another approach to looping

[John McIntyre <mcintyre@pa.msu.edu>]

I understand the emphasis on hardware here, and I use a lot of loops in
my solo
playing and with my electronic band Mutually Assured Destruction.  But
with my
rock band the Dangerous Shoe, I approach looping in a way I don't
remember
anyone else discussing here.  I play bass guitar with the Shoe, and I
play loops
rather than using machines.  This provides subtle variations as it's
almost impossible
to play a loop exactly the same all the time (at least it is for me
(-8).  Syncing up
to the rest of the band is easier than trying to get a machine's loop
time to match,
and it's easier to adjust when the jam mutates.  Of course, it does help
that we
have another bass player to handle the "real" (read: more conventional)
bass parts,
leaving me free to loop and drone.

Does anybody else here play loops rather than machine them?

John McIntyre
Physics - Astronomy Domine Dept
Michigan State University
mcintyre@pa.msu.edu