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Down That Long Roadmy daddy worked in these appalachian mines
same as his daddy did before
but now the mines are empty
and so are all the stores
nobody's workin' anymore
their jobs have gone away
down that long road
daddy dug up coal for cheap electric power
made those northern generators turn
but when natural gas was cheaper for those power plants to burn
the bottom line's "financial return"
so they wrote us off to go
down that long road
i never dreamed of leaving daddy on his own
but i can't wait around watching him die
corporate vultures stripped us to the bone
bought up the land and bled it dry
'till there was nothing to go
down that long road
[instrumental]
early morning woke me from my sleep
looking around my lover's gone
he heard the raven calling from the tree
he slipped away first light of dawn
following that damned crow
down the long road
[verse 5]
i feel the soft tears fallin' down my cheek
i know it's time to for me leave
i hear the raven calling out to me
he knows there's nothing left for me
it's time for me to go
down that long roadInstruments~592:Bass, Acoustic Bluegrass Doc Ev 100 ~593:Fiddle, Rhythm Bluegrass Doc Ev 100 ~597:Guitar, Acoustic, Soloist Bluegrass Doc Ev 100 ~598:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Bluegrass Doc Ev 100 ~599:Mandolin, Rhythm Bluegrass Doc Ev 100 ~596:Fiddle, Soloist Bluegrass Doc Ev 100 2545:Banjo, Clawhammer, Rhythm OldTime Ev16 110 3385:Fiddle, BackgroundSoloist OldTimeBonfireAndy Ev16 110 VocalsLead Vocal: SynthesizerV (Solaria II) Backing Vocal: SynthesizerV (Quing Su 2, Felicia 2) FX ChainMix Buss: Curves AQ, Lurssen Mastering Console (Americana Loose, Warmer), Kramer Tape Stereo Lead Vocal: HorNEt The Normalizer, Curves Equator, Curves AQ, Room 360, Leapwing Al Schmidt (Modern Vocal) Vocal FX: LX480 Essentials (Vocal Plate Medium) Backing Vocals: Waves Vocal Rider, Izotope Doubler, Room360, Al Schmitt (50s vocal) All Other Tracks: Room360 The Short StoryI wrote a song. Feel free to listen and comment, or whatever.  The Long Story - But Shorter Than Usual  I found a style I hadn't used before, BGS_FGS.STY (Bluegrass Quartet w/ Guitar). I played around with the chords, but intentionally kept it simple. The verses are in Dm, and the instrumental is in F for some contrast. The instrumental was originally going to be a long chorus, but things change. I rendered out a backing track, and imported it into SynthesizerV, where I worked out a melody. There's a spinoff forum from VI-Control called Songwriter and Producer that is just getting started, so I figured I'd use the song as a sort of guinea pig. You can find that thread here. I'll summarize it here so you don't need to click the link.  I wasn't sure (as usual) what direction the song would go. The verses were dark and brooding, so that suggested a classic murder ballad. The chorus was bright and cheery, with a sort of gospel feel. The two parts didn't fit together at all. It was suggested that I write a goal for the song instead of my usual blind fumbling, so I went with: "A traditional bluegrass song using classic archetypes evoking a sense of loss in the verses, but despite that - or because of that - a stoic optimism in the chorus."I then started doing some research on the Appalachian region, and ran across this tidbit: Community members regularly experienced punishment as a reprisal for speaking out against their employers. In his study of culture and poverty in Appalachia, Dwight Billings suggests that this has resulted in a fatalistic attitude in the Appalachian people, based on a history of political corruption and disenfranchisement, leading to a sense of powerlessness.So much for "stoic optimism". Coal had been a major industry in the region, and was used primarily as a power source for generating electricity. but with the advent of fracking, natural gas became a cheaper source of fuel. This led to an increase in poverty and the flight of people from the region, going elsewhere looking for jobs. Now there was enough material for the song, along with an inciting incident. But that caused a bunch of problems for the narrative - mainly, how to present the story without it becoming an information dump. Long story short, I ended up with this version after many iterations and helpful suggestions from forum members. The poor raven was originally the title of the song, then virtually disappeared from the drafts, and then found its way back in again, but now as a once-titular character. I then added the harmonies because harmonies are fun. Again the suggestion of forum members fixed those harmonies from cool and dissonant to hopefully something that is more appropriate to bluegrass. The mix went through a bunch of iterations as well. I'd been using a bunch of effects trying to get a vintage sound, but there was a complaint that the instruments sounded like they were in different spaces. I had bought the Room360 plugin recently, so I pulled it up and put all the tracks in that. That simplified the FX on the tracks, as I wanted to stay with a fairly unprocessed and natural sound. At the last minute, I did some due diligence to see if the ch in "Appalachia" was being pronounced correctly, and read that the local dialect pronounced it "Appa-latch-ia", so I hopefully got that right.  As always, comments of any sort are appreciated! 
