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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Feb 2009
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Hi,

One thing that has baffled me throughout my time using BIAB is how to restore the original default instrumentation for a style to a song.

Let me give you a scenario:

You build a song using one style. You save it with "Save song with patches and harmony". Then you change the style. The style will change, but because the song has been saved "with patches and harmony" it retains the instrumentation for the earlier style.

OK, if I'd thought ahead, I could have saved a raw version without "patches and harmony" but if I didn't, is there a single-click way to revert to the original instrumentation for the new style once you've loaded it?

I know how to change different instruments, but since I want to get the benefit of the style creator's original choice of instrumentation, this doesn't help because I don't know what he chose.

Pointers greatly appreciated.

Thanks


Lyrics rule OK! Fighting for folk and folk-rock...
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Probably the easiest way is to change the name of the altered .sty then go to your disks and find the original one and slip it into the BIAB directory.

Then before beginning a project, set up a new .sty via Styles | Stylemaker | Edit Current Style and change the style name i.e. make the first two letters your initials then append the original sty name so you don't forget where the style came from. I learned this the hard way . . . I've change style names without noting what the original style was.

Hope this helps. Ian


Ian
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If you "saved with patches", then you haven't actually changed the underlying style. You've just over-ridden it with the settings in your current song. I would suggest going back to the "save with patches" dialog box and unchecking the boxes and setting the instrument patches back to zero and re-saving the song (perhaps with a different name). That should revert everything to the original style settings. Don't know what happens with explicitly selected RealTracks, however.

Of course, if you actually edited the style file and changed the instrument, that's a different thing. If that's the case, and presuming you didn't rename the style when you save it, then do so now for the affected styles and re-install BIAB to get the original style back. Both styles will then be present in your BIAB folder.


John

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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Thanks Ian and John,

I've not actually edited the style files - I have, as John suggested, simply over-ridden it with the settings for the current song.

Something as simple as changing the save with patches and harmony to remove any modifications never came to mind.

I'll try that and see how it goes. Otherwise I'll try Ian's suggestion.

Thanks again


Lyrics rule OK! Fighting for folk and folk-rock...
www.philmaybury.com
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Quote:

is there a single-click way to revert to the original instrumentation for the new style once you've loaded it? ..............Something as simple as changing the save with patches and harmony to remove any modifications never came to mind.


If you want to leave the mods in the song, but not have the patches triggered, try: Prefs->Midi Options and disable Song Patch Changes. I believe this will unsupress the Style control of patches (assuming it is enabled), but haven't confirmed extensively in recent builds. You can additionally disable style control, permitting free range patch & style noodling, all the while preserving the patches saved with the song.

FWIW. -Ron

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