Real-Time Online Music Collaboration: Lutefish Review & Demo

Real-time online music sessions are gaining traction, offering musicians a new way to collaborate and learn. The proposition of efficient online work is attracting musicians of all levels, with lessons, rehearsals, band onboarding, and even reunions now taking place virtually using technology that aims to replicate the experience of playing in the same room.

More Authentic Online Lessons

Music education has long utilized the internet, but recent advancements are unlocking its full potential. Murphy Karges, a current music educator and former bassist and songwriter for Sugar Ray, has built an elite bass education program that is primarily conducted online. After decades of touring and writing hits like “Fly,” Karges sought to create a personable teaching experience with direct instruction and feedback for his students.

However, Karges found that typical video call apps fell short. “You can show somebody something over Zoom and it’s a bit detached,” he explains, acknowledging that it can work for some things. He needed a solution designed for music, recognizing that real-time musical collaboration demands a faster, more responsive connection than platforms built for business meetings. Slight delays can disrupt synchronization and disorient musicians.

Karges chose Lutefish, a platform utilizing a hardware device to bridge the gap between instruments and the internet. “I chose it because it’s a simpler model than the others. Some of the other ones don’t even have a physical device. I looked at them all. And some look sketchy, like a hacker’s website. Lutefish is a tangible physical device you use, and you plug in, it sits on your desk, and it’s fairly simple to operate.”

Lutefish’s responsive connection and high-quality audio inputs create a convincing experience, according to Karges. “My students and members feel like I’m sitting right next to them, in the room, going over the exact thing they need… either right or wrong, in real time.”

A Busy Band’s Dream

Working bands are also benefiting from remote sessions. Trip To The Morgue, a SoCal thrash band, needed to add a new guitarist while navigating a new record deal and a rigorous touring schedule. Remote rehearsals with Lutefish proved to be the solution. Guitarist James Patrick McCosar explains that they were able to practice with new member Jamison “JJ” Jackson via Lutefish, and Jackson played a live gig with them in Las Vegas just three weeks later.

“Let’s be honest, making it in the music business nowadays requires bands to be tight, sound cohesive, and play like you’ve been together for years,” asserts McCosar. “Lutefish is like a shortcut. You skip travel time, random practice room challenges, and scheduling nightmares. With Lutefish, the only limitation is your time and dedication.”

Getting the Band Back Together

Scott Walker reunited his college band for a retirement show after nearly four decades apart. With band members scattered across Florida and the Carolinas, in-person rehearsals were impractical. Walker turned to Lutefish, enabling weekly online rehearsals that proved crucial to their preparation. The show, he recalls, went off without a hitch, and the band sounded remarkably cohesive.

“Being able to actually play music together in real time was the game-changer,” Walker adds. “The Lutefish network makes latency tolerable, and the experience forces you to simulate a real performance by standing, playing, singing, and managing sounds. It’s the next best thing to being in the same room.”

The Challenges of Remote Music Platforms

The primary obstacle to remote music collaboration has historically been internet latency. For a functional session, musicians need to hear each other within approximately 40 milliseconds. Achieving this requires a fast and stable internet connection. According to the FCC’s most recent data, average latency for fiber internet is around 10 milliseconds, and for cable, around 18 milliseconds, providing sufficient headroom for online rehearsals.

The development of Lutefish was spurred by the convergence of improved internet infrastructure and a growing demand for a dedicated remote music platform. Backed by Wenger Corporation, a long-standing music industry manufacturer, Lutefish debuted in November 2024, offering a stable and supported solution for musicians seeking to collaborate remotely. It works well, sounds good, and feels like playing music with someone in the same room, despite being up to 500 miles apart. It’s a potentially transformative tool for the music industry.