JamstikStudio MIDI Guitar (Mint Matte)

For years I wanted a MIDI guitar, but they were always far out of my reach. (Probably because I wanted a Parker Fly MIDI) But this one is perfect for me. I got it in bright orange because I have everything in bright orange.It came with a lovely braided USB-C cable for charging, TRS-MIDI and a cable for plugging it directly into an amp, as well as plectrums, tools, strap locks...but no strap, oddly. Bare in mind, I previously bought a guitar for less than a 10th of the price and got a free strap included. Swings and roundabouts I suppose. The carry case is also lovely, and the lining is velvety smooth to keep the guitar in pristine condition.The guitar tone is solid. It's a normal HH configuration. Then when you pull the knob out, you get an SS config. Mind freaking blown. Still, you only get a single tone control when using HH/SS configuration but honestly, it's no big deal.Jamstik do make a Studio Classic which is more like a traditional guitar - a Super Strat style guitar with the same MIDI system built-in, but at a higher price. I'd say spend more and get that if you want a guitar first and MIDI second.The MIDI is the centre piece of the JAmstik Studio. I plugged it into my MicroKORG using the included TRS-MIDI adapter and started jamming. In my experience, there was very little latency - it was indiscernible. (Some patches have more latency than others. I'm not sure if this is the guitar causing this or not.) It tracks pretty well, too. There are occasional hickups here and there with some notes misfiring or not firing at all, but that is to be expected with something that converts an analogue signal into a digital MIDI signal - it will never be perfect, but it sure is close. You can adjust the MIDI pickup to get it to get it just right, but I found it to be completely fine right out of the box.Where this guitar really shines is when you combine the electric guitar sounds with the MIDI sound. And yes, it plays them both at the same time. It sounds amazing to have a distorted guitar lead sound and then a synth sound over the top in sync with one another. Also, a clean sound with a bit of delay/reverb complements a soft synth sound with a slow attack to make a wonderful smooth transition, but without any of the messing about in post to do it. Do be aware that doing this can be disconcerting. The slightly different rates of the strings vs the oscillators of a synth can seem to wobble or swirl when played back if the strings are slightly out. Also, if there is latency with the MIDI part, it can throw off your playing wildly. But again, this isn't something that happens often and will depend on the synths and effects you use.This thing is a really powerful tool, despite it's limitations. I can see myself using this for all kinds of lead lines and just being my go-to guitar for making music.The manual says to tune it to Standard Tuning. But whatever - I tuned mine to drop D and it didn't explode. However, it doesn't seem to detect anything lower than low E when used for MIDI (without software - I believe this can be changed in software)I haven't used the software they bundle with it, nor do I have the intention of using it. But in the DAW I used, it came up as a standard MIDI input device and I was able to record MIDI into it without any real hassle. I also can't comment on the Bluetooth functionality of this guitar. (There's a sentence I didn't think I'd write.)I'll give it 4 stars - there's not much else on the market like this, so it's hard to really compare it. But the lack of tone control and a strap given the price makes me only very slightly disappointed.*Edited because I didn't read the manual.

The media could not be loaded. The best!

Had a shaky start, My Battery would not Charge , contacted Jamstik resolved fairly easily, what you need to do is a battery Reset, take off the back remove and then replace the battery, give it a charge job done.I had problems tuning it because I enabled the Pitch bend under settings / Tuning.... In ERRORif you do it this way your Jamstik will sound like a strangled cat... you have been warned.try it for a giraffe not actualy that amusing.What you need to do is under Midi Control make sure you have MPE selected and CH 2 MidiThe pitch Bend Send and expression tracking send need to be OFFChoose standard tuning under TUNING EADGBE.but you tune the guitar from the main screen and NOT tuning.there is a graphical representation of the 24 Frets near the bottom of the screen.You tune the guitar with the built in detachable HEX Magnetic tuner discreetly stowed on the left of the TUNERS, it is a bit fiddly but you should not have to mess with it much after your initial tune up.starting at E6 you will know each individual string is in tune when a blue circle appears to the left of the nut below fret1.The supplied Jamstik Creator software is usable has some perculiar sounds so you may well want to up grade some of the sounds or choose another app.I have found variable results with Ableton LIve 11 standard and Logic Pro X I have not tried FL Studio 21sadly at present I cannot seem to connect by MIDI USB with IK AXE I/O 5 the analog is fine.I have yet to try things like IK Sample tank 4 and Miroslav 2 and many more.bottom line after getting over how small it actually is and the lack of proper machine heads, I am pleased I went with my instinct and took a gamble.

I find this a great comfortable instrument and better playability than I expected. You have to be willing to set it up both physically and technically within the software. Some sounds in the creator app aren’t as good as the original Jamstik + but I’m still playing with it to be honest.

Fantastic Idea and Perfectly Presented. This will be used by me till my dying day.