JAMKAZAM

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
What have you got to lose? Try it. You may not be able to play with several others, but you may be able to get one or two.
It's worth a shot.
 

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
If you have the interface already and that interface has an ASIO driver available for it, you really have nothing to lose.  The app is free and for the time being at least, the service is free.

The app shows people whose connections are tagged as "Poor" and they are still able to successfully jam.  Give it a try.  All you have to lose is an hour or two of your time determining if your connection will be acceptable.  If it doesn't work, just uninstall the program.
 

david moon

Attempting the Blues
I have nothing but my laptop's built-in mic and headphones, and I've been able to participate in sessions. I jammed a bit and had a chat with Paparaptor tonight.

Be sure to turn off speakers and use headphones or else the sound will come back to others as an echo.

I should emphasize that this program is a work in progress and has lots of bugs. The developers are quite open to comments and suggestions on their "community forum" and the CEO will respond to you directly.
 

TonyS

Blues Newbie
I think I'm getting too old for this new technology.  For the life of me I just can't get it to work so after a few weeks of frustration I've given up.  Hope you guys have fun.  :( :( :( :( :( :(
 

david moon

Attempting the Blues
I hadn't been to the site for about 2 weeks due to the Maine jam and other activities. I checked in last night and there was no activity. I still think it has potential.
 

david moon

Attempting the Blues
Got on last night and had a good time. A guy was doing a good job on the Little Wing rhythm chords. I ended up on bass. Had some issues with sound quality/distortion but not with latency. I don't think this thing is dead
 

david moon

Attempting the Blues
I've given up on Jamkazam and deleted it from my computer.

1. I had a few good experiences, but many issues with audio quality and latency.

2. Going back and forth between Jamkazam and Audacity messed up my audio settings.

3. Downloaded the latest version. Now it's saying my network doesn't support UDP connections. I didn't change anything in my network.

Not worth the trouble- if I want a learning curve, I'll figure out the VJR
 

stringbreaker

Blues Newbie
I am using Jamkazam now.  Had three sessions, the usual problem is with the drummer...not sure why? 

Problem seems to be solved by using my Beat Buddy and adding a rhythm groove I put down with my guitar.  When we get into songs, I also do the singing... ;D  This seems to put enough of a base down from one person that the others seem to enjoy it.

Tuesday evening at 7pm EST I am putting on 12 Bar Blue basic jams and will slow down the tempo if latency is bad.  :cool:

Come join me, as songs for BGU 2015 are announced we will practice those.
 

Lefty Jeff

A little blues rosetta
I tried to connect using my Mustang 3 USB interface to record guitar.  It worked, but there was a whole lot of crackling and popping, and the recorded volume was very, very low and pretty poor quality.  I tried using the Fender ASIO driver, but my latency was poor and the I/O was always in the red, so I never got it to work.

I would like to get a better setup, and mic my amp.  Michael and Lloyd are using mixers, so I plan on going to GC after work tonight and looking at 4-channel mixers, mic and stand.  I also want to be able to use my JamMan looper for backing tracks, and my BeatBuddy drum machine.  So, I think 4 channels should be enough.

Do I also need an audio interface in addition to the mixer, to go between the mixer and my PC?   JamKazam recommends something like this:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/UMC202?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=none&utm_term=DSA_-_Product&adpos=1t1&device=c&network=g&gclid=CKidnvT3tsMCFchffgodEowAhA

Lastly - what are you guys using for voice chat?  I have a gaming headset with microphone that was working, but I read on the forums that it may cause extra latency.  I don't know.

Any help is much appreciated.

-=Jeff
 

dan5150

Shredding the Blues
Just tried setting it up on my machine. Turns out one of the requirements is to disable direct monitoring on your interface. Unfortunately, on my 11R, the only way to do that is via Pro Tools, which I don't have. I think this is why when I tried a test recording, nothing was recorded.

Would love to try it with other people. My settings tell me it should work with 3 people.

One of the biggest drawbacks is that it won't let you play backing tracks, only something you have already recorded. :-(
 

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
As far as backing tracks, I beat that obstacle by putting all my backing tracks on my Jamman Stereo and feeding that directly to my PC.  Sort of a mini mixer arrangement.  I can use the instrument input of the Jamman.  It has level controls for the backing track and the live instrument.

