Rayzoon Technologies LLC

davidvignola · Junior Jammer Joined: 24 Aug 2006 Posts: 9

Hi group,

I just signed up today to this forum. I heard about jamstix from someone on the BFD forum and they suggested I buy jamstix as it's a great combination with BFD. So, last night I downloaded the demo and spent only about 15 min with it as a VSTi in Cubase. I was really interested in the free jam mode where I would be able to play a progression on guitar and have jamstix play along. So I downloaded the manual / quick start guide and got it up a running pretty quickly. I added a midi track in Cubase and also added an audio track for my guitar. I started to play and jamstix did play along with me, but it seems like it was all over the place and the progression was not very useable in my original tune. I did play with some of the adjustments but it didn't seem to help much it just didn’t “fit” with what I was playing. Again, I did not spend a whole lot of time with the program.

My goal is to use the BFD drum sounds and kits and have Jamstix play the BFd kits and hopefully help me quickly put together drum tracks. I have only had BFD for a few weeks and primarily use the on-board grooves and drag them into Cubase and piece together a drum track. That works OK but what ends up happening is that you don't get the variititey in the playing style and it tends to sound very "drum machine" like. Although I have only had BFD a couple of weeks I am sure it can be tweaked even further, but it seems to me that unless you have an external MIDI device to create your own patterns in BFD you are some what limited.

Are there any BFD users who use Jamstix along with it and what are your experiences? Do you have any advice for someone thinking about buying Jamstix? Does adding Jamstix make things that much easier in creating drum tracks? Adding more programs sometimes is more of a hassle. Any guidance would be appreciated.
_________________
Dell 3.0 GHZ Dedicated PC
1.25 gig ram
280 gig HD
FirePod interface
UAD effects
BFD Drum software
Cubase SX3

Ralph [RZ] · Site Admin Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 13332

I hope some of our long-time Jamstix/BFD users will chime in but let me just recommend you try one particular approach: Set Jamstix to 'Manual Jam' and don't use any input at all. Similar to what you did with BFD grooves, select one or more grooves in Jamstix using the 'Load' button in the rhythm tab or via right-clicking on rhythm names in the arranger. Highlight the note icon in the load dialog for easy previewing of rhythms.

Once you have them loaded, arrange them in the arranger as desired. So far this is very similar to what you are used to with BFD grooves.

But now add an automation envelope for 'Velocity' in Cubase on Jamstix and experiment with drawing a curve that reflects the dynamics of your song. Now play the song and notice how Jamstix not only adjust the velocity according to your curve but also changes play styles. For example: switching to sidestick, simplification of quiet passages etc.

Try also the 'PowerPlay' parameter, which will depending on rhythm settings have Jamstix switch to ride or semi hats and increase cymbal usage when the curve is up. This can be great for chorus or bridge sections.

This is just one aspect of Jamstix that I suspect you will find useful so I wanted to point it out.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

davidvignola · Junior Jammer Joined: 24 Aug 2006 Posts: 9

Thanks Zauni.........I will give that a try. I too am hoping that some other BFD / Jamstix users will voice their experiences here as well. I noticed that jamstix II is coming sometime soon. Any idea when that will be? Am I better off just waiting for it?

Anyway, the one thing that I think a lot of software companies forget is the learning curve and I am really surprised that they don't put out a DVD tutorial on how to use their products. In my opinion that alone would sway me to buy someone’s product if they offered that. I can't tell you how helpful that would be. Especially with the music production software, BFD, Jamstix, Cubase etc….they are so powerful and have so many tools and features that you could spend a lifetime trying to figure out how to do something specific.

There is a third party company that released a 3 DVD set on how to use Cubase SX3 and I got to tell you that was the most helpful things ever! I can't tell you how much that cut down on the learning curve. Three different levels, on-screen step by step on everything from basic set up to complex editing to mixing and mastering. And everything in between

Anyway, I am sure Jamstix is not as complicated as host software, but even so I am sure there are so many features that could be taught in a cd rom / DVD format. Especially with drum software, I have yet to see someone with anything such thing expect the small videos they have on their website. Those are ok but I am sure they don’t even scratch the surface of what the program can really do. In my opinion that would certainly put you ahead of your competition if you were able to offer such a thing. Sure there is a cost associated with it but I am sure most people would be willing to pay for it. Oh well just my opinion /suggestion.

