RABid Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 I've had loopers built into guitar pedals for ages but never found single track loopers to be of interest. Watched a video of someone using a Boss MC-505 and found it very interesting. It has 5 tracks of looping. Could be fun with a synth, a modular, or a collection of instruments. This may be my next toy. By the way, does anyone know what the stringed instrument on the stand is? Wondering if it is some type of electric cello? [video:youtube] Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 I Wondering if it is some type of electric cello? Looks like an NS electric cello - especially the pattern of the dot markers. https://thinkns.com/instrument/ns-design-electric-cello/ I have a hardware machine capable of multi-track looping - the Elektron Octatrack Mk. I. It requires a separate MIDI controller if you want to trigger functions like record, playback, etc. with your feet. I've played a few live shows with it. I don't go out of my way to recommend it though as a live looper. The steps that are needed to set it up are more than what the typical customer is prepared for - by "typical" I mean the type of person who would be happier with an MC-505 or one of the tc electronic Ditto models. People also balk at the 80MB RAM size and price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted March 6, 2021 Author Share Posted March 6, 2021 I actually had the Octatrack and never really connected with it. It was an amazing machine but not spontaneous and fun. To me it was something that took planning and work to get the amazing stuff out of it. Had most all of the Elektrons but have been purging them off with plans to keep Digitakt and Digitone to use with my MC-707. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted March 6, 2021 Author Share Posted March 6, 2021 I Wondering if it is some type of electric cello? Looks like an NS electric cello - especially the pattern of the dot markers. https://thinkns.com/instrument/ns-design-electric-cello/ .... THAT'S IT! And not as expensive as I expected. Quote This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 I actually had the Octatrack and never really connected with it. It was an amazing machine but not spontaneous and fun. To me it was something that took planning and work to get the amazing stuff out of it. I've had fun with mine but I can't deny the amount of effort that it took to get to that happy place with it as a machine to use for improvised live looping. For this year, my plan is to learn to use the Arranger mode for putting various elements - samples of live instrument playing, MIDI sequence patterns, etc. - into structured compositions. I also use Empress Zoia and Chase Bliss MOOD for some live looping - more for improvising and exploring ideas than finishing a piece of music. There are several looper patches on Patchstorage for Zoia, and some of those are muiti-track, but because the Zoia is such an open-ended pedal, you have to learn the interface for each patch - like which of the 3 footswitches to use for what function in the patch, and there isn't necessarily consistency in switch assignments. Some use the left switch to record/overdub. Some use the center or right switch. MOOD is really meant more for micro-looping - so working with very short loops for granular stuff. The one time I went to NAMM, I briefly chatted with Ned Steinberger and his crew at NS Design. They pointed out the dot maker pattern to me. The introduction of the NXTa series and WAV series indeed put their instruments into a lot more hands, thanks to the lower prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aellison62 Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 What about a Squarp Pyramid sequencer? I"ve seen it used as a multi track looper. Seems rather easy. Quote Kurzweil Forte 7, Mojo 61, Yamaha P-125, Kronos X61, Nautilus 73 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Matt Johnson jamming to his new Octatrack. I think he's using it more as a drum machine than as a live looper but maybe somebody will enjoy this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Vocalists use these pedals a lot to build a up a song live or parts the band will accompany them with. Thana Alexa use one for horn like parts live and additional vocal sections. Below is Cyrille whose been doing it for years then Thana Alexa has videos and I've seen others doing it. [video:youtube] [video:youtube] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImproKeys Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I occasionally use a Boss RC 505 5 channel looper with my keyboards. I connected a FCB 1010 MIDI foot controller to it to control it. It is fun to sketch ideas, but somehow I feel stuck in the loop ;-) and always switch to DAW for more detailed work. Reinhardt's videos are a very rich ressource. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
area51recording Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I've got a few of buddies around here who gig pretty much exclusively with a looper, especially in these Black Plague 2.0 times. A couple of them are guitar picker/singer types, and one dude is an EXTREMELY talented multi instrumentalist (Sax, EWI, guitar, bass). Before lockdown I would go see them playing around, and the necessity of every tune having a 2-3 minute buildup of the background elements before the actual SONG started, for me at least, got a little old after a while. I found myself coming away from the performance more admiring how clever the concept was rather than how great the musical experience was....I think in small doses interspersed throughout the evening it comes off better..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franz Schiller Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I've been avoiding videos of the Moog One, because I knew it would be painful seeing a synth made of pure unobtainium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I've been avoiding videos of the Moog One, because I knew it would be painful seeing a synth made of pure unobtainium. Unobtainium, new word for my vocabulary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I also know a talented vocalist/multi-instrumentalist who uses an RC-505 for live looping. Very useful tool indeed for those folks. If you like to modulate to other keys though, it's a challenge to use an audio looper. This is one area where a MIDI looper - as mentioned previously by someone - has an advantage over audio loopers, as well as the obvious one of being able to change sounds by simply changing a synth preset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3plyr Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Take a look at the Singular Sound Aeros Loop Studio. 6 tracks and a bunch more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp-the-nerd Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 For casual playing, I like the simplicity of my RC-3 pedal. It's a single track looper with built-in rhythm section and stereo in/out, plus aux in. I may play around with running a mixer into the pedal to really get creative, but now it's set up with my minilogue XD >> SV-1 >> looper >> amp, which lets me bounce between instruments when I'm playing around. The RC-3 is pretty feature-rich, so it's flexible for a single track, but I definitely run into the limitations sometimes. I'd love to get a multi-track looper one day when I have extra money just burning a hole in my pocket. Even the RC-202 would open up a lot more possibilities. Quote Keyboards: Nord Electro 6D 73, Korg SV-1 88, Minilogue XD, Yamaha YPG-625 Bonus: Boss RC-3 Loopstation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piano39 Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 I use Digitech JamMan loopers. The cool thing about these pedals is that you can run a sync cable between them, so one pedal is the master, and the others are slaves. If you are clever, you can add and subtract layers between the multiple pedals. You can also get creative with the audio patching-- run 'em in series, or send different keyboard to each pedal. In pre-pandemic days, there were occasional shows locally with loopers only. I played a few sets with these, using my Motif, etc. Most of the loop players are guitarists covering pop songs. Most people (myself included) are not proficient enough to switch loops between chorus and verses, so you basically get to hear one groove. I agree with the post that said it can get tiring to hear an evening of this, because every song has a one or two minute buildup. Anyway, back to the Digitechs. The sync option allows you to sync up with other players. I have done this at jam sessions, where other players also had the Digitechs. Loop pedals are really fun. I wish there was a midi looper, which would allow you to record loops on different midi channels. The sequencer on my Motif XF is almost there. If you didn't have to stop the sequencer to record on another track...... I meander and digress. Quote Yamaha Motif XF6, Yamaha AN200, Logic Pro X, Arturia Microbrute, Behringer Model D, Yamaha UX-3 Acoustic Piano, assorted homemade synth modules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docbop Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 Janek Gwizdala has been doing the looping thing for years both as one man shows and as part of playing in groups. I find it interesting how he uses to basic looper pedals and then bounces a loop over to the second pedal to add another section. He loves pedals and get do some really interesting stuff. [video:youtube] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovernorSilver Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 Loop pedals are really fun. I wish there was a midi looper, which would allow you to record loops on different midi channels. Bastl Midilooper can loop on 3 MIDI channels. https://bastl-instruments.com/instruments/midilooper I think Arturia Keystep 37 can MIDI loop on multiple channels but I haven't looked too closely - only used mine as a controller for my Roland MC-101. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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