Re: the dt challenge

[Mark Sottilaro <sine@zerocrossing.net>]

I did buy the Repeater for it's possible "live" uses (I've not gig'd in 
years,
but my recordings are mostly improvised and therefore need gear that can 
react in
"realtime")  So far, other than one time when I got a "CFC SLOW" message, 
I've
been mostly happy.  Getting the unit to cue up a new loop and go into 
record and
having the ability to kill the input to the output, will pretty much take 
care of
my issues.  That sounds like future software updates as far as I can tell.
Sounds like the cue up a new loop into record is a feature that was 
removed from
the beta version for some reason.  Hopefully Electrix will add it back.

As far as the CFC issues go,  I think that most CFC manufactures probably 
don't
care much about having a great speed spec.  Since digital cameras are the 
main
use at this point, performance doesn't matter too much.  Maybe now, that 
this and
other devices start using CFC technology, manufactures will develop faster
cards.  Sure, they'll cost more, but I've paid more for SCSI hard drives 
for
years to get that extra performance.

I keep hearing about the Repeater being a "hardware" version of ACID, and 
while
it shares some of it's cool features, it adds a major one that I feel puts 
it in
a new category.  Realtime audio recording.  If ACID could record what I'm 
doing
and loop it in real time, my guess is I'd be using ACID and a laptop 
instead of a
Repeater right now.  It doesn't so I don't.  This makes the Repeater a live
looper, as far as I can see.

So is it perfect?  No, but it sure is close, imo.  If I had only $600 or so
dollars to spend on a looper (which I did) I'd do what I did, which is get 
a
Repeater.  The hardware of the Echoplex has not changed in years, as far 
as I can
see.  Memory is cheap now, processors are faster.  If I were Gibson, I'd 
have a
stereo Echoplex on the drawing board, with some modern memory format.  If 
it were
non volatile, all the better.  Why not put a gig of memory (about $150 in 
today's
retail prices) in a looper (instead of the Repeater's measily 8 meg) and a 
zip
disk so that loops could be easily saved to when needed?  Then the 
Echoplex would
be the überlooper.

Mark Sottilaro

Kim Flint wrote:

> At 10:10 PM 9/9/2001, Hedewa7@aol.com wrote:
> > >It also does this "not ready" thing when you are in play and try to 
>jump in
> > >and out of overdub quickly several times in a row. This is a 
>technique I
> > >like a lot.
> >me, too.
> >w/'record/replace' (as opposed to 'overdub'), as well.
>
> right. unfortunately that way gives you "not ready" also if you go to 
>quick
> for it.
>
> >meanwhile, k:
> >is there anything ya like about the unit, at this juncture?
> >dt / s-c
>
> Fair enough question! I can be a tough critic. Just ask Matthias. He's 
>put
> up with me thrashing every minute detail of the EDP for years. :-)
>
> So, the all-positive kim repeater review:
>
> The function I immediately loved in Repeater was Slip. Kind of 
>unexpected,
> because on the surface it almost sounds boring. You can shift tracks in
> time against the others. But it did exactly what I thought it would do, 
>it
> was really easy to use and figure out, and it was a lot of fun. No
> frustrations at all, and useful too! I can take a part on a given track 
>and
> pull it a little ahead and behind the beat, giving different rhythmic
> feels. I like that. Or clean it up a bit rhythmically if it was a little
> sloppy. Or move it to a completely different spot against the other 
>tracks
> and really change up the feel. Also, you can tie tracks together or move
> them independently, all of which I was able to figure out in seconds
> without looking at the manual. Very satisfying.
>
> Even in simple ways this is eye-opening. (or ear-opening.)  For example, 
>I
> have a simple 2 bar hip-hoppish drum groove on one track, and some lame
> whole note jazz guitar chords on another track. I put them down quick to
> try out some other functions, so it's kinda dorky sounding. I was
> rhythmically spot on with my first chord, but the second was a little 
>late.
> Bugs me. With Slip I can pull the thing a little bit, so the first chord 
>is
> a little ahead of the beat and the second is right on. Much better! It 
>fits
> the feel of the hip hop groove. Or even better, I took the whole guitar
> part and shifted it backwards in relation to the drums to hear what it
> sounds like when starting from different eighth notes. For whatever 
>reason,
> my ears are insisting that the big whole note chords represent the
> downbeat, irregardless of what the drums are doing. So fine, I accept 
>that.
> When I got the first chord at the 'and' of two on the first bar of the
> drums, bam! My dork hip-hop drum groove became as funky as hell there! I
> never would have thought of a drum pattern like that, and it is exactly 
>the
> same except shifted by a beat and a half against what I'm now thinking of
> as the down beat. Now that is a useful function!
>
> I think that speaks to what Repeater is really useful as. A 
>self-contained,
> loop-based 4-track recorder. (like it says on the box.) Looking at the
> feature set, the industrial design, the manual, etc, I think that is 
>really
> what it was designed to be. Like Acid or Sonar in a box, or a simple,
> self-contained remix environment. No need for a computer or big mixing
> console or whatever. Everything you need to do that is right there.
> Storage, simple mixing and routing functions, an assortment of I/O 
>options,
> four tracks, a few features found in common plug-ins and audio sequencer
> programs (pitch shifting, time stretch, slip, etc.), familiar
> tape-transport interface, etc.
>
> I think that is all great for a couple of reasons. One is it makes for a
> simplified studio that is easy to use for people who don't want to deal
> with a computer based setup with a lot of extra outboard gear. Second, I
> think the looping approach is really useful for recording applications. 
>It
> really helps you sketch out ideas and quickly find what works, especially
> if you compose loop oriented music with static loops (like most dance 
>music
> these days). Repeater makes it really easy to throw different ideas
> together, different samples and live played bits, and while they loop you
> can try different effects, different mixes, change a part, try different
> tempo, different pitch, screw around with the rhythm, take a part out, 
>put
> it back, etc. For the price, it does these things really well.
>
> If you saw the Repeater advertising and didn't get past "4 tracks" and
> "looper" and immediately had visions of the ultimate performance-oriented
> real-time looper, or the uber-echoplex, get ready for disappointment. (of
> your own doing, imho, cause you didn't read the rest of the details....)
> That's clearly not the point of the Repeater. When you hold the Repeater 
>up
> against the Echoplex, or even the Boomerang or JamMan for the real-time,
> performance oriented looping functionality where those boxes shine, the
> Repeater just falls on it's face. Likewise, when you hold those boxes up
> against the recording studio functionality of the Repeater, they fall 
>over
> too! It just isn't the same kind of thing.
>
> Sure, Repeater does a few things those don't do, and you could use 
>Repeater
> in a real-time performance looping application and get some good mileage
> out of it. But that's not the soul of this beast, and so the list of 
>basic
> real-time loop functions that it doesn't do is pretty long.
>
> It seems like Electrix made some effort to add some features like that in
> the Repeater, probably due to people on this list throwing ideas and
> questions at them from left field. But that really isn't it's strong 
>point
> at all, and the lack of depth in those functions makes that clear.
> Likewise, if you thought Repeater was a sampler, it isn't. If you thought
> it would replace a roland VP-9000, it won't.
>
> Think "Recording", think "Studio", think "elegant and self-contained",
> think "Acid in hardware", think "loop-based recorder", think "economical"
> and I think you will get the idea, and you will really enjoy using the
> Repeater.
>
> There, better?
>
> now I will go back to being my usual surly, cynical, and harshly-critical
> self.
>  >:->
>
> kim
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> Kim Flint                     | Looper's Delight
> kflint@loopers-delight.com    | http://www.loopers-delight.com