Re: looping other people...

[Richard Zvonar <zvonar@zvonar.com>]

At 8:30 AM -0400 7/1/02, Hedewa7@aol.com wrote:
>sometimes i'm the one making the original bleeping that's being 
>looped, and at other times i'm looping other sources --- inputs from 
>microphones on the sax-ist, the drummer, bassist, singer, etc.....


At 6:14 PM +0100 7/1/02, Steve Lawson wrote:
>I did the recently with vibraphonist Orphy Robinson - I ran his MALLET KAT
>MIDI vibes thingie into my loop set up, and tweaked away - it was great 
>fun,
>and when we play live, I'm thinking of having a line from the MALLET KAT
>into my raven labs DI, so I can bring it in and out when I want to to loop
>bits in with my bass nonsense...


Aside from the occasional solo gig where I process prerecorded 
material, all of my performances are based on sampling and processing 
of other performers. The setup varies somewhat, but normally is built 
around a mixer with multiple effects sends and several processors.

I did this for several years (1982-85) with Diamanda Galas, using two 
DDLs, an Eventide Harmonizer, and digital reverb. In this case there 
was no looping (except on one of the prerecorded backing tapes), but 
there was a certain amount of cross-routing of the effects. I 
returned all the effects outputs to mixer inputs, so that I could 
send one effect to another via the effects sends. The main outputs 
generally went to a quad surround speaker system. We used four 
microphones, and these were often sent individually to separate 
processors. Mics were also spatially assigned for some pieces. On 
"Eyes Without Blood" AKA "Les yeux sans sang" AKA "Wild Women With 
Steakknives" three stand mics were arranged in a small triangle. The 
left mic went to the left front speaker and the right mic to the 
right speaker; the top (center) mic went to the rear speaker(s). The 
left and right mics were individually assigned to DDLs and the 
returns of these delays were assigned to the opposite speakers (left 
mic to left speaker and to DDL1; DDL1 output to right speaker). The 
hand-held mic went to all speakers.

Performances with bassist Robert Black used a smaller setup, usually 
an Eventide H3000 and one or two TC2290 sampler/delays, with 
everything controlled from a Max patch and fader boxes. The 
processing was generally more extreme than with Diamanda and was much 
more freely improvised. In these performances looping and processing 
with long delays were common.

A couple projects with the Philadelphia new music ensemble Relache 
used a method of sending selected inputs to a Fairlight Voicetracker, 
so rather than imposing effects processing on the instrumental sounds 
I would generate a derived synthesizer voice that tracked the source 
with varying degrees of accuracy. Sometimes I'd send an instrument 
signal into a reverb and then to the Voicetracker, introducing a kind 
of "pitch memory" to the VT's response.

My setup with Cosmic Debris (late '90s) used a pair of Eventides fed 
by signals from the rest of the band (actor, flute, keyboard synths, 
percussion loops, sometimes bass). The processing in this case was 
all over the DSP map, but looping and sampling were prominent in 
certain pieces. Signal routing was accomplished with a sort of 
backwards patching of an old Mackie 1604 mixer. I'd send the Alt 3-4 
outputs to the house mix, which allowed me to audition my post-fader 
effects without sending either the source or the effects to the mix. 
Then when I was ready I would assign the effect to Alt.


Processing other people can be challenging both on a technical and 
aesthetic level and on an interpersonal level. Most people just don't 
like their performance to be messed with; others treat it as a 
delightful opportunity.
-- 

______________________________________________________________
Richard Zvonar, PhD
(818) 788-2202
http://www.zvonar.com
http://RZCybernetics.com
http://www.cybmotion.com/aliaszone
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