creative potential.

MIDI Styles

MIDI Styles is another Band in a Box add-on that offers various styles and beats in the form of MIDI data, which can be used to control any virtual instrument you select.

MIDI Soloists

Anyone who thinks that Band in a Box only offers bass lines and chord progressions needs to think again. With MIDI Soloists, you can add the all-important melody to your songs.

MIDI Melodists

The MIDI Melodists add-on makes things really easy by putting together an entire song complete with intro, chords, melodies and more.

Artist Performances

While RealTracks makes it easy to put together impressive chord progressions, Artist Performances is a sort of library of demos built out of a set of RealTracks. These demos are a useful learning tool since they demonstrate everything you can do with RealTracks.

Loops

As you'd expect, Loops sets you up with a library of loops, whether it's a drum loop, percussion loop, or even looping nature sounds - it could be anything. Loops are handy but can be hard to build from scratch, so Band in Box includes a massive stack of them.