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Hi,just an easy question,i've done and played the guitar and banjo parts for old joe clark and blackberry blossomed,will do some others,and i would like a mandolin choppin double stops or triads on the halfbeat,backup,nothing too fancy,maybe the violin too,just straight bluegrass,typical intros and endings too if possible,i love realdrums but find realtracks quite random sometimes,before shelling out the cash,could someone recommend the right reatrack,would volume11 bluegrass fill the task,or is there another package more suited,
sincerelely

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I've used the bluegrass real tracks on some of my songs. What I find is that they are usually too fast for me. It's like they are playing "double time". If you slow them down too much, then the quality goes down the tubes. What they do has great playing, but I don't always get the "feel" I want.

You should be able to listen to examples on PgMusic.com. Also, I could send you a short example of what they produce for Old Joe Clark as an MP3. Email me via my website. Might take a couple of days.

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Hi there,

I've done a bit of fiddle along with those RealTracks and they work just fine for my purposes playing some well known ones like Soldier's Joy, etc. If you find the RT Set 11 too fast for your taste, then there's always RT Set 33, medium tempo. Here are links to both with example videos which you can watch online:

http://www.pgmusic.com/realtracks11.htm
http://www.pgmusic.com/realtracks33.htm

Hope that helps.
Will

Last edited by Will - PG Music; 10/18/10 05:06 PM.

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Set 11 is for tempo of 130 beats per minute, which is great for upper level players. Set 33 tempo is 100 beats per minute which is good for intermediate players.


BiaB 2023

www.PeteMartin.info

Mandolin and improvisation lessons

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The way I count (4 beats per measure), those tempos are really 260 and 200 BPM. Even 200 is frequently too fast for me to try and play a solo. 260 .... no way!

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well i took package 11 which is great,but yeah its a 1 speed package at 130 rpm,but this the time the muscians are completely correct,this is not breakneck tempo,just the required speed for good pacy bluegrass,i have a 2nd generation scruggs playerfriend who does foggy breakdown without alternation of thumb at around 160,it's mindblowing,i have to say that whilst i've had some issues with realtracks it simply blows away drivel like abersold!

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You may find that you can usse a faster tempo than 130 and still get a pretty good sound. However, when you start slowing down from 130, you'll hear the artifacts much sooner.


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I know a sub-set of people speak improperly to eschew the Queen's English, but please, it must be Are ...etc. when using the plural.

Is might be some backwoods American thing but the rest of us from civilised countries are mortified by the:

gawl darn lack of proper edjewkation youse are yankin out and throwin' in the faces of us English types.


John Conley
Musica est vita
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travellerboy,

Actually, it's not such an easy question, but it's one that I have been "harping" about for a very long time.

Quote:

I've used the bluegrass real tracks on some of my songs. What I find is that they are usually too fast for me. It's like they are playing "double time". If you slow them down too much, then the quality goes down the tubes. What they do has great playing, but I don't always get the "feel" I want.




At least up until BIAB 2009.5, bluegrass, fiddle tunes, uptempo acoustic music, are not properly addressed in BIAB. They program it using 16th notes instead of 8th notes, which all of it is originally written in 8ths. This has profound effects when trying to use BIAB for backing tracks in these styles. A thread that discusses the topic pretty thoroughly can be found at the following link. PLEASE DO NOT BUMP OR COMMENT USING THE OLD THREAD! Please use your thread for any comments you may have on it. This old link is for educational puposes only about the discussion.

http://www.pgmusic.com/ubbthreads/showfl...rt=all&vc=1

It may have been addressed in BIAB 2010.5, but I’m running 2009.5, so I don’t know for sure.

I asked that question on another thread pretty recently:

Quote:

Andrew,

Bluegrass styles for BIAB

You may remember a discussion on this thread concerning whether bluegrass should be handled as 8th note based or 16th note based. Peter joined the discussion.

http://www.pgmusic.com/ubbthreads/showfl...rt=all&vc=1

In reviewing the new features in 2010.5, it definitely sounds like the midi problem has been addressed, and maybe the real tracks problem has been addressed.
Quote:
________________________________________


 Styles can now be made that are set to use Half-Time and Double-Time RealTracks. For example, you can make a Jazz Ballad style (tempo 65) that uses a Sax Soloist at tempo 140 (playing double time). The StyleMaker- Misc-More dialog now has setting called TimeBase: Normal/HalfTime/DoubleTime for RealTracks.

 MIDI Styles can now be expanded or reduced. For example, if you have a Bluegrass style at a typical tempo of 130 that is 16ths note based, and you would prefer it as a style that is 8th note based at a typical tempo of 260, you can do this in the StyleMaker by selecting the menu item Style-Expand. Style-Reduce is available also for styles that you want to reduce from 8th notes to 16th notes.

________________________________________


The wording for the midi styles changes is very clear, but am I correct in assuming the following is also true concerning Real Tracks?
Quote:
________________________________________

For example, if you have a Bluegrass style at a typical tempo of 130 that is 16ths note based, and you would prefer it as a style that is 8th note based at a typical tempo of 260, you can do this in the StyleMaker by selecting the menu item Style-Expand. Style-Reduce is available also for styles that you want to reduce from 8th notes to 16th notes.
________________________________________


I'm still running 2009.5 because of a job loss, but if this is accurate as discussed in the previous forum listed above, I will definitely want to try to upgrade, at least by the 2011 version.

Thanks

--------------------
Bob




I got this response from PG:

Quote:

Yes, you can specify half-time or double-time for RealTracks in the StyleMaker. However it's not necessary for you do that in the Stylemaker - there is also a song setting.

To expand or reduce the MIDI instruments in the .STY though, you need to use the StyleMaker:

1. Ctrl+shift+F9 to edit the current style.
2. Style menu | reduce (or expand.
3. Save As, and type a name for your new style.




Once again, I can’t state whether or not this works because I’m running 2009.5.

I would strongly suggest that you you read that first thread in it's entirety because there is a lot of good info there.

Last edited by bobcflatpicker; 10/25/10 02:35 PM.
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