OK... based on some comments here I should state the following...

I'm trying to evaluate a current version that has only MIDI - because - I think the Real Tracks demos that I've heard on the site are *really great* (I've been telling everyone about them too) ...and I'm ready buy the "full meal deal" if I can accomplish what I want.

However... my evaluation is based on taking existing BIAB songs - jazz standards - and modifying them in order to generate professional jazz backing tracks. The target is to create bass/drums/piano backing tracks for me and my wife. (I'm a guitar player and she is a singer.)

So...I'm not really interested in generating solos or melodies - although I would not mind having the melody there... at least while the tracks are being developed.

I've been playing jazz for a while and more importantly, I'm a pretty serious MIDI programmer and did it professionally before it became mainstream. I'm a DAW specialist as well - starting way back when AMS Audiofile was the only game. I'm currently a WaveLab beta tester (since version 3) and was a Nuendo/Cubase beta-tester for a number of years...

Yet I'm seriously struggling with this program. Doing the most basic tasks seem to be completely counter-intuitive. Example: when is "copy/paste" *NOT* "copy paste"? But here's the thing: most of these issues I could NOT care less about! ...because of the uniqueness of the software. Nonetheless... I do have to accomplish my task.

So, I've been doing some pretty simple experiments - open a basic standard.... create an intro... then, head in - a couple of choruses for solos - head out... a nice tag/outro. I'd like to leave the melody there for the head in/out - but get rid of it for the solo section. Generate the tracks and then import them in Nuendo for finishing. That's it.

You would think this would be simple! Yikes. Creating a tag and testing it is a real chore because if I have 4 choruses and the tag comes in at the middle of the last one, I have to play the song from beginning to end. If I try to locate before the tag - how does it know that its the 1st chorus or the 4th? When I add more choruses - and it asks to "Adjust Melody to fit the # of choruses" - it seems to mess it up if I have a tag. Even deleting the melody where I want solo sections seems to be a chore... at least relative to a sequencer.

So with all the great resources that you've posted above - and thanks for that! BUT... I'm seriously weighing the BIAB approach against hiring a couple of guys for a day, and have them play a pile of standards in my MIDI rig instead. It might be about the same amount of money but WAY less time. What's holding me back is the "promise" of what BIAB might provide in combination with Real-Tracks... I guess right now I'm just frustrated - this stuff usually comes pretty easy for me.

Thanks for your support.

Rob