Hello Dan,
Thank you for the very interesting response.
When I write a song, I usually do so on my guitar, but will occasionally compose on my Yamaha keyboard to work out sax and piano solos, that sort of thing. I'll then plug in a chord progression in BandInABox and choose a style, bring in the instruments, and do 80% of the arrangements in there.
The 2023 version of BinB is amazing in its ability to edit and regenerate audio. I may also add some sparse effects, but generally I then import the whole thing into Mixcraft 9 Pro, a very handy little DAW. From there I add my vocals and guitar(s), additional effects, production and mix.
I am contemplating where to insert the Native Instruments part in my workflow. My initial thought was to replace some of the string sounds in particular that Band In a Box offers, even some of the MIDI, with the NI sounds once I bring it into my DAW. Of course, the NI sounds would offer a lot more in terms of variety, not just of straings.
While the current sale offers a discount on the NI software and hardware each separately, there is an additional compounded discount when you get both, as the hardware comes with a lesser tier of software, and so adding the Collector's Edition in my case is now considered an upgarde rather than a brand new full software purchase.
I do not have money to burn, but with the discounts, I am lucky to be in a position to afford it, and I don't think any piecemeal pricing down the road will beat it. Finally, sometimes I just like to derive inspiration by experimenting with sounds, so it would be nice to have the whole NI palette without restrictions.
Thank you again for your input. I would love to hear some of your tunes when they are ready.
Last edited by dunbar7376; 06/05/23 10:13 AM.