Jamstik 7 Review

[Awilda]

Not too long after the original Jamstik came into being, Zivix released the Jamstik+, as Apple had introduced Bluetooth Low Energy MIDI. It made sense for the Jamstik to move to this new format. I was shocked at how quickly they moved to the Jamstik+, but it made sense to do so. Since that time, they have made it possible for people to use the Jamstik on other platforms, such as Android, and now universally on Chrome (Chrome had to adopt WebMIDI, and still does when Safari does not!).

As I recently posted, Zivix is offering a substantial discount to educators, students, first responders, and members of the military. For more information, check out their post on the discounts (link). Want to learn more about the Jamstik? Visit jamstik.com!

MIDI guitars interest me - I have Roland GK pickups on a guitar and a bass (OK for direct processing, not so good for generating MIDI), a YRG1000 MIDI controller, and an Artiphon Instrument 1. However, my interest was piqued by the Jamstik range, and with the Studio being (a) the cheapest and (b) headless, when one came up for sale for a good price I went for it.

Tracking is good, as is the playability. MIDI out is via either a USB-C socket or a 3.5mm TRS socket with a supplied TRS to 5-pin lead. At first it didn't do anything, but I checked the settings and it was set to MPE mode which sends signals to channels 2-7, so reset it to single channel and all was well. There's a variety of parameters to play with in the Windows desktop software or the Android app.

I haven't given the humbuggers a test out yet but I shall at some point. I've just found a review of the guitar which forms the basis for this - it's an Asmuse Leaf, and the review is complimentary about the pickups (and, indeed, about the guitar).

Incidentally, there were no instructions on how to restring it (I don't need to now but I'm looking to the future). Jamstik do a tutorial video and it looks almost as simple as double ball end strings - you don't have to poke the end through the tuner, just bend it a bit, put it under the bridge roller, and start winding (with a dinky little allen key which is held magnetically to the bridge). Excellent. And I like allen key tuning on a headless - admittedly you have to be sure not to lose the key, but it gives greater feel than turning headless knobs.

I'm not sure why the MPE would make sense if one was trying to play all the strings on the same MIDI instrument. I can see that it would be useful in some cases, but definitely not all. After all, if I play a chord and want it to sound like a Hammond organ, I'm better off with single channel and sending it all to a Hammond organ patch than MPE and sending bottom E (channel 2) to Hammond organ, A (channel 3) to pan pipes, D (channel 4) to orchestral strings, G (channel 5) to angel choir, etc. I mean, I'd obviously assign all the channels to the same patch but why not just do it with a single channel?

Yes, it does work in a useful way - it has the three modes (single channel, multi-channel - channels 1-6, MPE - channels 2-7 with channel 1 for controls) and it tracks the notes well. The advantage over the Roland is that it generates MIDI directly - the Rolands have to be run through one of the various GR pedals to generate MIDI (I've got a GR-20 and a GR-55) and the MIDI can be a bit glitchy and slow. The GR pedals seem primarily aimed at processing the signal direct. With tight integration of instrument and electronics, plus the fact this is a whole lot more modern than the GRs, the Jamstik generates MIDI more accurately. I don't know how the latest serial pickup and GM-800 module compare.

On MPE all channels would be one patch but the dynamics of that channel are sent per string. So if you do a string bend (again probably not with a hammond organ) why would you want all the strings to bend by the same amount - pitch bend is a per channel message, normally you would just want the bending to be done on the string that did it not all the strings.

The GR pedals seem primarily aimed at processing the signal direct. With tight integration of instrument and electronics, plus the fact this is a whole lot more modern than the GRs, the Jamstik generates MIDI more accurately. I don't know how the latest serial pickup and GM-800 module compare.

The GR pedals process the signal directly as well, but that is a cover on the tracking, not too surprising as the GR55 is 13 years old now, came out basically when the first iPad did, the speed of processing has changed a lot (although the speed of calculating a frequency from a wave not so much).

In this case, it was because the module I'd plugged it into to test it out was set up just to receive on channel 1, so the initial result was silence. That has educated me on MPE though so thanks, I'm rather a tyro at this.

Over the years, I've reviewed the different iterations of Jamstik portable guitars from Zivix so I was interested to see the latest model, the Jamstik 7 Fret Edition ($199.99). when Zivix offered to send a review unit. As with previous models, the Jamstik is lightweight, comfortable to hold and use, and battery powered. The Jamstik 7 Fret Edition lasts for 72 hours using four AA batteries, included, which is a nice touch. It's small, at just 18 inches, but you can buy the Add-On Body to make it more like a full-size guitar, if desired. Since the neck is shorter, the touch-sensitive rubberized buttons can be used to move up or down in both Capo and Octave.

I appreciate that the Jamstik uses real guitar strings, so you get an analog feel, with different size strings. There are separate models for lefties and righties, so keep that in mind. While newbies might leverage the Jamstik Jamtutor companion app for learning, I think even experienced guitar players will appreciate the portability of the Jamstik. They can pick up (no pun intended) the guitar and go, with no guitar case to worry about, which will be especially beneficial on airplane trips. Plus there is no tuning required, ever! True professionals may want to bump up to the 24-inch Jamstik 12 Fret rechargeable model, with a traditional MIDI connector; but that costs twice as much, so be sure to compare Jamstik's offerings.

While the Jamstik can connect to your computer or smartphone or tablet over Bluetooth 4.0, Zivix and I recommend using a wired connection. You can even connect via USB MIDI or Bluetooth MIDI to work with music apps like GarageBand! The sound comes out of your smart device (or headphones plugged in to them) not the Jamstik.

Todd Bernhard is a bestselling (6+ million downloads) award-winning (AARP, About.com, BestAppEver.com, Digital Hollywood, and Verizon) developer and founder of NoTie.NET, an app developer specializing in Talking Ringtone apps including AutoRingtone. And his profile photo is of the last known sighting of Mr. Bernhard wearing a tie, circa 2007!

An iPhone is almost always attached to his hip or in his pocket, but over the years, Mr. Bernhard has owned an Apple Newton, a Motorola Marco, an HP 95LX, a Compaq iPaq, a Palm Treo, and a Nokia e62. In addition to writing for iPhone Life, Mr. Bernhard has written for its sister publications, PocketPC Magazine and The HP Palmtop Paper.

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