Guitarists and bassists often favor using computer systems to "see how it sounds" what we've just composed and, consequently, what is best suited to accompany our composition. And, of course, to record it too. But what happens when a musician's busy lifestyle forces him to move from rehearsal space to rehearsal space to record with several bands or work on several projects at once?
To answer the dilemma of whether there is a practical, portable and versatile device for recording guitars and basses, today we put our guest from M-Audio to the test: JamLab, the Personal Guitar System.
Unboxing, Basic Features
The package arrived quickly and perfectly packed. Inside we find the JamLab interface, a CD with the drivers, the GT Player program for simulating amps and effects and for recording, and 160 MB of drum loops in different rhythms.
It is a guitar-to-computer interface that connects via a USB bus. The specifications are as follows:
- guitar or bass jack input (1/4")
- headphone/line output (1/8")
- built-in USB cable
- 24-bit audio quality, at 44.1/48 kHz
- Core Audio, WDM, ASIO 2 drivers.
- compatibility: Core Audio, WDM, ASIO 2, ReWire (Mac), VST.
- native support for Mac OS 10.3.8
- includes GT Player software: professional effects, guitar amp simulation, pedalboard-style modeling including noise gate, EQ, chorus and reverb, variable playback speed for standard WAV files, works as a standalone application, ReWire or VST plug-in
Given all this, JamLab supports the most widely used protocols (especially ASIO 2), and they can be used on both Windows and Mac OS. It is also compatible with the Pro Tools M-Powered 7.1 production software.
The main advantages lie in its tiny size and weight, its versatility in terms of operating system compatibility, and the fact that all you need is a computer with a USB port (the minimum system requirements are a 500 MHz Pentium II, 256 MB of RAM and DirectX 9.0c under Windows XP (SP1) if we use a PC; and Mac OS 10.3.9, 384 MB of RAM and a 500 MHz G3/G4 if we are Macintosh users).
Setup and Configuration
First of all, I installed the drivers from the CD. When you're going to connect an interface of this type, you should always do this first, since it's quite likely your operating system will freeze when it tries unsuccessfully to identify the device. It's a way of "preparing" the computer to recognize the new hardware.
The test was carried out on a 2.0 MHz Pentium IV with 256 MB of RAM, running Windows XP as the operating system.
Once that is done, you need to configure the device's latency. Obviously, the closer to zero, the better, since that would bring the guitar's input signal and the output signal closer together. For that, there's nothing better than using a mixing and recording program such as Cubase or Pro Tools. We go into the ASIO settings menu and adjust the gain and latency parameters to our liking, through the device's control panel. Since this is a fairly ordinary PC, it's perfect for confirming that any average user can make use of JamLab.
That said, this simplicity has its drawbacks, since so much focus on average users with lower purchasing power also means a reduction in certain features and configuration options, such as the impossibility of controlling the buffer rate (samples per unit of time), and latency control being limited to sample rate, bit depth (16 or 24 bits) and a 12-level scale that JamLab has on its control panel. This makes JamLab a less sophisticated system, but one made up for by its versatility and how practical it is. Here is a table showing how latency varies with those parameters, at 44.1 kHz:
Latency level - Latency obtained (ms):
1 - 5.578
2 - 8.481
3 - 11.383
4 - 14.286
5 - 20.091
6 - 25.896
7 - 31.701
8 - 37.506
9 - 43.311
10 - 49.116
11 - 72.336
12 - 95.556
And at 48 kHz:
1 - 5.125
2 - 7.792
3 - 10.458
4 - 13.125
5 - 18.458
6 - 23.792
7 - 29.125
8 - 34.458
9 - 39.792
10 - 45.125
11 - 66.458
12 - 87.792
It's worth remembering here that if latency is 35 ms or higher, we will clearly perceive the input sound (when we play) and the output sound separately, which is not at all desirable, even if the memory resources it consumes are low.
