Apogee Jam Garageband Mac
Apogee is a world leader in audio input devices for the Mac. The improved JAM allows you to take a world-class preamp and A/D convertor on the road with you at all times. The JAM 96K is additionally useful as an instrument preamp even when portability is not a factor. Apogee’s PureDIGITAL circuit design eliminates signal noise; No setup required, just plug in and play; Powered by iOS device or Mac (no batteries or ext. Power required) Dial-in the perfect level with gain wheel and multicolor LED meter; Works with GarageBand, Logic, and all Core Audio compatible applications; In the Box. JAM 96k; Lightning iOS cable; USB cable.
It’s often smaller products that make a bigger difference in the world at large. Apple’s first iPod proved that, as did the iPhone and now the iPad. And while consumer products are expected to shrink in size over time, this hasn’t always been the case with pro audio gear. After all it’s not possible to fit a studio-quality pro guitar interface (with built-in preamp) in your pocket, right?
Apogee’s latest interface for the mobile guitarist, JAM, seeks to explode that myth. Aimed at the guitarist-on-the-go, JAM is a pocket-sized interface with a focus on their famous high quality sound quality, for use with the iPhone, iPad and Mac. This makes it useable as an interface across a wide range of iOS apps, like GarageBand for iOS and Sonoma FourTrack, as well as more traditional DAWs on the Mac platform, like Logic Pro, Ableton Live and GarageBand.
But the big question is how it actually performs in a real-world test.
JAM connected to an iPad and a guitar.
Set Up
As expected, the JAM is small enough to fit in most pockets and is comparable in length to an iPhone. Inside the box you’ll find the device itself, (which is surprisingly light), two cables, one for connecting to your iOS device and another for connecting to a Mac, a Quickstart guide, and a velcro strip which can be used to secure the JAM to a desk, mic stand or other suitable surface.
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A quick visit to the Apogee site revealed the latest firmware update which allows the JAM to support sample rates of 48kHz (44.1 being standard) on both Mac and iOS. It was painless to download and install. As you would expect with a plug and play device, there’s nothing left to do except connect your guitar, plug it in and.. play!
Look and Feel
Connection is straightforward: Guitar to JAM and JAM to iPad / iPhone via the included 30-pin dock connector. Upon launching GarageBand for iPad the device was detected immediately and with an audio track selected we were ready to shred!
The exterior of JAM is simple and without distraction except for two areas. The rotary style input gain wheel enables you to control the level of your guitar signal before reaching the software app. It’s easy and intuitive to use and more so thanks to the status and level LED. A red light indicates you need to pull that gain wheel down, while a green light shows that you’re recording at a safe, distortion free, level. It really couldn’t be simpler.
JAM: Incredibly small and easy to use.
Ready to Go
Apogee have used their PureDIGITAL technology in the JAM which is designed to deliver superior sound quality over rival iOS interfaces. From my tests on iPhone, iPad and using Logic Pro on the Mac recording at 44.1kHz, 24-bit depth, the JAM provided clean and pleasing tones. While sound quality was something to marvel at, performance should also be applauded. I didn’t experience noticeable latency even when recording on an original iPad.
As a, rather unfair, sound test comparison, I tested the $99 JAM against the $595 Duet 2. And although the Duet 2, naturally, provided clearer, more detailed recordings, the JAM held its own, and very respectably too.
Whether you’re jamming along for fun on an iPad or recording serious guitar parts on a Mac, JAM delivers impressively studio quality results comparable to audio interfaces more than double its cost. And furthermore being iOS and Mac OS X compatible, JAM is an extremely economical portable guitar interface for both the amateur and studio musician.
Discover more about JAM.
The original Jam was one of a few high profile ‘breakout’ devices back in 2012 when recording on the go using your iPhone or iPad became a reality.
Positioning itself as a direct competitor to IK Multimedia’s then ubiquitous (but ultimately limited) iRig, the original Jam wowed users with it’s fantastic sound quality and stylish design.
Apogee Jam Garageband Mac Download
Fast forward to present day and there’s no shortage of compact, portable interfaces on the market. Does Apogee’s updated Jam 96k do enough to separate itself from the rest?
The Jam 96k certainly makes a good first impression.
Upon opening the box, you’ll find Apogee’s redesigned unit nestled snugly in some good quality foam packaging , along with either a solitary Jam to USB cable, or USB and lightning cable, depending on which version you’ve purchased (more on this later).
Fast-food worker job description. Build quality here is great – the faux metal casing coupled with the rubber at either end of the unit give it a feeling of indestructibility.
Setting up to record with the Jam96k in GarageBand is super simple. Attaching the unit with a USB connection is enough to have GarageBand prompt an input change.
Apogee have kept things simple control wise here too, with one gain control knob along with a single LED on the front of the unit which changes colour depending on how hot you dial in the gain.
There’s only one jack input and one output connection for either the provided USB cable, or – if you’ve forked out an extra $30 for the Mac & iOS version – Lightning cable.
You see there are a few versions of the Jam96k available; a Mac & Windows version ($99), which comes bundled with only the Jam 96k and USB cable or the Mac and iOS version ($129), which has both USB and Lightning cables.
It seems like a strange decision to make customers pay an extra $30 for a Lightning connector, especially as many of the Jam 96k’s competitors come with a variety of cables as standard – at much lower prices.
So what exactly are you spending all that extra cash on?
Things make a bit more sense once you plug in and start recording.
Apogee have upgraded the Jam 96k’s circuit design over the original version. Couple that with the complete lack of latency and higher sample rate recording available and it’s surprising just how good your recordings can sound.
I experienced a crystal clear signal through the entirety of my time using the Jam 96k. Clean tones sounded crisp, while more driven tones came through loud and clear, without any muddiness.
The sound clip below was recorded by Silvertide guitarist Nick Perri, using the Apogee Jam96k into an iPhone running GarageBand iOS:
There’s no denying the Jam 96k sounds fantastic, but how does it measure up against it’s competitors?
IK Multimedia recently released a firmware update for it’s iRig HD guitar interface, allowing it to record 24bit/96kHz audio. Considering that the iRig HD is considerably cheaper than the Jam 96k, you would expect a very noticeable difference in audio quality…
Garageband Jam Pack
Right?
I put together a Sound Quality Face Off comparison video to find out how the two interfaces compare.