Jammy Instruments introduced the world to its next generation MIDI guitar controller this week. After launching on Kickstarter and hitting the pledge goal of $50,000 within about an hour, the new Jammy EVO is well on its way to becoming a reality. After successfully launching the previous-generation version, Jammy is back again with an updated feature set, USB-C connectivity, and sweet plug-in for your music recording software.
Next generation MIDI guitar controller
The Jammy EVO represents the next generation of MIDI guitar controllers for the brand. It and similar products are specifically designed for guitar players to integrate their existing skills with DAWs that have always tended to favor keyboard players, at least on the MIDI side of things. While not nessarily here to replace your actual guitar, Jammy EVO provides a familiar experience for string players to more easily control software instruments and the like. The 17-inch modular design snaps together in a few moves, making it even more portable than it initially appears, and even features a nice southpaw option for left-handed players this time around.
Polyphonic MIDI tracking and more:
Along with Jammy EVO’s 15 regular-sized frets, it sports a pair of optical sensors on each string to provide “accurate” polyphonic MIDI tracking with minimal latency. It also has the ability to filter out “unintended notes,” but its hard to say exactly what that means for your guitar parts without being hands on.
According to the Kickstarter campaign page, Jammy EVO can handle common guitar player techniques — features that has commonly plagued these MIDI guitars historically — like “bending, hammer-ons, pull-offs, palm muting, left-hand muting and slides.” It supports multi-channel MIDI output (so you can have each string trigger an entirely different instrument), as well as a physical mappable push button and knob, plus built-in accelerometer. All of this allows for extended controls over your software gear including controlling, for example, a filter on Logic Pro X or Ableton Live directly from Jammy’s knob controller, and much more.
Jammy EVO connectivity:
USB-C and Bluetooth connectivity allow the MIDI guitar controller to connect with your mobile device or desktop, including direct compatibility with all major DAWs. The new Jammy EVO VST plugin is particularly nice touch for me as well. This lightweight plug-in will load up in any of your DAW tracks and allow for even deeper control over the experience including “changing tunings, sensitivity settings, and more,” all without leaving your creative environment of choice.
Jump over to the Jammy EVO MIDI guitar controller Kickstarter page for your chance to score an early bird discount. As of the time of writing, you can still score one for $299 with some extra goodies attached. The previous-generation model carries a $499 MSRP but is currently on sale for $479, just to give you an idea of what the regular price might be at launch.
Electronicsforward’ Take:
It’s great to see tech companies staying vigilant in the MIDI guitar controller space. Purists have been knocking them down at every turn, sometimes justifiably so, but it looks like innovation and dedication are coming out on top. I, for one, absolutely love the idea but have struggled a bit with the tracking capabilities when it comes to things like bends, slides, and things of that nature. The experience never really feels close enough to the real thing because of those issues for me. So here’s to hoping the next-generation Jammy EVO corrects more of those issues and pushes the product category forward again.
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