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The interface enables you to fine-tune every aspect of your drum track.

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However, possibly the most impressive aspect of Jamstix 2 is the brain's tight integration with the kit elements and playing.

Load up a style and the brain gives you a set of parameters to modify that's based on that particular style. So for Funk you get, among other things, Amount and Power parameters for your kick and snare, as well as the suitably-titled Funkiness. Tweak these as Jamstix 2 plays and it recomposes each bar accordingly.

For each drummer you also get a bunch of controls that relate to their playing style. Possibly the most important is Feel, with its associated timing and velocity parameters, as this dictates whether the drummer tends to play ahead of or behind the beat.

When you bear in mind that you've also got a collection of parameters that controls the composition of accents and fills as well as the main groove, and that there's always the option to go into the bar editor and modify everything on a single-hit basis, you can see how it's possible to carefully tailor every part of your song.

Not perfect

One downside to Jamstix's scientific approach to drum composition is that it sits slightly uncomfortably with its new interface, and its sheer flexibility can sometimes leave you wondering what it's actually doing. For this reason, it certainly pays to read the manual in full.

If Jamstix 2 does have a real Achilles heel, though, it's the onboard sound library. The single included kit is decent, but you'll definitely want more, and this means paying extra to get the XL pack (buying it bundled is an option).

Of course, if you've got other plug-in libraries to plunder, then you're laughing, thanks to the VST plug-in support, and if this isn't an option, you can simply drag parts, bars or the whole song to a MIDI channel for triggering your standard samplers.

Furthermore, with MIDI pattern import also available, you can use Jamstix's virtual drummers to breathe life into existing drum patterns.

You might not want to get rid of your drummer just yet, but for $99 you can't go wrong with Jamstix 2.