Rayzoon Technologies LLC

[railway_mark]

I purchased Jamstix and Jamcussion back in January. I am now getting around to using it for a project, and basically have one objective for the program: My goal is to take static midi parts that I create on my electronic drum kit to original songs and use Jamstix to quantize and then create more life via adjusting the pocket, hi-hat beat accents, etc.

I would like to...
1) Record static midi drum parts by section on my e-kit (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.)
2) Import that midi into Jamstix, allowing it to quantize
3) Edit any inaccuracies in primarily hi-hat parts (The Jamstix piano roll works PERFECTLY for this)
4) Adjust the groove and timing to fit the song's needs

So far, I have managed to import sections, but Jamstix automatically forces me to apply a "drummer" that is significantly altering the notes that I played. I know that this is what most people want, but I would like to use Jamstix to quantize, edit, and add feel back into my midi parts. Is there a way to import MIDI in its literal form, lock it, and then apply only the "feel" parameters?

Do you think that this is something that I can accomplish with this software, or should I look elsewhere? I love the drum sounds in the software and think that it could work if enough options could just be disabled. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!

-Mark

[Ralph [RZ]]

Try this:
- use 'James Stix' model
- in ACCENTS window, slide OVERALL all the way to the left to shutdown any accent modeling
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

[railway_mark]

Thanks for the reply, Ralph! I'll try that tonight. I have a strong desire to make this work one way or the other, because I actually prefer the natural sound of Jamstix to any of the other virtual drum software out there. I also love the feel and nuance that Jamstix can inflect on even my own e-drumming. I'm not a fan of sterile-sounding quantizing (even Pro-Tools "beat detective," which is used on so many major label albums these days), and what you've done with Jamstix seems to do just the trick!

I will report back asap with my findings.

-Mark

[railway_mark]

I had a chance to use your advice, Ralph. I'm glad to report that using "James Stix" and disabling accent modeling did the trick! Now, I am encountering a couple of other minor obstacles...

1. The hi-hat CC4 data isn't getting read. I may just need to re-record the midi part without quantizing or doing any other editing in the host and import it in raw form. Am I missing something here?

2. Any of the 16th ghost notes that I played were quantized to 8ths, but this again was probably an error that I made in the host. Does Jamstix do okay with 16ths in imported midi grooves?

I think I'm getting closer here. Once I get the details nailed down, I think I'll have a really nice work flow going. I'm really looking forward to the project I plan to use this on. Thanks again in advance for your input!

-Mark

[Ralph [RZ]]

Can you send me the MIDI file you are importing so I can check out what is happening during import?
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

[railway_mark]

Sure! I'll re-record the part and see if the same thing happens. If it does, I'll send it your way!

-Mark

[railway_mark]

Midi file sent to support@rayzoon.com. Thanks!

[railway_mark]

I don't mean to spam this thread, but am anxious to get things working. Any findings based on the midi file I sent, Ralph?

To other forum members, it seems like the midi CC data, though it plays fine in the host (MultitrackStudio), is wrongly triggering drums when I import it as a midi groove into Jamstix. Currently, I am recording the midi drum parts using Jamstix as the VSTi. My e-kit drum brain is an Alesis DM8.

Ideas? Thanks in advance for the help!

-Mark

[Ralph [RZ]]

I'm sorry for the delay! I'll get on this as soon as I've addressed a showstopper issue in the JS4 Beta.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

[railway_mark]

Update: I spent the better part of yesterday working on a tune in Jamstix, and thought I'd report my findings...

Originally, I tried to import individual sections (VPCB, etc.), and it proved to be a little more quirky and cumbersome than it was worth. Instead, I came up with the workaround of tracking the entire song in MultitrackStudio, quantizing them, chopping the midi file in half (less than 64 bars each), and then importing into Jamstix as only 2 separate sections. This worked like a charm, and since I'm not using Jamstix for fills, transitions don't matter to me.

To avoid any weird hi-hat interpretations, I used a simple open-closed controller and then hand edited as needed. This was pretty time-consuming, but the results sound good. The "James Stix" AI model with no accents did the trick in allowing me to retain the original parts while adding pocket and feel.

On past recordings, I've tracked acoustic drums live and had to do what sometimes amounted to lots of "slice and dice" editing. I'm able to get the native Jamstix sounds very close to my acoustic setup (with more sound options), and the tracking and editing becomes more of a unified process that ultimately is quicker and more effective. I still need to see what my band thinks of the sounds, but being that it passes my picky ears, I think they'll be very surprised.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated. Drum on!

-Mark

[Azimuth]

There's no right or wrong way to do something if it makes what you're trying to accomplish fit into your workflow with good results.