Will and I were just talking about the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2008 this morning, and how it including the introduction of the RealTracks feature... it all started with Real Pedal Steel, Real Acoustic Guitar, and Tenor Sax Soloing (RealSax)!

Peter Gannon explained this new feature, and all the other new features added with Version 2008, in this video:

A complete list of the New Features released with Band-in-a-Box® 2008 for Windows can be read here.

Did you have this version? What was your reaction to the RealTracks?
Catherine and I actually went to Musikmesse in Germany that year (we were hosted by our German Distributor, M3C) and demonstrated the RealTracks to anyone who would listen - and everyone was thrilled with the results! Of the three released that year, the Tenor Sax Soloing was my favorite.

The year before, BIAB had introduced the concept with RealDrums.

Yes, this was an amazing addition to the program. None of us saw it coming.

That's right - RealDrums came first!

I'd had it since 2005 and I thought it was OK but didnt really get along with it. (Probably the midis were a bit plinky plonky sounding with my gear then).
Then with 2008 there was this new kid on the block - RT. Although they werent that much use to me (I'm English. lol) I did experiment with them and the sound quality was superb.
Now I wouldnt be without them and look forward to every new Year (or new release) of RTs. Pretty much all my working BTs now are based around RTs, although in fairness there are not the number of RT styles (therefore Instruments) to match the midi's so still have a few of those.
More, gimmee More!!
Cheers
ian

Of course! Stay tuned....

Oh you Teaser!!!

I remember being blown away by RealDrums in 2007, but just those first three RealTracks in 2008 (that's all we got) were truly a game changer. This was before the Elastique Pro implementation, so you had to have more files and they were WAV (so took up a lot of space). But man, nobody had every done anything like that.

It was only shortly after this that a Mac version with RT's saw the light of day, and that's when I jumped on board the PG ship, having sailed steadily along for every trip every year since
In fact, this inclusion of RT's became much the core reason I finally made that leap from "Classic" to OS X in the first place.

The best thing for me (in that era) was that RB was created.
Without RT's, RB would still just be Powertracks .

Creating this system in such a way that both apps could use it was the coup!

The flexibility added was huge. Now you could slice/dice/pasta the RTs to your hearts delight .. regenerate sections .. generate in 7/4 if you wanted .. too many to list.
It added so much value for me.

yes. I remember! For me it was the steel guitar!

On the downside of looking back on these two videos: I'm finding features listed as far back as that 2007 version which I'd quite welcome in my 2016 version but they're not there!
So in hindsight, maybe this particular TBT was a bit of a double-edged sword

Icelander,

Sometimes with a new release, the "instructions" we had in previous version videos no longer apply - so you wouldn't be able to access those features the same way. Which ones are you unable to find in your 2016 Version? (also, keep in mind that this video is for Windows, so the same features may not apply to a Mac version)

~Callie

when I first discovered BIAB, It was still a MIDI based program... but I distinctly remember thinking "man, if they ever figure out how to work this same magic on audio loops, it will change the way music is created ..."

then, in 2008 when the first real tracks were introduced, I remember thinking

"THIS..... CHANGES..... EVERYTHING! !! "

I also remember how many people resisted the idea... I guess because it was different...? It blew my mind that everybody didn't see the potential

It sure did!

~Callie

Well, the "melody influences soloing" Soloist feature springs to mind. Looks very handy, with a lot of artistic value, and I'm quite frankly rather surprised to see it gone.
You mean like the "Soundtrack" feature we still don't have and there it is way back then on the PC?! Come now, surely you know by now that if there's one person around here who does not need reminding of this fact, it's yours truly

I think I came on board with the 2009 version and it was the steel guitar that did it.

I also remember BIAB 2008. Unfortunately, it did change everything. Initially I thought it was a nice feature, but instead it became the focal point that relegated MIDI to an afterthought to the point where even the meager MIDI content currently introduced has become premium content requiring additional payment.
Audio loops were around for a decade before RealTracks and Realtracks are nothing more than “audio loops for dummies”. Today’s synthesizers feature thousands of lush, dynamic, expressive sounds that BIAB chooses to not take advantage of. Modern music features a sound palette far greater than the piano, guitar and bass audio loops that BIAB is now focusing on. The program has become a proprietary loop selector and has hit a creative wall. New editions now consist of more RealTracks and “rearranging the furniture” of the core program. I believe too much attention is paid to the older users who for one reason or another frequent the forum and probably do not represent the majority of current or potential users. There is a large modern electronic music community that understands the difference between MIDI and audio and appreciates that MIDI has more in common with sheet music than audio. RealTracks are great as a feature, not the feature.

There is a solid group here who agree with you and use MIDI in BIAB almost exclusively. There were a few recent threads here asking about what is new for MIDI in BIAB 2017. Take a look at them. One poster suggested that PG Music should make a package of just the new MIDI SuperTracks with the basic program engine, and it sounded like they would do this so you would not have to purchase any RealTracks (hope I got that detail right).