jammr Forum

I have read it is not designed to be used live, but when we played with a keyb, bass player & singer in different locations, it sounded in-sync live through external speakers from my computer. I had a microphone in on the computer & output to speakers. Keeping the mic away from the speakers seemed to work.

What I would like to do is the following:
- have several musicians live at a particular location using a 12 channel mixer
- take Jammr output from my computer into one of the channels in the mixer
- take the mixed output from the mixer as Jammr input to my computer
- we would use an electronic drum kit in & all instruments direct in
- only the singers would use mics
- audience would hear front-of-house

I am not sure if we can have input to, and output from the same mixing desk?

I am also thinking an issue would be spill from the microphones used by singers at the site, but if we used no fold-back or all the the singers & musicians had headsets could this work? How can I get all the headsets, say 6-10 connected?

Encounter
I have read it is not designed to be used live, but when we played with a keyb, bass player & singer in different locations, it sounded in-sync live through external speakers from my computer.

jammr is live but not real-time. Every user connect to a jam session plays their instrument at the same time, it's just that you hear what other users played last time around the chord progression.

Encounter
I am not sure if we can have input to, and output from the same mixing desk?

A setup like this is possible and depends on how flexible the mixer is. jammr's output must not be sent back into jammr's input. If you can monitor jammr's output so that everyone playing through the mixer hears it without sending it back into jammr then it will work well.

Encounter
I am also thinking an issue would be spill from the microphones used by singers at the site, but if we used no fold-back or all the the singers & musicians had headsets could this work?

Yes. The same solutions that are used for recording or live PA apply to jammr too. If there is a little spill it doesn't matter as long as it's lost in the mix.

Encounter
How can I get all the headsets, say 6-10 connected?

Does your mixer have enough outputs and/or do you have headphone amps?

Overall the setup is similar to a live show or recording situation where everyone wears in-ears or headphones. The solutions used for those cases can be used here.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for your reply stefanha

stefanha
jammr is live but not real-time. Every user connect to a jam session plays their instrument at the same time, it's just that you hear what other users played last time around the chord progression.

Trying to get my mind around this ….
Newbie question.
So if a keyboard player is remote from me & I am playing drums, & the interval is say 32 bars, then I don't hear anything from keyb until he has played 32 bars? And how does everyone finish at the same time?

stefanha
Does your mixer have enough outputs and/or do you have headphone amps?
Overall the setup is similar to a live show or recording situation where everyone wears in-ears or headphones. The solutions used for those cases can be used here.

I was in the music business around 20 years ago so I know some of the basics, but I am not up-to-date with this. I don't think the mixer has enough outputs. Could you suggest examples of the equipment required, maybe a link?

I read in another post that is is not possible to do songs. If something could be programmed for the intervals like: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus, or this could be changed as the song progressed, is it possible?

Encounter
So if a keyboard player is remote from me & I am playing drums, & the interval is say 32 bars, then I don't hear anything from keyb until he has played 32 bars?

Exactly. That's why you don't hear audio after connecting to a new jam until an entire interval has passed.

Encounter
And how does everyone finish at the same time?

jammr is not real-time so you don't finish at the same time. Everyone hears a unique time-shifted version of the jam session.

Encounter
Could you suggest examples of the equipment required, maybe a link?

I haven't tested jammr with that type of equipment so I cannot make a recommendation. I'm don't have experience in pro recording or live PA for setups like this, I'm afraid.

Encounter
I read in another post that is is not possible to do songs. If something could be programmed for the intervals like: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus, or this could be changed as the song progressed, is it possible?

It depends on the structure of the song. jammr isn't suitable for performing songs in the general case, but there are ways to make it work for certain songs.

For example, a song that has the same chord progression all the way through can be played from start to finish. Since it's not real-time you lose the dynamics when switching from verse to chorus (if you're playing loud for the chorus then everyone else will only hear that one interval later), but at least in terms of harmony it works.

Switching between vocals and an instrumental solo or having vocal harmonies between remote users is also not possible to do in general since everyone hears what the others played last interval.

There are also other solutions. If you want to rehearse a song rather than play it from start to finish, then you can practice each section separately and it will work fine. It's just the transitions between sections that you cannot play through without collisions.

What jammr is really aimed to is improvization. It's great for just playing together, coming up with new ideas, etc.

Thanks for your time explaining this stefanha.

I think I understand how it works now & how it is intended to be used.