I should get my 2015 upgrade soon. After it is installed, I will buy some new RealTracks. I will purchased RealTracks that provide rhythm for Irish tunes. The instrument I play is fiddle. Here are the styles I like playing, in order of preference - (1) double jigs (2) hornpipes (3) reels (4) polkas (5) other jigs
About a half dozen RealTracks are advertised as being for Irish music. I would appreciate reading forum members recommendations and suggestions. None of the available "Irish" RTs seem to have the desired combination of instruments. I think I will have to create a "custom" RT using instruments from different RTs. Am I wrong in thinking this ? I have read requests for more RTs that contain instrument combinations commonly used in Irish bands, and played in the same manner.
I think your information will be of interest to other BIAB users playing this type of music. Hopefully, your responses will help me choose the best RealTracks for my situation.
Hello Dick .. as mainly fiddle player into old time country, irish trad and cajun trad i always find that general programs using midi are just suitable for a guide track.
With BIAB's current on board realtrack thing you're one step ahead, and sometimes a really useful thing pops out. Especially with the help & soul of a real musician captured there. It might not always be exactly what you need, but when you don't want to spend tons of time and dough with musicians and studios, BIAB is number one.
In final folk music recordings i sometimes used bluegrass banjo tracks, sometimes even slowed down and pitched, or a mandolin rhythm. Even used a bodhran pitched and stretched in a different musical context. Or a pedal steel as i don't know a live player around here. As for irish stuff and bluegrass within BIAB i wouldn't always call the found styles there as such, and the generated music just that, but that's personal. As for Irish music the recorded bouzouki and bodhran in BIAB are not my thing really; f.i. i once had the luck to play with Johnny McDonagh in ireland, and he's simply the most versatile player around: Youtube link: De Dannan ([video:youtube]http://youtu.be/tGrA_8_t4to[/video])
You'll need time to find the right thing for your piece of music, especially if you want the result in a certain context. BIAB is a very diverse and general tool that sounds great. IMO most interesting for musicians into jazz, pop, rock, especially country, and bossa etc. Electric guitar work recorded there nearly perfect. Thus maybe not so much for acoustic folkies like me. Like there's no nice trad cajun grooving style in BIAB.
As tool for composing for film, video or songwriting i found BIAB a great weapon when you need to do a fast dirty and cheap job, or to get an idea for an arrangement in a lot of possible styles. Don't forget it's great leadsheet printing facilities: i found a lot of use for that when you have rehearsals and studio work interacting with live musicians. Or for teaching irish fiddle as sometimes in my case.
PS - Realtracks maybe due errors and the way the system works IMO are less suitable when you play with timing settings within a song, like an occasional 5/4 or 2/4 bar in a 4/4 piece of music. If you intent to publish your music on CD etc, the audiophile .WAV realtracks are a lot better than the cheaper .WMA ones. I think PGmusic still has the x-mas offer for the whole caboose at a very fair price until half January, you might be cheaper off buying the whole caboose in one packet right now. - F
I should get my 2015 upgrade soon. After it is installed, I will buy some new RealTracks. I will purchased RealTracks that provide rhythm for Irish tunes. The instrument I play is fiddle......
Dick Hauser
Have a look through all the UserTracks pages http://www.realband.org/guitars.html they are manly VI's at the moment. We just need some more UserTrack creators, especially Fiddlers
Hi Solidrock. Quite a few good ones here ! Keep up these workz ! One remark: Some wavs are really submerged in too much reverb, built into the wav as downloaded. Might be OK if used straight away in RB or BIAB, but for me less interesting for use in a context like an other sequencer with my own reverb settings etc. Found that sometimes with BIAB realtracks too BTW.
A Q: is there an FTP link or html page etc with all the zips directly accessible? Individual downloads and trying them out takes quite a bit of time for me. - F
They would be best recorded DI as you can add any FX you like after, but you can't take away reverb or overdrive. Same with the VI's don't add anymore FX.
I was going to put direct dropbox or server links but there might be info and feedback on the forum post so that's where most go. Give me some Irish or Cajun Fiddle any day.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
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And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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