I have one wish, OK two, Steely Dan, (you could do 10 of them with no problem) and Van morrison....another 10.
Can't wait!!

+1 for Steely Dan and Van Morrison

Check out the already existing "LA Pop" styles folder.

It is all Steely Dan specific.


--Mac

I'm using this old thread, because as a newcomer I was looking for something that sounds a bit like Steely Dan.

I just bought BIAB Mega 2018, and I dont get how to locate a style folder. When I use Style Picker all that come up is different styles. Does "LA Pop" styles folder come with the program, or is it something I must buy separately?

If I could get some help with this I would be most grateful.

This thread is almost 10 years old and the Style Picker interface was very different back then.

The LA Pop styles are "MIDI-Only" styles and are found in Style Set #73 (you can filter on that in the new Style Picker). Here is the description, along with demos, for that style set.

Hope that helps.

Thanks a lot. I listened to those styles, and I quite like them, although they sound a little cheesy, because it´s all midi, but if I can figure out how to use external Vsti's, it should be fine.

However, when I filter on #73, the only style that comes up is a style called Brubek5, so I guess it's not included in Mega 2018.

I've just started out with this program, but I must say that I find this Style Picker very difficult to use, and the whole program to be a bit weird.

It sounds good though.

That's weird, because as I understand it, the 2018 Mega Pak should include all the MIDI styles, but Brubek5 isn't even listed as one of the style in style pak #73. So that's weird. Brubek5 is a style in set #54.

But make sure you clear any other filters first, then select the package to see all the content.

But, if you're not seeing all the MIDI styles, you might want to log into your account on the main PGMusic screen and re-download some of the program and re-install (of course after doing so, be sure to re-apply the latest update patch to bring you up to date). If your serial number is not registered, you may need to do so to see the content for your 2018 MegPak; you just enter your serial number and after it's registered, you should be able to see the content downloads.

And as you have discovered, the sound of the MIDI styles is only as good as the MIDI synth you are using to play it back.

Hope this helps.

Gonna chime in here, as Steely Dan is my ALL TIME FAVORITE band (my username comes from one of my favorite Steely Dan songs).

The thing about Steely Dan is how incredibly versatile they are. Now, my experience thus far is that BiaB--due to how it's programmed, structured and how its algorithms work--performs some styles/genres faultlessly, and others not so much. For instance, I find the metal styles terrible...but that's OK in my opinion, as metal music is extremely riff based. A measure that could be notated as an E5 chord (for lack of other more plausible options) might contain upward of a dozen notes with pinch harmonics and palm muted chromatic triplets. (I'm not kidding btw, next time you're at your local music store browse through a Pantera tab book).

Steely Dan has complex chords, incredible song structures, and assembles various stylistic elements into wonderfully unique arrangements.

Now this may be a very controversial opinion of mine, but 90 percent of the time I would strongly recommend AGAINST using the Stylepicker filter to make a cover song or backing track (and this applies not only to SD songs, but to many others). Yes, many times you will get a perfect match (Sultans of Swing), but I find that a lot of the recommendations are very far off.

Another caveat: as a general rule, the earlier the Steely Dan album, and the more likely it got/gets played regularly on the radio, the more likely you will find a good fit with the Stylepicker filter.

For instance, you will find perfectly serviceable matches for Reelin' in the Years and Rikki Don't Lose That Number, then you will find for Deacon Blues, Gaucho, or Third World Man. The former examples have simple bare-bones progressions. If I wanted to make a backing track for the latter songs, I would cherry-pick my Realtracks rather than trying to load a style.

Now that we're on the subject, I would love to know which particular SD songs you would like to find styles for, @Tomko.

Yes, if you are expecting the stylepicker to give you an exact match, you will likely be disappointed unless it is a very basic, generic song.

What it is designed for, and in my opinion does a reasonable job, is to get you in the ballpark and give you a starting point. So, after you enter the song it will list all the styles that have a similar tempo, genre, and feel (ev8, ev16, etc.) and eliminate all the ones that could never possibly work.

In my case I don't think I've ever used a style right out of the box. Initially I'm looking for a good rhythm section, drums and bass, that match what I'm looking for. Once I have that I start auditioning the other instruments I need.

So, for me it saves a lot of time wading through styles that are not even close, which is what we had to do before they added the stylepicker.

Another vote for more Steely Dan/Donald Fagan Solo type real tracks post Royal Scam particularly with Fagan rhodes and horn voicings.

Also Van Morisson IMO "Peak Period" from Healing to No Guru. One of my favs is a Ray Charles cover of What Would I Do on Sense of Wonder. (It's in 3s) The groove of the Beautiful Vision band is matchless - really comes through on Scandanavia.