PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows Thank you PG Music! Rubber Bridge Guitar Sound in 2025 BIAB! (and some info)

You may see in the BIAB 2025 description (I didn't) that there is a "muted electric guitar" in the new Pop & Rock Real Tracks. I didn't read it because I usually run through the styles when I buy BIAB. So I wrote a post recommending Rubber Bridge as a new style, like a dummy. Maybe I should read the description? Doh!

I think there are some more muted guitar sounds inthe 2025 49-PAK--not the Bonus pak.

They call it "muted electric guitar." You can find it in the Realtracks Set 459: Songwriter Potpourri, styles 99-104. PGMusic says this is a technique where "a foam mute is placed under the bridge to get a great muted effect." I've never heard of anybody using foam, but maybe it would work. Anyway, "Bridge" is a misnomer, unless you consider the saddle to be part of the bridge. A piece of rubber replaces the bone saddle that usually sits on the bridge--that's where the strings touch and that's where they are muted.

Anyway this makes 2025 BIAB an insta-buy for me.

If you're curious about what the sound is and why PGMusic included it, the rubber bridge guitar is the leading trend in indie folk (and some pop) today. It's a modded guitar with a distinctive muted sound. (It's actually the saddle that is rubber.) To be fussy about it, it's most often played on an acoustic guitar, modified with pickups. Or, as in the video below, played through a mic that runs through guitar pedals.

Inspired by Blake Mills' rubber bridge banjo, they were first modded from old guitars by Reuben Cox. Popularized by Phoebe Bridgers, it has been used in songs by Wilco, Olivia Rodrigo, Madison Carpenter, Blake Mills, Taylor Swift, and dozens of others. It's in many of the songs in Bob Dylan's "Shadow Kingdom." It's generally used more for arpeggios and repeated patterns than strumming, and often a lot of effects are put on it. A good example of the sound is Ariel Posen's instrumental "Tumble Away."



Here's a Phoebe Bridgers' "Garden Song," from "Punisher," the album that kicked off the trend. You can see how the repeated pattern drives the song. Also, it's lower than a regular guitar, so it really shows off her vocal range.



The sound is not for everybody, but to me it is very beautiful. Thanks again, PGMusic. I look forward to using it.

Hey there Tiger The Frog,

Interesting request but your request may gain more views and support by posting it in the +++ Styles an RealTracks Wishlist +++ forum section.

Oh Jim,

I am very glad I didn't post this in the right place because I feel like an idiot and maybe less people saw it. There is exactly this sound in BIAB 2025. I have changed my headline.

BIAB calls it muted electric guitar. But the sound is the same.

You can find the Rubber Bridge sound in the Realtracks Set 459: Songwriter Potpourri 99-104

I also think that it will go well with some of the Acoustic Piano in the Potpourri.

Anyway, thank you for the information about the other forum section. As a noob, I should be more careful.

Tiger The Frog,

I'm glad you found a RealTrack that sounds like the sound you requested. I'll have to investigate RealTracks Set # 459 as that muted sound can be used in a lot of different types of music. Thanks for sharing where you found it.

Sometimes the idea behind a thread can "fit" in several forum sections. It's a matter of choosing which forum section best accomplishes what you want to achieve when you post the thread.

PG Music's employee, Tobin, is a frequent visitor to the Styles & RealTracks wishlist forum section. Tobin's questions, clarifications and responses implies he has a lot of input about the production of RealTracks. You rarely see Tobin post elsewhere in the forum so I don't know how much of the rest of the forum Tobin monitors. That is why I suggested you repost in the wishlist forum section.

That's a cool sound, and nice that there are some new tracks with that included. For another option, a decent approximation could be created with fingerstyle or arpeggio MIDI guitar tracks and an appropriate VSTi sound. Maybe just a muted guitar, or perhaps a harp. Will have to experiment with that...

Are these what you are talking about? If you hadn't pointed it out to me, I would never have found it. It's so hard to find...

Without his hint, could you find it? It's hard for me to find it, because it's hidden so deep that we can't find it.

So why don't you design the realtrack catalog well, right? It's too bad now.

Also, how can I find it quickly according to this information "Realtracks Set 459: Songwriter Potpourri, styles 99-104"? Can you tell me, I don't know how to do it.

I found it according to the muted electric guitar information.

One way would be to filter using the terms "mute", "guitar", "muted acoustic guitar" or "muted electric guitar".

In this case, Tiger The Frog indicated he found the sound in RealTracks set 459 so click on the Set column to arrange all the RealTracks by set number and look for Set 459. Notice that when you click on a column header and * is displayed to visually indicate how the RealTracks are sorted.

Thank you!
Although English is very difficult for me, especially facing the interface with a lot of content, but your tips have helped me a lot and I have made progress today.

Your very welcome. I'm glad my advice helped you.

One thing you could do is download this virtual instrument, "Rubber Bridge Plucks," by Jon Meyer. It's a "pay what you want" instrument, but it has a suggested price of $5.
It's not exactly a rubber bridge--he used an eraser!--but it's interesting.

https://somervillesounds.com/rubber-bridge-plucks/

You may know Jon Meyer from Pianobook, but he has started a new company, Somerville Sounds.



My experience using this and an expensive one made by Orange Tree Samples is it just didn't work for me. I needed to get my own guitar. But still, having these styles in BIAB will be a huge help when I put my songs together--before playing the parts myself.

I found out about the "Muted Electric Guitar" sounds on the BIAB 2025 for Windows New Features and Content Page

The 20 bonus RealTracks included with the 2025 49-PAK feature lots of user requests and more to add to your RealTracks library! There's requested muted trumpet soloist that is perfect for smooth jazz and pop grooves. We’ve also added more "layered acoustic guitar" RealTracks, which, when combined, create an acoustic "wall of sound" ideal for pop or country songs. A versatile gospel organ RealTrack that also works well over country and blues styles. There's more singer-songwriter "indie-folk" styles, with bouzouki, banjo, acoustic guitar, upright bass, and a RealTracks first, muted electric guitar. This instrument was recorded with a foam mute placed at the bridge and delivers a cool, understated effect, perfect for mellow modern pop and folk tracks. Additionally, we’ve included exciting new RealDrums, many inspired by user requests on our forums. We have "flat tire blues," a specific blues shuffle approach where the snare is accented on the off-beats. There's "rock 'n' roll clave," a groove popularized in the '50s; and "tango lounge," a blend of classic Argentinian tango and mid-20th-century American pop. Finally, we have some wonderfully understated brushes drum styles, including BluesFolkBrushesSw & SongwriterSlowBrushes.

I just discovered that there are more "muted guitar" sounds in the 49-Pak