Before I upgraded to 2026 I used to "demo" the styles in the Style list before selecting one. The button would play a sample piece using the style in question. Not my progression, but one that was apparently built into the style to show off the style's qualities.
Well, that doesn't work anymore in 2026 for me. I click on "demo" and absolutely nothing happens.
By the way, all my audio and midi stuff plays fine. So, I would think my settings would be OK.
Anyone know what happened to my demo function on the style list?
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core Processor. 3.79 GHZ; RAM = 32.00 GB; 64 Bit Operating System; Windows 10; Focusrite 8i18 External Card; Real Band; Band in a Box; Coyote Forte Wave Table; Oxygen 49 MIDI Controller
All I can say is that the "Demo" button does nothing. Regardless of whatever options I choose. I really don't want to change my project just to hear a bunch of Styles, most of which are going to be rejected upon listening.
My old version BIAB was simple. You clicked on one button just to hear a sample of the style. Didn't affect the project I was working on in any way.
Now if I click the Demo button the only that happens is that it is "auditioning" or words to that effect. Only there's no auditioning. Just silence.
Maybe they will fix things to work the old way.
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core Processor. 3.79 GHZ; RAM = 32.00 GB; 64 Bit Operating System; Windows 10; Focusrite 8i18 External Card; Real Band; Band in a Box; Coyote Forte Wave Table; Oxygen 49 MIDI Controller
When you click the [Demo] button in the StylePicker, it will either play a local .wma demo if one exists, or it will play an online demo.
After you click on the [Demo] button and hear nothing, go to the Chord Sheet and type the word "Log" followed by <enter> (or go to Help | Utilities...). This will bring up the log file showing how it tried to play the demo. It either tried to play a demo locally or online, and it either succeeded or failed.
I just did a complete reinstall to see if I could figure out what was wrong here. When I got done, the demo button worked again.
I also suspect that part of the problem might’ve been that I had been designating Audacity as the default player for.WMA files
Either way, it works now. And thanks very much for your response.
I still wish that they would go back to the days where you could sample your chords over the style that you are auditioning without loading it onto your project, potentially messing up your project. That was a pretty good feature, I felt.
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core Processor. 3.79 GHZ; RAM = 32.00 GB; 64 Bit Operating System; Windows 10; Focusrite 8i18 External Card; Real Band; Band in a Box; Coyote Forte Wave Table; Oxygen 49 MIDI Controller
<< I still wish that they would go back to the days where you could sample your chords over the style that you are auditioning without loading it onto your project, potentially messing up your project. That was a pretty good feature, I felt.>>
I wonder if you and others are aware of how the upgraded system works, or at least how I've learned to use it? It seems designed to not mess up a project. It's fast because of the algorithm upgrades made around 2022, It accounts for the undo feature request with a better method than the normal undo feature most folks are accustomed to. In the upgraded StyleMaker, BIAB can be set to automatically track and save your searches and save your searches in a small text file that can matched with each project as a set. So, in your folder, just as audio files can be saved with projects, StyleMaker searches can too. Favorite Styles can be marked and included in this saved file as well.
With this system, you simply open the associated text file along with re-opening the project and you have instant access to the associated search and favorites. Multiple Search/Favorite sets can be made and organized to user's convenience and workflow. A search/favorite set tracks 250 recently accessed/ auditioned Styles and 75 Favorites. If a search exceeds these limits, simply name and save the set and open a new one, and continue your work. So, even if you were to search 1,000 Styles, saved into five sets, the user can still have instant access to the original Style if they desire simply by marking it as a Favorite at the beginning of the project.
I recall in the older version, BIAB still loaded the Style to audition over user input chords. It was done in the background and it always began at the beginning of the song and was limited to a preset of four bars unless edited by the user. Now, the entire chord chart is available to be auditioned and the user can move to any location on the chord chart even if the song format is multiple choruses.
I've attached a screenshot of the Recently Used/Favorites Dialog Window
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.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
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