freedom, syncing and quantization

[matthias@bahianet.com.br (Matthias Grob)]

Kim said a while ago:

>The issue of rhythmic freedom vs. various degrees of synchronization is a
>fundamental problem with multiple loops, I think. The effort involved in
>making these features musically useful on the echoplex was huge, but worth
>it. Basically, you have to give the musician the option to choose. And the
>musician should be able to make the decision on the fly, with a minimal
>amount of setup. Some musicians (like Matthias) do not want any
>synchronization, insisting that they always be free to tap the lengths
>wherever they please. And some, (like me sometimes) want precise
>synchronization, allowing for polyrhythmic relationships. And most times,
>different types of music and different situations just call for one or the
>other. Tough challenge for the designer!

Definitally.
I see at least three different levels, interesting for users that might not
be aware of:

Free:
Everything happens exactly when you hit the button.

Rounded:
Everything starts exactly when you hit, but stops, when the timing is in
some relation to the existing material, so the loop continues consistently.

Quantized:
Everything happens at a predefined moment, like the end of the loop, or at
a sync signal coming. This means that operation has to be antecipated.

The first level I imagined sutable for totaly free music. Its the easiest
to program.

My personal preference is the second. I cannot stand to wait for some
quantization mark that might not coincide with my perception of the loop I
am listening too. But I want to stay in the rhythm of a previous loop in
case I create a bigger one around it or with a brother in case of playing
together.
The biggest effort was to allow a somewhat late operation with round-down.
This allows the user to hit on the spot in his perception and any human
inacuracy is corrected. The unit then has to correct all that happened and
reconstruct as if the user had really hit on the spot.
All the Undos of the function are done on this base, and were the most
complicated to program: To stay in time but let it happen immediately means
to figure out where we would be in the loop if the user would not have
called the function he undoes now and immediately jump there. In the LOOP
delay those Undos where resolved on the quantize base, which is much
simpler.
In the next upgrade, SyncRecording (a Record to a external MIDI or Brother
tempo) will be available rounded, not just quantized as now. Much handyer,
I think.

Does anyone use the Quantize feature of the Plex? (I understood there is a
equivalent on the JamMan with a name I do not remember)
I guess Q level it mainly interesting to work in planned "organized" music,
where you treat bars and measures.

There could be several Q levels, like referenced to loop end or cycle end
or beat...

Anyone... ?

Matthias