Can I Take an Existing MIDI Style and Create a Custom midi style which has my chosen VSTI plugins pre-installed? I don't like to have to add vst plugins to improve the sound of the strings or piano over and over again on new songs. It would be so nice to save and use a MIDI style that has my preferred VST instrument plugins already attached! If this is doable can anybody tell me how to do this?
I know PG Music can associate plugins with MIDI SuperTracks but I'm not aware of a way to associate a plugin on a track and then have the set up saved as a style.
What should work though is to create a blank (?) song (SGU) file with plugins installed.
I know PG Music can associate plugins with MIDI SuperTracks but I'm not aware of a way to associate a plugin on a track and then have the set up saved as a style.
What should work though is to create a blank (?) song (SGU) file with plugins installed.
This is correct. You currently cannot save plugins to a custom Style. If in the future you would like to see this added as a feature to Band-in-a-Box, we suggest posting your ideas in our Wishlist forum because the more people who agree with the ideas, the more likely they are to be included in future releases. https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=cfrm&c=3
Creating a blank song and using it as a "template" would be a great way of streamline the process of having to add plugins each time. Great suggestion!
If you set VstSynthFont as the default Midi Device you can set each channel to a soundfont or a VST instrument as default. Don't know if the latest PG version has this or you need to get the one from the website http://www.synthfont.com/Downloads.html Updating VSTSynthfont
Jim that is an excellent idea! How would it work in this sense. Say I use a certain plugins to enhance the strings and piano and whatever. Let say this style has 2 string tracks. If I use my default file and change styles to a style that has 1 string or even no strings will the strings tracks be replaced with whatever the new style calls for? Can I create MULTPLE blank (?) song (SGU) file with plugins installed with different names for the ability to choose which plugins I want on the song or am I limited to only 1 song file? (As a starter I would like to improve the sound of the St-Elmop midi style. But I have other styles that I would also like to enhance.)
... if I use my default file and change styles to a style that has 1 string or even no strings wins to enhance the strings and piano and whatever... will the strings tracks be replaced with whatever the new style calls for?
It will replace any of the legacy tracks except for Soloist and Melody. I honestly don't know what it would do with the utility tracks. But if it does not touch them when you change, that may be the place to use you VST tracks. Give it a try.
Can I create MULTPLE blank (?) song (SGU) file with plugins installed with different names for the ability to choose which plugins I want on the song or am I limited to only 1 song file?
I think multiple template songs are a good way to go, particularly if, for example, you have a "standard" band line-up or similar.
A template song really can be any .SGU you want.
My setup is that I have all my/our regular songs in directories A, B, C, etc. under my name under bb/Songs. Also under Songs, I have music from other band members that we don't presently play, I have "WIP" (work in progress) and "MyTemplates".
I often take a copy of an existing song that I propose to develop into something else, so I'd copy, say, Songs/Gordon/C/Carrioca.SGU to Songs/WIP/MyNewSong.SGU and start work from that.
As I'm in the middle of changing from practice/accompaniment to songwriting, I personally have done only some of this ... I'm think one may have to do File->Save Special->Save Song with Patches and Harmony to save VSTs. Someone more experienced with that than me will hopefully elaborate or correct me if I'm mistaken.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2026 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
Thanks Gorden for your tip. Thanks to all who have replied to my question. I have a new suggestion/solution based on Gorden's helpful post. Take a look at it it is the last paragraph surrounded with four asterisrks. This may help some BIAB users.
**A Solution and a Spin-off from Gorden's Input**
I see I can take an existing song, which has the style I want plus the VST plugin instruments that I want to attach. I can use "Save as" and then just edit or delete the chords and put the new chords in. This is much less trouble than attaching and setting the sound patch and the midi channel numbers for 3 or more tracks!
Please consider this idea developed from Gorden's Tip:
****I could also create a Template directory and copy songs that I want to use as templates into that directory, also within that directory of template I could have sub-directories named by the Style that the template uses.****
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
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