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Looper's Delight
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Mark Sottilaro covered the MIDI features and other features in greater depth in his review: http://www.loopers-delight.com/tools/eh16II/eh16II_review1.html The following is my own impressions. The user interface is very nice. The blinking LEDs really help a lot, just like Mark reports, especially the ones that blink at the tempo of the loop, so that when you overdub a new loop, it is easy to match what you play to the tempo of the loops that are already running. I also appreciate the signal level LEDs for the Input Gain slider. Set is so the input triggers the green LED but not the orange LED (which signals overload). Very straightforward and helpful, unless one wants intentional distortion. For my little test of the unit, I followed the "quick start" portion of the manual: http://www.loopers-delight.com/tools/eh16II/eh16-manual.html I recorded loops of my guitar and my Saxxy (an electric kazoo sold at Sharper Image stores), following these instructions. The "Fine Tempo" slider is fun to play with in both Tempo-only mode (speed up/slow down the loop without changing pitch) and Pitch&Tempo mode. By combining the use of this slider with the Depth and Speed controls (these two control the built-in chorus/flanger effect which is always on) I quickly got sounds just like Nels Cline. For example, I overdubbed loops of myself playing high notes on the guitar, then slid the Fine slider down to get even higher-pitched sounds just like those old-fashioned music boxes that you wind up. Sliding the Fine control to the other extreme produces dark and scary sounds. Conclusion so far: I find it a very good tool for solo improvisation. I cannot comment on how it would help a pop songwriter type, because that is a different genre. My main concern is how to incorporate a looper into group improvisational situations, especially nonidiomatic free improv a la Derek Bailey. I have been trying to do this with my Line6 DL4, in my role as the "sound alchemist/electronic doodad player", with limited success as I have struggled to get it to respond quickly enough to sudden changes in dynamics, tempi, etc. I have had an easier time incorporating synthesizers with and without computer control (arpeggiators, sequencers). It seems like using the Fine slider to adjust tempo and pitch on the fly will be my main way to use the EH16 in free improv. This seems to be what Cline and Bill Frisell do with their older versions of this device. I will try this at tomorrow night's jam session and see how it goes. If it works out as I hope, I may put up the DL4 on eBay as well as the Line6 expression pedal I bought for the it. Paolo __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail