by Gig Stig
The Jamvox package really impressed me, I was expecting it to be just another software AmpSim but it was great in all departments. For starters its a complete package. The monitor simplifies plugging everything in and out of your computer, effectively acting as a USB soundcard and speaker system, just add a guitar and lead. The software was very easy to install, i was told there was latest software update available to download when i was ready, nobody should have any intsallation problems here. Good for the guitarists who are musicians and not "techies"....
The software looks and feels great. Everything is very visual and editing was as simple as clicking on my chosen pedal and then moving the virtual knobs with the mouse. There are plenty of presets sounds to try and the actual quality of the simulation is top notch, nothing to worry about there. I didn't need the manual at all and I pretty much got to grips with everything within half an hour.
The clever trick this system has up its sleeve and one of the biggest reasons to consider it is the Guitar Extraction (GXT) part. You basically load your music library into it (which was very quick) select a track and then press the GXT button. The guitar track is reduced in real time, you select your guitar sound and off you go. There are preset GXT settings to try and you can tweak all the parameters if is doesn't sound quite right, it even works on vocals aparently. Another nice feature is the ability to record yourself playing over the track or you can just record the backing track for later. Have a look at the video demo if you want to hear it, its really very good and the best we've heard.
Its worth noting that the Jamvox software needs the Vox Monitor to be connected to load up so you won't be able to use the software without it. Aside from that it works fine with all the ins and outs nicely laid out. I plugged the monitor into my standard studio set up from the two 1/4" line outputs on the rear to hear it through my usual monitors. Hours of heavy riffing awaits you my friend.....