Dear Mr Norton,

I've been using BIAB off and on since 2012 or so. My latest version is 2020 (Windows). I've opened very many style demo files (SGUs) which come with BIAB, and every one I've tried has always let me change the entire band style, or individual instruments, from whatever they were set to, to a completely new style or instrument, whether it was a midi style or a Real Track.

In other words, a chord progression could be played back through anything; that for me has been the magic of the software, letting you explore the different results you can get by playing the same chords through different instruments. I therefore assumed any SGU file could do this. Just as, say, any MS Word file lets you change fonts. As DrDan said "Midi plays fine with new RS, but does not swap the midi for RTs (which it should. right?)" I believed the answer to his question was "right".

This is exactly why I bought your SGU format fakebooks of the Beatles songs, expecting this functionality. Before purchase I did read carefully through the rather long part of your site which states in detail what you can and cannot do with your fakebooks. Nothing there suggested this functionality would be missing. So I pulled the trigger, figuring that the time it would save me entering the chords for their songs manually would make it a bargain.

Alas, the result is what I described in my OP when I opened your fake book version of "You've got to Hide your Love Away". When I first opened it and pressed play, I got your midi arrangement; all the midi styles worked.

But, while I got no errors or error messages when changing from your instrument midi patches to RTs, I also got no sound either, except a quick burst on 2-3 scattered measures from one instrument. I tried some of my most-used RTs, the Campfire guitars, both even and swing feels. No joy whatsoever.

Had I known your fakebooks did not have this basic - universal, I thought - SGU file functionality, I would certainly not have bought them. Again, if something on your site makes it clear that these files don't, it eluded me. I feel the money is wasted.

Rather than, as you suggest, me testing a file which I did not purchase, perhaps you could (and others, if so moved) could test one which I did. Here is a dropbox link the the aforesaid SGU, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xeiv5u65ztpaqudhw8800/You-ve-Got-To-Hide-Your-Love-Away.SGU?rlkey=m12hg0q982azq8o3iwco03l50&dl=0

By the way I did email you on 21 Feb, replying to the email with the order confirmation (bob@nortonmusic.com), and again on 26 Feb. But I never got an email in reply. (I checked spam). That's one reason why the discussion is here as I couldn't seem to reach you another way. Another was to see if any other folks might have ideas.

If others experience the same problem with this file, I'd suggest you perhaps make it clear on your site whether one can in fact expect these to work in the way other SGU files do - i.e. again, you should be able to play any track thought any RT if the chords are already entered. I'd also ask you to consider refunding my purchase, please.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tDj_VanH3g