RAYZOON

I'm unsure how unique my situation is, but here goes:
I play bass in two bands:
1) Older players, older country (and sometimes western) songs (think pre-1960s). Although I play with the same folks each week, I never know what song they will do, the tempo, etc.
2) Duo, bass (me) and guitar. Established set list.

I am looking for a virtual drumming solution for both if possible. I would be lovely if I had something that can follow my bass tempo and "lock in" with me. I use Reaper and EZdrummer 3 if that would help. Something that I could possibly trigger to a verse/chorus/outro would be fantastic.

1 is the most difficult as this is almost like a "pickin", "jam" or "open mic" situation with older players.
I tried the Free version to see if it might work, but it does not appear to follow my playing tempo nor feed EZD3.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Charles

Hi Charles,

First off welcome to the forum. Jamstix follows whatever tempo the host (Reaper in your case, mine too), it has no way to discern the tempo you are playing at. There was a plugin I saw a few years ago called Adig Human Synchronizer which supposedly could do that and then transmit the tempo of your playing but I never used it so I can't actually comment on how well it worked. I don't know if it is even still available. As far as setting up separate song sections Jamstix' Live Loop function is for that exactly, so that is possible. The free version of Jamstix will drive EZD3, you just need to choose the proper output mapping and routing in Reaper.

Azmuth,

Thank you for your reply. I was able to get Jamstix Free to play the kick drum when I pluck a bass string. Very nice. Is there a way to get an entire kit following me in the Free version? If not, what is the least expensive version that would do this.

Once again, I appreciate you replying.

I was able to get Jamstix Free to play the kick drum when I pluck a bass string.

Just out of curiosity how did you get that to happen, some audio to midi converter? If you are only hearing the Kick make sure that "Downmix" is turned on in the Mixer window.

I used
ReaEQ - HP @ 100 Hz, 0 Gain, and .8 Oct
ReaGate - 0 Pre-open, 0 Attack, 75ms Hold, 0 Release, 0 Hysteresis, LP @ 20000, HP @ 0, 4 RMS. Send Midi: 36

I then started trying to use the metronome instead to create a 1/3 kick and 2/4 snare. Something I could change the tempo (via tap tempo). I never got this to work (using two ReaGates with different LP and HP). I could get either the snare working, or the kick, but not both.

So I've stepped away and am now considering a Beat Buddy.

Since you're running Reaper there is a cheaper way to do it other than the Beatbuddy by controlling Reapers tempo. Pick up a Behringer FCB-1010 and use one of the Expression Pedals to control a CC assigned to the action "Set tempo, fine (MIDI CC/OSC only)". I've got an FCB-1010 and it is an excellent midi controller, built like a tank. You can usually get them new for about $130-140. Just an idea.

I've not tried this, but it could potentially work?

LT_Autobeat for REAPER
https://forums.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=251249

TL;DR - it attempts to analyze your playing and adjust tempo in real time

Ableton Live 11+ has the Tempo Follower feature which is supposed to do the same sort of thing. It's available in the cheapest version of Live, Intro, which is $100 unless there's a sale going on. Thomann sells it for $7.

You could try the Live demo to make sure it works how you need it to.