When I use the soloist and select a RealTrack is that the same result as just assigning that same RealTrack to the Soloist track? Or is there something different going on in how the part is generated?

John,

If you use the Soloist function to select a Realtrack, you have a little more control. For example, it's possible to use the "Custom" button and have the solo play a specific range of bars.

Assigning a solo by RT picker to any of the tracks will put it on that track for the duration of the song. (Bar settings will allow a user to bring it in an out of the playback as he or she wishes.)

Hope this helps,
Noel

• 90dB's version of my song, Brighter Than Any Star

Thanks Noel! I see how you get a little more control with Soloist and I get how assigning it to a track means it generates for the entire track (until you turn it on/off by bar setting) but I was wondering if the generation of the solo part is any different using Soloist. I guess I could experiment with this.

I also wonder if the solo generated is any different due to it being generated on the Soloist track as opposed to another track? For example, other than the natural differences you would get from each generation of a RealTrack, would the following techniques yield the same or different results?

1) I create a 4 bar song with a single chorus.
2) I assign a RealStyle to my song.
3) On the second track (default Piano track), I assign "809: Guitar, Electric, Soloist DrivingCountryBallad Ev 065 (Audley Freed)"
4) On the Soloist track I assign the same track as #3 using the Style picker
5) Generate
6) Will both tracks that are assigned 809 be comparable or is the Soloist track generated differently?
7) Delete the 809 from the Soloist track
8) Open Soloist dialog and assign 809 to the entire song
9) Generate
10) Will both tracks that are assigned 809 be comparable or is the Soloist track generated differently?

Also, a follow up question...is the generated track affected in any way by the style that has been chosen?

- No.



- No.



I assume you are referring to RTs over a "Midi Style". This has been debated here before. I am of the opinion that the answer, except for tempo and key, is No the RT's are not impacted by the Style. RT only play what is recorded.

But I may be wrong

Yes, generating a solo on the Soloist track (using the Soloist dialog) is different in a few ways.

1. You can generate a solo over a certain range (for example 4 bars starting at bar 1 chorus 2.
2. You can regenerate other solos on the same track, including completely different instruments with different tempos.
3. You can use features like 'trade 4's' to determine where the soloing happens.
4. There are MIDI soloists available too (range of #s are 1-360 for the MIDI soloists). Higher than 360 are RealTracks.

Thanks Peter! Those Soloist controls are really awesome for sure. But I was wondering if the end result, the generated segment of music, would be different or essentially the same. To clarify, I guess I am curious if using the Soloist enables some different algorithm so the generated segment matches better or otherwise "fits" the section of the song better than if I simply added a solo RealTrack and let BIAB generate along with the other tracks.

I think maybe to further clarify, I have always assumed BIAB chooses better "starting" phrases at the beginning of a section as opposed to the middle of a section. If that is true I would therefore assume that using Soloist for a section is better than assigning a solo RT to a track and then using bar settings to turn it on and off at the various places I want the solo to occur.

Or maybe the RT generator just does its magic without regard for whether it is a Soloist controlled section or just a solo RT assigned to a track?

OK, I am not sure if I am communicating my question effectively! So let me try with two examples,

1) a song NOT using Soloist
-I create a 16 bar song and choose a Realstyle
-I want a solo at 5-8 and again at 13-16
-I assign a solo RT to an unused track
-using bar settings, I mute the solo RT track at 1-4 and 9-12
-again using bar settings I "return to normal" the solo RT track at 5-8 and 13-16
-generate the song

2) a song that IS using Soloist
-I create a 16 bar song and choose a Realstyle
-I want a solo at 5-8 and again at 13-16
-I use Soloist to set up the same solo RT at 5-8 and again at 13-16
-generate the song

My question in a nutshell is...Are the generated results different/better in either of the two scenarios above? I definitely understand that the setup effort can be improved using Soloist but is the end result different/better?

Not entirely sure since on Peter's answer there are a couple of things I was not aware of, but, I dare say no, the end result it's probably the same whatever method you use to generate the RT solo.

Mike B.

JJJ, I think we understand your question and several have now answered.

You have been around for a while and know as well as many, there are multiple ways to do the same thing in BIAB. Some of those ways provide different options along the way, but in the end the output is the same. The soloist menu and the F5 for setting who plays what and when are a perfect example of this.

But, maybe some of this is before your time, that is, before we had RTs doing our solos. Back in the old days, the Soloist feature was applied only to midi soloists and only on the Soloist track. At that time you could choose a soloist in the "style of ...", and the midi engine would create it - trade 4's and rotate multiple soloists on the same track. This may have even been before F5, although I may be forgetting things as this would go back almost a decade.

Then RTs came along with dedicated soloist recordings. So a RT soloist could be placed on any track. Combining that with F5 pretty much made the Soloist feature obsolete for RTs.

However, the RT solos were added to the Soloist menu. Many of the original features did not apply when using RTs and I believe they may not to this day. But you know how BIAB likes to have multiple ways to do the same things...

Hope that helps. I fully appreciate that BIAB can be a bit of a sticky wicket and is difficult to fully comprehend but I think my understanding is not too far off the mark. Some things you only learn by being around a long long time.

Good luck.

Thanks! I have seen things in BIAB in my short time here where commands and features seem to be valid but are actually left-overs from MIDI as you point out. And I guess I am trying to see if that is the case here.

I am hoping for a simple answer from PG on this one and my examples were provided to try and be as unambiguous as possible!

And I guess your post raises additional questions like does the trade 4s option work with RealTracks?

John,

Peter Gannon specifically mentions the 'Trade 4' option as point #3. Apparently this does work with RTs.

In your two scenarios above, I use both options regularly. When I create a song, if I have an instrumental section (usually 8 bars), then I use the Soloist dialogue and generate and regenerate the solo over those 8 bars. I do this because 8 bars generate much quicker than a whole song. This makes it much easier for me to test multiple generations and multiple RTs. If any standout generations occur along the way, I always save those for potential later use.

When I settle on the RT that I think most suited, I then place it on a track and generate it for the entire length of the song. Because I assemble my songs in Reaper, I prefer having a full length audio file because it gives me greater control; it's also a source of additional soloist material that I can copy and paste and thread through the mix.

At the end of my process, I have not found any differences between which way the solo is generated.

Regards,
Noel

• 90dB's version of my song, Brighter Than Any Star

Thanks Noel!