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Looper's Delight
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>Thanks for your informative post about the Zoom 508 but the LoOpDoctOrs >must take issue with this destructive notion that looping is largely in >the >realm of the studio. We want equipment that words LIVE and in the studio. >We are not happy with the mindset that produces technology that can only >be >accessed if you "have the instructions." While I'm all for cheap, all-powerful gear that doesn't require me to read the manual, I'm also aware of the many limitations that manufacturers face in trying to make these products economically viable. When it comes to making digital software/hardware "intuitive", I'd love to hear some concrete suggestions for implementing an intuitive way to crossfade between three odd-length loops while replacing the second multiple of the third loop with an inverted copy of the first multiple of the third loop. I also think that live looping applications closely resemble moving the studio onstage. > >We are excited about both the Jamman and Echoplex, however, at the same >time, we are deeply disgruntled with the state of their ergonomic art (and >we mean by that the cumulative impact of firmware/software/and >hardware)...and feel strongly that the "studio" mentality has contributed >to some of the mistakes in design that make these pieces more difficult to >use live then they need be. > >We will be elated when the people responsible for designing the next >generation of loopers become as thoughtful about the real world live >application of their creations as say Steve Klein was when he designed his >incredible electric guitar, or the Steinway family was when they produced >the grandest of grand pianos It's a small miracle that we have the looping tools that we have, given the tiny, tiny, market that exists for loopage gear. The fact that the ergonomics of the instruments (JamMan, Echoplex, Boomerang, etc) may not be up to the standards of a $3000 custom electric guitar (the Klein), a device with a physical heritage stretching back hundreds of years, doesn't surprise or disappoint me. > >In short, here's a test: put a Klein guitar or a Steinway piano in front >of >a five year old who has never SEEN a guitar or a piano before. With both >instruments that said five year old will immediately get it. He will sit >down and begin strumming or plunking away, and he will accomplish this >because the Klein guitar and the Steinway piano have been adapted to make >music with the human mind and body (even a tiny one). Now put the Zoom >508 >pedal in front of that same five year old...within a very short time he >will throw it across the room. Yeah, but try having him restring or tune either instrument. The Klein and the Steinway are simple analog devices, from a user standpoint. Start string vibrate. Change pitch of string. Repeat as desired. How about handing them a saxaphone and seeing what they can make of it? Or a 24-track tape recorder? > >In short, the Loopdoctors while not starving exactly, remain darn hungry >when it comes to looper ergonomics. And we still think that when dug up >in >future archeological expeditions, Zoom products will be mistaken for >windshield scrapers, arch supports, or tax notarization devices, rather >then what the nominally intended to be...music makers for real human >beings. Or even music makers for those who refer to themselves in the third person. In closing, for $135 it's great. Every dollar that you spend to make it more roadworthy or add knobs will be a dollar less spent on the delay. Travis Hartnett