Rayzoon has announced that Jamstix 3, the latest installment of its virtual drummer plug-in, will be released on May 5th, 2010.

Jamstix 3 improves on its predecessor with a larger interface, more styles and drummers, many new features and enhancements as well as the brand-new "song builder" wizard, which can create a complete multi-part drum arrangement with fills in seconds. Memory usage is reduced with the new load-on-demand sample management and meticulously sampled stock kits offer "new levels of realism" with automatic snare and tom center/offset hit management.

List prices:

• Jamstix 3 $99.
• Jamstix 3 XL $139.
• Jamstix 3 XXL $199.
• Jamstix 3 Studio $249.
• Upgrades for Jamstix 1 or 2 owners: $49.

Jamstix is virtual drum software which simulates a drummer inside of your sequencer/host. Unlike most other drum modules, which either provide static MIDI patterns or an engine that combines pre-recorded MIDI patterns, Jamstix features a realtime simulation of a human drummer down to the calculation of the time it takes a drummer to move an arm from drum A to drum B. This means that arrangements created with Jamstix are always humanly playable (no ten-armed drummers) and also always unique and varied since they are created based on rules and not static patterns.

When Jamstix 1 was released in March of 2005, it was quickly praised for its new and innovative approach using rule-based groove intelligence. Jamstix 3 takes this approach to new heights with an improved interface, more styles and drummers and countless new features and enhancements. The new "song builder" function can create a full drum arrangement with many parts and fills in seconds and brand-new stock kits offer incredible realistic sound reproduction.

Whether you are a hobbyist or a professional, whether you are in need of a jamming partner or a drum arrangement tool, a student wanting to learn more about drumming style or a songwriter needing to create a complex and unique drum track quickly, whether you have no drum module at all or have every high-end drum library on the market and wish to get the most realistic grooves out of them, Jamstix 3 could be for you.

Advanced Virtual Drummer:

• Real-time groove composition using dedicated style and drummer modeling (not static patterns).
• In-depth drummer limb simulation, including triangulation of hand movements, ensures that the grooves are always humanly playable (no ten-armed drummer here).
• Advanced feel modeling includes sound-specific pocket delays, power and timing variations and can play ahead, on or behind the beat.
• Real-time fill generator produces unique fills (no static patterns used) that match the style and drummer in use.
• Streamlined interface with visual drum kit for editing as well as just watching the drums play.
• Part-based arranger with transition and repetition fills, liveloop technology as well as drag-&-drop MIDI export.
• Limb-centric bar editor allows fine-tuning of notes without need for MIDI export/editing in host.
• Extensive MIDI controller mapping allows in-depth remote-control of the style, drummer and mixer.
• Comes with over 60 styles (rock, funk, afro-cuban, blues, jazz, electronica, brazilian, breakbeat, country, R&B, Motown and many more) and 15 human drummer models, expandable via future Paks.

High Quality Sounds:

• Built-in high-quality drum sample player with multiple velocity layers and controllable ambience.
• Built-in mixer with FX.
• Route sounds to up to 17 stereo outputs.
• Extensive sound library that can be expanded via expansion Paks.

Integrates With Other Sound Modules:

• Integrated VSTi sub-hosting allows usage of any VSTi drum synthesizer, such as BFD2, Superior 2, EZDrummer and Addictive Drums. Combine the sounds of your favorite drum plugin with the jam power and realism of Jamstix.
• Allows creating kits that use a mix of external sounds and Jamstix sounds. For example, you can built a kit that uses EZDrummer drums and Jamstix percussion sounds and cymbals.
• Flexible key and velocity mapping.

Interactive Jamming
Jamstix can interact with your MIDI or audio input by adjusting velocity and using play rules, such as hihat/ride switching and snare head/sidestick switching as well as rhythm reduction giving you the feel of playing with a human drummer.

E-Drum Support
Jamstix can be used with any e-drum kit and fully supports the TD-20 V-Drums, including bow/shank hihat, foot splashing, aftertouch cymbal choking and snare position sensing.

Supports Your Existing MIDI grooves
Jamstix can import your existing MIDI drum grooves as well as Jamstix 1 rhythms and use them as styles for playing by the drummer models. This means a static 1-bar MID file groove comes to live by being played with the feel, accents and fills of the Jamstix virtual drummers.

XL Version - Jazz, Electronic Grooves And More.
Jamstix comes with jazz styles as well as an electronica style, which together with the brushed kit and electronic kits of the XL version, allow Jamstix to cover a huge range of genres.

Specifications:

• VSTi 2.4 Plugin.
• MIDI input/MIDI output.
• 4-17 stereo audio outputs.
• Song arranger with unlimited parts, synched to host song position, tempo and time signature.
• High-quality drum sample player with controllable ambience, supports existing Jamstix 1, 2 kits and expansion Paks.
• VSTi subhost for integration of 3rd party drum plugins.
• Built-in mixer with 3-band EQ, compressor and delay effect.
• Virtual drummer capable of producing realistic drum performances from scratch (not using preset MIDI patterns) with in-depth style and drummer modeling, groove processing, advanced limb control and a flexible fill generator.
• Limb-centric step sequencer allows manual adjustment of generated grooves and fills or creating them from scratch as well as importing existing MIDI patterns, MIDI fills and Jamstix 1,2 patterns and fills.
• Extensive MIDI controller mapping.
• Supported sample rates: 44.1-96kHz.
• Copy protection: license key.