So I'm using a Style (BIAB 2017) where the mixer shows Strings, Melody and Soloist but these 3 elements are deactivated. Can I activate Strings and add a nice string arrangement? Maybe on Real Band?
Thanks.
You can't just activate the string part. The tracks you see are the ones defined in the style you selected. Not all parts are in every style. So if those are greyed out, it just means that particular style doesn't include a strings track (melody and soloist tracks in general are not included in styles, but can be).
If you want a RealTrack strings to play, what you can do is to right click on one of the Strings part on the mixer and from the popup menu, select "Select RealTracks" to assign the RT to that strings track.
If you want MIDI strings to play, then you can select "Select Custom MIDI Style for this Track" (which lets you essentially import in a strings track from a style that has one you want. You would have to audition a number of MIDI styles first to find an appropriate one, however.
Absolutely.... yes you can do anything you want. It may not be easily done strictly in BB but there are ways around that limitation.
Many of the more creative things will require the use of a DAW, but all things are generally possible.
Export the song or better yet, the individual tracks to a DAW and feel free to use Real Band for this purpose. It is a DAW. In RB you can also add tracks and instruments that are not a part of the original BB style.
For example, I use rock and hard dock styles for a lot of my country music. In my DAW and by also using RB, I can create mandolin, steel, dobro, and other parts that don't exist naturally in the rock styles. I can also mute or remove the tracks that I don't want.
By using volume envelopes in the DAW, you can bring things in when you want and take them out when you want.
When you get the Strings running (the way John has suggested), and you only want them in the last half of your song, just use function key F5 (bar settings) to Mute the strings at the first bar and then restore the strings 'back to normal' at the desired half-way bar.
