Ah, Band In a Box. It's been a standard tool in my non-Irish music efforts for years.
Crookedtune, have you used the latest RealBand/RealTracks styles for jigs, reels, hornpipes and slip jigs? They very much improve Irish style music in BiaB over previous versions. Unfortunately it all ends up sounding a bit like Lunasa whcih is fine if that's what you are going for. But it finally gives you a decent rhythm. The latest version has "session" styles. I have not bought them yet.
You can go from ABC to MGU but you have to have a target BiaB style built first. That was the rub until recently. Here's one way. Start with your ABC run it through something like ABCMidi to generate midi output. BiaB speaks Midi. So take the midi outlut from the ABCMidi and import it into BIAB using your target style (RealBand Celtic styles for jig, reels, etc.) as the template. Save the results and you have your MGU file.
Ketil wrote:Just for making practice and playing at home a bit more interesting and fun. I was thinking of making a percussion pattern and looping it while using the tigger attached on my foot for a bass drum effect. I guess there's lots of possibilities!
Yes there are a lot of ways to do just that and a Wavedrum is kind of overkill - but a fun type of overkill.
I make my own drum triggers and they can be as simple as the piezo based foot stompers referred to or muti-zone versions not unlike the wavedrum. They can be made in many shapes and sizes too. I am also a Looper - using technology to build a full band setting of sound but as a solo player. So you can do as much or as little as you would like and depending on what you want to spend on the bits and pieces.
If you are looking for backing tracks for practice then Band In A Box is not a bad suggestion. It has finally gotten to a level where it can be helpful. The RealBand and RealTracks features do use pre-recorded loops of real players like Trevor Hutchinson and others to make a rhythm section for you to play along with - bodhran, bouzouki, guitar and bass. You just input the chords for the tunes you want to play or use Alf Warnock's database as input. Take a look at the Band In A Box site as an example of the type of sound you get out of BiaB.
http://www.pgmusic.com/realtracks.all.php Scroll down to RealTracks set 173 for samples. The unfortunate part of this is that the Irsih/Celtic style are a mere blip of what all comes with Band In A Box. So if Irish styles are your thing then you have to pay for a lot of stuff you may never find a use for. I also play a lot of Roots music - Folk, Blues, Bluegrass - as well as contemporary Rock styles so it is economical for me to use it. But it's an option for you.
The Wavedrum is an interesting device, always has been. It is not entirely unusual as a precussion trigger. It is unusual for the synthesis engine beneath it. If all you need is a similar trigger setup then the folks in Asia that make the Wavedrum for Korg make a cut down version called the SynthDrum which has all the trigger bits but not the Korg synthesis. They sell for about $160, maybe less if you search around.
Or you can simply take a Remo practice pad and insert a piezo under the head and run a wire out from the back, plug that into a drum machine and away you go. If you still want the synthesis of the Wavedrum you can go the software route for that. PGMusic, the makers of Band In A Box also ofer a piece of software called KeleidoPro which does much of what the Wavedrum does, maybe more and it is only $49. You supply your own percussion triggers - commercial or homemade. Here are some examples.
http://stefanlipson.com/
Or mic a real bodhran, run the mic into a looping pedal, play a few bars, press loop, amp the output and bob's your uncle as they say.
As you said, there are lots of ways to go about such things. And they are probably all a great deal of fun to get into.
Feadoggie
I know both BIAB, homemade triggers, software/effects through loop boxes and the whole synthcontraption thingie are mentioned in the very best of intentions, but I kind of like it simple and a battery driven drum box with built in effects, looping station and loudspeaker appeals a bit more to me 