The new simple styles are not as simple as it gets. Instead, try using the bass from Gypsy Jazz (Simon Planting) or any styles with the bass played by Jodi Proznick, rather than Neil Swainson.

As Rachel said, it is true that the new simple styles were welcomed; mainly I believe because the translation (programming?) of Neil Swainson's bass lines into RealStyles was previously not very satisfactory. The new simple styles are better but still not very logical. There was a lot of discussion about this in a previous topic.

I analysed the lines produced by the new simple and very simple bass styles and each bar at least started with a root note more often. However, I then had one of Australia's best bass players analyse the lines and he says they are 'dumb' - sorry, but that was the exact comment he wrote on many of sheets and sheets of bass lines with different progressions and keys that I gave him. I don't really know how to pass that information on to PG Music other than by this forum.

I would like to point out again that the bass lines being produced in RealStyles are nothing like the way that Neil Swainson plays in reality. You only have to check out his playing on the videos available on YouTube, or any of his fine recordings with George Shearing to hear this. Sure, he uses a lot of triplets and grace notes on the slower tunes, where applicable to what others in the group are playing, but not in the faster tunes, and not indiscriminately, as happens in RealStyles.

I really hate posting negative things about Band-in-a-Box but I just about exclusively use the jazz styles for my practicing and arranging. Most of the styles use Neil and I have to change them nearly every time. As an improviser who listens to the bass for my chords, I can always tell when I have forgotten to change the bass player. Several people have commented that the listening public are not that discriminating when you are using BB for accompaniment on live gigs but I think this is 'beside the point'.

The fact is that the Neal Swainson RealStyles lines have not translated to WALKING bass lines sensibly. Compare the lines produced by RealStyles to say a basic tutor such as "Bass Lines in Minutes - An Easy Method for Creating Bass Lines" by Kris Berg, or ask a bass player to analyse them like I did, and you will see what I mean.

Grah Jive Talk
"Don't worry baby, they'll swing their arses off."