Re: Repeater vs EDP

[Andre LaFosse <altruist@earthlink.net>]

Here we go again...  :()

Stuart, I don't want to reiterate what everyone else has already said,
but I would make the following remarks:

I think the Repeater is great, and it's wonderful that there's another
powerful, dedicated loop box on the market that's expanding the way
people think of looping.  I don't have any problem with the Repeater, or
Electrix, or the people who use the Repeater.  What I DO take exception
to is the attitude that the Repeater can, or would, "blow away" the EDP
due to its being "more sophisticated in design."

On the surface level, it's an easy assumption to make: true stereo,
multiple tracks, data storage and retrieval, digital output,
pitch-shifting, time-stretching...  these are things the EDP doesn't
have (nor does ANY hardware device of which I'm aware which was first
manufactured in 1993/1994).

What the EDP DOES have is an incredibly deep and innovative
architecture, the design for which is pretty unique to itself, with
features that have never been duplicated in other units.

In other words, if you tell someone, "The Repeater has four simultaneous
tracks, timestretching, and pitch-shifting," people can visualize how
those things work and sound in their mind's ear.

But if you tell someone, "The EDP LoopIV upgrade now has Unrounded
Multiply and Rounded Insert=SUS available via MIDI independently of the
given Quantization mode, and Cycle+Confirm Switch-Quantization," you're
going to get a lot of blank stares from people who don't know about the
EDP's architecture.

I've been using an EDP for about six and a half year, and I'm only now
starting to fully wrap my head around its potential.  The Repeater is
wonderful, no doubt, and my fingers are crossed that Electrix can
somehow keep things together long enough to continue to develop and
evolve their OS.  

But to assume that the Repeater OS would "blow away" the very different
(and incredibly deep) EDP OS is simply not an informed comment to make
from someone like yourself, who I don't believe has ever even used an
EDP in the first place.  

I say this very respectfully, because I like the work I've heard you do.
 But because you're good at what you do, and because you take looping so
seriously, I think it's that much more important that you have a solid
understanding about the full scope of the available products prior to
making judgement calls like this.

Anyway... rant over.  I hope you can afford an EDP in the near future.  :)

--Andre LaFosse
http://www.altruistmusic.com