Last edited by dcuny; 11/03/25 05:33 PM.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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David, masterful in all respects. Thanks so much for all the background info, it's always enlightening and helpful for learning and growth.
Loved the style and feel, and the lyric/song was great...kudos for working the pronunciation--that really makes it extra cool.
Also loved how you used the RT's, both solo and background.
My only comment would be that I would like the ending to be taken out with the drive and rhythm of the bluegrass band.
Thanks for posting!
Windows 11, Intel Core i5-8600T 2.3Ghz, 16 gig ram, BIAB 2025 MegaPak, SampleTank 4, Keystation49 Kybd, Neewer NW-800 mic
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Hi David. This is very impressive. I also enjoyed reading through your notes. You've really put your heart and soul into this one. I don't know too much about the Bluegrass genre but what you have done kept me thoroughly entertained. As I was listening, I could hear that the song was in one of the minor modes and I was going for D Dorian. So I was pleased to dicover that it was actually in D minor. Being half-right made me smile Did you use the natural minor (i.e. Aeolian mode)? That's quite a story that you've told through these lyrics. Stories of the impact of capitalism and industrial greed on ordinary people are always worth telling. Hopefully, one day enough people will listen. I found your work thought-provoking. --Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Nicely done, David. Cool story and authentic sounding (to me) Appalachian-style arrangement. Particularly love the dramatic build and the role of the vocal harmony arrangement. Your descriptions often READ like the song should sound tortured, but they never do. This is very slick and enjoyable end-to-end. So...kudos!
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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David,
Wow, this is great! The story and production are outstanding. The vocals here are also excellent. I could easily hear Emmylou Harris or Dolly Parton covering this one.
Beautifully done...
Bob
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Hi David!
I find your write-ups *almost* as entertaining as your songs. So informative about your process.
Good storytelling! I didn’t notice the switch to major for the solo, but once I knew, it felt like a guilty pleasure in amongst a tale of sadness and woe. At least the fiddler had a good time!
Good song and choice of voice.
Andrew
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Inspiring. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this has real listening power.
Great choice of, well, everything. The vocals and the sublime backings just deliver. The choice of style is superb, but the thing that stands out the most is that you have put significant effort into perfecting this creation.
Thanks also for the detail on your creativity.
Top job, no question
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Hi, David,
One word summary, WOW!
Love how your build the track, starting off basic and slowly adding instruments.
Vocals are pretty good, especially when you bring in the harmonies, and they sound fabulous through the 'phones.
Good choice of instruments and mix.
Good write, I enjoyed the story of the appalachian miners.
Listened a few times. Really well done in all aspects, my new favorite from you.
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That is a very solid write and mix..
The story flows well and there are several lyrical gems!
The instrumental in F major feels little out of place to me, nevertheless it's all very well done and I really like the song!
Last edited by Scott H. Olson; 11/04/25 07:02 AM.
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David - very impressive, a highly sophisticated and complex project!
Can't quite relate to this degree of computer and BB mastery, way
over my head - but a great write with fantastic sounds & mix!
Carl
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Hi David,
It's always a pleasure to listen to your songs and read those incredible stories about how you conceived them and how they came to be.
This song is no exception, although the melody is almost the happiest song in your oeuvre.
It's a very sweet/sad song; the melody sounds cheerful, but the lyrics aren't (well... sort of).
I recently saw a few videos on YouTube, all about Appalachia.
I've never really cared about that region, but in the videos, as you said, the people were stoic. I didn't detect any optimism; the videos were all about murders somewhere in the mountains, and no one seemed to care, except for one journalist.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the vocal harmonies (very good). I found the lead singer's voice a bit too sharp/harsh for my ears, but it did fit the story very well, especially in relation to those YouTube videos.
Well done,
Hans
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Well done, David. It's a beautiful piece in your style, and your singers are very good.
