Guitar FX rig automation made easy. If your multi-effects get complicated, a Bluetooth MIDI I/O, the puc+, could save you. Chris Heille has a quick tip here for guitar players w/ complex live rigs that might make performing your live show a lot easier.
We've been working on developing some tools for Jamstik+ users working with Ableton Live, check out this cool-sounding Instrument Rack you can download to try yourself.
In case you haven't seen it, Apple dropped a serious 2.1 update to their GarageBand app for iOS at the end of January. Click to watch a recap video or read the recap below.
If you've read the previous entry, I used the analogy of MIDI keyboard controllers being similar to QWERTY keyboards. This is the most rudimentary idea of conceptualizing MIDI control. It leaves out a lot of details but helps frame the basic concept. In this entry I'm going to break down what really happens when you play a "C" on the jamstik or a keyboard controller, and hopefully bring some clarity to the whole concept.
If you've seen or heard the statement "the jamstik is a MIDI controller" and thought "I have no clue what MIDI is," you're not alone. From it's introduction in the 1980's through to today, MIDI has left a lot of people scratching their heads. I'm going to do my best here to help bring some clarity to what MIDI is and how it functions, especially in connection to the jamstik and puc.
The acronym MIDI stands for “Musical Instrument Digital Interface.” In the simplest explanation, MIDI is a language (technically speaking, it’s a protocol) that allows digitally-controlled musical instrument devices to communicate to each other. MIDI has been around since the early 1980’s. It was primarily used with synthesizers and sequencers, but quickly got implemented on all kinds of musically-related gear (drum machines, mixers, drum pads, synchronization boxes, etc.)
As much as the jamstik has changed how people learn how to play guitar or record their ideas in GarageBand or other recording apps, it’s also a great controller for live performances. As someone who has spent years in guitar-based live bands with no keyboard players, trust me when I say it’s hard to cover three hours of familiar material for an audience in one night without running into a tune that needs a signature keyboard part.