Apogee Jam X

With a built‑in analogue compressor, Apogee’s Jam X is designed to get your guitar sound right from the start.

On first touch the Jam X is very cool and feels weighty and well‑sized. The buttons are easily thumbable, almost like a small torch or a large laser pointer. It looks every bit like the Jam+ and is, in essence, identical except for the change in hue and the specifics around the input stage. The Jam+ had an analogue overdrive circuit built into the instrument preamp; the Jam X has an analogue compressor with three different settings. This deeper access brings a bit more nuance and versatility to an already decent idea. The only physical letdown is that Apogee have kept the micro‑USB socket rather than upgrading to USB‑C, but I can live with that.

Set Up & Go

As a Windows user your heart tends to sink a little when you read “No configuration required, just plug in and record,” and as expected it doesn’t apply to non‑Apple users. You will have to comb through the manual to find a link to a driver download page which doesn’t list the Jam X so you have to request the installer via a form. An email redirects to another download and then it all works. It’s all a bit of a faff for “No configuration required”.

That done, I opened IK Multimedia’s Amplitude, set up...