Monday, April 26, 2021
Jamulus - if you can't get it to work ...
... here's something to check:
Start Jamulus, to the point where you can see the "mostly black" Jamulus window.
Find the "View" menu, and click "Settings ...". A Settings window will appear. It says "Device" in the top left-hand corner, and below that are two panels.
The upper one of those panels lets you choose how Jamulus will get its audio input and deliver its output. Click on it, and it will reveal what options are available.
Something like "ASIO4ALL v2" is likely to be a good choice. Pick that if it's available, or the nearest name you can find.
Then click the lower panel. You should get a window like this:
Try clicking on the items in the WDM Device List to see if you can get your screen to match this example.
If you've had any success with that, it's time for another Jamulus trial.
Good luck!
Thursday, April 08, 2021
Jamulus - dealing with nasty noise.
Apart from the lag/echo effect, you may (but you probably won't) have other audio problems - various kinds of distortion, for instance. There are a few points that can help - but don't spend any effort on this list if things are working well enough for you.
- Use wired headphones, not wireless/bluetooth.
- Listen only to what Jamulus is sending to you, and listen through your headphones.
- Do not monitor your own microphone, or listen to any other souce than Jamulus, or listen through any kind of mixer or audio processor.
- Your computer's speakers should be silent.
- Don't attempt to run Zoom or Skype or MS Teams or Google Meet at the same time as Jamulus.
- Check what's running on your computer, and close down as much as possible. Anything that could use a microphone or a speaker or the internet might interfere with Jamulus. For instance, Zoom is an obvious hazard; a web browser might cause trouble; a spreadsheet probably won't.
- Do not have any other microphone active, or any other audio set-up running.
- Have nothing else close by that could be either using a microphone or playing sound through a speaker.
- You shouldn't have any calls open on your phone or WhatsApp or the like.
Jamulus - getting used to it.
When you're using Jamulus, you'll hear yourself and your fellow-singers/musicians through your headphones. You'll also hear your own voice/instrument direct, through your own head.
There will be a small but perceptible lag between "direct hearing" and what comes through your headphones. Most people describe this as an echo.
It's really important to follow what you hear through your headphones, not what you hear direct. This sounds difficult, but you get used to it astonishingly quickly. Or you don't, which would be a misfortune, and I can't suggest anything to help.
Big headphones that block out external sounds will help. Also, you can set Jamulus' sliders to make the "headphone mix" loud enough to dominate what you're hearing. In particular, you can adjust the slider for your own voice.
Whatever you do, though, you will have to deal with hearing your own sound a moment after whatever physical action makes the sound. Open your mouth and sing "aaah", and you will hear the "aaah" a fraction of a second later. You will be amazed at how easily you can adapt to this. Organists and conductors have to put up with this kind of thing all the time, and it turns out that ordinary people can do it too.
Jamulus - getting started.
- Find some wired (not bluetooth) headphones that you can use with your computer.
- Explore the Jamulus website. It does tend to
lead you into discouraging technicalities before it explains the
simple stuff, so I'll provide support if I can. Just ask!
- Quite a lot of the technical stuff is about making Jamulus
run fast. This may be important later on, when we try
actually singing, but it isn't our priority just now. Don't
worry about it.
- Quite a lot of the technical stuff is about making Jamulus
run fast. This may be important later on, when we try
actually singing, but it isn't our priority just now. Don't
worry about it.
- Visit this
page if you use a Windows computer, or this
one if you use a Mac system, and do what they say to get
Jamulus installed.
- for Mac: if your system declines to open the Jamulus installer, see the advice here.
- for Windows: if you're using your computer's built-in microphone, you will need to install ASIO4ALL before you install Jamulus. Instructions are on this page.
- Run Jamulus, create a profile for yourself, and connect to any
server. See the Jamulus onboarding
page for help. Once you get connected, you can disconnect
straight away. We are only trying to check that connection is
possible.
- Your profile is not permanent. You can change it easily at any time. So don't waste time on getting it "right" just now. Any name and any details will do.
Jamulus - what it's for and how you use it.
Jamulus is free open-source software, and a number of servers
scattered around the internet, and a community of people who develop
and maintain and use it all.
Jamulus lets a group of people in different places play/sing at the
same time, and hear each other, with so little delay that they can
keep time and feel that they are properly together*.
How do you get to use Jamulus? There is no website to log in to in
the Skype or Zoom style. There is no simple app to download either.
There is, though, a website which will let you download an
installation package. You can the run the installer, and that gives
you the Jamulus client software. Then you can run the software.
When you run Jamulus, it lets you create a profile for youself,
including a name, so that other Jamulus users can choose whether to
hear you**.
Once you have a profile, you can choose a server from a big list.
The list shows the response time between each server and your
computer. You want to choose one which will respond quickly.
If you want to play/sing with somebody else, then they need to
choose the same server. You need to agree on one that shows a good
response speed for both or all of you. For a big group, especially
if you're widely separated, there might not be many servers that
suit you all.
Your choice of server is not permanent. You can choose a different
one for each session.
Once you've chosen your server, you can "connect" to it. The rest of
your group should do the same.
Once you're all connected, Jamulus shows you a kind of "mixer" that
lets you choose from all the people using the same server as you:
which ones do you want to hear? Obviously, you choose all the
members of your group.
You can click the "solo" button for each of them, and for yourself
(and the other members need to do the same).
You also have a slider to set the volume for each user on the server
- including one for yourself.
Once you have set up your mixer to let you hear all the members of
your group, and they have done the same, then you can all hear one
another.
That's it. Or rather, there must be more, but we'll find that out as
we try it.
* Jamulus doesn't let them see one another. If they try to achieve
the "seeing" bit by using (for example) Zoom, then the "little
delay" bit won't work, and the illusion of singing/playing together
will break down.
** You can make yourself totally inaudible, so that nobody can hear
you. That lets you listen in to other people's sessions. They can see that you're there. They can't stop you listening except by moving to a different server.
