RE: The New Boomerang? (experiential differences with Line 6 DL4)

[Simran gleason <simran.gleason@Sun.COM>]

> From: "Jonathan Price" <jprice24@hotmail.com>
> Subject: RE: The New Boomerang?
> Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 01:53:47 -0000
> 
> Howdy
> Anybody out there got the 4 minute sample time Boomerang for sale ?  
>(the 
> new one i think...)  I thought i'd ask before i paid retail for it...
> Somebody mentioned to me that the 'Line 6' would sample for longer and 
> sounds better. Does anyone agree or know the reasons why?
> Preciate it
> Jon Price
> 

Hi, I've got both a boomerang and a line 6 DL4. Sorry, I'm not going to
part with my boomerang. I have the old version (will upgrade soon),
though it does have the 4 minute sample time (at half speed == half
resolution == sounds log(.5) better ;-)

I've heard the upgrade gets you a higher resolution sample rate (but
lower time).

The Line 6 has a higher sample rate, and a much lower sample time:  14
seconds at full resolution; 28 seconds at half resolution.

I run them side-by side. I haven't actually done a sound quality
comparison on the same signal, though. What I have had real experience
with is some of the feature differences between the two.

One difference that's plaguing me right now is that the rang has a thru
mute button, while the line 6 does not. (I do wish the thru mute button
had 
an indicator light!) I run them both through aux
sends on my mixer, and when I have the line6 turned up, the signal that
feeds it ends up doubled inthe final mix. This makes some mixes rather
difficult to control.
I would really like the ability to just turn up and down the loop, with
the feeder signal staying the same. I can do this with the boomerang,
but
I usually run both loops at the same time.  

HELP: Does anybody know how to do thru mute on the line 6??

The line 6 has a toggle-able stack function, so I can set it & forget
it and have the unit stay in long-delay-with-feedback mode (oh, if only
I could control the amount of feedback;) The boomerang (v1) has only
keep-pressing-it stack mode (though the upgrade solves that). An
advantage to
that mode is that I can rhythmically turn on and off the stacking, to
get a chopped up effect. This works very nicely with an undulating
sound that I want to give a more staccato attack to. (Quesstion: will
an envelope follower let me do something like that better? If not, what
will? what is an envelope follower?)

The 'rang has a trim knob on the back and a line/inst/mic setting, so I
can use it very effectively in a rig that doesn't use a mixer. THe line
6 doesn't, and I find myself overloading the A/D converters all the
time. (Sounds yucky!)

The line 6 can go battery powered. Not so the rang. (And they both have
AC wall warts, so you can't just duck tape a bunch of batteries
together).

I find myself not using the predelay and all the other goodies that the
line 6 has, mostly for simplicity.

I did a gig at the beach and got sand in my pedalboard box. The line 6
has recessed pots that retain the sand, while the boomerang seems
unfazed by the little bits of silicon dioxide. The line 6's stomp
switches are no longer that reliable, and sometimes activate the wrong
function for me (ever since that fateful beach gig).

Anyways, I'm sure the differences have been discussed ad nauseum. I
thought I'd throw in some things that might not be apparent from the
brochures or even from in-store test drives.

Simran

http://www.mp3.com/Inkstone

ps: I'm new, so I don't quite know the etiquette: do I need to 
    throw in an Ob Againinator to stay on topic?