RE: Considering building an ultimate looper...

["GORDIUS info" <info@gordius.be>]

I'd like to add one question to this :
What kind of (physical) volume control device do you target, Bob? Something
else than a foot pedal? 
I'm asking, because I am currently testing out a new design for a
MIDI-controlled foot pedal. And to me it seems that the "physical range" of
a standard foot pedal is no more than 7 bit. I mean : I have trouble making
small enough movements to change the control value with 1 single step in 
the
128-value range. Therefore I believe a 10-bit ADC wouldn't make any sense
when using a footpedal, but maybe you have another type of controller in
mind? 

(if you intend to manipulate the linear footpedal range and make it a
non-linear transition curve, I would believe you will get much better
results just using a 7-bit to n-bit lookup table in firmware, rather than
doing it with some analog signal manipulation followed by 10-bit AD
conversion). 

Xavier
http://www.gordius.be 


-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffrey Larson [mailto:jeff@zonemobius.com] 
Sent: zaterdag 17 februari 2007 23:35
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Considering building an ultimate looper...

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