'REAL-TIME' JAMMING:

PROS: Close as possible to real no-latency jamming online / Ability to talk with other players

CONS: Factors contributing to increased latency are distance, internet carrier quality, & individual hardware setups / Unacceptable latency between players at around 1,000 to 4,000 miles depending on both latency and personal tolerances.

ADVISORY: Jam outputs can generally be recorded locally by participants.

SOUNDJACK: FREE

WIN 64-Bit / OS 1O.9+ / Linux

Website hosts 'Live' online jams through a downloaded connection script with the usual latency issues.

PROS: Superior sound quality / Generally stable platform / Easy to set-up / Growing list of group participants (600+ private groups)

CONS: No public 'jam rooms' / Unaffiliated players connect directly to each other or create private sessions & groups

WEBSITE & COMMUNITY

https://www.soundjack.eu/

*NOTE: Continuously being developed by a professor of media computer science in Germany and funded by public grant.

SONOBUS: FREE NEW

WIN 7+ 64-Bit / OS 10.9+ 64-Bit / IOS 11+

Stand alone program hosts 'Live' online jams with the usual latency issues / Relatively new platform so still developing other user features & participation

PROS: Superior sound quality / Generally stable platform / Easy to set-up

CONS:

WEBSITE & CLIENT DOWNLOAD

https://www.sonobus.net/

JAMKAZAM: PAID

(Limited Free Use Option)

WIN 7.8+ 64-Bit / OS 1O.8+ 64-Bit

Stand alone program hosts 'Live' online jams with the usual latency issues

PROS: Core community of at least several hundred active players / Generally good sound quality

CONS: Frequently unstable platform with sound degradation & session crashes / Complex set-up

ADVISORY: Jam outputs can also be recorded inside the application by participants

WEBSITE & PROGRAM DOWNLOAD

https://jamkazam.com/

FORUM

https://forum.jamkazam.com/

NINJAM 'ZERO-LATENCY' JAMMING:

ReaNinjam VST Client in Reaper / Also Stand Alone Ninjam Client Download

WIN XP+ 32 & 64-Bit / OS 10.5+ 64-Bit (Legacy 32-Bit available) / Linux Betas

Timed release of player's offset signals simulate a zero-latency jamming experience (architecture developed by Cockos/Reaper.)

PROS: Very good sound quality / Precise syncing of signals enables global jams with participants from around the world and no 'apparent' latency / Very stable platform / Easy to set up on all clients

CONS: Jams tend to be cyclical and evolve gradually / Time delayed architecture for mixing of separate player signals makes perfomance of songs, freeform jams, and other complex material impossible / Real-time text chat only

BOTTOM LINE: Sounds like it shouldn't work... but it does!

FREE PUBLIC SERVERS - NINBOT / NINJAMMER / DISCORD / COCKOS (& More)

A number of independently maintained servers host online jams using Cockos' Ninjam architecture. All of the sessions and players available on these servers are shared and displayed on the ReaNinjam VST in Reaper and most stand alone clients.

ADVISORY: Jam outputs can be recorded locally by participants / All jams with more than one player on Ninbot and Ninjammer servers are recorded and permanently stored on both the servers and archive.org (other servers policies in this regard unknown) / Creative Commons License generally applies

NINBOT Community - FREE

Server host and core community of at least several hundred active players with many more legacy members.

https://ninbot.com/

*NOTE: Established in 2005, Ninbot is the oldest online jamming community. The administrator is working on restoring the website's long-standing member directory, forum, archive, and Ninbot Gold Client Download following a recent catastrophic server crash.