I was a Jamstix (ver 1 & 2) fan for a long time, but haven't used it in quite a awhile. I saw today that the upgrade to JS3 is only $49 (and JS4 is rumored to be imminent) so I'm thinking about revisiting this old friend.
 
I never really used the "Brain" function for generating patterns. Mainly I used it only as a sound source, and mainly the Jamcussion percussion module.
 
My primary question: are my existing modules going to be compatible with version 3?
 
Secondary question(s): if you have JS3, are you using it now, and was it a worthwhile upgrade?
 
Tertiary question: are there new samples with the new version, or are the improvements only in the AI?
 
 

Bit,
 
Can only answer a couple of these, but the kits from 1 and 2 are fully functional in ver 3. Everything is forward compatible.
 
Hard to put my finger on why, but yeah, ver 3 was a worthwhile upgrade for whatever reason at the time. (Trust me. I used to sell Kirby vacuum cleaners...)
 
Hi points on Jamstix are being able to load any other vst drummer and use their kits. The brain function got more subtle in ver 3. Was always against prefab loops until Jamstix. The brain function allows vast levels of assault on the 4/4 loop, throwing in defined levels of variation, and these based on many styles. Not talking humanize time shifts, but actual drum riffs. Though not perfect, this function does not exist with any other product on the market. Does require a lot of study though to get a grasp on what is happening and how to control it. Downside to Jamstix is that it is the least intuitive pro level drum box you can end up with.
 
My bastardized use of Jamstix is to mix it on a second track with something like Addictive or Superior. Let the brain variation go nuts. Adds an almost real semblance.
 
The various kits with Jamstix and the additions to ver 3 are good as well. Airy and real sounding.
 
John

Hi Dave yes your other Jamstix libraries will work with J3 but you have to reinstall them. I was an early adopter of J3 and had a lot of issues with the first release. At that time there was very little info or videos about J3. There are now tutorials on their site that I'm finding very useful. To be honest, I preferred the brain function in J2 for it's audio improvising function but I'm just starting to scratch the surface of the new functionality of J3. It will take an old midi loop and add events and or articulations based on the chosen player. Pretty remarkable program IMO.

Just to add, Jamstix is my default drum VSTi in my sonar template. Used to go out to other EZD then AD1, then AD2, but found I like the sounds of Jamstix (almost) as much and didn't have to mess with drum maps. Sound more real in the context of a mix anyway.
There are all new sets (I don't know how many kits etc) added with the basic JS2 upgrade. I bought all of the addins too. Bonzo pak and metal packs are very versatile.
Disclaimer - I do mostly Industrial so I often use Microtonic and a bunch of effects as much as Jamstix - so real world drums aren't usually my biggest concern.

bitflipper
Secondary question(s): if you have JS3, are you using it now, and was it a worthwhile upgrade?

Hi Dave-
 
I am using it now and IMO it was a worthwhile upgrade. The GUI has been improved (although I don't know if I would say "vastly" -- it's still a bit weird and occasionally buggy) along with the AI.
 
-Susan

Jamstix is a really amazing piece of software. But you have to be prepared to sit down and really study it. Not just the manual, because the manual admittedly ain't the best. You have to experiment and piece together an understanding of the workflow and how Jamstix thinks. I'm not gonna lie, after using it a couple of years I'm still not 100% certain of what I'm doing. All I know is that the results are usually great, way above and beyond anything I could ever program myself in a piano roll, and way above and beyond anything you'd get from MIDI loops, even great ones. 
 
Actually the best thing about Jamstix is being able to feed it one of those MIDI loops you have lying around, and having it use that loop as a blueprint on which it churns out endless variations and fills, based on all the parameters you have set up (drummer, style, the hundreds of "brain" options). It means, for example, that if you were making a straight ahead house track you could feed it a bar of MIDI with four to the floor kick, the snare on 2 and 4 and 16th note hats, and it would humanize that style and play around it. 
 
To be honest I've never used the kits that come with it, because it's such a pleasure to hook it up to your favorite drum VST and have it go crazy. I've had it drive all of the Native Instruments drum libraries, Battery, Addictive Drums, various other Kontakt libraries and Geist. I've even had it drive chopped beats in Geist (with various results). Short of learning to become an expert finger drummer using your controller pads, I just don't see how else you'd come up with anything like Jamstix plays with regular MIDI. The guy obviously has a LOT of drumming knowledge and has managed to simulate real drummers better than anything else I've heard. 
 
But that raises another point worth mentioning - I think the more you know about drumming, the easier you're going to find this program. Because the brain settings are very much expressed in real drumming concepts and lingo. I know sweet FA about drumming, so I find it a little tough going and very much trial and error. But I've had some stunning results from it. I just wish the interface was a little more intuitive and easy to use. Maybe Jamstix 4 will address these things. 

Thanks for the replies, everyone. 
 
What led me to JS3 was that I'd missed the VSTBuzz sale on Shimmer and Shake due to lack of an internet connection and was shopping around looking for a good shaker/conga/tambourine loop library. I dismissed most of them because the instrument sounds were often thin. Especially tambourines, which often sounded like nails in a coke can.
 
Then I remembered that Jamstix used to be my go-to library for hand percussion, with multiple tambourines and shakers to choose from. It's not a loop library per se, but should be capable of such a role.
 
Anyone use JS that way, for shaker/bongo/conga/tambourine automation?
 

 Yes, I've been working on a Bossa Nova tune for a long time that I used J2 to help me construct.
I used a hand percussion kit from their Bonzo pack I think. I'm working on redoing that in J3. I haven't tried routing it to Kontakt yet, but so far I haven't found a hand percussion soundset I like better.
I learned of Jamstix here in the Guitar Tracks forum from Herb back in 07 I think. It was the main reason I upgraded to a DAW with VSTi support.

One thing I will say about Jamstix is that it sometimes does weird things to the performance of a project, at least on my machine. For example, I have a project that I've been tinkering with for months and it always bothered me that when I hit save during playback, the audio cuts out for a second. I know it's probably a good idea to stop playback before saving, but it's normally not a problem for me. This project also takes an age to load and locks up Chrome until it's done, and does the same when I close it. Tonight I printed all of my drum tracks and so turned off Jamstix in the synth rack. Hey presto, all problems have gone away. 

Sharke- are you using the latest beta? It fixed many of these issues for me. seems to be solid here.