Jamstix 3!

[robogone]

Whatever

Apology accepted.

[koolkeys]

I'd also love if they allowed you to perform a beat via midi into an empty loop (click track for tempo) and let you use that as the seed for the jam. That would rock my world.

You can do that as follows:

- check LEARN in the bar editor
- loop a bar on an empty part
- play drums via MIDI as needed and they should be entered in the bar editor
- stop loop and adjust notes if need be
- click 'Turn Groove Into A Style' in the bar editor menu
- part is ready to compose

You can also use this to enter just a basic kick snare pattern and after you turned it into a groove, use 'Extract From Style' in the brain menu to add hihats etc. from another groove to get a combo of JS style and your basic groove.

Ralph, that is awesome! I didn't know JS could do that. Is that new? That could be one of the coolest things yet.

Brent

[Keith99]

I like the UI

[Hink]

I hate to criticize Jamstix, but I do agree that the GUI is certainly one of the things that is need of most improvement. Personally I think it has improved since version 2, but it's certainly lagging behind other software in that respect.

Other than that I have no complaints at all and think it's a great product.

I understand the that gui is important but I dont see it as that big of a deal. JS1 was pretty bad, I didn't really like the gui at all but it's performance made up for it. The same with JS2, JS3 is better but it's not perfect.

But what is it that is really lacking? The knobs are a bit obtuse to work with, using the shift saves that though. Some of the dropdown menus are a bit "low budget" looking, overall the "controls" are nothing to get excited about but actually in this case I find that very minimal in importance with Jamstix.

A host yes, a synth yes, jamstix though for me is less about tweaking once I'm set up and more about the functions. I set basic settings I like and after that tweaking is minimal, however status at a quick glance is important to me. I like how JS handles this, it's easy for me to follow along with it as I'm constructing parts and while I have a guitar in my lap. I can quickly look and see where I am in the play list, which parts are fills, whether it's recomposing. Of course my host can do the same thing, but when I have jamstix open it's so easy to look at the three sections I'm interested in without much "think".

I like the simple navigation, I like the new song wizard in concept but I have only messed with it so I'm not sure how it will fit in with my workflow. I do think being able to type in IVVCCVVSVVCCVVE (or similar) is a very cool feature when outlining a song. I'm not sure yet how making changes to that affects it over all, I had some confusion with that last night going back and changing the structure. After I changed it I had no kit assigned anymore and my drummer was gone as well as the style.

I like the feature of using two hands (or limbs) and I like that it can be changed per part but I wish I could could set it globally or at least by all verses, all choruses etc.

I think the gui comes in second to how well this works for me as a tool, I'm glad it's better than JS1 and 2 but really if my that's my biggest complaint I have little to complain about.

I am just going to yank DFHS from my machine and stick with only JS, mostly because several times I had issues with DFHS and samplitude, I was offended by toontrack's lack of response and then when they responded they were even more offensive (and the problems were never solved). However my biggest complaint with them was the name of that person in charge of the forums (at the time, I think last time I checked it was changed but I dont care at all). The "administrator" had a screen name of RTFM. I will not do business with any company who's concept is to swear at the users, I will not update, I wont sell it but toontrack will never get another penny from me.

Ralph on the other hand showed my what he was about when JS2 came out and he worked around the clock. It was a no brainer when the pre-order offer came along. Ralph is like a few others (like voxengo), the little guys who go the extra mile when the big players can't give you an inch.

Thank you Ralph

[pough]

But what is it that is really lacking?

To me, the issue with the GUI is the lack of clarity. Many components are non-obvious not just in what they do, but also in whether or not they do anything at all! It's pretty obvious that Ralph likes to do things differently, and that's fine, but you can lose a lot of usability that way. It gives Jamstix a learning curve that's even steeper than it would already be, just from its uniqueness.

IMO. Still a great piece of software. Finding a balance between function and fashion is tough. I'd prefer a more standard (and dull) look just to help me navigate it, but it's Ralph's baby not mine.

[Hink]

But what is it that is really lacking?

To me, the issue with the GUI is the lack of clarity. Many components are non-obvious not just in what they do, but also in whether or not they do anything at all! It's pretty obvious that Ralph likes to do things differently, and that's fine, but you can lose a lot of usability that way. It gives Jamstix a learning curve that's even steeper than it would already be, just from its uniqueness.

IMO. Still a great piece of software. Finding a balance between function and fashion is tough. I'd prefer a more standard (and dull) look just to help me navigate it, but it's Ralph's baby not mine.

I think you really hit the nail on the head and something I forgot about, the learning curve. It's been a while since I climbed the hill and I forget about it, but you're right the gui can work against you with the laerning curve.

BTW, OT...it's quite possible that I might not be able to be your friend for a week or so (still a long ways to go). If we reach that point I apologize for any trash talk in advance, but fear not, I wont hold a grudge after you guys bury the Bruins (if it comes to that)

[robogone]

To be honest I think the GUI has improved a lot and it's certainly not a show stopper. I just think there's still room for improvement with it, and I think pough makes a good point with the learning curve.

It's probably testament to the quality of everything else that the GUI is the thing that I find fault with.

I totally agree that Ralph has done a fantastic job with this and I think I've said that quite a bit before.

[gmontano]

I just loaded js 3 into savihhost and used it as drum module with my DTXIII. sounds pretty good just for the sounds alone. The stock JS3 kit is great as is the bonzo kit (only ones I have tried so far.) Mapping is pretty easy and straight forward.

[jensa]

If anybody comes up with an IMAP mapping I'm interested.

[pough]

It's probably testament to the quality of everything else that the GUI is the thing that I find fault with.

That's an excellent point to remember. When the worst part of a product is its GUI, that's a good sign. Especially when so many of the people who complain still buy and keep the product.

[koolkeys]

Ok, I'm having the problem with sounds only being in the left. I have downmix selected, but the snare is only registering on the left side. Even in the meters in the Jamstix mixer, only the left side is making sound. In the Jamstix output on the bottom left, only one side is rising on the meter.

When I turn OFF the downmix and switch to using multiple outputs, everything works perfectly.

Any ideas?

Brent

[cimoc]

I'm very happy with Jamstix 3, even the gui is significantly better, though I suppose it could be improved. My only problem is with the fonts, to read options for example I have to wear my strongest glasses (more like a microscope ), unlike any other plugin, where I can read the gui with my "standard" glasses.
And it seems that every day I read about Jamstix, I find out I can do something with it that I had no idea it could be done. Great piece of work!

[daExpert]

Man, I tried jamstix a long time ago, didn't like it, the interface was clunky and ugly. I found it hard to use.

I downloaded the new demo and read up on the manual. I started creating grooves and songs and fills and all kinds of stuff.

My conclusion: jamstix has to be the most powerful drumming software there is. Hands down.

[robogone]

My only problem is with the fonts, to read options for example I have to wear my strongest glasses

[susiwong]

Ok, I'm having the problem with sounds only being in the left. I have downmix selected, but the snare is only registering on the left side. Even in the meters in the Jamstix mixer, only the left side is making sound. In the Jamstix output on the bottom left, only one side is rising on the meter.

When I turn OFF the downmix and switch to using multiple outputs, everything works perfectly.

Any ideas?

Brent

Brent,
check in options if you have stereo outputs enabled, might be part of the issue.
Hopefully that will solve it for you ...
Cheers,
susiwong