General Music Chat

No gimmick.

NINJAM is a free tool that lets people jam live on the internet. There are no delay issues because of how the technology works. The sound is excellent and you can record each track to OGG which uncompress to WAV files.

Here is a link that explains how the technology works
http://www.cockos.com/ninjam/

There are two Windows Apps that put a front end on NINJAM. Those are ZENJAM and Jamtaba. Or you can run NINJAM alone or as a VST in your DAW.

Contact me for more. I have ZERO affiliation with any related company. I simply love the app and would like to see more people use it so we can jam.

Someone else tryed to promote that here. And couldn't explain how it was 'live'. It isn't.

Here's the explanation:
Since the inherent latency of the Internet prevents true realtime synchronization of the jam2, and playing with latency is weird (and often uncomfortable), NINJAM provides a solution by making latency (and the weirdness) much longer.

Latency in NINJAM is measured in measures, and that's what makes it interesting.

The NINJAM client records and streams synchronized intervals of music between participants. Just as the interval finishes recording, it begins playing on everyone else's client. So when you play through an interval, you're playing along with the previous interval of everybody else, and they're playing along with your previous interval. If this sounds pretty bizarre, it sort of is, until you get used to it, then it becomes pretty natural. In many ways, it can be more forgiving than a normal jam, because mistakes propagate differently

So it's playing along with someone else's recording. Then they record it send it back to you, or to someone else, and you/they play along with that.
Not the same as playing live together at all.

My head hurts!

My head hurts!

Just think of it this way: not live. You're playing along to something someone else (or multi layers of others) recorded 4 bars/8 bars/16 bars ago. You can't say 'take the lead now', because they're already doing something else. You also have no idea when they're going to do a change - no visual cue, its audio only.

Yeah, I'll take craigslist weirdo over this, any day!

GuitarMikeB

You are technically correct but functionally incorrect. And exaggerating reality. Probably because you do not understand it, really didn't try it or simply don't like it.

Unlike ALL other truly live jam Apps and sites NINJAM has no timing issues. Truly live sites have massive issues with latency differences between people in relation to one another. With satellites, equipment lags, the various paths ethernet packets take and even packet loss and retransmissions the little bits of data don't travel fast enough.

NINJAM handles this by recording a measure then playing the previous measure back to everyone from their local server. As such everyone is playing live only it is not combined with everyone else for a measure. But since you are ALL doing the same thing it is effectively live. It sounds live and feels live because the "delay" can be ignored once you get going. I know this because I have played for years and recorded over 300 jams. They sound fantastic. Once a person gets this, even singers, the experience is excellent and for all intents and purposes is live.

Now to your point. If a group wanted to use it for rehearsing you would have to deal with that first measure delay. You can use the NINJAM text field or even phones to communicate. When you want to play put on your phones so you don't hear the audio from the phone. It would take a bit of getting used to but can enable far more practice sessions and playing with people you would never play with otherwise.

As for your point on someone taking the lead. No there are no verbal or visual cues. This can cause people to step on each other or gaps. However it is usually handled just fine after people get it. It think it makes you a better musician. it forces more democracy, inclusion and avoids some selfishness. Having said that there are players who shred, are great at it and no complains about being stopped on or not getting a shot.

With all the factors included it is by far the best option out there.

No, I haven't tried it. And won't be trying it. If the original measure (or however much) i sbeing delayed then sent out to all participants, who then play to it - no one is going to hear what everyone else is playing at that same time! It's just impossible! So what everyone is doing for that measure is recorded - then delayed, then sent to whom? Not the people who just played/recorded it that woudl end up being an eneldess loop of the same measure(s)! Another group?

Please put one of these recorded jams you mention up on soundcoud or a piece of one here on your bandmix player so we can hear it.

With all the factors included it is by far the best option out there.

No, playing live wiht other live musicians is the best option!

Then you are not qualified to have an objective or even valid subjective opinion. You are close minded, stubborn and as a result are possibly missing out on something you might enjoy.

Some of the jams I have been are are here. Jams have "Jam" in the title except the "Other Side" which is a jam.
https://soundcloud.com/imispgh

In some of the jams people are playing loops and sometimes I mix reusing some parts. How the vast majority of the time what you are hearing is my mix of the best continuous jam section with the tracks as played less the Fx I add.

Some of the playing is just stellar. (I am holding my own on drums and sometimes Djembe)

bump

So where do I go jam?

Here is a link that explains how the technology works
http://www.cockos.com/ninjam/

There are two Windows Apps that put a front end on NINJAM. Those are ZENJAM and Jamtaba. Or you can run NINJAM alone or as a VST in your DAW.

Contact me for more. I have ZERO affiliation with any related company. I simply love the app and would like to see more people use it so we can jam.

Bump

I wanna hear back from sYnergy x live, first. Does it work? Did the "dethroned Prince of Nigeria" empty his bank account?!