MusicBeam Q&A
Q: What do I need to use MusicBeam?
A: You need a Mac or PC with DAW (Digital Audio Workstation or sequencer) software which is compatible to the AU or VST standard. Also, you need a fast internet connection if you want to run the server program on your home computer.
Q: Does it work with my DAW?
A: Probably. It has been tested with Logic, Live, DP and others. Basically any sequencer/DAW that is AU/VST compatible and reports correct timeline information to plugins will work.
Q: Do the other users have to use the same DAW?
A: No. MusicBeam works across sequencers and platforms.
Q: How do I hear the other participants?
A: You can hear the audio of the other participants in sync to your sequencer. When you press play at any position in your sequencer you will hear your audio and the audio of the others at that position in the timeline.
Q: Can I hear the other participants in real-time and jam with them?
A: Not really. It takes about one to three seconds (depending on the connection) until you can press play and hear the audio someone just recorded in your own sequencer.
So the closest to „jamming“ would be this:
The drummer starts playing and records it using MusicBeam. A second later the bassist starts recording and can already hear the drums. Now another second later the guitarist can hear both drums and bass while recording.
After they are through the piece they can press stop and the drummer can finally hear what they have done :)
Every user will then hear a perfectly synced version of the complete performance in his sequencer.
Q: Can I record live audio input to the server?
A: Yes, as long as the sequencer is running and MusicBeam is set to record, everything that is going through the master channel (through the plugin to be exact) will be recorded to the server. You should however record that live input to a track in your sequencer as well because otherwise you will not be hearing that recording in your sequencer while the other participants will be hearing it!
Q: Does everybody have to be online at the same time to hear each other?
A: No, you can even be offline yourself and still hear the other tracks in your sequencer. Each time you go online MusicBeam will instantly get the latest tracks of the other participants and store them to your harddisk.
Likewise you can be the only one who is online and yet record your track to the server where it can be downloaded by the others as soon as they go online.
Q: Will there be additional channels for the other participants in my sequencer once I am connected?
A: No, the MusicBeam plugin mixes the other users audio with your audio in the master channel of your sequencer. In the MusicBeam interface you can set the volume of each users track.
Q: Do I get all the single channels from the other users sequencers?
A: No, you will get exactly that what is going through the master channel of the other users, which is the two-channel mix of all tracks they have done.
Q: Do I receive MIDI tracks from the other users?
A: No. MusicBeam just transfers the audio between the sequencers. So you will not receive the MIDI data of the other users but you will hear the software instruments that are played by the MIDI notes in their sequencer.
Q: Does MusicBeam transfer tempo information?
A: No, there is no way for a plugin to change the host tempo. However this is not a problem because MusicBeam uses samples as a timebase. So the only thing you have to do is tell the others what starting tempo you used in your project so they can set it in their sequencer as well. All subsequent tempo changes can then be set by measures.
Q: Are there any other prerequisitions to be met in my sequencer before using MusicBeam?
A: Yes, you should set the sample rate of your project to 44.100 or 48.000Hz (must be same for all users). Most sequencers allow this even if the audio is recorded at a higher sample rate.
Also, it is advised to have some CPU headroom (maybe 10% on a 2GHz machine) in the project, otherwise compressing the audio prior to sending it over the net might take quite long and delay the transfer.
Furthermore, some sequencers need to be calibrated before they play in sync with the project. This is easily done with a one-click wizard.
Q: Will the plugin introduce any additional latency to my sequencers signal flow?
A: No, the MusicBeam plugin runs at the hosts buffer size and thus introduces no additional latency.
Q: Will the other users tracks be included when I bounce the project in my sequencer?
A: Yes, as long as the MusicBeam plugin is not bypassed :)
Q: What kind of audio compression is used in MusicBeam to transmit the audio over the internet?
A: MusicBeam uses the Ogg/Vorbis compressor in VBR mode with variable quality from 1 to 10. This results in 64-360kBit/s compressed streams. Future versions may allow using the lossless Flac codec.
Q: What about the CPU/disk load introduced by MusicBeam?
A: MusicBeam currently uses about 3-8% CPU on a 1GHz machine with three remote tracks while playing. During recording to the server of course, the audio has to be compressed. Depending on the set quality this might use an additional 8-30% CPU. Decompressing audio while it is received will use 3-8%.
However, if there is not enough CPU headroom, MusicBeam will slow down the compression/expansion process and leave the CPU power to your sequencer.
The additional disk load is comparable to the amount introduced by adding as many new audio channels to the sequencer as there are remote users.
Q: Will the plugin be available for Linux?
A: That is not sure. Due to the lack of compatible sequencer software it is hard to say if it is in any way worth the effort. I am currently investigating the possibility of being compatible to Ardour by using LADSPA.
Q: Why is Cubase not on the list of tested hosts?
A: There are some reasons why Cubase is currently not on the list. First, Cubases timeline information for plugins is not very stable, so I have to implement workarounds to get reliable information. Second, Cubase does not offer AU compatibility on Mac, and AU is the preferred platform for MusicBeam on Mac.
Q: Why is Java needed?
A: MusicBeam is developed using Java which gives several advatages.
First, changes made to the base code are instantly available to all platforms due to the crossplatform abilities of Java.
Second, Java code is very maintainable and allows quick adaptions without a lot of overhead. For a one-developer-software this means quicker reaction to customers wishes and/or problems with the software.
Furthermore, due to the crossplatform compatible APIs of Java, communication between platforms and CPU types works flawlessly. (Intel/PowerPC Mac/Windows etc)