I've not be very active on the forum so far this year as I've been working on sung songs and due to lack of inspiration struggling with instrumentals, having only posted one last month. Re sung songs I'm currently working on one with Lucy, but that was delayed as she was off on holiday. Assuming that works out it'll be a duet. Then re this new instrumental, I struggled with it from time to time this year, continuously changing the chord structure, and even when I had all the stem samples sorted it didn't work for me until I upped the tempo from 110 to 115 bpm. See the long paragraph note below re a very bizarre anomaly which occurred after upping the tempo as logically it shouldn't have been possible. "Iola Tao" is a character from my trilogy-length epic science fiction gnostic quest novel and the video features the 3D model I created of her around a decade ago.
Drums: Country Rock Guitar Solo, Pop Ba ~ Brian Fullen Bass: Country Rock Guitar Solo, Pop Ba ~ Tobin Frank Fingerstyle Rhythm Guitar: Acoustic Guitar: Seek Smooth Panpipe ~ Quinn Bachand 1st Organ: Country Rock Guitar Solo, Pop Ba ~ Gene Rabbai 1st & 2nd electric Rhythm Guitars: Jovian Divine Alt Rock Soloing ~ Mike Durham 2nd Organ: Giddy Up Country Ballad w Organ ~ Blair Masters 1st Guitar Solo: Blaring Heavy Funk Rock Solo ~ Brent Mason Tenor Sax Solo: Verdite Light Soul Pop Sax Solo ~ Mark Douthit 2nd Guitar Solo: Floor Punch Hard Funk Rock Solo ~ Danny Rader 3rd Guitar Solo: Praise & Worship w/ Power Pop So ~ Dave Cleveland
G / 115bpm / 144 bars / 5:11
NOTES: The Verdite Light Soul Pop Sax Solo is a hybrid of 2 samples. The Floor Punch Hard Funk Rock Solo is ditto. The Praise & Worship w/ Power Pop So(lo) is a hybrid of 4 solos.
The original BiaB instrument samples were all rendered at 110 bpm, then arranged in Audacity at the same tempo, but as the instrumental lacked zest I had to increase the tempo to 115 bpm in Audacity. In doing this an anomaly occurred with the Praise & Worship w/ Power Pop So(lo): despite that the waveform clearly showed the channel bias was to right, at exactly halfway through it switched channels - though sometimes it would play correctly but even then it always rendered with the channel switch - and only on rendering the whole instrumental did the waveform show the shift to left. The eventual solution was to load the original 110 bpm hybrid stem file into Audacity, up the tempo to 115 and make 2 copies of it, cut the 2nd ½ out of the 1st stem, load the 2nd stem, swap channels and cut the 1st ½ out and render the 2 as a single stem. I can only assume that the anomaly occurred due to upping the tempo, but it's a baffler!
Last edited by WaoBand; 02/28/2612:26 PM.
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Everything here works so well. The arrangement and those driving guitars are so effective. I also love the big crisp mix. It sounds great through my monitors.
Author and composer, you're a real Renaissance man, Chay! Liked the guitars in this a lot - held my interest. Can't wait to hear what you and Lucy will collaborate on, I'm sure it'll be epic.
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
Hi, Chay. You're instrumentals always sound so effortless despite the sometimes torturous journey you describe. Nice build and pacing throughout. The tradeoffs between soloists are really nicely done. Super mix, too.
The trick of bumping tempo up a bit to add energy is one I use a lot. Sorry about the tech issues. Still a good trick.
DC Ron BiaB Audiophile Presonus Studio One ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM Presonus Faderport 16 Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
Chay, Everything here works so well. The arrangement and those driving guitars are so effective. I also love the big crisp mix. It sounds great through my monitors. Excellent work! Bob
Many thanks from me and Io, Bob, though she won't be born for another 100 years!
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Author and composer, you're a real Renaissance man, Chay! Liked the guitars in this a lot - held my interest. Can't wait to hear what you and Lucy will collaborate on, I'm sure it'll be epic.
Author & composer! How dare you, Rob! You forgot graphic artist. Lucy's now late getting her vocals to me, so I think she's struggling as she's very soft-voiced and the project needs extoverted rock vocals.
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
I like the way this builds, Chay. Good instrumental, you held my interest throughout. Looking forward to hearing your collaboration with Lucy!
Much appreciated, Dave. Re Lucy, see my reply to Rob-Tunemonger above. I think she might be experimenting with different octaves.
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Hi, Chay. You're instrumentals always sound so effortless despite the sometimes torturous journey you describe. Nice build and pacing throughout. The tradeoffs between soloists are really nicely done. Super mix, too. The trick of bumping tempo up a bit to add energy is one I use a lot. Sorry about the tech issues. Still a good trick.
Thanks Ron! I think that 'impossible' channel switching glitch occurred in part as it was a hybrid solo and the switch occurred where one sample ended and another began, but it was very odd that the waveform showed right channel emphasis, yet it rendered left.
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Chay, you are a master at manipulating RTs into the perfect song. Super build up and choice of RTs Mixed perfectly as usual I like it a lot
Thanks, Mario! Always appreciated.
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Very nice work in the use of the different tracks for a beautiful result. Laurent
Much appreciated, Laurent.
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Chay, Excellent use of BIAB. Bass and guitars sound great. A cool track. A lot of meat. And potatoes. Good mix. fj
Thanks, Floyd! I'll go for the meat and potatoes, plus some gravy. US or UK style will do!
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Well done, Chay. I've listened a couple times already. Good build, and after the build you keep the interest with the instrumentation. Good mix as always, and an engaging composition.
Enjoy whatever happens! marty
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub Band in a Box, Reaper, Cakewalk, Ozone 12, EZDrummer
Nicely developing theme from the acoustic guitar through the sax to the wild electric guitar, great work with that solo which sounds very natural and lively to me. The organ and the electric rhythm guitar provide pleasant backing mood, like a romantic evening on a warm beach.
Hi Chay! As others have said, this builds nicely, and those lead guitar solos didn't grow tired. They reminded me a little of some of Mike Oldfield's guitar work around the time of 'Five miles out'. You've got a good chord base for the song, and that gives it a ton of musical variation. Loved it - and looking forward to your sung pieces with Lucy. Andrew
You've created an impressive melody with beautiful solos! Even though it's quite a long song, it never gets boring. It keeps you captivated!
But probably I missed something; about those very nice characters I don't understand their function for, or in this song. Do they act in a movie? And is the song just there as background music, or...?
Well done, Chay. I've listened a couple times already. Good build, and after the build you keep the interest with the instrumentation. Good mix as always, and an engaging composition.
Thanks, Marty!
Some favourite Waoist Adages: #1: Play on the Way. #13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you. #58: Bring consciousness to it. #63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made. #92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
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The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
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Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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