Hum,
Found the demo but it is pretty cut back in capability. I will take a look at it in the morning and get a feel for it. To bad the demo is not a full version with a time bomb. Then at least you could really kick the tires and go for a ride. Thanks Voodoo for you excellent descriptions and explanations!
I found this Sound On Sound review of Jamsticks here:
I think I am going to get the $99 version and use it just like Voodoo does, as a trigger for other drum machines.
LB
Do you think it will work ok with Cubase, GA3, Jamstix and JBridge all running together ? 
This is a duplicate ‘link’ of the one posted in my GA3 thread (Groove Agent 3 (32/64bit) ? - Groove Agent - Steinberg Forums [should anyone wish to view it]).
I made the video this morning if it helps anyone define the type of Drum VSTi I am ultimately looking for :-
Have to let you know on this one as there is a bit of a learning curve to JS. I have it partially working in Cubase right now.
LB
Ok, good work! Did you purchase the $99 version or download the ‘trial’?
I have enough stuff to be getting my head around (like my poor old DX7 synth !!) so I will wait and see how you get on with it.
Appreciate your continued help and advice.
Bloody hell, what this guy does not know about EZ Drummer, nobody does ! I got half way thru the video but had to take a break because the pace is very fast and there is so much to take in.
Creating and Saving ‘song structures’ (which is something important to me) looks like a simple Search/Drag/Drop process. Really quite amazing. In particular, I play a lot of Ballroom Music (Tango, Foxtrot, Rumba, etc) which ALL adhere to a strict 32 x Bar structure. So it would be great to have ready made ‘templates’ to hand.
Ta,
Paul
I was looking on the EZ website looking to see what exactly you got with the deal. I was thinking about what you were saying yesterday regarding the amount of GB size sample library you get with the Jamstix. I could not find a GB size mentioned in the EZ Drummer 2 specifications ?
Just found this excellent comparison video between Superior and EZ. There is nearly 20GB in DIFFERENCE between them !!
Well Paul I think the demo is really poor. They have really cut it back to where it really does not work like the real program. I like you can see a real need for some other way than doing drum intros by hand. So I went ahead and forked over $99 for the slim version of JamStixs. I will have to watch some Youtube video of it and read the manual to get up to speed on it. I would not exactly call it intuitive, at least not for this dude.
You welcome on the help, glad to assist where I am able.
LB
Yeah, normally Toontrack is right up front about how many GB of sound files you get with each program or add on pack. But I found no such data. The ONLY thing I found was under the computer requirements. There it states you need 4 GB of free hard disk space to install it. Thus the sound libraries are about 4 GB.
LB
I have Ezdrummer 2 installed here. Sound libraries + application files are using something like 4.10 GB
Yep Makumbaria,
Pretty close to what I got…
On another note, have you owned any drum VSTs before Ezdrummer?
How do you like Ezdrummer 2?
LB
Well I had some time to play with Jamstix. I got it to fire Superior Drummer and have a basic understanding of how it works. My main comment right now is that Jamstix is VST PERFORMANCE hungry! It pegs my meter in Cubase that measures VST Performance pretty good in some spots on some drum grooves. This is a pretty powerful machine and has ample resources. On the other hand Superior Drummer for instance stays at about 25% max when it runs… I even increased my ASIO buffers some and that helped but still I am somewhat disappointed. I know there is a way to turn off sounds in JS3 and they should be set that way when triggering SD 2.0. That may help maybe, will try it in the morning.
LB
I have Ezdrummer 2, Native instruments Abbey Road modern drummer and Addictive drums 1 & 2 (with almost all midi and extension packs)
I think that Ezdrummer 2 is even better than Ezdrummer 1. I was almost ready to upgrade to Superior drums (using Ezdrummer license) when Toontrack released the new version. No regrets so far!
Addictive drums 2 is very good too (and I am already a user for a long time) . It is good to have more than one option, and XLN Audio is a cool company (excellent products and support).
Very good then, sounds like you have the bases covered for the bongo’s! I wonder how long it might be until a version 3.0 comes out for Superior Drummer? I have not heard a thing on that though…
LB
There are 3 things i would do:
further:
you can create indivdual things/mappings with the input-transformer within cubase and save these tracks (together with your drum-vsti) as a track-preset. This makes things much easier 
… and you are right. It has a learning curve. I mentioned that earlier. Best advice i can give you: go slow. Try basic things like powervalue, drummer exchange. Dont invest time in the dropdowns to early. They are mostly advanced, but powerful.
btw. what is the demo missing? I never tried it.
Have fun
Hi Voodoo,
I will try the suggestions you make for reducing the VST load. I did some reading at the JS Forum and I am not the only one with pops and clicks along with high VST resource use. I see where different versions of JS has had a varied amount of problems with this issue.
Maybe I am too critical of the Demo and it would be of some use. Here are the limitations of it:
Demo Limitations
•random audio noise
•very limited stock kit (reduced layers, sounds and articulations)
•no XL sounds
•MIDI output and export set all notes to ‘Kick’
•Some ‘Save’ functions are disabled
I think the better demos are the full version ones with a time bomb after 30 days. But oh well.
On another note and in response to Paul’s question. Cubase (the full version) triggers and drives GA3 just fine. I just tried that and it works. So It might be worth looking into down the road if one wants to enhance GA3. But I am still really concerned about the VST performance. I see JS has a new 3.6 version beta out and maybe that has better VST resource usage.
LB
Hi,
I have yet to experiment more with the OUTPUT routings of GA3 in Artist 7.5, but I am sure its going to be adequate in this department (for me at least). Just need to work out if my OUT’S need to be in STEREO or MONO? And as with the demonstrations in my recent video upload, I think I am happy with what GA3 and Artist 7.5 are able to achieve in
‘real time’ via JBridge. As stated earlier, at present, I don’t really think I can justify the £250 hike up to Cubase Full. I am really a total novice and so I would be worried that a bigger DAW might be daunting and above my intellect! 
Even though there is about 18GB difference between Superior and EZ VSTs, I am not 100% sure as to why the sizes differ so vastly. I know that the former uses 24 bit samples against (I think) 16 bit on the latter. And there are extreme differences in the amount of mic’s and their positionings in Superior. Maybe this makes it greater in size. I really liked the fact that EZ is much simpler to use and had pre-assigned FX on all the individual kits and drums etc. Mic positioning and intricate FX assignments (for drums) is not something which I really want to be getting bogged down with and so I would most likely run with the onboard Presets.
However, I am 99% going to hold out for the much awaited GA4 though I may be tempted to download a ‘trial’ for EZ if it exists.
Ta,
Paul
Oh, I made a typeo here: Cubase (the full version) triggers and drives GA3 just fine. It should read: Cubase (the full version) allows Jamstix to trigger and drive GA3 just fine.
I am pretty sure that would be true of Artist as well.
On Sample sizes, I would think Superior’s 24 bit samples certainly would swell the size of them and yes, all the mic positions also has something to do with it. But I also would not be surprised to find out that Superior simply has more samples in it than does EZ2.
I think if you ever to go with the full Cubase version that you will pick it up rather quickly. You have about 80% of it now, (just a rough guess mind you). So transitioning over to it should be fairly easy for you.
LB
It seems some of the settings you suggested do indeed help. However 1. pops up a message when changed that says you need to restart JS to enable the setting change. When I do that the switch is back on each time… strange?
Thanks for your help Voodoo,
LB