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Based on my own research & what I've read plus the positive comments from this forum... I've decided to purchase the Mega Pak 2012...I noticed it doesn't come with tutorials.. Why is that? Are we supposed to learn by trial & error or this forum?...can we purchase tutorials separately?..also, can anyone suggest a good simple interface...is there anything that is a "must have" that doesn't come with the Mega Pak? I'm using win 7x64 6mg mem & 1.5 t hard drive......not a lot of other mem eating apps on my pc....thanks very much

Rethink this. You don't get Real Tracks or Real Drums either. It's a MIDI only package.

BTW where in NC are you?

To actually answer your question (and welcome to the forums -- love your user name!), there are a great many online tutorials right here. And, the very basic functions really are easy -- it's literally:

Set up your MIDI -- the Help file should have that in great detail
Pick a musical style from the Style Picker (the button that says "Style" just below and to the left of the name of the song) -- if it says it has to rebuild, click Yes
Input chords (up to four in each bar) -- e.g., C, D7, Am, Bsus, whatever. If you want two chord changes in a half-bar, separate them with commas
Click "Play"

That really, really is all you need to do. And we promise, we answer questions here, and we don't bite. Much.

As to the other stuff... as silvertones says, getting RealDrums and RealTracks will give you a quantum leap in sound quality. And they work together seamlessly with MIDI. And your computer sounds plenty beefy enough. (I too have Win7/64 and 6 GB RAM -- what processor do you have?)

Interface: What precisely do you want to interface with, i.e., what are you using with BIAB -- a keyboard controller, a hardware synth...? Give us a little more info, if you could.

Thanks, glad you mentioned real drums & real tracks....I just want to play around & record guitar/voice with biab arrangement...not really intending to go public...I'm near raleigh....any other tips you can suggest will be appreciated...which interface do you suggest?

Thanks, my pc is equipped with AMD FX-6100 six-core processor [3.3GHz, 6MB L2/8MB L3 Cache]....I want a guitar/mic interface so i can record guitar & voice...sorry to sound so naive but I'm just getting into this recording stuff..was gonna go with pro tools then a friend mentioned biab and from what I've read I like it...my user name is the name of my 2 female boxers...again thanks for your input

The MegaPAK certainly does come with some RealTracks and RealDrums.

It has a basic package with 160 RealTracks and sets 1 through 6 of RealDrums. See http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.htm

This gives you to opportunity to experiment with RealTracks and RealDrums, so you can decide if you wish to purchase more. There are currently somewhere around 1,000 RealTracks and 29 sets of RealDrums.

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Thanks, my pc is equipped with AMD FX-6100 six-core processor [3.3GHz, 6MB L2/8MB L3 Cache]....I want a guitar/mic interface so i can record guitar & voice...sorry to sound so naive but I'm just getting into this recording stuff..was gonna go with pro tools then a friend mentioned biab and from what I've read I like it...my user name is the name of my 2 female boxers...again thanks for your input

Kewl, beefier than mine indeed. There are many possible interfaces out there -- the cheapest and easiest are from M-Audio, both the Fast Track (which hooks up to your computer through one of the USB ports) and Audio Buddy (which plugs in through the sound card). I have them both, and I actually use Audio Buddy more. (Any other suggestions on USB interfaces, crew?)

Pro Tools is What Everybody Uses (Except For All The People Who Use Other Stuff), y'know?

You've already got BIAB and RealBand; for your purposes, that should honestly be enough.

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The MegaPAK certainly does come with some RealTracks and RealDrums.

It has a basic package with 160 RealTracks and sets 1 through 6 of RealDrums. See http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.htm

This gives you to opportunity to experiment with RealTracks and RealDrums, so you can decide if you wish to purchase more. There are currently somewhere around 1,000 RealTracks and 29 sets of RealDrums.

But there combos? Not sure what that's about.Can you still use individual RTs?

Yes Matt, it does say it comes with 1-6 drum sets but there is no demo for set 1.....does anyone know what set 1 is?...I play mostly classic rock & blues would be nice to know what set 1 is before purchasing...I called PG and they just said set 1 was a combo. thanks

Hi John. Not sure what you mean by 'combos'. RealStyles? Or if you mean 'RealCombos', this FAQ will help: http://www.pgmusic.com/salesfaq1.htm#45

We have always been able to select individual RealTracks for any instrument. I still do it that way, rather than looking for any assistance from groupings.

gypsyrosegracie, this page shows what is in each RealDrum set. http://www.pgmusic.com/realdrums.php?os=win

Sets 1 through 6 (see the bottom of the page) already come with the MegaPAK.

Matt, yes the link you posted shows realdrum sets except for Set #1...all pg was able to tell me is set #1 is a combo set...I play mostly classic rock & blues set 2-6 doesn't list either...how do we know what is in set 1?...looks like I need set 21...or maybe im confused...thanks

Oh, I see what you mean now; the specifics are not listed for that one.

I think perhaps they mean that Set 1 is a collection of various styles; that's what they meant by combo, as opposed to emphasizing one or two styles of music as the later sets do. If I recall correctly, and it's been many years, that first set of RealDrums had a little of everything; sort of like a sampler.

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Oh, I see what you mean now; the specifics are not listed for that one.

I think perhaps they mean that Set 1 is a collection of various styles; that's what they meant by combo, as opposed to emphasizing one or two styles of music as the later sets do. If I recall correctly, and it's been many years, that first set of RealDrums had a little of everything; sort of like a sampler.

Right. I'm just not sure if those RT Combos are somehow locked as Combos only or if you can use the individual RTs that make up the Combos. Just want the OP to get what's best.

Hello,

RealDrums Set 1 includes:
BossaBrushes
JazzBrushes
RockEven8
RockEven16

You can see a list of the other RealDrums here:
http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.ultra.htm#rdlist

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..I'm just not sure if those RT Combos are somehow locked as Combos only or if you can use the individual RTs that make up the Combos. Just want the OP to get what's best.

You can use each of the individual RealTracks, just as you are used to. Rather than including a random assortment of RealTracks with the Pro and MegaPAK versions, we combine a few RealTracks together to make a band, and make an .STY, and that's a RealCombo that we include. So while you only have a fraction of the total # RealTracks available, you still have the instruments needed to form complete bands in various genres.

If you can possibly swing an extra $200 go for the UltraPlusPak on the external USB hard drive. If not, get started and upgrade later. But at some point you WILL want those extra real tracks.