Not dependent on static loops at all.ĭoes GA4 have the ability to generate randomized drumming that works well with non-electronic genres (ballads, rock, e.g.)? JS3 is not the easiest to use, but it is nice that it can generate random drumming within various styles, likr a real drummer, which can in turn be edited. But everything else I’m seeing so far on the vids is all about “slicing”, “loops”, etc., which is not what I am that interested in. I thought I saw something in one video yesterday, can’t find it now, that suggested that it was an “intelligent drummer” like JS3. You might not want to get rid of your drummer just yet, but for $99 you can't go wrong with Jamstix 2.Anyone using Groove Agent 4? There are like 4 or 5 vids on it, but if anyone with personal experience, please share! Of course, if you've got other plug-in libraries to plunder, then you're laughing, thanks to the VST plug-in support, and if this isn't an option, you can simply drag parts, bars or the whole song to a MIDI channel for triggering your standard samplers.įurthermore, with MIDI pattern import also available, you can use Jamstix's virtual drummers to breathe life into existing drum patterns.
The single included kit is decent, but you'll definitely want more, and this means paying extra to get the XL pack (buying it bundled is an option). If Jamstix 2 does have a real Achilles heel, though, it's the onboard sound library.
#JAMSTIX MIDI JAM MANUAL#
For this reason, it certainly pays to read the manual in full. One downside to Jamstix's scientific approach to drum composition is that it sits slightly uncomfortably with its new interface, and its sheer flexibility can sometimes leave you wondering what it's actually doing. When you bear in mind that you've also got a collection of parameters that controls the composition of accents and fills as well as the main groove, and that there's always the option to go into the bar editor and modify everything on a single-hit basis, you can see how it's possible to carefully tailor every part of your song.
Possibly the most important is Feel, with its associated timing and velocity parameters, as this dictates whether the drummer tends to play ahead of or behind the beat. Tweak these as Jamstix 2 plays and it recomposes each bar accordingly.įor each drummer you also get a bunch of controls that relate to their playing style. So for Funk you get, among other things, Amount and Power parameters for your kick and snare, as well as the suitably-titled Funkiness. Load up a style and the brain gives you a set of parameters to modify that's based on that particular style. However, possibly the most impressive aspect of Jamstix 2 is the brain's tight integration with the kit elements and playing. Jamstix even takes into account the four-limbed nature of the human drummer, working out whether they could realistically move their hand from drum A to drum B to play a certain rhythm, modifying its output so that only humanly playable beats are heard. Next up, you can tweak on-screen parameters such as Shuffle and Timing on a per-bar, part or song basis, and this adds further realism. These enable real-time jamming when you start to play harder, the drummer reacts, upping the power and intensity of the performance. It can make use of both audio and MIDI inputs via the 'jam with audio' and 'jam with MIDI' modes. There are many ways to influence the brain, both statically and in real time. What's more, unless you 'lock' the created bars, it'll continue to generate fresh content based on the data it receives, and it does this using its appropriately named 'brain'.
However, what all this fails to explain is that Jamstix 2 can actually compose parts for you on the fly.
A four-bar jazz intro followed by an eight-bar rock verse, heading into a modern metal chorus by way of a one-bar bossa nova bridge? No problem. It's very easy to treat Jamstix like a session drummer, telling it what you'd like to hear in each section. To get you up and running, Rayzoon has included a bunch of 'quickstart' template songs with common structures for various styles. Other drummers include 'Stewart', 'Phil' and 'Carter'. To give you an example, the description for 'John' explains that "this drummer has very interesting groove habits, accents and fill strategies", and that "special emphasis is given to triplet-based accents and fill patterns". Most are designed to exhibit the characteristic rhythmic traits of a well-known drummer, with the name giving you a clue as to who this might be. Parts can be assigned to one of ten drummers, each of whom has their own particular style. Each part can be any style you choose, and its length and repetition is set by you so that you can build up the structure you want.