AW: Guidance In Buying First Loop Machine - the short version

["Rainer Thelonius Balthasar Straschill" <rs@moinlabs.de>]

Bill,
 
First let me welcome you aboard. My advice will no doubt be far from
complete, so be prepared to do some additional research on your own:

I don't know of a dedicated hardware looping device which fulfills all of
your requirements. 

If we start off (without any claim of completeness) with a matrix of the hw
loopers which fulfill at least one of your requirements, this might look
like this:

                         1  2  3  4
EDP%                    (X) X  X (X)
Repeater                 X  X  X  X
DD20               X
DL4                   X
TC2290*            X     X
DT Jamman                X  X
RC20XL                X  X  X
Looperlative+      X  X  X  X

Comments: 
%: The EDP does not do stereo per se, but two EDPs can be synced to work
seamlessly in stereo. Of course, this means double the cost. Saving of 
loops
is done via MIDI sample dump - meaning it cannot save the loops on its own
(without a sequencer or MIDI data recorder).
*: This is for the variant with memory expansion (like the ones Fripp did
use). The standard memory is I think good for 4 seconds...
+: Not released yet. See the archives here for some discussion.

So the devices which meet all of your requirements are the Repeater, the
Looperlative and (with the drawback of the saving option) a pair of EDPs.
Price-wise, the EDP is close to $1k (or was when it was still available -
and I guess you could prepare to pay at least the same for a used one), so
the $2k for a pair would be out of your range. Same goes for the Repeater,
which is currently only available second-hand, and which had been sold for
prices below your limit when it was still available, but second-hand prices
seem to be above your limit as well (close to a single EDP). The target for
the (not yet available) Looperlative is the former EDP price - which is 
also
out of your price range.

To cut a long story short: no options for you, sorry >;-). Either prepare 
to
pay more, or to get less. Perhaps you might take another look at your 
matrix
and decide what you could live with (or without). If you could install some
stereoizing effects in your signal path behind the looper, the RC20XL would
be just what you want - with a price of (I think) under $400.

        Rainer

ps: after writing this, I found I'm not really sure if the RC20XL is stereo
or not. Somebody?


________________________________

        Von: Bill Campbell [mailto:grassysound@comcast.net] 
        Gesendet: Mittwoch, 4. Januar 2006 02:39
        An: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
        Betreff: Guidance In Buying First Loop Machine
        
        
        Hello there!  This is my first posting, though I've long been a
frequent visitor to Looper's Delight.  I'm interested in purchasing a
looper, as I'm a guitarist looking to build soundscapes via volume swells,
stereo panning, etc.  I'm looking to spend around $600.  I'd like a device
that allows for the following:
         
        1-STEREO loops.  This is crucial.  I'm not remotely interested in a
machine that plays back loops in mono
        2-Reverse capability.  Though not essential, I'd like a device that
allows for loops to be played in reverse.
        3-Loop time.  This is more of a query than anything else.  I see
some machines that seem to have good qualities, yet only 15-30 seconds of
time per loop.  On the surface, this seems a bit short.  Is there anything
on the market that allows for more time without much degradation in the
original signal?
        4-Ability to save loops.  
         
        A friend has the DigiTech JamMan, which has many of the features 
I'm
interested in, with one major drawback: no stereo loops!  With these
thoughts in mind (which are admittedly a bit cluttered), what devices would
you recommend?  Many many thanks in advance, fellow loopers!!
         
        Bill