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Re: all this talk of looping has made me hungry



In a message dated 2/1/2003 11:04:26 AM Mountain Standard Time, evanmeyers@yahoo.com writes:

as with anything, i get better with the repeater over
time and practice. however, when using it with a live
non-looping band, i haven't figured out a good way to
compensate for the natural energy or vibe of a band
that causes music to gradually (and often unnoticably)
increase in tempo.


This is the #1 reason i did not keep my POS (boomerang) and waited to get the EDPs!

I have played with a few drummers that are pretty good at it...

I usually have a drum machine synced to my master EDP and in something for only the drummer to hear, (like a combo or a monitor) the drum machine has a tambourine or a handclap or something in that fashion on the 2 and 4, or the 5 and 9 depending on how badly you want to scrutinize what I'm telling you...

The drummer can adjust the volume to his / her liking, and keep the bands meter in check...

One other thing i have found is to take some time to help the band understand what is happening and why...

When we do this, everyone understands by a cue i give that means they need to pay attention and lock into the loop!

I just open my mouth to each member prior to the action and mouth words really big
L O O P.... and they really seem to pick up on it! ;)

COMMUNICATION it works really well ... just do it before, during, and after the performance!

The more mature the players, usually the more eager they are to find ways to make it work!

One other tip:

For all the musicians that i play with when i use looping, i tell them that we need to practice...

not practice looping, but practice how to maintain and modify when the loop goes terribly wrong, like if the machine does something that i didn't expect, or if i just applied too much human error! 90% just the conversation itself makes all the difference necessary! when people are ready and aware that a problem could arise, it has been very easy to maintain our composure and be able to drive right through the train wrecks...

The coolest way i have seen loopers stay synced is FELLOW loopers playing together... Andre, Rick, Steve, and Michael are all very well versed in looping tech ... so each was very aware and listened extremely well ... the night i saw them nothing was synced, and there were no clicks!

Those guys are brutal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!