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Looper's Delight
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Jon, On Jul 27, 2011, at 2:59 PM, Jon Forsyth wrote:
So, here some questions for anyone interested in participating. 1) what aspects of looping do you enjoy the most?
From the very beginning, because much music is based on repeating patterns (of some sort or another anyway), the ability to play something and the delight at hearing it echoed back at me almost immediately - that and the possibility this offers of building up larger and more complicated and/or more interesting "guitarchitectures" (my own word for it).
2) what aspects of looping do you enjoy the least?
Like everyone else, I don't know of anyone who is particularly fond of schlepping gear, or double-checking cable connections, battery status or other aspects of "gremlin hunting." The more complex systems get, particularly for those of us who like to "play the looper as another instrument" in addition ot our first instrument, the more prone to unwanted glitches and faults they can become.
3) what looping tools (including controllers) do you currently use/have used in the past?
I began with tape, and fuddled around with early analog and digital delays before I go my first true looper (actually a pair), the Electro Harmonix 16-Second DDL. From there I bought the early rack mount JamMan, and eventually 2 Echoplex Digital Pros in 1996. I now use a hybrid software system with MaxMSP hosting a pair of Matthias Grob's EchoLoop VSTs that operate as close to exactly like the hardware EDPs as could be desired (plus they are stereo).
4) what are the strengths of these tools?
Well, every piece of hardware has its pro's and cons. And, software does too. I would say that if you use a hardware looper you have the advantage of a dedicated tool with a consistent (if limited) interface and set of capabilities that will last you as long as you manage to take care of it. The world of software is in constant flux. Operating systems change periodically, your Software updates periodically too. Compatibility issues may mean that from time to time some key part of your "rig" has suddenly become obsolete, unsupported or worse, non- functional. I owned and used my Oberheim Echoplexes for 16 years before I sold them. I can hardly imagine using the same software rig unchanged for any longer than a six months at a time. And all that change demands a continual investment of time to "bone up," study and learn the latest versions of you tools.
5) what are the weaknesses of these tools?
Related to the above issues, you come to rely on these things - you have a relationship with them - and then one day they're gone. If you define your artistic identity around the use of a certain piece of finicky/undependable hardware, or transitory ephemeral software that will sooner or later be as outdated as 8-track tapes, you yourself will have a short musical shelf-life. You must constantly adapt.
6) do you modify a loop once it's been created? if so, how?
Yes, backwards, forwards, speed, pitch, various post loop FX, EQ reverb, splice, dice, and glitch.
7) how much planning do you do for a particular performance?
I plan what to take and what elements (FX and other resources) to use. I practice scales, I practice playing with out key parts of my rig (imagining partial failure of some sort) and try to figure out possible plan Bs in the even of the worst. I toss random, unmusical "garbage" into a loop and try to make music out of it. I plan for a certain amount of redundancy in my hybrid hardware/software rig.
8) what form does this planning take? (do you write it down, keep it in your head, etc).
I should write it down - on something other than post-it notes - but I seldom do. As I am now 58 and am starting to lose my marbles a little more each day (LOL) I really ought to keep a notebook. I do take the owners manuals for every complex piece of software or hardware I take.
9) at what level of detail do you plan? (melody, harmony, timbres, dynamics, instrumental techniques, etc.)
In terms of musical planning, I do none - really and truly - none. If I practice something I find that leads to my having specific "expectations" and a greater critical sense that "Gee, that didn't go quite as planned." Or, "Oops, doggone it, I've played another clam." I know it sounds lazy of me, but I find my anxiety level goes way down when I know the audience and I will **both** be hearing whatever happens for the first time. I have more than enough ideas boiling constantly in my brain. I simply prefer to walk on stage and say "1-2-3 go." with an aural tabula rasa before me. I have struggled for may years to overcome my inner "critical nature" and my severe "performance anxiety." It possible may sound totally nuts, but the best thing I ever did was to throw any plan I had out the window.
10) describe your general approach to loop performance.
Make a noise, loop it and listen to it, then make another. I keep doing that as long as it sounds good to me. If I find myself heading down a path I don't like, I change the loop. This works fine if I am doing a solo show. If I am doing a set within a bunch of other sets by other performers (in a festival, for instance), I try to listen to what went immediately before me and do the opposite - to create contrast. If they played loud, I play soft, if they were largely atmospheric, I'll do pointillism, if they played atonal I play something lyrical, if they used steady beats, I will use none.
11) what would the ideal looping system look like? describe it in as much detail as you can (and don't worry about practical concerns).
Something that was completely flexible and user definable (I love MaxMSP), but invisible (I hate gear, pedals, cables, racks, bags, stands, etc.). If it were in my guitar and changed parameters by reading my thoughts . . . or better yet, my emotional responses . . . as long as we are talking about **ideal**.
12) any additional comments?
I think that about does it. Looping is a technique, not a style or genre of music. It is a wonderful enabler of musical creativity. It's been good to be alive in the last 30 years.
If for some reason you don't want your answers to be public, you can send them directly to me.
Nah, I'm an old timer here - been on the list since October of 1996. If I had any shame, it would have surfaced long ago.
Thanks!
Thank you! I'm enjoying everybody else's answers.
Jon
Good to meet you Jon, Best regards, Ted