Is it just me or is Jamstix very buggy?

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sharke
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2013/09/15 00:44:05 (permalink)

Is it just me or is Jamstix very buggy?

I've been playing around with Jamstix recently and trying to get a sense of how it all comes together. First of all I have to say that the manual is really badly written and very unclear and vague in places. I feel like it doesn't fully explain the basics of how Jamstix works from the get-go, which left me feeling confused when I got into the more detailed parts of the manual. 
 
But most of all, I've gotten the impression that Jamstix is very buggy for a commercial release. I'm using the 3.5.1 Beta (which it advised me to install in the install instructions) so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. It just doesn't seem to work very well. For instance, when "Auto" mode is set in the bar editor, changes in the brain settings should make themselves heard immediately. But sometimes they don't and I have to click "compose"  manually. Or sometimes changing a setting in the brain will result in the exact opposite of what it should do, for instance increasing the "busy" slider of the snare control will result in less snares (sometimes they disappear altogether), and when I try moving the setting back to where it was, the snares don't come back. 
 
Other times, the bar editor will simply not show the notes that are quite clearly playing. For instance I just had a bar on loop, and was experimenting with groove weights on certain beats, and the snares would completely disappear from the bar editor, despite the fact that I could hear them. I could only get them back by switching to the Accent or Fill view, then switching back to Groove. 
 
Should I not have installed the 3.5.1 Beta? Or is the non-beta version equally as problematic? I'm also a bit disappointed at MIDI dragging to the host being disabled. Apparently they're not going to be fixing that for a while. 

James
Windows 10, Sonar SPlat (64-bit), Intel i7-4930K, 32GB RAM, RME Babyface, AKAI MPK Mini, Roland A-800 Pro, Focusrite VRM Box, Komplete 10 Ultimate, 2012 American Telecaster!
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    lawp
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    Re: Is it just me or is Jamstix very buggy? 2013/09/15 09:08:15 (permalink)
    i'm still running the 3.5.0 update (but not in sonar due to the midi crosstalk bug) and haven't tried the beta yet (my downloads show 3.5.1 beta 8 as the latest) but did you post on their forums? rayzoon are very responsive & helpful ime :)
    #2
    bapu
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    Re: Is it just me or is Jamstix very buggy? 2013/09/15 13:15:14 (permalink)
    In the past I had such high hopes for Jamstix yet I do not have the patience for it.
     
    Others are very successful with it.
    #3
    sharke
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    Re: Is it just me or is Jamstix very buggy? 2013/09/15 14:05:58 (permalink)
    I get the feeling that it's a potentially excellent program and the main thing that is letting it down is poorly written and vague documentation. It kind of reminds me of reading the X2 manual at times. I want to be able to ask about these things on the forum but I'm not at the point yet where I can even solidify what I mean into words because I can't work out what's supposed to be happening due to the manual's failure to make me understand the basics. It's hard to describe a problem when you're so unsure of what the problem is in the first place. All I want is a thorough description of how Jamstix operates from first principles but the manual just doesn't do that IMO.

    James
    Windows 10, Sonar SPlat (64-bit), Intel i7-4930K, 32GB RAM, RME Babyface, AKAI MPK Mini, Roland A-800 Pro, Focusrite VRM Box, Komplete 10 Ultimate, 2012 American Telecaster!
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    Bajan Blue
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    Re: Is it just me or is Jamstix very buggy? 2013/09/15 14:35:56 (permalink)
    I tried this some time ago but could never get to grips with it unfortunately - as others have said a potentially great idea not quite sorted out - well it wasn't when I tried it but I have to say that was some time ago
    Nigel
     

    Nigel
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    cecelius2
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    Re: Is it just me or is Jamstix very buggy? 2013/09/15 18:57:32 (permalink)
    I just spent some time this afternoon playing with Jamstix 3.51 64bit.  It works okay, and I can "enable Midi out" and trigger EZDrummer or other kits outside of Jamstix, BUT, everytime I exit Sonar X2a (with Jamstix vst loaded), Sonar X2a hangs and I have to go into Task Manager to End Process.  It is annoying, but at least I know what is happening.
     
    For me, Jamstix is a program I too easily forget about. Yes, it helps get some creative ideas down when I can remember it is there, and I can save midi out for use with a different drum vst software program, but this bug of it hanging up Sonar on exit is trouble, but not impossible to deal with if you remember to go into Task Manager and end process.
     
    So, yes there is some kind of bug still even in 3.51 64bit.




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