Hi Sue,
Welcome to our forums, and welcome to the exciting world of possibilities from Band In A Box. Do I sound like a commercial? Whoa! Long day.

There are a number of solutions, but mainly your best sound is going to come from your synthesizer. Ahhhh, and you're going 'But I don't have a synthesizer!' Ahhh, yes you do!

Synthesizers are simply devices that create sound, in something that we would consider musical. Many are hardware, some, and in increasing numbers, are software, and reside in your computer. A software program like the Coyote Forte or some other 'software synthesizer' and a good sound card will give you a solution.

Unfortunately, most laptops don't have good sound cards. Enough to let you hear the bleeps, bloops, and blops of your operating system, and even some mp3s or such, but not a very high quality. You can buy an external sound card, or even a sound card that will fit in the PCMCIA slot on the side of your computer, which is a marked improvement over what is in there.

However, the old adage, 'You get what you pay for' especially is true when it comes to making music. While the Coyote Forte isn't bad, it doesn't stand up to a good hardware synth. There are some fantastic software synths available, but you either have to pay a goodly amount of money for them, or they are dedicated to a particular instrument, like the Native Instruments B4, or they have a limited number of sounds, like the Native Instruments Bandstand, which may not even be available any more.

I always recommend a hardware synth first, and then if the budget or other requirements prevent that from happening, then I'll revert to a software synth.

My first recommendation is to figure out if you want just to play back sounds, or do you want to play along with them on a keyboard? You can purchase a relatively inexpensive, but good sounding keyboard from Yamaha.

The PSR-E413: http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-PSRE413-61-KEY-PORTABLE-KEYBOARD?sku=706168

The PSR-S550B: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PSRS550BK/

Now, the first one is <$300, and the second is >$700. There is a difference in the sound quality, and you may be thinking I'm nuts to say 'relatively inexpensive.' Just so you know that I'm not.

The Yamaha Tyros 3: http://www.music-tyros.com/en/audio/index.html
http://keyboards-midi.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-TYROS-3-ARRANGER-WORKSTATION?sku=241895

These are all 61 key 'home' keyboards, or at least 'Arranger' keyboards. My my, we have come a ways since those one finger chords of the 80's!

Now, even $4,000 is a bit out of my range, but you have choices. All of this is if you want a keyboard to play along with the song.

If you don't want a keyboard, there are synth 'modules', which are smaller, stand alone devices which you can plug in a USB cable, or USB to MIDI Adapter, and play there. There are some of those, too, and PG Music currently carries two of them. The current top favorite among those who have heard it, or tried it, is:

The Ketron SD2: http://www.pgmusic.com/ketronsd2.htm
You can hear demos of it here: http://www.ketronus.com/demos.php Scroll down and you can see that the SD2, 3, 4 and SD5 all use the same 'sound engine' so they should be the same. Play the SD2 Slow Swing demo with a good pair of headphones or speakers to hear what you can get for less than $400. Remember, all those sounds come out of that tiny little module.

You can also, for $100 less, get the Roland SD-20 Studio Canvas: http://www.pgmusic.com/sd20.htm

Finally, after all of that, if you buy a module, you will need a good pair of speakers, since they won't use the computer speakers. I don't recommend getting computer speakers, but there are various small systems that you could get that would suit the bill. You could even plug it into your home stereo system, if you have a Tape In or Aux in that you're not using. Depending on the stereo, of course, will decide what kind of sound you're going to get out of it. But, you can purchase dedicate studio monitors from $100 for a pair (blech) to several thousand dollars a piece (heart attack!) For serious music making, editing, recording and mixing, you're probably going to spend in the neighborhood of $300-$400 for a good starter system

You may be able to get by with something like these, for under $200
Edirol (the same company as Roland) http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pro...Pair?sku=603678

I use the first generation of the Rokit RP5's, and am very happy with them.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/KRK-Rokit-Powered-5-Generation-2?sku=482825

Mackie has gotten into the 'low end' of the spectrum, but if these are anything like their other product, they'll be a great sound. Less than $400 for the pair.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mackie-MR5-Active-Studio-Monitor?sku=603999

I hope that I haven't given you sticker shock, or scared you off. What I've given you is a range of choices to consider. Your Band In A Box songs can come alive, given the right sound source. But, without the sounds being of a better quality, the songs, no matter how well done, will sound like a three year old on a 'tink tink' piano. If you wish to step up to the Real Instruments of the latest Band In A Box, you're also going to need a better sound device (NOT a synth, a way to get the sound in and out of the computer!) and possibly a small mixer.

As I said earlier, you get what you pay for, and unfortunately, music isn't an inexpensive hobby.

Best to you, and we're here to help in any way that we can.

Regards,

Gary

I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!