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Looper's Delight
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Lindsay: you asked. =) Bear in mind that my setup has been done from a "how can I do this cheaply, preferably with stuff I already have" viewpoint, and may thus be considered an "entry-level" or "budget" solo looping setup, as it were. It also probably doesn't sound as good as other setups. =) Your mileage may vary. I'm currently running a Steinberger Spirit through a Digitech XP300 Space Station into a Line 6 Flextone. The effects send on the amp goes to a Digitech RDS 3.6 set for 100% wet output. The effect output goes to the mixer; the dry output goes to a Boomerang, and then to the mixer. The Boomerang's aux out (loop sound only) goes to a Digitech XP400 reverb pedal (being used as a volume pedal only), into a Digitech S100 rack multi-effects unit (this looping setup made possible by Digitech....), and into the mixer, which is (don't laugh too hard) a Radio Shack passive 4-channel in mono mode. The mixer output feeds the Flextone's effects return. The way I generally use all this stuff: the RDS is used mostly for ambient background and "special effect" loops, taking advantage of the unit's ability to pitch-shift loops by tweaking the delay time. I might scratch the strings with my pick, for example, and then double or triple the delay time for a "barking dogs of hell" sort of sound. This sort of application means that I don't have to worry about trying to sync with the Boomerang, which is primarily used for rhythmic and longer atmospheric loops. Most of my stuff tends to build from arpeggiated or volume-swelled chord sequences or metal-wannabe riffs; the latter are fun to drop an octave for nasty industrial sounds. My personal feeling is that, while shorter-delay loopers are good at what they do, a serious solo looper should have a good long-delay box in their setup: an EDP, JamMan, Boomerang, or Repeater. One could make the argument that the Headrush and DL4 should also be included in this list, although I ended up replacing my Headrush with the 'Rang because I found that it wasn't flexible enough for my needs. Again, YMMV. Loop music recommendations: You've got Frisell covered, apparently. I highly recommend David Torn's work (my personal introduction to looping), particularly _What Means Solid, Traveler?_ and the new Splattercell disc (DT's duo with ex-Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun). Robert Fripp's Soundscaping albums are more ambient and less satisfying to me personally, but there are lots of Fripp fans on the LD list who can sing his praises. If you prefer a more band-oriented sound, Polytown (featuring Mr. Torn) is a good choice. Robby Aceto's album _Code_ is a wonderful piece of work using looping in a more rock-band-oriented context (I'm dying to get my hands on the one disc by Aceto's band Red Letter). Also, explore other repetitive musics besides those specifically made by loop-device-users. Some inspiration listening for me lately has been Nine Inch Nails' _The Fragile_ and a collection of Native American music. Enjoy! Scott Martin coirbidh_99@yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/