Laurent
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Hi, Tom. David, masterful in all respects. Thanks so much for all the background info, it's always enlightening and helpful for learning and growth. Thanks! It was humbling when I put something out and think I did a pretty good job, only to have people point out flaws they wouldn't let stand. It turns out that real songwriters don't settle for "good enough" as often as I do. Loved the style and feel, and the lyric/song was great...kudos for working the pronunciation--that really makes it extra cool. I have great respect for people who work in styles and formats that aren't native to them - especially for those who's native language isn't English. Also loved how you used the RT's, both solo and background. There are a lot of really nice RTs that aren't in styles I work with often. It's a treat to be able to use them. My only comment would be that I would like the ending to be taken out with the drive and rhythm of the bluegrass band. The original version had an extended fade, which I really liked. But the consensus is that the song needed finality, so I changed the ending appropriately. I figured that if I was going to ask for suggestions, I should at least try it out! Thanks, I really appreciate your kind comments!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Noel. This is very impressive. I also enjoyed reading through your notes. You've really put your heart and soul into this one. I appreciate the comment, but on this I tried not to feel like I personally owned it. I didn't go into it with a plan to tell a particular story, and if someone said that something needed changes, I tried to make the change. In some places - like the harmonies - I could hear what they were talking about. In others, like some of the guitar bits - I couldn't hear the issues. You can't fix something that you can't hear, and so I had to accept that and move on. I don't know too much about the Bluegrass genre but what you have done kept me thoroughly entertained. I'm not deep into the genre, but there are others here that are. I'm sure they'll have something useful to say! One of the notes I got back on an initial mix was how there was way too much overlap between the instruments, instead of proper trading off of parts. I conceptually knew that, but some of instrumentalists in BiaB aren't good in trading off because they don't put in pauses unless you write them in. So I sort of cheated. For example, the fiddle gets the entire solo, because he didn't pause for any other instruments. I could have gone back and written some holds so that happened, but he did such a nice job, I figured I'd just give give it to him anyway. As I was listening, I could hear that the song was in one of the minor modes and I was going for D Dorian. So I was pleased to discover that it was actually in D minor. Being half-right made me smile Did you use the natural minor (i.e. Aeolian mode)? Yes, that's plain old natural minor. That probably should have been the harmonic minor, which was probably what someone was complaining about the guitarist not doing. (Yes, I should have chosen the "only chordal notes" option for him). That's quite a story that you've told through these lyrics. Stories of the impact of capitalism and industrial greed on ordinary people are always worth telling. Hopefully, one day enough people will listen. I love your optimism, but it seems that the pendulum is currently swinging in the other direction, with those voiced being silenced through threats and defunding. A lot of the regulations that were put in place were simply ignored. One of the coal companies had thousands of violations, and they got swept under the rug. There were all sorts of hyper-destructive mining techniques used in coal mining, and they're still a lingering issue. But coal had played a huge part in the region, and the rhetoric of "green" energy against coal has set a lot of those in Appalachia as seeing green energy as the enemy, not coal. There's also regional pride in having supplied energy to the nation, and a feel of betrayal of coal then being demonized and abandoned. Obviously, locals have different opinions, but this seems to be the general feeling. But I'm obviously not an expert on any of this. I found your work thought-provoking. I didn't come into this with any agenda, and while songs are good at preaching to the converted, they're often not good at changing people's minds. It just felt like without the background, the story didn't make much sense. I'll confess, though - I was sad when I finally dropped the word fracking from the lyrics. It needed to go because there was already too much information, and since it's an unusual word there was a problem with confusing it with something else. But still... Thanks again for listening and your thoughtful comments!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Ron. Nicely done, David. Cool story and authentic sounding (to me) Appalachian-style arrangement. Thanks! The nice thing about this forum is that if there's major issues, someone will tell me. And with synth vocals, it's not difficult to make corrections. Particularly love the dramatic build and the role of the vocal harmony arrangement. The truth is I'll generally write harmonies for the entire song, whether they'll be used or not. It's tedious, but fun to hear, especially since I'm not good at singing harmonies - I'm easily swayed by the main melody. But hearing and being able to sing simple intervals is something I want to work on. Then I have to scale the harmonies way back, because - to my ear - they sound so cool, I'll often overuse them. I went through a lot of iterations, each one with less and less harmony, because it makes them that much more effective when they finally do come in. Your descriptions often READ like the song should sound tortured, but they never do. This is very slick and enjoyable end-to-end. So...kudos! I'm glad the song didn't reflect the process - it shouldn't. It's like those musicians that make it so easy when they play those arpeggios across the keyboards. It looks so easy! I guess that's why guitarists make those weird faces when they're playing those solos. Thanks for stopping to listen and comment!