Jamcorder

Easy set up fairly intuitive UI experience overall. A bit clunky but for a first of its kind recorder it’s simple and always ready to go

When you play for enough years, things just happen and often the words “I wish I recorded that” come to mind. This gets everything as it happens, and can even play it back through the keyboard. Pianoteq has a similar function, but I’m not always at the keyboard. I’ve been wanting something like this for years and it’s that rare everything I wanted.

I wish I had Jamcorder from the first day I got a digital piano. So great to have a record of everything I'm playing.

The thing I didn't quite understand is that this is a little always-on server you can access from any computer in your house and comes with a bunch of (undocumented, but not that complicated) APIs to access all your MIDI data.

There are so many cool things you can do with that!

The Jamcorder has completely changed how I make music. It records everything I play automatically, so my ideas are never lost. I can just sit at my keyboard and play - no stopping to press record, no breaking the flow. For the first time, I can truly improvise without fear of forgetting something I’ve just created.

The app is lightweight, smooth, and easy to use. It can be looped back easily, so I can experiment or build on what I’ve just played. The device itself is small, clever, and attaches neatly to the keyboard with the included tape. It even gives those nostalgic little Nokia-style tones when connected, and the light indicators make it clear when it’s recording. It can be connected via the supplied cables and ports or Bluetooth.

When I finish a section I want to find again, I can simply tap the top three black keys twice, it marks that spot so I can return later. It’s a brilliant idea, because it means I never have to interrupt my playing or think about pressing a record button.

The Jamcorder records everything onto an SD card (included), and it can store more music than I’ll probably ever fill. I can download new soundfonts, use my own keyboard sounds, or play back through the app.

What really makes this device special is that it removes the pressure from recording. It captures creativity in its purest form. I’ve surprised myself at what I can play when I’m not overthinking it. Chip Weinberger has created something extraordinary, simple, intuitive, and beautifully made.

I can’t imagine writing music without it now. It’s the most inspiring tool I’ve ever owned.

For years I dreamed of some way to automatically capture riffs and improvisations I played on my electronic piano. I even tried to figure out some kind of hack with a Chromebook and FL Studio. The Jamcorder not only does everything I hoped it would do (that is: to be a silent and completely automatic watcher of anything I played on my keyboard) but its companion app provides elegant and highly efficient tools to manipulate and catalog the resulting files. The developer not only anticipated everything I would have wanted from the device, but even included features I didn't realize were essential. Is it obvious by now that I love it??