« just like a band »

This program will simulate a real band. It's designed for practice mostly, I doubt anybody would seriously try to make music with it. It basically allows you to type in a lead sheet and pick a style for the "band" to play it in. The idea is that you can play over it to work on music. I have used it in this capacity and it's a good way to practice if you can't play with a band. I didn't have any compatibility issues or anything, and I had no problem setting it up and getting started. Everything you'd need it to do is pretty obvious and easy to find. 


SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The software has never given me any problems. It's stable with the configuration, considering you don't really need outboard gear to use it (though having a midi keyboard will allow you to simply play the chords instead of writing them out, which makes it easier if you're a pianist or keyboardist). The performances that the "band" gives are pretty weak, but that's too be expected with synthetic music.


OVERALL OPINION

I think that in reality, only jazz musicians will have a lot of use for this, since rock music tends to be simpler (though not always), and the only music with changes that are really complex is jazz. I think it's a little overpriced, but if you are limited in your options, it's worth it. I wouldn't buy it again now simply because I'm not playing jazz as often, and I doubt I'd get my money's worth. I've also grown as a player and I can always rehearse with a band nowadays, which is way better since it allows you to play off of the other musicians, which isn't possible with a mechanical band playing really straightforwardly like this. The sound isn't that great, and the solos they play aren't always that accurate or good, even. I haven't really tried a similar program at all, but if there's one that's better than this I'd be interested.