Don't forget Band-in-a-Box lets you use some keys of the computer keyboard to enter midi notes so between that and your Godin guitar controller you already have two midi entry methods. But I'm going to suggest you consider a third, a midi keyboard.

The Christmas shopping season generally has midi keyboards available at great prices. You will most likely be able to find a great sounding Korg, Yamaha, Casio or Roland midi keyboard for a few hundred dollars. You may also be able to pick up a used keyboard from a yard sale, thrift shop, pawn shop or Craigslist at a reasonable price. But, it doesn't matter if it's new or used, you will need to do some serious homework to have an idea what is a reasonable price for what your looking at. A keyboard gives you a third way to enter midi plus it gives you access to a GM/GM2/GS or XG compatible external sound module.

No matter how you enter the midi data you'll likely find a keyboard a worthwhile investment. Most midi software instruments such as Kontakt are designed with the keyboard split into sections for articulations, chords, notes and modifiers. Using some other entry tool such as a guitar controller will not allow you to take full advantage of the instrument capabilities.

Another tool you'll find very useful with midi is the step sequencer. You can build increasingly complicated midi scores one step at a time.

Others have mentioned several good sources for midi driven sound instruments. You truly can perform an internet search for sound instruments and come up with just about any instrument sound you can desire.

What hasn't been asked is, "What would you like for midi to do for you?" What would you expect to accomplish by using midi? What do you want midi to provide that BiaB doesn't provide? To me, the answers to those questions should be important to you because the answers help determine the best answer to your question.

Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home