Rayzoon Technologies LLC

[Jason]

hi.

well, i'm learning the software -- very slowly but making progress. i've asked Ralph a million questions about FreeJam but ManualJam seems so easy and intuitive that i can see myself using Manual more than FreeJam.

i know the basics of creating beats (kick and snare, mostly) from jamming with real drummers (i'm a guitarist). my trouble is that i can't "write" fills and accents. so i see myself creating the "spine" of the beat (kick and snare, perhaps highhat) with ManualJam and letting Jamstix do the accents and fills and variances to make it sound real.

perhaps when i get more comfortable with FreeJam, that will be my primary use. but maybe i'll just play with Manual mostly. i'll see....

anyone mostly use Manual as i described or is that a waste of this fine software?

cheers.

Jason

[acabreira]

I use only manual jam. Sometimes I let JS decide on which accents to use, but most of the time I create custom accents and fills for each song´s need. But still the limb priority, the hats, timing and velocity variations are things that make my drum tracks much more realistic than I could ever do sequencing them.

[Jason]

^^^^ thanks for sharing, dude.

"the hats, timing and velocity variations..."

please elaborate. you don't set the hihats yourself? or you do and let Jamstix do some random things (i'm still new to this and can't recall from memory but believe there are random variations that can be added to the hats, right?)

and please share your timing and velocity preferences to make it sound real.

cheers.

Jason

[lucky]

Hi Jason,

I can understand your initial hesitation with using Freejam, I had a similar 'learning' curve, though acceptance curve is perhaps a better word. Freejam is the primary reason that I bought the product, I really like the concept and I think the current implementation is a first step into a real virtual drummer, whatever that means.

I really like the openness it creates during a jam, the unexpectedness, the dynamics, it really gives an extra feeling during a jam without a drummer. But as all software it has it's quirks and limitations, but for a 1.x release I think it is really neat. And the latest betas make life easier and are stable enough to use.

I sometimes switch between Freejam and Keyword/Keyboard Jam, when I want to be able to jam to a certain music style. That is my main issue with Freejam. It is not sensitive to the beat played by non-midi players. It would be cool if you could start a rhythm on your guitar/bass and that it picks up on that, even sets the tempo of the VST host after it analyzed the beat for a few measures, one can always dream

So far I have only used manual jam after I recorded the jam in Cubase, e.g. I record both the bass track and the Jamstix Freejam/Keyword jam simultaneously and set Jamstix in Manual Jam 'Braindead' mode afterwards.

I think it depends a bit on what you want to achieve. If you want to jam a bit to a dynamic beat, Jamstix is ideal for that. If you want to compose a complete song, with a clear view of what you are trying to achieve, it might be easier to do that all in Cubase or any other VST host and use Jamstix as just a 'simple' drum computer. I guess that the truth is somewhere in the middle often, depending on your mode of operations.

R, Lucky

[RichLum]

I only use Manual Jam.
I use Jamstix to create drum tracks for my songs.
I use the built in rhythms as a starting point and then maybe modify them a bit. I map them out in the arranger, add fills and use automation envelopes to control velocity, powerplay, mutes, percussion etc.

I've only ever used the free and keyword jams when doing testing but not for actual song writing/recording.

All depends on what you are using JS for.

Rich

[darcyb62]

I looked at freejam but haven't used it in any song I have done. I use manual jam exclusively as typically I have a sound I want to achieve and freejam never gets me close.
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darcyb62

[Jason]

ah, thanks for the replies. interesting to see some veteran jammers prefer Manual Mode, contrary to the the documentation manual calling FreeJam the "heart of it all." (i'm sure it is for many, just not all.)

i think it's easier to build beats and experiment with those beats in Manual than it is in Cubase's (i've got 1.0) Drum Editor.

and, as i said, while i know how to get the snare/kick foundation of a beat, i'm not ready to start writing my own fills and this is where Jamstix is invaluable to me right now. plus, the variance controls. i haven't even tried to write fills with Cubase's drum editor but i'm sure they would sound "off" if i did.

(if Ralph created a "box" for fills and endings like the one we have for kick and snare in the Rhythm section, it would be a great learning tool for writing our own fills and endings. i would first analyse Jamstix's fills, learn to tweak them, then try writing my own from scratch. if Ralph doesn't comment, i could make a thread on this perhaps.)

anyway, i'm sure FreeJam will come in handy but Manual is where i'll spend a lot of my time.

cheers.

Jason

[notringo]

[Ralph [RZ]]

Automation is easy in Cubase. Example:


Just select the desired parameter and paint the envelope as needed throughout the song.
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Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com