R: What I'd love from a next-generation looper

["Stefano Voulaz" <voulaz@korg.it>]

Hy boyz (and girls, o'course!)...
There are many things I'd like to see in a next generation looper...BTW,
here are some thoughts about what Len mentioned.

1) Volume/Pedals/Switches/Fade. Right, volume pedals are not always the 
best
thing, especially when playing in a band. It would be rather simple, 
though,
to build a (hardware) programmable pedalboard with switches and 
preregulated
volumes. I would be able to do so, as many other hardware-oriented guys. So
you may ask to a friend that knows about soldering and DIY. No problem.
Fading would be, IMHO, quite simple too (using capacitors and few
electronics), BUT there is a problem, specifically with the EDP. (Kim,
please correct if wrong). The input for the pedal has a *bad* response to
low levels, because there is a base level under which every value (read:
position of the pedal) is read as none (completely off). Given that this is
a design issue (a reasonable choice, indeed), there is NO way to do a 
smooth
fade in/out using the pedal. You'll always get steps at start/end (when the
gate in opened/closed there is actually an audible step in the levels).
Here's why I'd like a lot a fade in/out *software* feature on the EDP!
(LoopIII 5.1? eh eh eh...)

2) Changing tempo. This (technically called *time stretching*) is a 
feasible
thing, but it requires a lot (really a lot) of computing power, in order to
be made in real time. The processor of the EDP simply cannot stand such
algorythms. That's a really interesting thing, but you'll find it on much
more expensive devices (or on personal computers: I've just seen ACID from
Sonic Foundry at the Musikmesse...).

Hope this helps...
Ciao!
The Looping Uncle 8^)#