Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions musicians ask most, before and after they start using Jude. Each answer links to the page that goes deeper: running Jude, languages, your audio and privacy, and the trial, plans and billing. If something's actually broken, Troubleshooting is organized by symptom.

Running Jude

What do I need to run Jude?

A Mac — Apple silicon or Intel — running macOS 13 or later, and a supported DAW. Headphones are recommended: monitoring the engineer's voice on headphones keeps it out of the talkback mic. If you'd rather work on speakers, tell Jude you're listening on speakers and the mic mutes itself while the engineer talks. GarageBand needs nothing configured (version 10.4.14 or later recommended); Logic and Cubase/Nuendo take a Mackie control surface, and Reaper takes Mackie or OSC. The whole path, step by step, is in Getting started.

Do I have to set up MIDI?

No. Jude creates its own virtual ports and appears to your DAW as a control surface. Logic finds it at launch; Reaper and Cubase configuration takes seconds. GarageBand uses no MIDI at all — Jude drives it through macOS Accessibility, so you grant that permission once and open your project. Per-DAW steps: Logic Pro, GarageBand, Reaper, Cubase & Nuendo.

Do I need to learn commands?

No. Talk the way you'd talk to a human engineer on the other side of the glass — "let's do one", "solo just the vocal", "bring the kick up a bit" — and Jude keeps up. Talking to Jude gives you a feel for the vocabulary and lists the few things that stay in the DAW's hands.

Is there a Windows version?

It's coming. The audio and MIDI layers are built on portable standards for exactly this reason. Sign up and tell us which DAW you use — it helps us order the work.

Languages

What languages does my engineer speak?

Seven are supported: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi. Every engineer on the roster speaks English. The international engineers are native speakers of their home language who follow whatever language you use — talk to Anika in German or Diego in Spanish and the session simply happens in that language. Pick your engineer in Settings → Voice; each card shows the languages that engineer speaks.

Can I speak Chinese to the engineer?

Chinese isn't one of the officially supported languages, but musicians who have spoken it to the engineers report that it has worked — the engineer understood them and answered in kind. Because we don't test Chinese the way we test the seven supported languages, we can't promise it will hold up in every session. If you try it and something goes wrong, switch to one of the supported languages for the rest of the session and tell us what happened through the Feedback button.

What about other languages?

Languages outside the seven aren't supported today. If you record in one you'd want the engineers to speak, let us know at support@heyjude.studio — hearing which languages musicians actually need helps us decide what to add next.

The engineer started speaking a language I don't understand

Just ask them to speak your preferred language for this session — every engineer understands English. The international engineers open in their home language by default and then follow yours.

Your audio and privacy

Is my audio recorded or kept?

Your music never leaves your machine. Jude drives the DAW; it does not capture your tracks or your playback. Only your talkback speech is streamed to the voice model, for the length of the conversation. The details are in our privacy policy.

Can the engineer hear my music?

No. The engineer can't hear your tracks, so judging the take is your job — they will play it back for you, not review it. What they do know is everything the DAW reports: armed tracks, mutes and solos, the take history, your studio-time balance. Ask anything you'd otherwise glance at a screen for.

Trial, plans and billing

Does the trial need a credit card?

No credit card — registration only. An account is created so your settings, engineer and studio-hour balance follow you. Trial accounts do not automatically convert to paid.

What happens when I run out of hours?

Sessions keep working and additional hours are metered at your plan's rate. You can also cap overage in Account if you would rather be stopped than billed. A rolling take is never interrupted, whatever your balance. The full mechanics are in Studio time & plans.

Why a subscription?

Your engineer is live AI, and it costs us money every minute they're working — so Jude can't be a one-time purchase. The plan covers a normal month of tracking; record more and the extra hours meter at a flat rate. Pay yearly and three months are free. Only record occasionally? Skip the subscription and pay by the studio hour. Current prices are on the pricing page.

How does annual billing work?

You're billed once a year — three months cheaper than paying monthly — and your included hours still reset every month on your billing day. If you go past them in a month, the extra hours are billed monthly on that same day, separately from the yearly charge. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid year. Moving to annual at the same or a bigger plan is charged today, with credit for the unused part of your month; a smaller annual plan starts when your current month ends.

Can I cancel any time?

Yes, from Account — no email, no phone call. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you've paid for: your next monthly renewal, or the end of the year on an annual plan. You keep your plan and its remaining studio hours until that date, and you are not billed again. Time already paid for is not refunded pro rata.

Something not working? Troubleshooting — fixes by symptom, from the mic to the DAW light.