Re: JamMan Rumors (attempt 2!)

[JOHNPOLLOCK@delphi.com]

Jon wrote, re the Ultimate Looper;

>The big issue is: is there a market out there? So far the returns on
>Jam/Plex etc have indicated not.

I think there is, but fragmented in such a way that communication
with the various elements of the market would be difficult.  There
have to be horn players, violinists, harmonica players, etc. who'd
love to have enough of "their playing, only more of it" to be able
to perform without a band.  There has to be a significant number of
vocalists who'd like to do a Bobby McFerrin-like act, but maybe can't
pull it off without electronic assistance.  And there have to be DJs
who could profit from footswitches and MIDI control.

The issue I see is, how do you reach the imaginative, frustrated
subsets of all these groups, who may be hungry for the right looping
device and not even know it?

Another issue is whether a single box could meet the needs of all or
most potential users, at a price that wouldn't eliminate many of them.
If I were a DJ, I'd certainly want hands-free capability on my phrase
sampler, as well as the ability to mutate a sample rather than merely
repeating it...but the folks marketing phrase samplers don't seem to
see it that way.  And, of course, I'm not a DJ.

But I doubt that any new looper would succeed if marketed only to
guitarists.

John                              mailto:johnpollock@delphi.com
Troubador Tech on the Web--http://people.delphi.com/johnpollock