I will probably purchase the full version today and give it a try and let you know how I am making out. It really seems like a great program and I can tell by all the posts I have read that your support of your product is top notch and that means a lot as well.
_________________
Dell 3.0 GHZ Dedicated PC
1.25 gig ram
280 gig HD
FirePod interface
UAD effects
BFD Drum software
Cubase SX3

KenB123 · Junior Jammer Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 11

Ralph [RZ] · Site Admin Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 13332

davidvignola · Junior Jammer Joined: 24 Aug 2006 Posts: 9

Very cool.....alowing a free update to Jamstix II when its released. Well, I have spent a few hours over the last few days read a ton of posts on this forum and I must say that I am impressed with your product and support. You seem to be big on making sure your customers are happy with the product and I think thats a thing that most companies lack now a days.

Great job.

I will purchase and I'm sure I'll be back here for advice....lol
_________________
Dell 3.0 GHZ Dedicated PC
1.25 gig ram
280 gig HD
FirePod interface
UAD effects
BFD Drum software
Cubase SX3

sammy24 · Jamologist Joined: 31 Mar 2005 Posts: 138

yo you will not be sorry with your purchase-- jamstix will allow u to create much more realistic tracks than anything else-- I also use bfd with jamstix, u'll see it's very easy to use once u get the hang of it, and i think it will give u many ideas while u're working on your music, it does for me, and really the possibilities are endless, you're not stuck anymore with pre-made grooves and fills--hope u enjoy!

davidvignola · Junior Jammer Joined: 24 Aug 2006 Posts: 9

Hey Sammy,

I spent the time reading through the manual last night prior to trying to use Jamstix. I tried the free jam mode at first and the drums sounded way off and it was getting frustrating, so I decided to read through the manual befreo taking another crack at it tonight. I too want to get the BFD up and ruunnign as well. Would it be cool to e-mail you if I get stuck?

Thanks in advance
_________________
Dell 3.0 GHZ Dedicated PC
1.25 gig ram
280 gig HD
FirePod interface
UAD effects
BFD Drum software
Cubase SX3

sammy24 · Jamologist Joined: 31 Mar 2005 Posts: 138

sure u can e-mail me anytime (nharpaz@netzero.com) hope i can help, i haven't spent too much time using free jam mode, but i guess enough to become somewhat familiar, I mainly use manual jam and build arrangements, but anyway i'm pretty familiar with the program in general so feel free to contact me ( in general i only get a chance to check my e-mail at night, unless i'm on vacation or something)

looking forward to hearing from u,

Sam

davidvignola · Junior Jammer Joined: 24 Aug 2006 Posts: 9

Great...Thanks Sammy....I sent you an e-mail.....
_________________
Dell 3.0 GHZ Dedicated PC
1.25 gig ram
280 gig HD
FirePod interface
UAD effects
BFD Drum software
Cubase SX3

wellesleymusic · Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2006 11:00 am Post subject:

Hi, I started out using Jamstix with BFD but, as Ralph started releasing the add-on drumpax, found I was getting perfect results with these.

Jamstix has totally revolutionised my music making and given me lots of inspiration where normal loops just don't work. My advice is: just buy it, especially with the free upgrade to JS2. The learning curve is a little steep until you figure out what's going on, after which it all becomes quite straightforward.

In terms of workflow, I do exactly what Ralph explained and use automation in Cubase to control velocity, powerplay etc.

KiLLiN-TiMe · Junior Jammer Joined: 14 Oct 2006 Posts: 8

Ralph [RZ] · Site Admin Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 13332

KiLLiN-TiMe · Junior Jammer Joined: 14 Oct 2006 Posts: 8

I tried this and it works as advertised, however I could not get it to go into power mode. Is there something I have set wrong?

KT

Ralph [RZ] · Site Admin Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 13332

If you have an envelope for 'PowerPlay' and you push it higher than 50% then Jamstix will go into powerplay, indicated by the yellow LED near the velocity slider lighting up.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com