re:Hello and RE: DOD FX-98

["Bret Moreland" <Bret_Moreland@maxtor.com>]

Ken wrote:

Hi everyone, my name is Ken Fletcher, and I've been lurking for over a
week here and enjoying all the conversations.  I'm more of a tape artist
and audio collagist than a live-gig-type musician.
--------

Welcome Ken.  Audio collagist, I like that phrase.  I never heard it put 
so succinctly.  I do this also, but never realized how to describe it.

Sorry I can't give you advice about the single tape machine loop.  

The 2 deck looping arrangement you describe I can describe. The tape goes 
from machine 1 - supply reel, through the entry tape guides, across the 
heads (erase, record, & playback), through the exit tape guides across the 
room to machine 2 which is aligned to allow the tape to go across the tape 
entry guides, across the heads, through the exit tape guides to the 
take-up reel.  Support the spanning tape with pencils (held horizontally), 
coat hangers or whatever else you can find around the house (that isn't 
magnetic).  The tape feeds from machine 1 to machine 2, distance provides 
the loop (via delay and regen) length.  The loop quality degrades as 
regenerated, the feedback to machine 1 can be controlled with volume pedal 
to allow fading out old loop.

Machine 1 records, machine 2 playback.  Feed some of the playback from 
machine 2 to input of machine 1, mixed with your input to machine 1.  Thus 
you get a long loop, and regeneration of input to machine 1.  You probably 
want to mix some of the input to machine 1 to your monitor so you can hear 
it as it occurs (not just delayed).

Thanks to modern inventions like the plex and jamman (and to their 
brilliant creators!), we don't have to struggle with the above Rube 
Goldberg methods to get looped.

regards,
bret