Rayzoon Technologies LLC

[Jason]

hi. as i've said in another thread, i've been using Jamstix after almost a year of non-suse. so i'm a long-term newbie and learning from scratch basically.

i'm having trouble with the manual. basic stuff like saving beats/editing i looked up older forum threads and have found that some others also have trouble with, for example, understanding the relationship between the three modes (Free, Manual and Keyword Jams), as well as Arranging.

here's an example. on page 10 ("How To Jam") it says, "Once you have good results from a free jam, you should always switch to manual and Jamstix will recall the jam results every time you play."

so... i got a beat in free jam, and switched to Manaul Jam. but then i'm stumped. why am i now in Manual? what exactly do i do in Manual Jam?

i look to the user-manual in the Manual Jam section: it tells me that Manaul is like a drum machine but it doesn't give step-by-step (idiot-proof) instructions on how to use it. without documentation direction, i'm lost.

unlike the many, many "smart" folks that use Jamstix with great success, i need VERY comprehensive walkthroughs in a manual or video.

in other posts, i've read you, Ralph, allude to the fact that Jamstix 2 will make things easier to grasp, or something to that effect.

my question is: if the current Jamstix is really difficult for me, will Jamstix 2 be significantly easier to learn? or are we talking a few minor improvements? will their be a new manual, or just tweaks to the current one?

i guess with the current Jamstix i, embarrassingly, need to be "hand-held" through what i want to do: a) have Jamstix itself create new beats for my guitar-based Cubase music b) create my own beats in Jamstix for my riffs and have Jamstix add fills and "humanize" the beats with different velocities and more human timing. and i need to be able to save and edit beats and arrangements with ease.

am i simply too dumb for this software? should i just quit for now and wait for a (hopefully) easier Jamstix 2?

do i need to just dedicate hours and hours going mostly by trial and error to figure out the basics of creating/saving beats and arranging?

i should end this by saying, Ralph, you've done an killer job with software that many are having amazing success with. and you offer the best support i've seen in ANY industry. i just need an idiot-friendly manual or walkthrough.

thoughts?

thanks kindly.

Jason

[AlanB]

Jason

It might help to have a look at the tutorial video's here: http://www.rayzoon.com/demos.html

Hope that helps!

AlanB

[Ralph [RZ]]

[Jason]

thanks for the specific replies.

i'm at work and can't try them out but i'm sure that those specific directions will get me going.

i know many of my struggles and questions sound basic and self-evident. i'm bad with this stuff. my only consolation is that from time to time i come across posts from other people, like me, who don't "get it" right away just by reading the manual and "playing with it." that's where this forum is a wonderful support tool.

i really appreciate your speedy and informative replies.

thanks, Ralph.

Jason

[Jason]

ah, after your replies, a little Scotch and a little playing with it, i have made some good (for me and i'm slow) progress.

i switched to Manual and was able to edit rhythms in the arranger. and i came to understand the Arranging grid better and the "Use Arrangement" toggle.

this is what i learnt:

in Manual Arrangement mode:
when i click on a red rectangle, i access that rhythm (beat). i can edit it in the box just by clicking on or off different drum parts, like snare or kick. very, very simple.

when "Use Arrangement" is off, when i click on a horizontal row, it plays a particular rhythm over and over, without changing to another rhythm.

when "Use Arrangement" is on, it switches rhythms (beats) according to how the red rectangles (beats) are arranged on the grid.

just to experiment, i changed Jam Part 3 to all kick, Jam Part 5 to all snare. by clicking on any bar i could place either the all kick beat or the all snare at my will. very, very easy.

now, while i understand Manual mode and using the Arrangement in that mode now, my understanding of the Arrangement in Freejam mode is NOT as clear.

let's say i have recored an 8-bar guitar part in Cubase and i cycle that guitar part...

in Free Jam mode, does the Rhythm change every "pass" of my loop?
or does it stay the same?

if it stays the same does that mean the Arranger in Freejam will be filled with 16 rows of the very same beat?

if the beat changes every pass of my guitar loop, that would give me 16 different rhythms in the Freejam Arranger, right? i could access all 16 different beats by clicking on JamPart #0 - Jampart #15?

does that make sense?

anyways, i must say, being able to change/make beats and arange them is very simple. that will keep me going.

thanks in advance for your replies.

