Thank you all for your input. It is really great to see the community surrounding bb.

After I posted this thread, out of frustration I went nuts and downloaded about 150 free midi song files from the web. (That is only the tip of that iceberg.) Of course using the Windows sounds really sucked, but I found the GM Coyote sounds to be pretty good and I know I haven't even touched the other GM sounds and styles that came with bb. So I have midi song files with the hooks ready to be split up by channels and edited. (Remember to never say never because I am back to doing what I swore I would never do again, midi editing.) I know that will give me what I need, but not what I really wanted. Once the sounds are right and the editing done, then I will take reformat them to .wav files on CDs for portability and convenience.

What I was trying to do was to take MP3s, download them into bb, keep them in audio and add only the hooks with my guitar using midi. My goal was to keep everything as recorded on the record as close as possible and to do as little to it as I could. If someone asked to sit in, there would be no surprises. Same thing if I sat in, throw in my CD of .wav songs, listen for the count and take off. It wouldn't sound like the record sounds because of different sample sounds and styles, but it would have been easy to work with. I think I have enough to work with for now, but if I know me, I can never leave good enough alone, so that is when the real tweaking will begin. What I am trying to do is a blues single, which might be a bomb anyway. I can always fall back on Plan B. If it turns out I can't find all the tunes I want, I am more than willing to ask for help.

About those fake books, I bought three huge ones from this shady looking guy that used to come around the clubs every year or so 40 years ago. That was long before they published legal ones, but a lot of musicians still had them hidden away back then. He always drove a new Caddy and his trunk was always full of them.

Thanks again for your input and help. I will let you know how all this plays out.

c