Rayzoon has announced the release of version 2.5 of Jamstix, the release of the Jamcussion Hand Percussion expansion for Jamstix and launched the Rayzoon 2008 Holiday Sale Event.

Jamstix v2.5 includes the following changes:

• Added 7 new styles ('6-8 16th Shuffle','Modern Samba' and 5 new funk styles).
• Added 31 presets for many of the existing styles.
• Added Dry/Wet mix to compressors via a new 'MIX' knob option. This allows for parallel (NY) compression.
• Faster file detection logic leads to improved GUI and kit loading on certain machines.
• Added 'Extract From Other Style' to the brain menu, which allows the extraction of a groove or accent element from another style into the current style.
• When the A.I. play filter skips a note, the bar editor now shows a red X on the sound icon as visual feedback and moving the mouse over it shows the reason for it in the status line.
• Added 'Prefill' section to the fill generator which controls the hihat openness behavior before the fill.
• Added 'Fill Type' option to fill generator which allows 'Groove'-based fills in addition to the normal 'Free Form' fills. Groove fills keep the right hand playing the underlying groove while kick and left-hand produce various counter grooves. The result is a fill that is less 'interrupting' and more integrated with the underlying groove.
• Added 'Open Hat Ending' option to the fill generator, which places an open hat on the last 8th of the fill.
• Added 'Crash On Left Snare' option to the fill generator.
• Moving the mouse over a bar in the timeline now shows repetition#, core bar# and bar# within repetition.
• Brain elements can now be renamed (click on name to edit).
• Most list elements in the brain can now be left clicked on the text to select via a popup menu for faster editing.
• Added 'Mute Limb' menu to the bar editor limb menu to mute/unmute a limb for either a part or the whole song.
• Added new MIDI import mode that uses the current MIDI key assignments of the kit.
• 'Turn Groove Into A Style' now supports multi-bar patterns.
• Added quarter shuffle hihat mode.
• Improved 16th shuffle logic for grooves.
• Fills are no longer shuffled in 16th shuffle mode unless 8th shuffle is active as well.
• Log files and revisions are now written to 'My Documents'.
• Added kit "Not Too Dry (XLMB)" in the "Funk" section to show how stock, MetalPak and BonzoPak elements can be combined.
• Unchecking 'Preview' in the import dialog now stops running preview.
• Added 'Redirect Toms' to 'Carter' model to redirect groove and accent toms to hihat.
• When using 12/8 time signature, proper 6-feel groove weights are now set by default.
• Cymbal variations in drum module mode are now split into two modes: crash 1 only or all crashes.
• Added 'Use TD-20 Extensions' to drum module mode menu with the following functions:
  • Modified hihat logic of the internal engine to produce realistic responses when the TD-20 sends a CC4 change AFTER a note is hit.
  • Routes TD-20 hihat rim notes automatically to the corresponding bow notes.
  • Allows hihat splashing.
  • Allows cymbal choking the TD-20 way via aftertouch.
• Added new folder 'TD20' with 2 new kits that use the tom rim triggers on the TD20 drum kit for extra sounds.
• When previewing a drum sound while the host is playing, the sound will now be previewed in place of the current one with whatever JS is playing at that time.
• Added 'Export MIDI File' option to the song menu for users that cannot drag-&-drop to the host.
• Added option to reverse hihat control range (CC4).
• Ambience dampening and shape can now be controlled via MIDI CC.
• Audio input now only affects the song power knob when the host is playing so that changing modes while the host is stopped no longer leads to the power knob dropping to zero.
• Added 'Never Downmix' option which overrides the 'Downmix' switch in the mixer for those who always use multi-outputs.
• The first bar of each part is now marked in the timeline with a red/white vertical line on the left side.
• Added another kit output template that routes everything to #1, except for snare (#2), toms(#3) and percussion (#4).
• Added 'Load Filter' to kit loading screen to enable the extraction of only specific sound types from a kit.
• Fixed problem with tom assignment in fills leading to over use of Tom 5 under certain circumstances.
• Fixed error when importing Jamstix 2 grooves under certain circumstances.
• Fixed kit name not updating in the interface when loading a kit with the mixer locked.
• Fixed truncated bar line display when editing part reps/length under certain circumstances.
• Fixed brain sliders moving erratically when being dragged by the mouse in audio jam mode in certain hosts under certain circumstances.
• Fixed errors due to log file issues when running multiple instances of Jamstix.
• Fixed custom choke key range limits.
• Fixed 'Downmix' setting recall issue.
• Fixed MIDI importer setting all imported notes to a priority of -200.
• Fixed problem with brain elements sometimes missing after song reload and previous use of classic kick/snare controls or manual removal of brain elements.

Jamcussion Hand Percussion

Jamcussion is the long-awaited percussion add-on for Jamstix 2. It is the most complex Jamstix expansion developed so far. Not only does it add a wide range of percussive sounds and new style and player models but it also expands the interface of Jamstix 2 to allow the simulation of three dedicated percussionists, complete with separate bar, song and kit editing.

Jamcussion is available now in the Rayzoon online store and has a list price of $69. More information can be found here.

Rayzoon 2008 Holiday Sale Event

Rayzoon has announced its 4th annual holiday sales event with discounts up to 40% off. This includes all versions of Jamstix 2 and all expansions, including the just released "Jamcussion" hand percussion. In addition, customers who buy Jamstix 2XL, Jamstix 2XXL or Jamstix 2 Studio are eligible for a $51 discount coupon for 4Front TruePianos. More information can be found here.