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Looper's Delight
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oh, Kim again... I had no idea you did all this (apart form testing :-)... can we hear a result on some CD project or so? Thanks Matthias >At 05:15 PM 1/15/98 -0300, Matthias Grob wrote: > >>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. > >I use the quantize function a lot these days. Originally I liked it >because >it helped me execute functions more accurately while playing guitar. I >don't >play guitar with loops so much these days (or much at all actually), I'm >following some muse into more percussively oriented electronic dance >music. >It's organized in the sense that you are often concerned about >maintaining a >beat and keeping things aligned according to measure and section, which >means a heavy use of midi clock for syncing. In my case the planned aspect >mostly ends there, as I'm experimenting with taking a more improvised >approach to it rather than sequencing every last millisecond. But I still >want to keep the tempo and beat steady, and not have those things fly out >of >my control. > >For this, quantized loop functions are great. It's very easy to record >things played in real time and get a loop sync'd with the sequence and >aligned with the first beat of the pattern. Since I'm also manipulating >the >mixer or effects parameters, or triggering drum samples or something, it's >incredibly handy to be able to press the record or multiply or whatever >function when it is convenient, and know that it is going to come in >exactly >when it is supposed to. I can finish the function in the same way, by >pressing when it is convenient, and the plex ends the function quantized >to >the end of the sequenced patterns. I can then go about manipulating this >loop, effecting it, mixing it in and out, generally terrorizing it, but >keeping it in time the way I want. > >As an example, I have the loopers on aux sends of the mixer, synced to >midi >clock from a sequencer. I like to take a loop of the drums and reverse it, >mixing the reverse in and out with the original. First I start the >sequence >and then record a loop of its output, which is very convenient because >everything is sync'd and quantized to the first beat of the pattern. I >just >hit record any time, and it starts at the right moment. I hit it again >when >I've got as much as I want, and it waits to end of the measure to end for >me. Easy! The two are sync'd, aligned, running along next to each other. >Then I hit reverse on the echoplex. The quantizing waits to the end of the >measure before reversing the loop. So now the reversed drums are going, >still sync'd to the original and aligned to the measures. Then I go nuts >with the faders, bringing reversed drum hits in and out, using quick >crossfades between the two, or whatever, creating a new pattern of reverse >and forward drums. > >I might then use multiply to add some real-time playing to the loop, put >it >back forwards, and mix between the new loop and the old pattern. Or change >patterns, or whatever. I'll use NextLoop to record several different loops >like this, and it's all quantized and in time with the clock and lined up >with other echoplexes and the sequencer. I can do quantized switches >between >all the loops, while mostly concentrating on the mixer, effects, and >playing, and it all stays in time where I want it. There's tons of >possibilities, and I'm only just beginning to explore it with a rather >rudimentary setup. Without quantize I would never be able to execute the >loop functions perfectly enough to keep it all together. With quantize >it's >a snap, and I can concentrate on doing other things while the looper does >it's job on it's own. > >As a more advanced technique, I also like to set the echoplexes to time >signatures different from the sequence and each other. Then I capture the >drum pattern from the sequencer in different time signatures, and run it >next to the original. So I might have the original in 4/4 and the loop in >13/8. Running them next to each other gives a constantly shifting rhythm >pattern that can be very interesting. By controlling the mix you can >easily >change which one dominates, effectively morphing from one time signature >to >another. Quantize is again a life saver here, because I can execute loop >functions without the beat getting out of whack. What's also interesting >is >the quantize point changes against the original sequence. It's still in >time, just at a different beat each time through. So you can keep things >evolving. > >so anyway, I'm a quantizing fan! > >now back to the boring work.... > >kim >________________________________________________________ >Kim Flint 408-752-9284 >Mpact System Engineering kflint@chromatic.com >Chromatic Research http://www.chromatic.com