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I will admit to new guy confusion . . . I have the 2023 Ultrapak version of BiaB. Just got an email regarding the new "XPro Styles PAK 5" and "Xtra Styles PAK 16" and I have a couple of questions.
First, is there any benefit to getting both? Full disclosure, I use NO midi only Real Tracks so anything that just adds midi I don't have an interest in. I "think" the XPro Styles are midi - is that correct? If not, are these different real tracks than what I would get with the Xtra Styles pak?
Second, as I bought the full version of BiaB 2023 Ultrapak, do I have the previous Xtra Style paks (1 - 15)? If not, I'd consider picking those up as well.
Love the software so far but have been busy writing music and not digging into the tech side of the program as of yet.
Thanks in advance for any bits of advice or wisdom!
Last edited by Sawmill Music; 07/07/23 09:58 AM.
Don't ever try and be like anybody else and don't be afraid to take risks. -Waylon Jennings
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First, yes, then no, then no.
Second, no.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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I follow that and concur. 
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What makes this question tricky is the RealTracks part.
I don't think you get *additional RealTracks, but you may get your existing ones used in a different way. That's why some of them require the Ultrapak; so you already have the RealTracks .. but now they get implemented differently.
Just my interpretation, hopefully PGMusic steps in and clarifies.
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Correct. Styles are neither RealTracks nor MIDI; they are curated collections of them given a name. The two offerings cited use RealTracks to my knowledge, and no MIDI, but that may not be correct about no MIDI.
The XPro styles will work no matter what BIAB package you bought. The XTra styles require that you already have more RealTracks and that means you need the UltraPak or Audiophile edition.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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So my question is evolving then . . . I have the ultra pak version so if I understand this correctly I guess the current question is - does getting both the XPro and Xtra Styles paks give me additional "content" (styles / ways of playing styles / etc) that I would not get if I only buy the Xtra Pak? Thanks to all of you for the helpful explanations!
Last edited by Sawmill Music; 07/07/23 02:36 PM.
Don't ever try and be like anybody else and don't be afraid to take risks. -Waylon Jennings
PC-Win 10 Pro-Intel i9 9900 3.6 GHz-32 gig ram-SSD (X3)-AMD RX 550
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BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Don't ever try and be like anybody else and don't be afraid to take risks. -Waylon Jennings
PC-Win 10 Pro-Intel i9 9900 3.6 GHz-32 gig ram-SSD (X3)-AMD RX 550
AUDIO INTERFACE-Presonus FP10/Firepods
SOFTWARE-Cakewalk by Bandlab / BiaB 2024 UltraPAK
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Re MIDI
I think its used for some rhythms. The midi notes can trigger synths or trigger realtrack chords/notes.
So midi might be played as sampled human instruments or real drums.
In other words, not as bad as you might imagine.
Last edited by grandad_paul; 07/30/23 02:34 PM. Reason: Punctuation and grammar!
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Sawmill,
I buy every Xtra style that comes out and many of the Xpro styles.
The XPro styles contain new real tracks that you will not get with any other package I know of, and they seem to sound "cutting edge to me." In other words, they are a little edgier and less tame than some of the standard styles and I like that.
For example, when I heard some Xpro Jazz stuff that sounded just like Steely Dan I flipped.
I keep all of the Internet demos links to these bookmarked on my computer so I can fly through the demos looking for the right sound.
I usually find it fast.
The Xpro styles sound like full productions to me, and they have some killer grooves.
If I spend 29 dollars on one, and I get one full production out of just one style, but it sounds like a $5,000 demo, I figure I got my money's worth.
All of the Xtra Styles are gold, to me, in that they are virtually pre-mixed, and cover just about any popular groove you can think of.
I always add in some of my own instrumentation though to get the live studio feel along with the backing tracks.
So, I say they are worthy every cent. I live by them.
Hope that answers it.
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Every one of the XPro Styles has been designed to work with the XPro Pak. In other words, the XPro Styles are based on the RealTracks and MIDI tracks content that come with the XPro Pak.
Conversely, the Xtra Styles may require RealTracks and/or MIDI tracks that do not come with the XPro Pak (the XPro Pak is the starter / light version and has limited track content).
If you only have the XPro Pak, then some / many of the Xtra Styles may not work correctly.
Hope this clarifies.
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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Can I clarify something? I thought that Styles do not contain any new RealTracks. A style is a collection of RealTracks or MIDI instructions that PG Music has created. You already have more or less of these tracks, depending on which version of BIAB you bought (Pro, Ultra, etc).
