Rayzoon Technologies LLC

Mark A · Junior Jammer Joined: 30 Oct 2005 Posts: 8

Greetings from the UK. Potential new user of Jamstix here....

I've followed some of the interest in JS from over at the n-Track forum, and this weekend got round to giving it a go.

So far I've not managed to get JS to do anything sensible, but that's not totally surprising since I've only managed to snatch a few minutes here and there (time is always so short!). Browsing the forum suggests that n-Track and JS has been a bit tricky to get going.

Anyway... a question. Does Jamstix only jam to an audio (recorded or live) track or a midi track? Can it be used like a convential drum machine whereby I can program up some rhythms (2, 4, 8 bars), (or use built-in patterns), arrange them into a song and get Jamstix to play the arrangement with all the nice variations, fills, tweaks etc?... rather than having to have audio for it to jam to?

Yes, I know I should read the manual and spend some more time playing with it etc, but I'm hoping some kind soul will give me a kick start. Or feel free to call me an idiot and point me at another post if this has already been covered.

Or am I missing the point?

Great product BTW.

TIA

Mark

andrewwright67 · Jamologist Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 154

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

Hi Mark and welcome to the board!

As Andrew said, you can use Jamstix without the jamming function and load beats from the library into the rhythm tab or even program your own.

You can then arrange up to 16 rhythms in the arranger complete with fills etc. and also use MIDI automation to program specific behavior throughout your song.

Throughout all of this, the 'humanizing' aspects of Jamstix, such as limb assignments, velocity variances and accentuations, stay in effect.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

Mark A · Junior Jammer Joined: 30 Oct 2005 Posts: 8

Excellent. Thanks for the super quick replies chaps.

So do I just load up the JS Vsti in my host (n-Track), set the tempo, and hit Play? Any specific settings I should be aware of in Jamstix?

TIA

Mark

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

- load Jamstix
- go to the rhythm tab and either program a beat or load one from the library
- hit Play and Jamstix will play the rhythm in synch with n-Track

The next step is to go to the arranger and add some fills (right-click on a bar to do that) and then to select and arrange more than one rhythm at once.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

Mark A · Junior Jammer Joined: 30 Oct 2005 Posts: 8

Thankyou, will give it a go.

RichLum · Jamologist Joined: 04 Mar 2005 Posts: 142 Location: Sydney

Mark,

make sure you have LIVE mode selected in n-Track.

Also you might want to use the effect automation parameters in n-Track to draw envelopes to vary the veloicty and turn power play on and off (and what other automation you want throughout your arrangement).

Then make sure you have the button in the n-Track mixer selected to playback automations.

Also make sure you have Jamstix set to jam to midi (as you are using the midi automation to determine the velocity, powerplay etc.)

HTH,
Rich

Mark A · Junior Jammer Joined: 30 Oct 2005 Posts: 8

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the help. I've already got a couple of your posts printed out from the n-Track and Audiominds forums. Ever thought about putting together an n-Track & Jamstix FAQ?

I didn't get a chance to try any of the suggestions last night. I'll see if I can sneak a few minutes this evening.

Thanks all.

Mark

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

n-Track FAQ would be nice. We have a n-Track thread in the support forum but I'd also love to add a n-Track section to the 'Free Jam Quick Start' guide that comes with Jamstix.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

RichLum · Jamologist Joined: 04 Mar 2005 Posts: 142 Location: Sydney

I could give it a go... I haven't even had time lately to record or write much though.

Would need to give the latest versions of JS a good workout to make sure I was aware of all the new features etc.

I'm happy to give it a go but can't promise anything and might not get a chance for a few weeks yet...
definitley not this week or this weekend...

I would probably have 2 how-to's
1 to just JS setup and jam to audio using m8
the 2nd to use JS to rrange a drum track for a song by customising rhythms and using the midi automation parameters to control JS.

Rich

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

That would be great, Rich! We could incorporate it into the docs and give you proper credit.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

Mark A · Junior Jammer Joined: 30 Oct 2005 Posts: 8

Thought I owed everyone the courtesy of an update....

Thanks to your help guys I got it going last night. So far, it's more than I expected.

I'm about 1/2 way through the manual (which is well written btw).

I do have a couple of further questions but I'll save those until I've finished reading the manual incase I can answer them myself.

Gonna have to start saving my pennies now. Just when I thought I had enough "toys".

Cheers guys

Mark

Mark A · Junior Jammer Joined: 30 Oct 2005 Posts: 8

Hi.... me again.

I looked all over but I can't find a way to Audition/Preview a pattern in the Rhythm Tab as I'm working on it.

Is this possible? Seems (to me) like a very useful thing to be able to do.

TIA

Mark

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

Mark A · Junior Jammer Joined: 30 Oct 2005 Posts: 8