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I think you are right that I need to invest more $$ to get more available possibilities into my BIAB setup, but I'm a bit overwhelmed and confused about what exactly it is that I need, and I dislike just throwing $$ at problems.



I don't like to spend money that I do not have to spend either. This is a much different case, though. Read on.

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If I upgrade to the UltraPlus Pak, I will get all the other RealTracks and Drums that are available, but is that what I really need/want.



Absolutely.

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I am basically a composer/lyricist, not a gigging musician.



And that purpose is the reason that you should have ALL available styles installed.

I have had so many serendippity moments with Band in a Box and Styles possibilities over the years that it is hard to think of just one example, though I could but words don't describe music well enough to waste the space with the attempt at that here.

But I will tell you unequically that there is something to having as many styles as you can afford for those creative times. Often is the case where the feel and even tempo or beat of some project I've been working on and had in mind changed -- for the better -- simp;ly because I auditioned a few different styles with the same songfile.

Having all the styles available is also dynamite for those times when we need to get the creative juices flowing. Some days I will just opem one of the included Demo Song folders using the Jukebox and lt play in the background while surfing the web or doing other work on the computer. And often is the case where BiaB will play something that gets my attention for some reason or other. Might be catchy, might sound like it could fill the bill for a song I've been working on in my head or on paper, might be something entirely new to me that I dig the sound of. If I were to limit myself to only the styles that I already know, then I wouldn't know what it is that I don't know, which is often very beneficial to the process.

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I assemble my self-created lyrics into cool sounding tunes, but I am not much of a stage personality or performer. I have adequate musicians available to 'play' the music once I arrange it and print it out. (Which is what BIAB is perfect for)

Would the Norton MIDI stuff be more sensible for my needs, or the UltraPlusPak RealTracks.
(or something else completely?)

Doc K



Doc, I use both from both companies, my advice here is to upgrade to the full pgmusic supplied pak first, with an eye towards adding Norton styles as needed in future. PGMusic styles are not as object-oriented as Bob "Notes" Norton's good styles, meaning that Bob often makes a style available for use as cover song work, targeting a specific song or at least a genre trend. So for a songwriter, I'd say that the first thing to have is all the pgmusic styles, but don't lose track of Norton styles as well. With All-MIDI styles, I find it important to obtain and use a very good sounding MIDI synth to really wring the best out of them, which generally means investing in a Hardware MIDI solution at some point in time.

Mixing MIDI styles with RealTracks and RealDrums can be extremely effective. It is not an either/or situation and I try to encourage people not to fall into the habit of viewing things from that limited standpoint. After all, in the commercial recording studios day in and day out, I often am called upon to play a MIDI-based keyboard track or two which gets mixed in with the "real" instruments. And it is getting to be virtually impossible for the listener to hear a MIDI based piano in a recording and be able to tell it from a real live acoustic piano recorded with microphones. As an example.

When the Realdrums first came out, we all marveled at how just having that one real addition to the old MIDI Styles seemed to make the whole song sound more realistic and less "cheezy". Then when the Realtracks were added, we all found out yet again that using a MIDI style but adding RealDrums and mybe just one or two realtracks, a Realtrack Guitar in there maybe, or a horn, or both -- changed the overall sound of the MIDI-based song to something much better than could be found using MIDI alone.

"The more Style files you have available, the more you will be able do." Period.

That goes for anyone using this marveloous program for any purpose, songwriting, performance, practice, recording, education, self-education or any other uses one might conceive.


--Mac

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