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Bob. Wow, this is great! The story and production are outstanding. Coming from you, that's high praise!  The vocals here are also excellent. I could easily hear Emmylou Harris or Dolly Parton covering this one. Thanks! These synth vocals fall short, but hopefully they convey the song without being too much of a distraction. I'd started with a different synthetic voice, but she wasn't a native English voice, and one of the commenters found the accent really distracting. Emma's got a strong American accent, so that wasn't a problem. But she doesn't have that twang, and I'm not clever enough to figure out how to make that happen. I ran the song through Suno, which created a much more convincing vocal. But it also insisted on adding harmonies. Because I don't have the paid version, it also deviated from the melody. And the fact that Suno is stealing people's voices without attribution or compensation is also a bit of a problem.  But I'm happy to have tools that let me create a vocal that's closer than using my own voice to demo the song. Thanks for your kind comments, I appreciate them.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Andrew. I find your write-ups *almost* as entertaining as your songs. So informative about your process. I'm glad you enjoyed it. This is really far outside of my wheelhouse! I knew what needed to be said, I just didn't know how to do it, despite hearing it done by so many great artists. Weird. Which was all the more reason why it was good to do. I didn’t notice the switch to major for the solo, but once I knew, it felt like a guilty pleasure in amongst a tale of sadness and woe. At least the fiddler had a good time! That was originally planned as an uplifting, gospel-inspired bit, along the lines of "When we meet on that golden shore..." kind of write. That original story went out of the window once I starting reading about the contemporary situation in Appalachia. But yes - the fiddler is pretty impressive. It only required some minor edits to get some of the phrasing to smoothly join. Once I found the right soloist, that was the easiest part of the song. Good song and choice of voice. Well... stupidly, it wasn't my first choice. I stuck with vocalists that weren't native English speakers for a while, because I liked the quality of their voice. But I got enough complaints about the accent - something I'd learned to ignore - that I overlooked "Emma", who was a native English speaker. Her voice is a bit harsh, but I don't have the skills to shape it quite like I'd like to. But she was a much better fit. It just took a while to figure it out. Thanks for listening and commenting!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Trevor. Inspiring. I wasn't sure what to expect, but this has real listening power. Wow - thanks! Great choice of, well, everything. The vocals and the sublime backings just deliver. The choice of style is superb, but the thing that stands out the most is that you have put significant effort into perfecting this creation. I'll confess, the credit there goes to the folk on the Songwriter and Producer forum - Nekujak in particular - for helping me with this. It took some arm twisting to make that happen, because people are generally hesitant to be too critical. And that's great, because it helps make a welcoming environment. That's one of the things I love about this forum. For most of us, this is our main outlet and audience, and it getting kudos for our songs helps keep us going. I've been studying songwriting for a while, and it's easy to figure out who the pros are. I'm not one of them. There are a number of them here - you can hear it in their output. But it's also apparent in what they are able to hear. It's just a different level, and one I haven't experienced much. I know this is short in a number of areas. For example, I still put the vocal too far forward, and don't know how to get it to sit in the mix properly. And that's pretty basic stuff, right? But I'm working on it! Thanks also for the detail on your creativity. Doesn't everyone go through some sort of process like this? Maybe I am a masochist when it comes to songwriting. Thanks again for your kind words!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Dave. One emoji reaction: Love how your build the track, starting off basic and slowly adding instruments. Thanks! It never ceases to amaze me how I can't imagine the section without some instrument. Then I remove it, and it invariably sounds better, because it's not distracting the listener from where they should really be listening. Vocals are pretty good, especially when you bring in the harmonies, and they sound fabulous through the 'phones. Heh. Harmonies cover up a multitude of sins, especially with synthetic vocals. Good write, I enjoyed the story of the appalachian miners. Thanks, I'm glad I was able to beat those lyrics into telling a coherent story. Listened a few times. Really well done in all aspects, my new favorite from you. Thanks again, I appreciate your positive comments!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Hi, Scott. That is a very solid write and mix.. Thanks! The story flows well and there are several lyrical gems! Really, that's all I can hope for from a song. The instrumental in F major feels little out of place to me, nevertheless it's all very well done and I really like the song! Yeah, it's perhaps a bit too much of a contrast. If I'd used it as some sort of a bridge, it might have made more sense. But since the song needed some contrast to the repetition of the verses - in my mind, anyway - I kept it in. Live and learn. Thanks for stopping to listen and comment!
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Video: New User Interface (GUI)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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