Earlier we announced a new video, Entering Chords in Band-in-a-Box®, which explains the different chord types, how to add 4 chords per bar, using pushes, and more. We're building on this topic with our latest video, Using the Chord Builder in Band-in-a-Box®. The Chord Builder is build right into Band-in-a-Box®, and is a great way to audition different chords!
I think adding the ability to also see the notes of the chord, rather than only hear it, would greatly increase the educational/overall value of this whole feature. Many of the available chords there go far beyond what I'ever even heard of, so getting to instantly see the notes that the more obscure ones actually contain would be a huge benefit.
This feature will play MIDI, so make sure that your MIDI Setup is working. To test this, within Band-in-a-Box, go to the Pianos tab in the top right (don't see it? Hit CTRL T to see the full BB screen)
Click on any of the pianos and you should hear something - if you don't, go to Options | MIDI/Audio Drivers setup and check your MIDI Output - if you do not have any output selected, you won't hear the Chord Builder (this happened to me too).
If you are using ASIO instead of MME, the important thing is to have ASIO Always On checked. If the driver wasn't selected, you wouldn't have sound at all, but if that box is unchecked, you would only have sound if the song is playing, so MIDI Thru would stop working as soon as you stop playback (added with Edit - thanks Kent!)
To change the instrument, within the Mixer, go to Patches and change the instrument for the "Thru" channel. If you do not see "Thru", you will have to click on the [THRU+] button (lower right of the mixer).
But technical problem or not, I think that initial idea of having some prefs setting to control the sound heard in the CB interface (which for decades has always been fixed as piano) is well worth examining. For instance, having the option to change it to guitar sound would very likely translate much better to the ears of guitar players, and so on.
I tried several things you suggested and now the chord builder sounds with a piano; so I'm happy. I did not have a midi output driver selected; fixing that seems to have solved the problem. Thank you.
I'm a guitar player too but I don't mind the piano sound. Oddly, if you follow Callie's instruction about the thru channel you can change the instrument name if you use GM patches. But it still makes the piano sound on my setup. I tried several instruments but all I heard was piano.