RE: Looping with a Band

[Mark@asisoftware.com (Mark Kata)]

I played in a Top 40 band from 1983 to 1991 and tried several times to 
introduce looping.

My efforts were unsuccessful for the following reasons:

1.  The drummer was the timekeeper.  He would not alter his tempo to a 
machine under any circumstances.  For example,  I programmed the 8-note 
sequence from "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie into an old Korg 
Poly 800.  The drummer did the count off and I pressed the start button 
and kept my hand on the sequencer's tempo control.  It was very rare for 
the drummer and sequencer to play in time together.

2.  The drummer refused to listen to a click track.

In light of these problems, I decided to let the 8-note sequence play at a 
steady speed that I thought was right.  It just floated around the 
drummer.  As soon as the verse started I faded the sequence out.

Another solution I arrived at was to sample the last note or chord of a 
song into a digital delay with its feedback/regeneration control set to 
100 percent.  When the other band members stopped playing, I cranked the 
delay time knob, causing the pitch of my last note or chord to slide up.  
This always caused several people on the dance floor to go, "Whoaaaaa," 
with their voices sliding upward like the sound from my digital delay.

My best suggestion is to find a SYMPATHETIC drummer.

Mark Kata
Mark@asisoftware.com