The Band-in-a-Box 2021 OmniPAK Audiophile Edition has exceeded all my expectations.

The highly compressed (1:11 ratio) wma files in the UltraPAK edition was revealing compression artifacts during Key Transposition. This made me decide to make the switch to the Audiophile Editon to access the uncompressed WAV files.

While gathering more information on this Audiophile Edition I found out that PG Music sells an OmniPAK Version of the Audiophile Edition:

https://www.pgmusic.com/omnipak.htm

Half way through this 18-min demo I was sold:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLbtplh2uRE

I could not believe just how many music production tools, lessons, tutorials, master classes, demos, games and utilities the company has managed to compile into this all-in-one package.

There is something for everybody from a beginner to a hobbyist to a professional musician. This is a must have collection for a pianist, guitarist, saxophone player or a vocalist.

Just a quick call to Chantelle at PG Music was all it took to upgrade my UltraPAK edition to the OmniPAK Audiophile Edition. She had it delivered via UPS Express service in less than 24 hours.

Everything came pre-installed on a Seagate 2 TB USB 3.0 external hard drive. I was stunned at the sheer number of programs that were included. The content filled up 1.51 TB of space.

The WAV tracks sounds pristine. They have been recorded well with zero noise and sparkling clarity. This is the real deal.

The size of the RealTracks folder is 1.33 TB

I can see right away how this OmniPAK Audiophile Edition can benefit a Yamaha GENOS user.

The killer feature is the included RealBand 64-bit application that can seamlessly stitch together phrases of all backing tracks recorded as Audio WAV files by accomplished Studio Musicians once you lay down the Chords to a Song. It manages to transpose these phrases to any specified Chord within a reasonable range of Tempo without adding any audible glitches.

This is trivial with MIDI but not an easy feat when you are dealing with Audio Tracks.

Because these are audio recordings played on real instruments (not synthesized), they convey a higher degree of realism and nuance while sounding more organic and live.

I found this especially evident while playing back RealTrack Country Styles featuring the Pedal Steel Guitar.

The GENOS does a fine job of emulating a Pedal Steel Guitar, but the slides do not quite sound as authentic as the real instrument.

Who knows maybe someday the Arranger Keyboards will begin to include Audio Tracks for their backing accompaniment. KETRON was the first company to introduce Audio Drum tracks in an Arranger Keyboard. Yamaha followed soon after.

If you want to have all your backing tracks use Audio, Band-in-a-Box is the only game in town.

Dr. Peter Gannon founded this company in 1988. PG Music is named after his initials. It has evolved by leaps and bounds since its introduction as a MIDI sequencer on the Atari.

Their Customer Support is absolutely top-notch. Since PG Music is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, you save in taxes by ordering direct.

What makes their software so easy to use are the hundreds of short tutorials they have posted on their website. They cover everything from initial Setup to using various features that may interest a wide spectrum of users from an absolute beginner to a pro.

https://www.pgmusic.com/videos.bbwin.htm

They have more videos on their YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHpF7zvR8o_6qLsvcoG9Dkg/videos

A lot of demos created by the Band-in-a-Box Users are featured on the PG Music Forum:

https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=50

They have a lengthy product line with various upgrade options:

https://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.htm

In my opinion it is best to skip all these packages and make a one-time purchase of the OmniPAK Audiophile Edition. This is a steal of a deal that will keep you happy for many years.

The next best option is to buy the OmniPAK Regular Edition. You will miss out on the uncompressed WAV files on the RealTracks and Drums.

There is no single tool that could satisfy everyone. Competition is great. It propels innovation bringing newer technology at affordable price points.

Would Yamaha have developed REVO Drums without KETRON pioneering the way?