Band-in-a-Box

The user enters four basic keyboard inputs consisting of: chords; a key; a tempo; a musical style.

The software retrieves and customizes groups of musical phrases that are appropriate for soloing or comping over a particular chord at a chosen key, genre and tempo.

"[1] In late 1997, the "soloist" feature was introduced, allowing the software to generate solos choosing from a menu that includes emulations of jazz luminaries, past and present; e.g., Miles Davis or Freddie Hubbard in what reviewer Peter Hum calls "credible imitations".

[3] Jazz guitarist Geof Dresser, whose day job is a network software developer said," It's playing hipper lines than I can".

In November 2006, PG Music released "RealDrums", which was the first step in providing users with tracks recorded by real instruments.

Using the ACW feature requires the user to first synchronize the audio to the software; one way is manually adding bar lines by tapping a key on the downbeats as the song plays.

This feature is being improved but is fraught with analysis errors if the original audio is not tuned to standard pitch or is not at a consistent tempo.

Later versions of the software provide the name the musician who is performing; e.g., the user can select Nashville session guitarist Brent Mason if he so chooses.

RealTracks uses the élastique Pro V3 time-stretching and pitch-transposition engine by Berlin-based "zplane.development",[9] which allows the prerecorded instruments to retain much of their natural sound when the tempo and pitch are varied.

The basic functions are relatively easy to master; but, as evidenced by its 675-page user's manual, there is a long learning curve to get the full benefit.

Deluxe versions called "Audiophile Editions" are sold preinstalled on a hard drive and include studio-quality uncompressed RealTracks files.