Warning: This site is a starting point for using Skype to play music with friends. Updated Feb. 11 2010

Music we’ve recorded with Skype

Since Skype’s inception, Holy Zoo and Drek collaborated with their music by rigging multiple soundcards and mixers. It isn’t without flaws, but things have improved on all fronts. Compared to the alternatives – the issues are predictable and free.

Alternatives

Ejamming.com appears to be nice bet, but I have doubts. The software is proprietary and claims near-zero latency. According to one immediate review, the latency is anywhere around 30+ ms or less. There is no mention – if it’s compatible with the DAW or other programs (such as Ableton Live). Will it play well with other programs? I would hope so, but there is no real mention of routing or plug-in compatibility.

“Near-zero latency.” is misleading. Between your gear and your computer, there is a variable processing time before the audio is acceptable to broadcast over the internet. Near-zero latency is an irresponsible term. I should mention that musicians can play reasonably well below 25ms latency.

You pay for a forum, some proprietary software with a couple of frills that might matter, and communion with a bunch of unknown profiles. Who wants to spend money each month for the priviledge of spending their time searching through chats and forums for someone worth a damn to jam?

Ninjam is novel, but hasn’t been updated since 2007. It doesn’t assume you’re a loser who will spend hours idly clicking on profiles, looking for a guitarist with perfect facial hair. It’s open source. The downsides are… interesting. It works in intervals, like playing “red light / green light.” It’s an interesting challenge. Yet the only DAW it seems to support is Reaper, which you have to pay for. Again, this becomes a gimmick. Why funnel us into one free program, just to pay for another program?

This brings me to Skype, which is by no means flawless. Skype is free, runs consistently, streams well, and it’s not made for music.

This last statement sounds unreasonable. But I don’t need a sald fork at the dinner table, my hands will do. The more frills and marketing buzzwords and social networking and features it has – the less it’ll complete the original objective.

Skype pros:

*Simple software audio routings
*One continuous stream
*Peer-to-peer
*No extra garbage
*Free

Cons:
*No stereo (transmits in mono)
*Direct adaptability to DAW

To jam via skype our way

You’ll need:

• 1 external audio interface
• 1 mixer
• 1 computer
• Multiple adapters

Important: In ALL software solutions, where your computer is also the instrument, its better to have one computer dedicated to the audio processing, layering, and effect. Then have another computer broadcast the audio. The CPU drain of both streaming audio and processing it will always lead to clicks or lag.

Let’s try to break it down how we do it….

1. Ableton outputs audio through your external audio interface, to a stereo channel on the mixer.
2. All external instruments go through your mixer via the ALT 3 /4 or whatever mixer bus setup you care to use.
3. ALT 3/4 connects to your external audio interface’s inputs.
4. Main mix connects to your Line In jack via a conversion jack.
5. Skype receives its audio input from Line In, not the microphone.
6. Skype sends audio from your partner, into a channel on the mixer.
NOTE: This channel must be routed ALT 3/4 or your mixer’s bus setup.
HINT: As your partner’s audio is mono, pan it left. Pan your instruments to the right. I have only two inputs so I can’t divy up my inputs.
7. Listen via headphones.

I will finally unveil, the worst diagram I’ve ever made. It’s also how I wire my mixer for Skype jams using Ableton live.

How to route audio for broadcasting via skype

This gives you a set that contains your mix and all its tracks – with one track containing your online partner. The same goes for your partner.

I am currently exploring jackpilot and will write about my experiences with it. I’m even reading the manual.