Recording - April 2017 - 42

Zivix jamstik+

Guitarists: control, learn, play,
and have fun-all without wires
REVIEW BY MIKE METLAY

tarting with Wi-Fi solutions and then moving to Bluetooth
LE, Zivix is in the business of providing wireless control of
DAWs and related software. We're still big fans of Zivix's
first products, the puc (Wi-Fi) and puc+ (Bluetooth). These
are small battery-powered devices that can be connected to any
MIDI controller so it can be used wirelessly. In our opinion, BTLE is
better suited to this specific application than Wi-Fi, because
it's paired between two devices at a time. It doesn't need a Wi-Fi
network, and it doesn't suffer from bandwidth issues if used on a
network that has a lot of traffic... hence the "plus".
More recently, Zivix has taken this "plus" approach with its
other product, the jamstik, and released the jamstik+, a wireless
guitar controller that uses Bluetooth LE to control DAWs. That
alone would make it worth a look, but jamstik+ also comes
with a variety of apps that expand on its base capabilities.

The jamstik+ hardware

The jamstik+ is a solidly-built little beast that looks, at first
glance, like the absolute bare bones of part of a guitar, cut
away from the rest. Its rigid plastic enclosure (available in a
variety of colors) contains infrared sensors that pinpoint where
you're placing your fingers, and a hexaphonic pickup to detect
which strings are being plucked and how hard. Unlike some
devices that substitute buttons for strings, the jamstik+ has six
real double-ball-end guitar strings with adjustable tension. The
neck has five frets, which is enough for basic chord fingerings
and melodic lines. Just below the hexaphonic pickup and the
bridge is a palm button that mutes all six strings when pressed.
Along the top of the instrument, you'll find a power button with an
LED that indicates power on and Bluetooth pairing. There's also a set
of five buttons called the D-Pad, with programmable functions. Out
of the box, they're octave up/down, capo up/down (for changing
tunings on the fly), and an on/off switch for tapping mode. Other
apps will assign them differently-for example, they let you pause,
restart, and jump through tutorials in the JamTutor app.
Because the jamstik+ uses real strings, it's possible to
teach guitar playing techniques like bends, hammer-ons, and
two-handed tapping. Each of these can be selectively enabled
or disabled as the user wishes.
The device has a rechargeable battery that installs in the
back of the body and provides up to 8 hours of playing time.
This is also where you attach the supplied strap. Its underside
has a USB Micro-B port for charging as well as a wired
connection to your iOS device, smartphone, or computer.
42

RECORDING April 2017

PRICE: $299.99 ($349.99 with soft case)
MORE FROM: Zivix, www.jamstik.com
The jamstik+ is set up for right-handed players; a left-handed
version is available, but requires strap peg adaptors to sit
comfortably on the body, and software updates to make the
left-handed playing experience truly seamless are on the way.
It's not as ergonomically comfortable as a real guitar, but
that's to be expected in an instrument primarily designed to
be small enough to fit in a computer bag.

The apps

The jamstik+ is designed for iOS or macOS devices, and
some Android devices too. Windows PCs can use the jamstik+
as a MIDI controller, but there are no dedicated jamstik+ apps
for Windows. I'll discuss the iOS apps, which are what I used
the most in my trial period.
The first and most important app is just called jamstik+,
and it's designed to help you easily connect and configure
the instrument. It walks you through setting up a Bluetooth
connection, lets you choose a sound to play, and offers a
settings menu that lets you activate or deactivate string bends,
hammer-ons, or a special mode for two-handed tapping.
You can't custom-tune each string, but a selection of 11 tunings
covers everything from DADGAD and various open tunings
to Drop-D, 6-string bass, and even 6-string ukulele. Individual
string sensitivity adjustments help a great deal in evening out the
response of the jamstik+, and you can even specify MIDI settings
for a built-in accelerometer that monitors neck angle as you play.
The app also acts as a sound source if you'd like to play
the jamstik+ as an instrument without any DAW integration. It
comes with two basic guitar sounds when you launch the app,
but there's an online store where you can add more sounds
if you wish. There are a wide variety of very good sounds
available for free, including all kinds of guitars, banjo, winds,
synthesizer sounds, and even playable drum kits. Paid sounds
include higher-quality guitars, collections of keyboards, mandolin, Telecaster, and a grand piano.
Beyond the jamstik+ app, there are several other free apps
that are optimized for the jamstik+, including JamTutor 1 and
2, a pair of interactive guitar training apps, and JamMix, a
loop-based jamming app.
If you have no idea how to play guitar, JamTutor's approach
might work for you. It combines video tutorials with a scrolling
arcade-style "play the right string on the right fret at the right time"
display familiar to anyone who's played music-based video games
like Guitar Hero. JamMix presents you with premade songs in the
form of loops; you trigger and stop loops by playing particular

http://www.jamstik.com

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