RE: REASONable software looper question

["Paul Weissman" <paul-mailinglists@nioterra.com>]

Just to clear a thing or two up... Reason and Recycle are separate programs
made by the same company.  Recycle is a very simple program that takes 
waves
files and aids you in splitting them up into their rhythmic chunks by using
an algorithm to do transient detection.  Reason is a much deeper (but still
very easy to use!) app that does many things, one of which is reading and
manipulating Recycle generated files.

They are absolutely great together, but you should know that this is not 
the
kind of thing you can use in a live context... Reason does not have 
facility
for working with audio input.  However, it IS a great way to get involved
with software sequencing and sampling and I would thoroughly recommend it 
as
a first step.  You can think of it this way... any amount you learn about
the electronic music tools will translate into useful knowledge that will
help you expand your capabilities as a looper.  Looping is based on
electronic music tools, why not learn about more of them?

If you're interested in software for live application... I would suggest
either NI Reaktor or Ableton Live.  Reaktor is NOT for beginners.  Live is
probably great for anyone.  Check it out at www.ableton.com.

Paul



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dave Trenkel [mailto:improv@peak.org]
> Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2002 11:18 AM
> To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
> Subject: Re: REASONable software looper question
>
>
> >Hi all,
> >
> >I understand there are some Propellerhead Reason users
> >on the list. I'm contemplating taking the plunge into
> >this here software thingy too. Can anybody elaborate
> >on the "Recycle" based looper contained therein --
> >theoretically, practically, usefully? I'm a guitarist,
> >Mac guy . . . be gentle (I scare easily). What might I
> >be able to expect this puppy to be capable of -- or
> >NOT capable of (more'n likely)?
> >
> Ted,
>
> I don't own Reason, but I have used it and recommend it to a lot of
> my clients who are new to sequencing. The great thing about Reason is
> that it's fun and you can get great results very quickly, unlike,
> say, Logic. Great interface, great sound, it's simply an awesome
> piece of software. I don't own a copy because I personally couldn't
> see much that I couldn't do with software/hardware I already own,
> plus I'm one of those eggheads that, when given a choice, tends to
> choose the most difficult path to just about anything.
>
> Recycle works by taking a loop and slicing it up into little pieces.
> Say you have a 1-bar drum loop where something happens on every 16th
> note. Recycle will slice it into 16 pieces, assign each slice to a
> midi note, then generate a midi file that plays back the notes in
> order, and when you play this midi file at the original tempo, the
> loop sounds just like the unsliced version. What's cool about this is
> that you can then play with the tempo, the order of the slices, etc,
> to generate variations on the original loops. Can be loads of fun!