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Hi
I am still pondering what way to go.
1 hardware sound module.
2 vsti sounds.
3 upgrade to ultra pluspak and get going with the real tracks etc.
Been looking on ebay and to get a decent sounding module, I would have to pay about 200.00 gbp.
And I could upgrade to ultrapluspak for the same money.
Just don't want to go one way then regret it .
So any advice more than welcome, I know it is down to certain things and preference
But I would just like to know how good is the realtracks, ive listened to the demos and they sound awesome.
Would love to hear views from forum members about the modules or the realtracks.
I only have the pro version at the moment .
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I appreciate your methodical approach to research opinions. It really is going to come down to how you use it. Your ProPak does come with some RealTracks, so you should be able to audition at least some styles. To be more sure, you could first buy one add-on RealTrack package in your preferred genre.
But be careful you aren't comparing different things, since you are really asking two questions. The RealTracks are audio. They will sound as good as any other audio on your system. The reason you would buy a VSTi or a hardware sound module (I use a Roland Integra-7) is to hear the MIDI, primarily on the Melody and Soloist tracks and perhaps on other tracks in place of a RealTrack.
Make sense? I suspect you are asking how best to spend a limited budget. If melody/harmony are most important to you, look at the sound software or hardware. If backing tracks are most important, go for more RealTracks. But if you want opinions whether a software synth (VSTi or DXi) is better than a hardware module (like my Roland) for melody/harmony and some backing tracks, then we can have that discussion.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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yea it makes sense Mark
I guess what I am asking are the real tracks i.e. what you get for the money worth it as in workable ...what are the limitations if any..
just at a crossroads where I realize how much I need to spend.
And what my choices are and before I leap into one or the other, was just looking for opinions from forum members who might have been where I am today.
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Then I'm way wrong to answer. I've used the program since the early 1990s and always with as much as they offered.
But I will say, the RealTracks are only limited in three ways I can think of:
1. the audio quality is 16 bit/44.1 K otherwise known as CD quality
2. there may not be a RealTrack that exactly matches the style you want (but you can request they make one)
3. your imagination
Anyone else?
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Well without realizing it I think you have helped me, and answered my questions.
If you have been using to the limit all those years it must be worth it.
Thanks
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Then I'm way wrong to answer. I've used the program since the early 1990s and always with as much as they offered.
But I will say, the RealTracks are only limited in three ways I can think of:
1. the audio quality is 16 bit/44.1 K otherwise known as CD quality
2. there may not be a RealTrack that exactly matches the style you way (but you can request they make one)
3. your imagination
Anyone else?
4-Realtracks are not as easily modified as MIDI. You can cut and paste Realtracks to get what you want and many here are experts that will help. On the plus side you can get everything you need in one package, i.e. BiaB. 5-MIDI can easily be modified. Take a piano track and change the sound to organ, flutes, synths, what ever you have. MIDI tracks fill follow tempo, key changes and octaves with no artifacts. You can easily change one or two notes in a chord and you can not do that with Rrealtracks. The downside is that you must not only learn how to use MIDI but also the cost of really good sounding MIDI sound sources can be quite high. BiaB does come with a GM MIDI sound source but it is not very good. It also comes with a non GM sound source in Sampletank 2.5 which is much better sounding but must be set up properly in BiaB. You can get better GM sounding MIDI sound sources for around $50 or you can get some free soundfonts and a soundfont player, also free, but again you must set that up in BiaB also. If I were in your shoes I would get the Realtracks. Then later you can mess around with the MIDI side of BiaB with what comes with the package. Note that I almost always use MIDI in my songs and I am biased toward MIDI but in your case I would choose Realtracks. Also note that BiaB comes with a DAW, Realband, so you do not have to invest money in one. In fact I would learn Realband while you are learning BiaB. There are some things that Realband can do the BiaB can't.
I think my wife has started to show the first signs of dementia.
She said she can't remember what she ever saw in me!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Great additional points by Mario.
Colly, I've been a pro musician for well over 50 years. My needs are likely different from yours, since I've used BIAB as a tool from almost its beginning.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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"...And I could upgrade to ultrapluspak for the same money...."
I would do that. You won't regret it. Comparing Real Tracks vs. MIDI is a little misleading. I can finish a song in RT's in two hours. Try that with MIDI.
Not that you can't still use MIDI with BIAB; but this is the best of both worlds.
Regards,
Bob
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thanks Mariod
Both your comments are what I was looking for, to best explain myself.
I have been involved with midi from back in the 90s,using sound modules as a solo act.
Back then I used a programme to edit midi files if I remember Cakewalk i.e. removing sys files and changing instruments etc.
Then and now I have always been on the look out for the best sound you can get from midis.
Now I am missing it all so much I am thinking of putting a solo/duet act together and looking for the best realistic sound I can get within my budget.
I have tts1 and coyote ,sample tank halion cakewalk sound centre. Installed in biab I then use acid for my daw or Cubase.
I know how to use them setting up different instruments to tracks
But I feel the faster tempo songs don't have the feel..?
Although I am amazed at the sounds I am getting from the soft synths ( better than I was getting from the sound module back then )for ballads, medium tempo songs.
I guess I was really asking is the real tracks the best bang for my buck.
Also I did not have the best sound module back then, probably a basic one.
