OK.... so essentially, you are partially correct.

Real Tracks (RT) in Real Band (RB) are not easy to customize.

However, if you use MIDI, I would suggest only using Coyote to do your composing. Once you have the tracks right, you can load a high quality synth..... or simply start in a DAW, load in some high quality samples and go from square one. I do this.... and have BB running with RB and use them to add other tracks.

RB is EXCELLENT if you have a track that can afford to simply play something loose. I'm a country guy, so fiddle fills, mandolins, steel guitar leads and background, bass and piano as well as drums all tend to work very well coming straight from RB/RT.

For many songs, it is totally possible to use Band in a Box (BB) to compose music. Lots of songs are fairly generic when it comes to bass and drum tracks...and BB/RB will do a decent job with them. I'd put Creedence Clearwater.... Lodi, Who'll stop the rain, etc.... into this category. BB/RB will give you very good bass and drums, and you add the guitar parts. Since you play sax, you have to decide what parts are good enough to pass muster in the jazz top 40 genre.

However, if the song is one of the songs that has signature licks and riffs that are part and parcel to the identity of the song, think the Sax in Baker Street, or the riffs to Southern Nights, or any of a hundred other songs......you will need to play those with midi and then use a high quality synth like Kontakt from Native Instruments to play the samples. Problem is that the guitar synths are tricky to learn and get to sound good. It's a whole discipline unto itself to learn how to do a guitar synth right. Piano is easy to get sounding good.... as long as you can play halfway decently. I'd hate to attempt some of those Billy Joel or Herbie Hancock songs on the keys with my skill set.

Short story: A certain fellow hired me to do the backing tracks for Southern Nights. The old Glen Campbell song. But he didn't want GC's version. It was a totally different feel and groove to that song with similar riffs. I ended up using a few tracks from BB/RB ... the RT's and for the remainder, I had to go to Sonar where I like to work anyway, and use both live guitar as well as Midi with Kontakt samples to get the song in the groove he wanted. It did not sound like a generic version at all and he was highly impressed with the result.

In another instance, I saw a band that is what you describe yourself as doing. High dollar gig, high quality clientele in a swanky bar. They had 2 live players.... bass and guitar and both sang. Everything else was midi and sampled. I spoke with them and they said it takes them several days to a week to put a song together. Part by part.... all midi. The parts were exact replicas to the original as recorded by the artists of the songs.

So....as I see it... you have a good product that can save you a lot of time on some of the songs.... but to get those signature licks, you're going to have to think out of the box a bit to get things done.

If all else fails, there is a 30 day full refund available. Get a good DAW and invest in Kontakt and it's doable......

I feel your pain regarding the loser, drug addicted, flaky players. Been there.... done that.... love my current studio band. BB/RB

Feel free to ask more questions..... we're willing to see if we can provide some answers.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 11/22/18 03:01 PM.
You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.