A series of helpful videos can be foundon our
YouTube channel www.YouTube.com/HubHed
Q: I don't own electric drums yet, can I use a JamHub with acoustic drums?
A: Yes! In fact, things still sound clear and controlled. Just hang a mic or two above the drum kit and plug that into the JamHub. Or, use a small mixer and three mics to create a great stereo drum sound. We recommend a mic above the snare, a mic above the toms and a kick drum mic. Pan the two area mics left and right, put the kick down the middle and send the stereo mix into one of the JamHub sections. Because the drums don't need to compete with amps the sound quality is great. Go to our forum to learn about when we tested this setup while developing the JamHub product line. back to top Q: If I use acoustic drums will the JamHub make them "quiet"? A: No. You'll still have to deal with loud drums, but the overall rehearsal volume can be lower if there isn't a loud bass amp, loud guitar amp(s), a loud keyboard amp and a loud PA competing with one another in the room. And, if you rehearse this way, you'll hear it all better. back to top Q: Can I use an acoustic guitar with a JamHub?
A: Does it have a pickup? If not, put a microphone in front of the guitar and plug the microphone into an open mic input on the JamHub studio.
A: Does it have a pickup? If yes, and you want to go direct, get a mono-to-stereo jack and plug it into the guitar end of your stereo cable. You might find that with one of the new “for acoustics” Direct Inject (DI) boxes or floor pedals, that you like the sound and control of the acoustic better. There are a lot of engineering reasons for using one (impedance matching is the biggest of them), that’s why DI boxes are used by the pros. If you’re going to play an acoustic, you’re going to need a DI box someday. Come by the forum to learn about which ones we've tried and liked.
back to top Q: What instruments do not work with a JamHub studio?
A: We don't know of any yet. There may be some out there, but we haven't found them. Some companies have dedicated their existence to creating instruments that can be played anywhere and anytime ... one even has an electronic accordion line (not just one model, but an entire line of them!!!). Horn players can use silent practice inserts and cases to quiet horns and create a headphone signal that you can send to your JamHub. Guitars, bass, drums, hand percussion, keyboards, accordions, wind instruments, even a thermine will work! Just look for a headphone jack on the gear and you're ready to start jamming quietly with your JamHub studio. back to top Q: Do you have any tips for new users? A: Yes. JamHubs are completely new because we introduced them just this summer. And since we invented them, we know a lot about how to make it easy to get started. Here are our top tips to prep you for your first jam:
- Use good TRS (Stereo) cables and plug the cable going from the JamHub instrument input jack directly into the headphone output jack on your modeling amp, keyboard or drums.
- Get 20 foot headphone extensions so you can move around as much as you want.
- Use good headphones for good listening. The JamHub is acoustically transparent. If your headphones lack quality, the JamHub won't make the headphones sound better.
- Get each player to pick up a microphone, even if they don't sing. Once you put on the headphones and enter the silent rehearsal studio environment, you can't hear the outside world very well. It's easier to communicate if everyone has a mic and you can hear each other in the headphones.
- Guitarist, a modeling amp with a foot pedal allows you to control the volume of your sound so you can turn up for leads. Make sure you're not clipping the preamp (check the Trim LED for red) at max volume or it will sound distorted. Keyboard players, use your instrument's volume control to do the same.
- Turn down any trim controls of unused sections to minimize outside electromagnetic noise.
back to top Q: Why aren't there EQ knobs? A: A JamHub is not designed to alter your sound, but to distribute it and give you more control over what you want to hear. Create the best possible sound before sending your signal to the JamHub, then use the JamHub to share it with your band mates. back to top Q: Why does the TourBus model record .WAV files? Why doesn't the JamHub encode to MP3?
A: Anytime you compress audio, you lose information and quality can suffer. With the very low cost of RAM we decided to keep the files in a .WAV format, even though they take more room. If you want to compress your files to an MP3 format, simply download one of the free MP3 encoders, like iTunes or WinAmp, and convert the files with a computer. You'll do so knowing that you have good quality files from the start. back to top | 
