Rayzoon Technologies LLC

Shm00ve_ · Junior Jammer Joined: 21 Jan 2011 Posts: 6

Hello. I am a new Jamstix user with a few questions about using Jamstix 3 with an E-Drum kit. I just purchased Jamstix 3 Studio last week, and so far I love it. I had been keeping my eye on Jamstix for quite some time and finally decided to buy it. It’s an incredible piece of software and I can tell just by reading these forums how well supported it is. I’m more than impressed, not just by the software, but also by the amazing level of support the users get. Rayzoon is exactly the kind of Company I like to support. I purchased the Studio edition of JS3 just a couple of days after the AI pak was released and I was very pleased to see that the AI Pak was included in Jamstix 3 studio.

So on to my question… I have been using Jamstix 3 in drum module mode with my Alesis USB Studio kit, which is basically just a set of triggers attached to an Alesis Trigger IO unit. I am trying to program my Alesis trigger IO unit’s MIDI key assignments to match the native Jamstix key assignments. (I would rather re-map the key assignments on the trigger IO to match the software than the other way around.) I was able to see the way the drums were mapped in Jamstix by using the “show key map” function after loading a kit. I used that to program my Trigger IO unit with the correct MIDI key assignments. Everything is working well, but I cannot figure out how to map the choke on the crash cymbal. I have a chokable crash trigger but the key map doesn’t show what MIDI key the choke function is assigned to in jamstix. It’s not even listed on the key map. Is cymbal choking supported when using Jamstix in drum module mode? If so, what MIDI key do I need to assign to my choke trigger on the Trigger IO unit?

Thanks in advance…

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

First off, thank you for your very kind words about Jamstix and Rayzoon!

Cymbal chokes in Jamstix drum module mode are currently only supported for Roland TD mode, which is via MIDI Aftertouch messages. Can the Alesis do that?
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

Shm00ve_ · Junior Jammer Joined: 21 Jan 2011 Posts: 6

Thanks for the quick response Ralph!

Unfortunately from what I've read, the Alesis Trigger IO does not support Aftertouch messages, so at least I have my answer. No big deal. Now I can stop trying to figure that out and just get back to drumming. Thanks!

Mark Blair · Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 12:14 pm Post subject:

Ralph -

Is there any way you could also make it so a MIDI CC# (in addition to aftertouch) could trigger a cymbal choke? My Yamaha DTXpress IV supports cymbal chokes "internally", but it doesn't transmit anything over its MIDI output. And it would be great to simply edit the resulting MIDI drum track to add something that could trigger a cymbal choke...

Shm00ve_ · Junior Jammer Joined: 21 Jan 2011 Posts: 6

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

I'll see what we can do...
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

Mark Blair · Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:17 pm Post subject:

Ralph -

Knowing that you're going to look at this request seriously, I just have to "choke" back the tears...

Shm00ve_ · Junior Jammer Joined: 21 Jan 2011 Posts: 6

lol nice....

Mark Blair · Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:53 pm Post subject:

It may not be relevant to you, Shm00ve_, but -- since I have a few MIDI keyboards -- it would be nice if I could simply hit a sustain pedal from one of them (usually outputs CC#64, I believe) and have that trigger a cymbal choke.

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

Here is the thing, JS needs to know what note to choke if we use MIDI CC. We have three options:

A) We use a specific CC number for choking and the value of the CC determines the note of the cymbal to choke. This may exceed the abilities of your e-drum kit or controller

B) We use a specific CC number and if JS receives it, it chokes the last cymbal it played.

C) We use a specific CC number PER cymbal

I think option B will be the easiest for all of us. Let me know what you think.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

vaikl · Jammer Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 24

There are also two methods to choke a cymbal in software. First is to send a simple Note Off to the actual playing sound, second is to play a different, choked cymbal sound.

The second method sounds much more natural, but needs an algorithm to blend the two sounds (with the aftertouch values) or a bunch of very good samples with variable decay and attack values.

Ralph, what would you prefer to support non-aftertouch-capable modules like the Alesis ones (I'm playing an Alesis DM10 now and it hasn't just aftertouch yet)?

Mark Blair · Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:43 pm Post subject:

I vote for Ralph's option B (choke the last cymbal), because that seems most logical to me. I won't play another cymbal and then choke a previous cymbal hit...

Shm00ve_ · Junior Jammer Joined: 21 Jan 2011 Posts: 6

Option B does seem to be the most logical to me as well. I would think that in any situation where you would want to choke a cybmal it would always be the last one you played.

Option C could be problematic if you're using the cymbal variation feature. Option B I think would work even if you are using cymbal variations.