This is an excellent question that deserves significant discussion. The short answer is that it can and should sound as good as the live playing on a good controller and as good as the playback on a good midi source. On many tunes we have used proprietary bass lines on intros played on an RD700 recorded into midi and played back back through the same. I don't think anyone ever noticed that the intro was midi and the rest of the tune was real bass. I really like real drums and many other real tracks but there comes a time when you need better control of the notes played.

I hope PG will place more emphasis on actual midi recordings of midi styles. I know some BIAB midi drum tracks are played on controllers and they often sound quite good throuh EZ drums or the RD700. How about "REAL MIDI" - I will it buy because it offers so much more control. I frequently use EZ drums because I can choose the precise drum set and playing that I like and tempo never affects quality. Great real tracks sometimes aren't usable because the sound was distorted or the stretched sound isn't acceptable. My number one priority would be keyboard comping in midi. IMHO the piano comping isn't up to the sound quality of the drums or bass - we primarily use BIAB for bass and drums and roll our own piano and guitar. MY next goal is some big band charts and am considering Garritan JBB3. Many existing BIAB style have nice brass parts and sound ok with present gear.

I plan to continue buying the upgrades but would like to see the midi playing catch up with the feel of RTs.