Why does my Android iReal b sound like cheesy MIDI compared to the iPad version?

Hi all,

I posted this in a previous thread of mine but it didn't get any attention (and I suppose it's unrelated), so here it is again:

I have iReal b on my Nexus 4 (Android). My guitar teacher's iPad version sounds nearly like real musicians when he plays a backing track. When I play the same thing on my phone it sounds like a cheesy midi file (like what band in a box produces). I'm not talking about 'doesn't have bass' or 'sounds tinny' on my phone speaker, I'm talking about the very obvious difference between something that sounds natural/believable, like it's being played by actual musicians VS something very obviously generated by a computer chip (like old 8 bit chip tunes). I have all the style packs (as they are included by default on the Android version of the app). What else can I check or turn on?

The sub-par quality I'm hearing was also exhibited on my previous Android phone (a HTC One X). I only bought this app for the 'realness' of the jam tracks my teacher was producing with it, but mine doesn't sound anything like it. I'd like it to sound like the iPad version does. How are other Android users finding theirs sounds? Like cheesy MIDI, or more natural and believable? I'd really like to use this app, and export realistic jam tracks. Thanks for any help in advance!

Please check this thread:
http://www.irealb.com/forums/showthr...6240#post16240

Hi. Thanks for the suggestion, but that's not the problem I'm having. The music doesn't skip or lag, and is not distorted or anything like that.
The problem is that tracks I hear iRealB play on an iPad (and exported from an iPad and played back on a Mac) sound like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn3Q6CuwzD8
ie. MUCH better sounding than MIDI.

... whereas any track I play back on my version of iRealb on my Android sounds like this:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...0of%205ths.MID

ie. VERY MIDI like, very simple, very cheesy. Nothing like the iPad outputs, which sounds much more like real instruments. That's the main problem I have ATM.
To try and see if it sounded the same for exported songs, I exported a Wayne Shorter's Adam's Apple, but I can't for the life of me find where it has saved it on the phone, nor any settings to specify a location. Where does it export WAV files to by default?

The file should be saved to your phone's SD card in a folder called iReal b.

You should export it as WAV file, not midi.

Thanks for the reply, I'll clarify:

I did export to WAV, just as a test to see if it sounded better when exported than when played within the app. I was only using that MIDI file I linked to to demonstrate how the backing tracks sound when I play them back from my phone (ie within iReal b, not exported). That file wasn't generated by iReal b. I wanted to use a file it generated, but had a problem exporting (see next paragraph). Anyway, when I play back WITHIN the app, it sounds like very basic MIDI. When my guitar teacher plays a track on his iPad (within the app), it sounds very realistic. Not like MIDI at all. I want to figure out why.

With regards to not being able to find the exported file (regardless of format): I exported to WAV, then connected the Nexus to my PC via USB and looked through every single folder I could find on the phone. It doesn't have an SD card, only built in memory. I couldn't find any directory called iReal b, or anything similar. I literally clicked through every folder and did a windows search as well. It wasn't there. Can someone else please try exporting on a Nexus 4 and see if they can find the resulting WAV file?

If you need any extra information to trouble shoot, just let me know and I'll do whatever I can. I'd really like to use this app and have it sounds like my teacher's version does. Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sl33py

With regards to not being able to find the exported file (regardless of format): I exported to WAV, then connected the Nexus to my PC via USB and looked through every single folder I could find on the phone. It doesn't have an SD card, ...

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You could use a File manager on your Nexus (Astro is a common one used.) You do not have an external SD card but part of internal memory is (confusingly) called 'SD card.' Look for either Internal memory or SD card in your file manager. The iReal b folder should be in there.

Hello,
I've put exactly the same sample in iOS and Android version of iReal b.
The reason it might not sound as good to you is because the built in speaker of the Nexus is very poor compared to the one in the iPad.
If you did listen to both devices with the same headphones or through the same speakers you'd hear that they sound the same.

Massimo.

Hi,

Thanks for you're help. Turns out my teacher had his bass massively cranked and had some other effects going which he neglected to tell me about.... made it sound fairly different - Sorry about that!

Hi, Although I just installed this useful mobile application, however I think that this problem should be common for all mobile gadgets due to a very basic short epoch midi audio banks used. This mobile application is very similar to PC Band-in-a-Box application, which I have been using along last ten years, and must also generate real-time midi stream, which is further used to convert to real-time audio signal via midi audio bank. The smaller the bank - more poor audio quality you get. I`m not sure, but i think that it might be a good deal to check google store for good quality midi banks. This is generally common problem for all applications. Probably, this helps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pas99

...I think that this problem should be common for all mobile gadgets due to a very basic short epoch midi audio banks used...

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iReal Pro can generate the midi file of any song (that the player can play correctly) using the player settings (key, repeats). You can then import the file into any sequencer/samples you have. (Unfortunately because of our internal drum sounds, the drum track does not conform to standard midi mappings.)

That's correct, exporting midi and playback via good tone generator will provide great sound. However, the original question was about bad sound via smartphone/pad. I tried to provide simple explanation of this. BTW, today i checked google pkay store for any midi tone generator available. I did not find any. Do you know one?