I am now wondering would it be a sound module or real tracks hence my first post.
Guess when you look at it the sound module I am looking at are from the 90s, all be it top of the range from ebay back then.
So you are probably right I think its the real tracks that would suit me now.
I do and always will love midi but when your starting to gig I think we all want the best we can for the audience.
Thanks for helping me out
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90db Thanks that's the kind of stuff I was looking to hear
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Mark
Thanks again
As I said in my post before this you answered a lot for me.
I was also pro throughout the nineties if by that you mean you earn your living only from doing this.
I stopped in the year 2000 my last gig was the millennium.
When I left to start my business.
So going back to it now I do want to put together a decent act like I had before.
So you did hit it on the nail for me.
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Well I had a tome written but given these last two posts I'll summarize REMEMBER, and I HIGHLY recommend you take advantage of: PG offers 30 days money back - so you CAN SAFELY (no one has ever reported here that PG did not honor that I remember ever seeing) buy that UltraPlus Pak without worry and then EXERCISE THE CRAP out of RTs and BIAB styles for next 30 days and then you'll know. Later you can, and probably WILL, add good full featured synths (plugs or HW) and not just GM capable synths (you said you already have some synth plugs and a good GM synth (TTS-1). Me I do probably 85%-15% (SYNTHS to RT's, see my signature block). I do simple "small combo" style rock (OLD rock: I'm an old, bald[ing], fat fart and will probably kill over with heart attack before I finish typing), blues, jazz standards, smooth jazz, and synth heavy "mood" music and I can honestly say - I do it ALL BADLY.  GOOD LUCK Larry
Last edited by Larry Kehl; 08/30/16 10:00 AM.
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Brilliant Larry
Yea I am not so young myself although I am ...older than I once was ..younger than ill be..
Thanks for the input I probably will drop in a track or two using the s/w synths.
That does bring me to ask when you render them with real tracks do the midi tracks balance nicely.
Though I better not post anymore don't want to be a nuisance..
Take care
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Brilliant Larry
Yea I am not so young myself although I am ...older than I once was ..younger than ill be..
Thanks for the input I probably will drop in a track or two using the s/w synths.
That does bring me to ask when you render them with real tracks do the midi tracks balance nicely.
Though I better not post anymore don't want to be a nuisance..
Take care I am an old fart also! Anyway yes you can balance the volumes of both MIDI and RealTRacks easily as BiaB does have a mixer included!
I think my wife has started to show the first signs of dementia.
She said she can't remember what she ever saw in me!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Well I had a tome written but given these last two posts I'll summarize
REMEMBER, and I HIGHLY recommend you take advantage of: PG offers 30 days money back - so you CAN SAFELY (no one has ever reported here that PG did not honor that I remember ever seeing) buy that UltraPlus Pak without worry and then EXERCISE THE CRAP out of RTs and BIAB styles for next 30 days and then you'll know.
Later you can, and probably WILL, add good full featured synths (plugs or HW) and not just GM capable synths (you said you already have some synth plugs and a good GM synth (TTS-1). Colly, I agree with Larry. Get the UltraPlusPak. There are over 2,500 Realtracks and it's amazing what can be done with those. The audio quality is terrific. If you got to the Soundcloud link in my signature, you'll be able to hear some of my original songs. Over 95% of these songs were created using the UltraPlusPak. (Today I use the Audiophile edition of the software.) For my own journey... I began with the MegaPak in 2006. BIAB was midi-only then. Then, at the first opportunity that money permitted, I upgraded to the UltraPlusPak (UPP). As the years passed, maintaining the UPP with all Realtracks became a regular exercise. With the Christmas sale that PG Music usually have, yearly upgrades have always been extremely good value at sale time. Now that I have become more experienced in music production, I find that I supplement what I do with Realtracks with an occasional midi track. The bottom line, though, is that it's the Realtracks where I make the large majority of my music. I could easily live without midi but I could not so easily live without Realtracks. Regards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Noel96
Thanks for the post I just got what see my signature means...!.
will go and have a listen to your songs...was biab originally all Midi then..?
I came across it through it being mentioned on another forum.
Really new to forums, but getting there a minefield of information.
Going for the ultra plus pak made my mind up.
Thanks to you all.
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Noel96
Brilliant songs... pro sound...excellent lyrics.
You just SOLD ultraplus pak to me seriously !!
Take care
Thanks
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Me I do probably 85%-15% (SYNTHS to RT's, see my signature block).
Sorry Larry where is your signature block.
Really new to forums
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Noel96
Brilliant songs... pro sound...excellent lyrics.
You just SOLD ultraplus pak to me seriously !!
Take care
Thanks Colly, Thanks for listening and for the comments. You won't be sorry (well, I'll be incredibly surprised if you are). I don't know for sure but, from what I read, the UltraPlusPak seems to be the most popular package on the forums. If you get a chance, have a listen to floyd jane, too. He's also an UltraPlusPak person. https://soundcloud.com/floydjaneOnce you get the package, if you need help at any time, you're always welcome on the forum. All the best, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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With Real Tracks and BIAB, prepare for a steep learning curve and some frustration as you realise what BIAB can and can't do, which you just have to work through. It's a worthwhile journey and there's plenty of help and support for whatever level you're at or direction you go both on the forum and from PG Music.
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