That said, our ear won't perceive the two signals separately and will interpret them as the same (almost by superposition) if we set the latency to 16 ms or less, with a setting between 10 and 15 ms being recommended. It will be even more precise if we lower the latency further, but that requires computers whose specs exceed the average user's limit. If we reduce latency too much, the computer's RAM will be overloaded, causing a memory overflow, which translates into the system locking up and the image on our screen freezing.
If you don't want to do a lot of calculations, the best thing is to keep trying different latencies, and the moment the computer freezes, it means you can't go any further, in which case you'll have to restart the system. On our computer we managed to bring it down to 5.125 ms without changing or losing any other system-related functionality, which is not bad at all.
Plugging In the Instrument
Now everything is ready to get the most out of this little guy. We connect the guitar or bass to the 1/4" jack.
A warning: Don't be surprised if you hear nothing as soon as you plug in. JamLab requires a guitar and bass simulation program to be running, such as Guitar Rig, GarageBand or GT Player (which is why the latter is included). This is important to mention, since many people want to be able to play as soon as they connect the instrument, without simulation programs. Keep it in mind.
Something else to take into account is the impedance of the line output. It can be connected to any monitoring system or headphones; if you don't know whether it's compatible with certain audio devices, check their impedances, so that there are no mismatches and we can connect both devices without consequences.
a) Tests with GT Player
To begin with, we'll try the software it includes: GT Player. It has a very easy-to-use interface, with the ability to load a backing track in WAV, MP3, MP4 and AAC format, manually vary its speed and, finally, record it along with whatever we play.
We can also choose and combine at will chorus, reverb, active EQ and noise gate effects.
It also includes several amp types that simulate, with considerable fidelity, some very well-known ones. Naturally, you can save presets to store our amp and effects combinations in memory.
All of this, with the recorder panels, the amp selector, the recording parameter menu and the four effects, in the same interface.
If we're short on backing tracks, you can get some from the CD itself, which includes 160 MB of drum loops that work for almost any musical style.
The sound I got strikes me as quite realistic, and it's enough to cover any musical style, from very clean funk tones to modern high-gain sounds loaded with low end (typical of nu-metal), by way of 80s rock distortion.
However, what struck me most is how practical and simple it is to use. We're used to handling software with a huge number of professional-grade features, which leads to an obvious difficulty of use. This program, however, seems aimed at users who want a readable interface rather than having to study beforehand in order to control a guitar simulator and recorder.
b) Tests with Guitar Rig*
Native Instruments' famous program couldn't be left out of our battery of tests. We go into the MIDI and audio settings menu, select "M-Audio USB" as the device and ASIO as the interface. Right away, we confirm as we play that it gives us input and output signal without any problem.
The response is perfect, and I consider the sound I got to be a very good simulation of what the emulated amps would deliver. The interface, for its part, generates a sound faithful to the physical specifications of the guitar (wood and electronics) we're testing with.
Instruments Tested
We tested two different guitars: a Fender Stratocaster American Standard, with passive single-coil pickups of 11.7, 8.5 and 8.5 kΩ resistive impedance for the bridge, neck and middle positions respectively, and an Epiphone Les Paul Standard with two active 10 kΩ pickups for the bridge and neck respectively.
I must admit that guitars with active electronics work as we would expect and sound the way they should: the Strat sounds like a Strat and the Les Paul like a Les Paul, with no impedance problems with the electronics of either guitar, whether the Strat's passive configuration or the Les Paul's active one.
Conclusion
I consider this device to be designed for the average user looking for a light, small, portable system that performs as many functions as possible, as well as supporting a considerable number of interfaces and offering compatibility with different operating systems. The connected guitars sound incredibly similar to the real sound produced by the emulated amps and effects.
Simple, complete, versatile, affordable, light and portable. Simply put, it doesn't get more practical.
*NOTE: The Native Instruments program used is the original Guitar Rig (on CD), not Guitar Rig II, since the latter comes on a card format that already includes its own interface. That means it would not have been possible to use it in this test.
To see the spec sheet and rating table, download the magazine as a PDF
