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Re: flexible looper in small package



 > From: "Travis Hartnett" <travishartnett@gmail.com>
 >
 > Yet, after several years of software loopers, they don't seem to be
 > planned out much better than the dedicated hardware boxes.

Well, that's debatable, but something to consider here is that unless
you fit into the Ableton Live school of looping, there aren't any
"manufacturers" of software loopers, with the possible exception of
PSP and their Lexicon emulators.  Mostly there are people building
something for their own use and publishing it as shareware.  The sad
fact is that there is *no* market for software loopers, so there
is very little incentive to do anything great.  Believe me, I would be
happy to be proved wrong on this.

 > I've seen very little evidence that there's been much research on the
 > part of manufacturers as to what makes a great looper (and what makes
 > a frustrating one).

I don't doubt this.  But I am curious, how many people in the world
actually care about going into overdub after record or any other
"fundamental" looping features we hold so dear?  A thousand?
Probably.  Ten thousand?  Small markets are difficult to please.
Big companies just don't care, they want to move as
many units as possible to the lowest common denominator.

Kim Flint wrote:
 > That question really is:
 >
 > "do you want a user interface carefully designed for the task
 >  of performance looping?"
 >
 > or
 >
 > "do you want a user interface carefully designed for businessmen
 >  giving PowerPoint presentations in hotel conference rooms?"

If we're talking about user interface as being the pixels you see on a
screen, and what happens when you step on a MIDI footswitch, I don't
agree there is a significant difference.

If the "struggle" musicians have is dealing with a fragile concoction
built around a laptop rather than slapping a DL-4 on the floor, then I
agree.  And you're right that Dell and Apple aren't going to do
anything about that.  Repackaging the components in a more rugged
enclosure isn't rocket science, but it's a tough business to be in
because the market is so small.  It will probably take someone like
Korg or Roland to make it mainstream, and that won't happen for
a long time.

Jeff