Re: Considering building an ultimate looper...

[Jeffrey Larson <jeff@zonemobius.com>]

Ok, here's some friendly advice.

Be careful tossing out words like "ultimate looper" on this list.  So
far you've described a rather basic looper, except that you seem to
be obsessed with the resolution of the output level control.  In all
the wish lists and product reviews that appear regularly on this list,
this is not a feature that I remember being mentioned.

If you're intending to compete in the hardware looper market, I would
be much more concerned about things like continuous feedback,
synchronization with external MIDI clocks, pitch and rate
shifting, and "editing" functions like insert, multiply, replace, etc.

Second, the insinuation that the Looperlative is not "professional
level" is likely to annoy the many professional level musicians that
use it, as well as the professional level musicians that use other
devices and software with a MIDI volume control.

Quick show of hands.  Does anyone find that their musical ambitions
are being stymied by the resolution of their volume pedal?

I don't doubt that there are devices that could do a better job
smoothing controller changes, or providing a more musically useful
attenuation curve at the top end of the range.  But there are
software solutions to these problems that are quite effective
if not perfect.

I don't mean to sound discouraging, but this strikes me as a rather
odd feature to be focusing on.  Before you start investing money
in this venture, be sure you have a good understanding of the market
for hardware loopers.

Jeff