If I want to mic my amp, I just feed the Jamman into another input of the mixer I use ahead of my PC and still end up with backing track capability. I could probably live mic into the Jamman, too, since it has a mic input, but I haven't tried it.  Didn't even think of it until I wrote this!
 

stringbreaker

Blues Newbie
Just tried setting it up on my machine. Turns out one of the requirements is to disable direct monitoring on your interface. Unfortunately, on my 11R, the only way to do that is via Pro Tools, which I don't have. I think this is why when I tried a test recording, nothing was recorded.

Would love to try it with other people. My settings tell me it should work with 3 people.

One of the biggest drawbacks is that it won't let you play backing tracks, only something you have already recorded. :-(

In a short while I have heard Jamkazam will let you play your backing tracks during a session.  I am not sure how, but apparently it will let you select an mp3 and play it while you are in session?
 

stringbreaker

Blues Newbie
I tried to connect using my Mustang 3 USB interface to record guitar.  It worked, but there was a whole lot of crackling and popping, and the recorded volume was very, very low and pretty poor quality.  I tried using the Fender ASIO driver, but my latency was poor and the I/O was always in the red, so I never got it to work.

I would like to get a better setup, and mic my amp.  Michael and Lloyd are using mixers, so I plan on going to GC after work tonight and looking at 4-channel mixers, mic and stand.  I also want to be able to use my JamMan looper for backing tracks, and my BeatBuddy drum machine.  So, I think 4 channels should be enough.

Do I also need an audio interface in addition to the mixer, to go between the mixer and my PC?   JamKazam recommends something like this:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/UMC202?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_campaign=none&utm_term=DSA_-_Product&adpos=1t1&device=c&network=g&gclid=CKidnvT3tsMCFchffgodEowAhA

Lastly - what are you guys using for voice chat?  I have a gaming headset with microphone that was working, but I read on the forums that it may cause extra latency.  I don't know.

Any help is much appreciated.

-=Jeff

Jeff, in addition to my mixer, I also have a traveling rig.  I am in NY right now and I have JamKazam going through a Mighty Mic USB Microphone.  I plug my guitar into a beat buddy and my beat buddy into a honeytone that I put behind the microphone.  I can then use the microphone to chat or sing in addition to playing.  Just have to get your levels right.  I usually go into a private session on Jamkazam and record to hear my levels and adjust as necessary.
 

dan5150

Shredding the Blues
JamKazam now has a kickstarter for their dedicated interface.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1091884999/jamblaster-play-music-in-real-time-with-others-fro

I am now a backer. This is such a cool idea. Can you imagine a BGU Live, online edition?
 

stringbreaker

Blues Newbie
JamKazam now has a kickstarter for their dedicated interface.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1091884999/jamblaster-play-music-in-real-time-with-others-fro

I am now a backer. This is such a cool idea. Can you imagine a BGU Live, online edition?

Dan I also signed up as a backer....
 

TwoNotesSolo

Student Of The Blues
I'm waiting for the service to take off. I have not been able to find people to play with the few times I tried. Since I don't have a band or group of people I would play with regularly with, it's not worth my getting the JamBlaster yet.
Should I regularly play (for example with people in this forum) it would be an entirely different matter.
 

stringbreaker

Blues Newbie
I'm waiting for the service to take off. I have not been able to find people to play with the few times I tried. Since I don't have a band or group of people I would play with regularly with, it's not worth my getting the JamBlaster yet.
Should I regularly play (for example with people in this forum) it would be an entirely different matter.
Tuesday nights at 7:30pm EST we get together and play the blues...easy stuff and a couple of members of BGU come on.

I am thinking of starting another regular session so we can all discuss BGU 2015 songs and how to do them?  Not sure of the day or time yet.
 

Midnight

BGU Live 2015 and Vegas Pre-Jam Survivor.
JamKazam now has a kickstarter for their dedicated interface.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1091884999/jamblaster-play-music-in-real-time-with-others-fro

I am now a backer. This is such a cool idea. Can you imagine a BGU Live, online edition?

Dan I also signed up as a backer....

Totally. Huge potential.  I'm a backer.
 

dan5150

Shredding the Blues
Got it working. I had to order a new inexpensive interface, the Beheringer UM2. It was $49, and listed on the JamKazam forums as supported.

I found MikeS and Papa and sent friend requests, but I can't stringbreaker or anyone else.

If I do a search for "BGU" I can only find 2 bands that MikeS setup, and a BGU in the UK...

Maybe a good sticky post would a directory of BGU people's names.
 
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