So we just got an email from Jamkazam basically saying that they are converting to a paid subscription service. They will offer a "free" option but with extremely reduced audio quality and greatly reduced usage time, users in a session and monthly maximums that make it pretty useless.

I'm not opposed to as subscription service. But if I'm going to pay, I feel that the stability of Jamkazam has to VASTLY improve. There are been so many problems in the past 2 months with each update that it is now way worse than it was back in the summer. We have not had a trouble-free session in months. Mostly we've just given up.  The beta testing program has to be completely revised - no update should be sent out and forced upon users unless fully tested by a smaller group of beta testers. We shouldn't have to pay to be beta testers here. Before such paid service is introduced, Jamkazam really should have a stable release out there before asking people to pay.

After the most recent JamKazam update (12/3?), my bandmates and I have experienced some pretty major issues with the application crash ing/unexpectedly quitting. The crashes seem to most often occur when making changes to the video window - opening or closing the video window, shuffling users within the layout, changing layout view, etc), but sometimes the crashes just happen randomly.  We had a session last night (a live-stream that had been scheduled prior to the latest update), and each of our 4 band members experienced a crash at least once while getting the app setup prior to going live (2 of us crashed multiple times). The last time it crashed was moments after we had gone live - I was the Broadcaster, and the program crashed on me about 45 seconds in, right when I hit the keyboard shortcut to shuffle users in the video layout. This derailed our entire broadcast for about 20 mins while we did damage control.

All of us are using Macs (Mojave or Catalina OS). I have a UA Apollo Twin MkII Thunderbolt interface, using a Zoom Q2HD as a webcam.  2 of my bandmates are using 3rd-gen Focusrite Scarlett interfaces, and the built-in webcams on their Macs.  Our other bandmate has a MOTU M4, with a Logitech C920 HD Pro webcam.

Any advice for curing these crashes would be greatly appreciated - we have another live stream planned for next weekend, and are more concerned about the reliability of JamKazam for this than usual (certainly worked our way through plenty of bugs in doing similar sessions and streams over the last few months, but had the system working well enough to be pretty confident in using it for some live events that went fairly smoothly... Not expecting the system to be perfect, but these crashes are a bit more egregious than what we've encountered in the past and a potentially significant hinderance to successfully using this software).

Thanks!

I'm assuming the "organization" has servers that play some role in Jamkazam sessions ( and that these may benefit from subscription revenue and a possible reduction in the number of users).  Although, if the revenue improves the product, the number of users may grow, in time.
Does anyone know exactly what these servers do?

Hi, 
I've used JK several times for jam tracks.   Haven't played with anybody yet.   Still uptight about starting use.   

Any suggestions?
Mike

I play autoharp (and there are at least half a dozen other JK denizens who do as well), but there's no way to specify our instruments as anything more than "other". And lots of other instruments (and genres too) are missing from the list. When someone chooses "other" why not pop up a text box to allow musicians to type in an instrument or genre that's not already in the dropdown list?

Thanks!

Cindy Harris
Pittsburgh, PA

What plan will, as close as possible, match the quality of the current free JK client we have been using?
Our band has been using JK for the last two years once a week for 3 hours.
Only in the past month or so have we been able to get through a practice session with little regards to latency.
Thx in advance for your response.

I have been using JamKazam for several months. Whenever I play in a session, the others describe a "crackling" distortion in my audio output. I do not hear it in my earbuds. Latency has not been a problem. My setup is:

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015) plugged in
MacOS Big Sur Version 11.01
Sterling Audio SL230MP Matched Pair mics
Earbuds
FocusRite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface
HyperDrive HD30F USB-C Hub
Ethernet cable -> Synology RT2600ac router -> D-Link DSL-520B ADSL2+ modem
(Would plug directly into modem, but it only has one output socket and I’d rather not unplug router)
Verizon DSL internet service

I am playing a concertina: https://youtu.be/wqwDnMXrY9Q

Other internet devices in airplane mode during JamKazam sessions.

Any suggestions/help would be appreciated. Note, fiberoptic internet service is not available in my area and I have heard that cable internet service has deteriorated.

Thank you.

When today's update loaded I saw a message to the effect of "my capabilities have been reduced to match my subscription plan'. Not sure what this means exactly since I never chose a subscription plan. My session tonight did not seem limited in any way.

Going to the JK website I see the (upcoming?) paid subscription plans. We all know this was inevitable and nobody begrudges JK for monetizing it's product.

However, I caution JK that they must hold up their end of the bargain once they start charging money. The JK platform has been crap for most of the past 2 months. JK has to do better. Nobody is going to be happy to be paying and still having problematic sessions where players can't join or hear each other or keep cra$ng.

You wouldn't put up with your email provider being unavailable or limited every 3rd time you used it. What happens when the platform is unavailable? Will JK provide refunds?

JamKazam must be serious about uptime and support. I hope they are paying attention.

I donated to JK's gofundme several times to help them along. But I hope they are not going to start charging us for the much-less-than-satisfactory experience we've all been suffering with for months. I will be happy to select a paid subscription plan if JK steps up to the plate and starts playing Subscription Platform Provider like the big boys. However, the platform as of late plus the lack of support, abundance of errors and issues, and the endless releases reeks of being an engineer-run company with no real quality assurance and is not ready for prime time. Think about getting a real CEO - he/she will understand customer satisfaction and friction-reduction.

I attempted to log into JK tonight and got a message that I needed to upgrade before I could log in. I accepted the upgrade. However, once it starts, I get a message saying "Another installation is in progress. You must complete that installation before continuing this one."

There is no other installation in progress. I've terminated the program entirely using Windows Task Manager, and the same thing occurs. Hitting "retry" doesn't work.

Do I need to uninstall the entire program and then reinstall everything as though I'm starting over? I can't think of anything else to try.

Windows 10 on laptop. Presonus AudioBox USB 96 interface.

Jamkazam works, and I've played a couple of sessions, but the ASIO Panel does not open when selected via Manage -->Audio Settings --> Open ASIO Panel.

Any suggestions?