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Joined: Dec 2023
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Joined: Dec 2023
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To my ear, and granted I don't typically type in my own chord progressions, everything that comes out of Band in a Box sounds excellent. But MusicVillain recently write a post that made me realize I don't really understand what impacts how what effects how good the RealTracks styles will sound over a given chord progression. She wrote I recently found this Soloist RealTrack #3198 very good, and I want to listen to the track and learn about the guitar arrangement.
However, I can't. If I load this track to BiaB, BiaB will chop the track into pieces, then re-assemble the pieces into a new track, which sounds very inconsistent and unpleasant. I was wondering: 1.) Are the Realtrack soloists recorded against particular chord progressions that are guaranteed to sound stylistically "good" because they capture the expertise of the original recording artist's choices for that particular sequence of chords ? 2.) If that is the case, will choosing certain chord sequences possibly sound less tasteful (or possibly srendipitously even 'better') when a user enters a new, different chord progression. 3.) Does a similar concept hold for RealTracks styles that are purely accompaniment, and don't have a soloist ? If you choose to share an answer, please if possible include some specific examples. TIA
BB/RB 2025
Windows 10
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This is a bit off topic but my 12 years of working with RT has led me FWIW to the conclusion that RTs soloists and often RT rhythm tracks sound better with more complex progressions. I don’t mean jazz complex 😀 just more than a simple 3-4 chord structure. The solos when played over such progression seem more melodic. But I always cut/paste solos to some degree and typically pitch shift segue notes. YMMV!
Bud
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Another very powerful tool that is not often discussed and overlooked is Partial Regeneration. Especially efficient in Track View. You can get different variations of the segment if they were recorded to see if one fits better than the other. Often default generation might not be the best one. What year is your BIAB software?
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Short answer: we users don’t know how it works. It’s proprietary knowledge.
Medium length answer: I wouldn’t worry about what user MusicVillisn was saying; I’m not even sure I follow it, but I’m pretty sure it does not relate directly to what you are asking.
Longer attempt: we users know that RealTracks are recorded by pros over chord changes. We do not have those chord changes. We know RealTracks when played back may use 1, 2, 4, or 8 measures of a phrase selected by the program and pieced together to fit your chord progression. It would make sense that the more conventional the progression the less chopping and stitching would be done. It would also make sense that if you took some beautiful lyrical playing and forced it to fit a jarring chord progression, you might not like the result. However, it seems enough phrases are recorded that something will usually play, and if as Rustyspoon said if you have BIAB 2024 or later, you can regenerate particular sections until you get some playing you like better.
Styles are just a curated collection of RealTracks that PG Music thinks work well in a particular genre and tempo. I often just build my own set of ReslTracks then save the custom style.
I’ll let someone else comment on Soloists( I don’t need to use them.
Was that any help? I don’t think we are at the level yet where examples are needed.
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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What year is your BIAB software? I have 2016 - which I don't really don't actively use that much - life has always seem to have gotten in the way of my perfectionist musical visions. I have had a tendency to buy based on who I want to be than who I am lol...lots of musical instruments and software I always planned "to get to" - finally retired and am able to actually spend some real time with my toys, which have gathered so much dust over the years. I am not interested in understanding "proprietary" anything - just how to solo better. Often just talking about what the programs do open my eyes to new musical insights - listening to the new features tutorials, studying the features, and listening to the arrangements in BB has enormously improved my understanding of how instruments work together in a band setting.
BB/RB 2025
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"I have 2016" - I am sure someone will help you here, but it's 8 year old software.... Many things changed.
P.S. PGM has a promotion now, it's not too expensive to upgrade the core program.
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Solo riff phrasing will likely depend on a combination of the instrument, the player, key signature and chord progression. Some simple examples: A George Benson guitar riff will likely be different than a Jimi Hendrix riff. Does the riff follow melody or chord progression?
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
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There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
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