Jason

[Ralph [RZ]]

[Jason]

"In audio free jam, Jamstix will use rhythm 1 and a different rhythm on every second bar."

thanks, Ralph.

so, to be clear:

using Free Jam with an audio signal:

every second rhythm is brand new, even if i don't change sliders and settings? and every rhythm in between the different (new) rhythms is a repetition of Rhythm 1:

Rhythm 0: Jamstix is analyzing the data.
Rhythm 1: New Jamstix rhythm.
Rhythm 2: repeats Rhythm 1.
Rhythm 3: New Jamstix rhythm.
Rhythm 4: Repeats Rhythm 1.

and so on. is this correct?

so, in 16 rows of rhythms in the Arranger i would get every odd-numbered Rhythm as the very same Rhythm 1 (Rhythms 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15) even-numbered Rhythm as a different Rhythm (#'s 2,4,6,8,10,12,14).

sorry to go on but i'd like to be clear.

thanks a bunch.

Jason

[Ralph [RZ]]

[Jason]

thanks so much.

one LAST clarification on this issue (i hope!):

"That's correct. Except you got some numbers wrong. It will play rhythm #0 every second bar and use 1 through 15 in between."

so, in the Arranger's 16 rhythm slots...

8 new Rhythms
8 repeats of Rhythm 0

is this correct? we don't get 16 new and different rhythms in the Arranger after Free Jam?

thanks.

Jason

[Ralph [RZ]]

Correct.
_________________
Ralph Zeuner
Rayzoon Technologies LLC
http://www.rayzoon.com

[Jason]

hi, Ralph (hope you're still checking replies to old threads).

i've learnt quite a bit but still not sure if i understand Free Jam and the Arranger 100%. how about i tell you what i think i know first and then ask a few questions...

if i create a guitar audio track in Cubase 1.0 and use FreeJam, this happens:

A single new Jampart (a new rhythm or beat) is created for every 2 bars of my guitar part.

with a 4-bar guitar part, 2 new JamParts or rhythms are made.
with an 8-part guitar part, 4 new JamParts are made.
with a 16-bar guitar part, 8 new Jamparts.
and with a 32-bar guitar part, 16 are created (all the available rhythms are used)

why doesn't Jamstix fill up every available rhythm in the Arranger for shorter guitar parts? for example, why don't i get 16 different rhythms for a 4-bar guitar part?

i've learnt that with every pass of my Cubase guitar loop, new rhythms rewrite the old ones. thus with a 4-bar guitar part two rhythms are created and with every pass Jampart 0 and Jampart 1 are rewritten -- new beats are created.

first, i'm not hallucinting, it rewrites rhythm parts with every pass, correct?
second, can i retrieve old rhythms that have been rewritten over?

i can only access 2 different rhythms with a 4-bar guitar part (Jampart #0 and Jampart#1). can i access a rhythm that was created, for example, 9 loops ago and that has since been written over with brand-new rhythms several times? or are they lost?

i'm making progress: Manual Jam is easy to use to create beats and fine-tune FreeJam beats. i would just love to be 100% clear about FreeJam and Arranger "rules" and relationships.

thank you kindly for all your help dealing with a digital dullard.

Jason

[Ralph [RZ]]

[Jason]

thanks. i'll check the version but i'm 99.99% sure that the rhythms are being rewritten with each pass of the guitar loop.

one last question (for now).

the manual says about the Reset button:
"The Reset button resets all setting when you want to start a new rhythm from scratch."

i've checked Reset and then clicked on both the Rhythm parts under each bar and the Rhythm names to the left of the grid -- nothing seems to happen.

what should i be doing with Reset and what result should happen?

thanks.

Jason

p.s. Ralph, do you prefer that my additional questions be posted in brand-new threads, or as part of old ones? i think my questions are all related to the original topic, but it is a vast topic. or do you prefer stop pestering you with questions? (you're probably too nice to admit to this but i thought i'd ask.) i do try to RTFM and experiment on my own but i still don't always get it.

[Ralph [RZ]]

[Jason]

Reset in the arranger resets 'choices' for a bar, meaning any fill, accent, probable note decisions etc. will be cleared.

Reset in the rhythm tab clears the current rhythm.

Reset in the free jam tab invalidates all current rhythms forcing the free jam to come up with new ones.