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Can I clarify something? I thought that Styles do not contain any new RealTracks. A style is a collection of RealTracks or MIDI instructions that PG Music has created. You already have more or less of these tracks, depending on which version of BIAB you bought (Pro, Ultra, etc). I agree. The styles just make use of the Real or MIDI tracks that came with the purchased Pak in different ways (rock, jazz, pop, Latin etc). You need to have the correct tracks for the styles to work. XPro Styles only use Tracks that came bundled with the XPro Pak so they are guaranteed to be compatible.
BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
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There is a pertinent note on the Xtra Styles web page specifically about compatibility:
"""
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 16 requires the 2023 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition. Xtra Styles PAKs 13, 14 & 15 require the 2022 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition. Xtra Styles PAKs 11 and 12 require the 2021 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition.) They won't work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
"""
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
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Right. In other perhaps clearer words, it is my understanding that the Xtra and Xpro Styles do not contain any new RealTracks.
For example, David, if you hear something you like that you didn't hear before, it's not because of any new RealTracks; it's because of a nice new combination of RealTracks. To say that in other words, you can make your own styles and always have been able to do so. In my post way above, I called the styles 'curated'. The value you get in buying styles from PG Music is they have made more great-sounding combinations of the tracks you already have. The expertise of PG Music to find those combinations is what you are paying for.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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...it is my understanding that the Xtra and Xpro Styles do not contain any new RealTracks. I think that's correct. It was my understanding also, though PGM's statement is a bit ambiguous. I did try opening a couple of the relevant installers in a Linux archive manager, to see if I could get a more accurate view of the content, but it shows only the top-layer internal files, not the payload proper.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2024 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Gordon, I tried a different approach: watching the file names as the installer runs.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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The XPro Styles PAKs are developed using *only* the RealTracks & RealDrums that are included with the Band-in-a-Box 2023 Pro (or version 2022, 2021, etc. based on the release date - versions are noted on the product page).
You may have noticed that the XPro PAKs 3-5 state "includes ## RealTracks" in their description. These are not new/just-released RealTracks or RealDrums, they are actually a small selection of additional files used when developing that XPro PAK that would not have been included in the Pro installation. With that in mind, customers who own the 2023 UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition would already have those RealTracks or RealDrums.
The XPro Styles PAKs are developed to work with ANY package of that version, from Pro to Audiophile!
The styles included in our XPro Styles PAKs are separate than the ones in our Xtra Styles PAKs, so UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile customers won't be duplicating styles if they're adding both XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs to their Band-in-a-Box.
Xtra Styles PAKs are created using the RealTracks & RealDrums in the current version of the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition and will not work with a Pro or MegaPAK installation.
-Callie
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Well Y'all (and Callie) I guess this is what confused me:
Hear ye, Hear ye! Come one, come all! The fifth entry in our XPro Styles PAK series is heading your way with 100 brand new RealStyles and 30+ RealTracks, RealDrums, and MIDI SuperTracks (a $200+ value) that will add both some pep to your step and some versatility to your Band-in-a-Box®version!
As is our standard, you can expect 25 Rock & Pop, 25 Jazz & Funk, and 25 Country styles coming your way. To reach our goal of 100 styles, we’ve included 25 styles based around MIDI SuperTrack instruments that utilize the SynthMaster plugin! Here you’ll find synthy disco dance tracks right alongside gritty electronic rock and everything in between. The included 30+ RealTracks, RealDrums, and MIDI SuperTracks can be used with any version of Band-in-a-Box®
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!
***
So ok I am stupid, it doesn't matter, I am still happy.
Besides, when I downloaded the Xpros and they were like 2 gigs, where as the Xtra Styles are like 150 megs, I thought they were different.
I have stopped crying now though.
I am ok, don't worry.
Somehow I will make it through this.
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No, you are right; it isn’t entirely clear to me yet. When is it a RealTrack and when is it one of the small selection of additional files? And if each of those 30 additional files is indeed a RealTrack, apparently it is the same as we would already have if we own anything beyond the Pro pac, which I assume you do.
And yes, I did notice the large discrepancy in file size. That’s one of the reasons I’ve never been sure and asked for clarification.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Whether it's a summary of the new features, demonstrations of the 202 new RealTracks, new XPro Styles PAK 8, or Xtra Styles PAKs 18, information on the 2025 49-PAK, or detailed tutorials for other Band-in-a-Box® 2025 features, we have you covered!
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