Shinerfan Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Hey everybody, I live down in the US Virgin Islands, so unfortunately I'm unable to try anything out before buying and having it shipped here. I am placing an order with Musician's Friend for some badly-needed new equipment, and one of the things I am seriously interested in is a looping device - i.e. being able to click the pedal, record a riff, have it loop, and sample more riffs and have them sync/play on top of the other tracks. Right now, I am looking at two items: - Digitech GNX3 - Boss RC-20 Loop Station My question is this: I am in interested in the GNX for it's recording features and effects - the looping is also very important, however. I need to know if it would be worth buying the separate dedicated looping station/pedal or if the GNX3 will do what I need it to. Looping is important for me to be able to easily use just to jam alone with. Is the looping on the GNX3 a PITA to use? Has anybody used both the Digitech and the Boss Loop Station? The Loop Stations is almost 300 bones - if it's worth spending the money for ease of use and quality, I will do so. If anybody can advise on the advantages of the Boss and whether it's worth sacrificing the extra money for the features, please let me know! Thanks for the advice in advance! Guitar Player from the VI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 The one that kept coming up in research I did is the Boomerang. Can be had for about $380 if you shop. For live play, it was heralded. I keep wondering if anything else beats it. > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teahead Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 I would advise against the Boss/Roland RC-20 Loopstation for live use. I have one and whilst the ten memory banks are extremely useful and the sound on sound recording is of great quality, it's less than perfect as far as timing goes. It can be very tricky to get the recording started and stopped at precisely the right moments. It can be a bit of a tone-sucker too. I've found the Line 6 Delay Modeler and its fourteen second looping facility to be more than adequate for my needs. Much smoother transition from live to sample too, with an easier to activate recording switch, true-bypass and sixteen delay models included into the bargain! It doesn't store loops, so if that's what you need then you'll have to look elsewhere. If you want to be really "off the wall" then check out Z Vex and his Lo-Fi Loop-Junkie creation. If money is no option, check out Gibsons Echoplex. Big price tag, but you get the ultimate in live looping experience. Hope some of this helps! Feel free to ask anything you like about the RC-20, I only pointed out the problems I had with the unit, it is exceedingly versatile with the memory, mic inputs and beats. Could be just what you need and if so, there's very little competition in that price range. Tea. Pedal Clips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Digitech has just recently come out with a GNX4, just so you know! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/icons/icon2.gifHere's a link for you, to the official Digitech website . http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/icons/icon2.gif Here's another link, to Looper\'s Delight , the place on the internet for info on all things in the loop-pool. It's kind of the 'Harmony Central' of looping, only probably more reliable and acurate! Good luck, and keep us all posted on how things go! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teahead Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Yeah, also tell us more about yout intended use for said looping device. Is it for home use or stage? As a creative tool or a good way of replicating stored presets for harmonies and the like? Tea. Pedal Clips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Originally posted by Shinerfan: "...one of the things I am seriously interested in is a looping device - i.e. being able to click the pedal, record a riff, have it loop, and sample more riffs and have them sync/play on top of the other tracks." "Looping is important for me to be able to easily use just to jam alone with."Hey, Shinerfan- I think that you'll be able to do enough of what you want with the GNX3 or GNX4, from what I've read. I still need to try one out for myself. As long as you're going to order from Musician's Fiend, give 'em a call and ask if the GNX3 or GNX4 will definitely do multiple "dubs", that is, sound-on-sound where you can enter addittional sound on top of the already repeating loop. I would expect it to be so, but, it'd be better to know for sure; also, perhaps the new GNX4 does some things here that the GNX3 doesn't- I'll try to find out, if I come up with anything new I'll be back. (EDIT: As the GNX4 lists "8 Levels of Undo" for the "Jam Man" feature, I think it's safe to say that it will do 'overdub' looping. I think thaqt the GNX3 will also, but, check with a Musician's Friend rep...) As for buying the Boss RC20 Loop Station, if you're going to get the Digitech GNX-3 or -4 anyways, why not try it out and then, if you still feel the need for a separate, dedicated looper- and one at a bargain, I'll add- order the Boss RC20 later on. Do some research, you may also want to consider some of the other loop-capable devices out there. Here's a list of allegedly current "real-time loopers" that I stole from the Looper\'s Delight 'site: Gibson/Oberheim Echoplex Digital Pro Boomerang Phrase Sampler T.C. Electronic 2290 Digital Delay Lexicon MPX-G2 Akai Headrush DJRND3 Line6 DL4 Modeling Delay Red Sound Cycloops Eventide Orville Boss RC-20 Line6 Echo Pro Kyma with Looper Construction Kit TC Electronic D-Two Delay Some caveats apply, such as the fact that the upgrade/expansion for the TC 2290 is no longer available, even though the 2290 itself still is; and users report that the "Jam Man"-delay block on the Lexicon MPXG2 is not quite like having a Lexicon Jam Man (which is, itself, out of production, and commonly seen going for very high prices as a highly saught-after used looping device). Some of these units may also have rather limited delay/looping time, as well. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougsthang Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Caevan is correct in regard to the Lexicon G2..it has the Jam Man functionality built in only it's a limited algorithm. You can record about a 15 second loop with unlimited over dubs. The Jam Man unit you could record foru seperate loops and switch between them. As for the GNX3, you can loop up to eight tracks and have access to those eight tracks at all times. If your really in the market, I'd take a peak at the GNX4 before I bought anything. overheard street personality on Venice Beach "Man, that Bullshit is Bulllshhittt...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougsthang Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 sorry, hti "enter" to early... anyhow, the GNX4 now has Flash card memory whcih increases the on board record time sigificantly. It also has USB I/O with 6 channels of streaming audio, an MP3 decoder (load in backing tracks to jam along with), bundled with Cakewalk Prp Tracks II software (32 stereo recording track software) the Lexicon Pantheon reverb plug in, a smaller version of Acid loops, and Pyro CD burning software. this along with a full blown on board midi drum machine (which you can program, the GNX3 has a drum machine with fixed preset patterns). You never have to touch the computer, you can arm the tracks all from the GNX4 foot controller. Check the website for the full scoop. www.digitech.com overheard street personality on Venice Beach "Man, that Bullshit is Bulllshhittt...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinerfan Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 Thanks for all of the help everybody - I've decided to wait a week for Musician's Friend to have the GNX4 and I'm going to order one. I'm glad you pointed out that it was coming out before I bought the GNX3!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fendercaster Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 anyhow, the GNX4 now has Flash card memory whcih increases the on board record time sigificantly. It also has USB I/O with 6 channels of streaming audio, an MP3 decoder (load in backing tracks to jam along with), bundled with Cakewalk Prp Tracks II software (32 stereo recording track software) the Lexicon Pantheon reverb plug in, a smaller version of Acid loops, and Pyro CD burning software. this along with a full blown on board midi drum machine (which you can program, the GNX3 has a drum machine with fixed preset patterns). You never have to touch the computer, you can arm the tracks all from the GNX4 foot controller. Anybody want to buy an almost new GNX3? I bought it last year, the GNX4 looks so much more versatile for recording, I wish I'd known it was coming out before I bought the 3! My gear: http://fendercaster.freeservers.com/guit3.html If you own two Lexus cars, do you have Lexi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougsthang Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 The GNX3 still rocks and the GNX4 is $200 more.. overheard street personality on Venice Beach "Man, that Bullshit is Bulllshhittt...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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