Echoplex reverse for fun and profit, was Re: EH 16 Bob s page

[Kim Flint <kflint@annihilist.com>]

At 4:36 PM -0800 11/24/99, Clifford@BienAppraisers wrote:
>   I would love to see  reverse in EDP easier to access, 

ah, it is easy to access on the echoplex! The Insert button is really more
of a multi-purpose button. It can be set to do other stuff besides Insert,
like Reverse! You set it's function with the "InsertMode" parameter. With
it set to Reverse, you have instant reverse access by tapping the Insert
button!

Here are some fun reverse tricks on the echoplex:

- After recording a loop, reverse it and then overdub new stuff. Then you
have forward and backwards stuff in the loop.

- "Sustain" a section by tapping reverse repeatedly over it. So you go back
and forth over some little snippet of sound. Pause a moment for the loop to
move to a new section, then do it some more. Nice way to improvise with the
data in the loop.

- Immediately reverse a loop after recording. You can actually end the
recording of a loop with another function, to start that one immediately.
This is really cool with reverse. So you tap Record, play something into
the loop, Tap reverse and it immediately loops backwards! This is
especially cool with sustained piano or guitar chords. While in record,
hold the chord as it fades out, then tap reverse to have it rise back up to
it's attack. It's a cool decrescendo-crescendo effect!

- Just the reverse, ma'am.... turn mix all the way to loop. put feedback
all the way down. Press record and play something, end with a Reverse tap.
What you played only comes out in reverse, and just plays once. A great way
to do live reverse effects, with arbitrarily long reversed phrases. The
audience only hears the reversed bit, which makes it a little cooler.
People will say you are ripping of Jimi and you will laugh with glee. You
can also do this by having a loop recorded and leaving Overdub on, with
feedback all the way down. It's a little easier, cause you just tap the
reverse each time you play something, one button press instead of two. The
feedback will erase most of it as you go, so you don't get all kinds of
random stuff, just what you played. Sometimes little bits get left in there
with this method, and pop out later. That's why I like the record-reverse
way better.

- Quantized reversing. With quantize on, reverse only engages exactly at
the end of the loop. This way you can have stuff play backwards while
staying in time with other stuff going on. Reveresed and still in time and
in rhythm is pretty cooll....

- That badass hip-hop reversed drum trick, except you'll do it Live! Have
your sequencer play a drum loop, and send midi clock to the echoplex.
(echoplex has sync=in, quantize=on). Start with the mix knob on direct.
Record the drum loop into the echoplex, in sync, so both plex and sequencer
are playing the same thing. Tap reverse on the plex, it will quantize, so
the echoplex will have the drum loop playing backwards, but in time with
the sequencer. Now! go nuts with that Mix knob! Use it like a crossfader on
a dj mixer (or use the crossfade on a dj mixer if you have one), to
selectively mix in backwards drum hits! It's important to listen to the
rhythm, to do it in time rather than randomly. With quick flicks of the mix
knob, you can easily replace a forward snare with a reveresed snare, have a
few beats or measures backwards, etc. The kids will be real impressed.

- Tap reverse while in the middle of overdubbing something! Yes, the
echoplex doesn't care, it keeps recording your overdubs while you go
backwards and forwards. crazy.

- End multiplies with reverse. Yes, just like the Record-reverse trick, you
can do Multiply-Reverse. That'll keep 'em guessing. You're multiplying a
loop while adding a long phrase over the top, then suddenly it's all going
backwards. In the current software, it unfortunately forces an unrounded
multiply when you do this, which takes away the cycle counts. (which
doesn't effect the stuff recorded during the multiply, just the green
counter.) We figured out a way to optimize that bit of real-time code, so
in the future it will keep the cycles. Still very useful, even so!

- multiply a reversing loop. Just another handy idea, yep you can use the
other functions while in reverse. The multiple counter even counts down!

- and? who else wants to share their reversed trickery?

That ought to keep you busy in between stuffing yourselves full of
thanksgiving feast! (if you're out of the US, by all means join in our
holiday and have a huge dinner thursday, what the hell...:-)

kim

______________________________________________________________________
Kim Flint                   | Looper's Delight
kflint@annihilist.com       | http://www.annihilist.com/loop/loop.html
http://www.annihilist.com/  |