So given that my band is having a few problems with getting the bass player, we have been doing some gigs acoustically. It's kind of gone ok, but we are beginning to think that the ideal is maybe just to do our remaining gigs as a duo (me and the singer).
I have a couple of months before the next run of gigs and would like to look at looping. I have the basic digitech one and the singer has an RC-30 which she has leant me. Now as I normally just use a looper to great simple chordal backings for practice it's giving me quite a lot to think about.
The first thing is do all Loopers automatically go straight from recording the 1st pass into the overdub for the 2nd? this doesn't make sense to me. I want to record my 1st pass, get into the groove for the 2nd loop, then record it.
As most songs require more than 1 chord sequence it seems the looper is best used to create some percusive backing.
Are then any loopers that work like a multi track rather than a stack? eg 1 create an inital 4 pass loop, but then want to remove loops 2&3 but leave 1&4 running.
I've been checking out the ususal suspects (ed Sheeran, KT tunstall, Howie Day etc) and they seem to generally just build, build, build..
anyone got any good tips for thinking about how to create good loops
Is there a no.1 looper? The RC-30 seems ok, but I am not finding it massively intuitive and a worried about remembering all these pedal tap combos on the fly... RC-300 looks huuuuuge...
Comments
Lots of questions, I'll go through one at a time.
"The first thing is do all Loopers automatically go straight from recording the 1st pass into the overdub for the 2nd? this doesn't make sense to me. I want to record my 1st pass, get into the groove for the 2nd loop, then record it. "
No they don't. The DL4 has separate footswitches - when recording a loop, if you press 'record' again it will loop but continue recording, if you press 'play' it will loop and stop recording. Both useful in different situations.
With the SoloXT, you have to preset the mode to 'RPD' (record/play/dub) or 'RDP' (record/dub/play) referring to the operation of the single footswitch with multiple presses as you record a loop - the former will loop and stop recording, the latter will loop and continue recording.
"Are then any loopers that work like a multi track rather than a stack? eg 1 create an inital 4 pass loop, but then want to remove loops 2&3 but leave 1&4 running."
Yes. The big boss (RC300?) will do three separate synchronised loops. I think the EHX looper will do two stereo or four mono, with slider volumes like a mini-mixer. The daddy of loopers, though, would appear to be the Pigtronix Infinity which will do multiple different configurations of two stereo loops for both sequential and synchronous loops (and much more, besides).
"anyone got any good tips for thinking about how to create good loops"
My best tip is to make sure you get a 'feel' for the operation of the footswitch - different designs respond differently under the foot (this was very noticable when I moved from the DL4's button switches to the SoloXT's treadle switch). Relaxation is key - it is very common to 'snatch' at the switching and ruin your timing. My big tip is to practice tapping you foot in a relaxed and even way when playing. When looping, 'air tap' your foot in time over the footswitch and, when you want to actually start or finish a loop, just extend that same foot motion a little further so that you hit the switch. Proper footwear can be an issue as well - too thick a sole and you can't really get a feel for what you're doing but I also find socks/bare feet a problem too due to the uneveness of sole of the foot. I like to wear tai chi slippers which seem to have the right balance between stiffness and feel.
No Silver Bullets. No Free Lunch. These remain fundamental truths.
But it is worth doing and is very creative once you master the tools.
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I use a Pigtronix Infinity. You can set it to Record / Play / Overdub or Record / Overdub / Play. It's very intuitive and has 2 loops that can be a multiple of lengths of each other. However I just use mine in series mode. Play a verse riff on loop one, then press loop 2 for a chorus or break and it records it on the 2nd track. Then if you are improvising you can change between them when you like rather than having a set sequence that does not change.
There is no quantisation. I've never had a looper with this function (Zoom G3, Headrush E2 and Infinity). I played a Boss RC-3 once and I think it had this on. Perhaps you can turn it off but it was doing something I didn't like, I can tap my foot in time and don't want the looper making decisions for me. Furthermore, there was a lot of background noise, it was very off putting. However, I didn't look into whether this was the unit or another issue (in line pwer conditioner for the broadband or something).
But quantisation is something that may be a factor.
I've never had a problem with the timing from the first time I used a looper (although everybody gets a dodgy loop occationally). I always tap my foot in time when playing though, if you don't do that already you have to almost learn 2 things at once, foot discipline and working a looper. It's funny when you look at some people feet they tap against the beat. My father-in-law taps almost randomly, I can't play if I see his foot moving as it's off putting. He'd need a lot of work to operate a looper.
If your foot is already in time or you can do it easily, it's just practise to make good positive steps on the beats you need.
There's things I've had, there's things I wanna have"
Certainly one to consider if you pursue this looping malarkey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO7F_-cmqNo