Re: [looper's] RE: electronic feedback loop

[Adrian Likins <alikins@redhat.com>]

On Mon, Jan 06, 2003 at 06:27:56PM -0000, goddard.duncan@mtvne.com wrote:
> >>the loop is, itself, the instrument.....<<
> 
> it'll work best, this non-acoustic feedback, if there are a few places 
>in the
> closed circuit where group delay (the timing of certain frequencies w/
> respect to others), amplitude, frequency response, delay &c can be 
>interfered
> with. that said, I'd like to get one of those behringer feedback 
>destroyers
> looking up it's own fundament for a laugh.
> 
        
        I like this idea a lot. I often experiment with this kind of
stuff via the mixing board approach and find it to be great fun. I first
started trying it after scrounging up info about how the "harsh noise"
folks (merzbow and such...) made such obnoxious over the top noise.
(obnoxious in the best possible ways ;->)

        Turns out this kind of feedback approach is fairly central
to the sound, at least for a lot of that genres practitioners. And
it's a hell of a lot of fun. 

        http://www.harshnoise.com has tons of gear reviews, alot
of which are oriented towards "what sounds cool in a feedback loop". 
Fun reading. 

        Simple approach is to feedback aux or effect sends into
input channels on a mixer. Lots of flexibility in how things route
that way. An even simpler approach is just a couple well placed
"two 1/4 inch mono to one 1/4 inch mono" adaptors from Radio
Shack. Put one at the end of a loop to split, and one at
the front to "mix". One output at the end goes back to one of
the inputs, and the other to amp/mixer/etc. Not much control
over levels that way, so not much subtlety, but it's quick
and easy. 

        And of course, this is a great way to create very
interesting textures to feed/catch into a looper. 

Adrian