Re: New "Virtual Repeater" Software Announced...

[Per Boysen <perboysen@gmail.com>]

Great write-up, Jeff! I wasn't hinting at "time-stretching the Mobius  
output inside VRP" though, since that is obviously not possible. What  
I meant by them being "a strong combo" is that you can set Mobius as  
the tempo master and if looping mainly on Mobius master track, this  
gives you a very good way of dynamically controlling tempo changes by  
destructively working the (master track) Mobius loop with those  
powerful Record-Record, Multiply-Record actions.

At least for me, the option of using that looping technique again  
(since I had the physical EDP/Repeater combo in the past) is the main  
selling point in the VRP.

Per


> > Under Windows you would be able to run Mobius as a VST plug-in  
> inside
> > the VRP host. That would give you all the EDP power plus the few
> > strong points added by the Repeater.

On 16 aug 2007, at 02.15, Jeffrey Larson wrote:

> The main feature that sets the Repeater apart from other hardware/ 
> software
> devices is its "time stretching" ability, or as discussed in another
> thread the ability to do ritardondo and accelerando without changing
> the pitch.  Technically this is a combination of a "rate shift" where
> you change the speed of the loop loop plus a compensating pitch shift
> where you bring the rate adjusted loop back to its original pitch.
>
> The problem with putting another looper inside the VPR is that
> anything that changes the playback rate can only be applied to a loop
> recorded in the VPR.  You won't magically get time stretch of a
> loop recorded in the other looper.
>
> The VST routing in the VPR is unclear but I would bet that you can
> patch a VST as a "track insert" at the input or the output to a
> VPR track.  This is similar to what you would do in Bidule patching
> in a reverb before or after the hosted looper.
>
> If you want to use Mobius for example to build up a loop with EDP- 
> style
> functions, the VPR isn't actually playing anything, it is just
> being a host and routing the Mobius output to the audio device.
>
> You can't apply time stretch to the output of a plugin in real time,
> the plugin output first has to be recorded into a static VPR loop,
> then the VPR can time stretch that loop.
>
> Here's an example.  Suppose Mobius is playing a loop.  If you were to
> somehow apply a 1/2 speed time stretch the VPR would only be sending
> things to the audio device at 1/2 the rate that Mobius is sending.
> Mobius doesn't know anything about this and keeps sending at its  
> normal
> rate.  If mobius sends 1 second of audio it takes 2 seconds for the
> VPR to play this, meanwhile Mobius keeps sending more audio.
> The VPR would have to have have an infinitely large buffer to save
> the Mobius output until it is finally ready to play it.
>
> Another example, Mobius is playing a loop and the VPR is set to speed
> up the loop by 2.  Mobius sends 1 second of audio but the VPR is
> done playing that in 1/2 second.  The VPR needs more but Mobius
> isn't ready to send yet, you will get a gap in the VPR output.
>
> This can only work if you use the VPR like Ableton Live, hosting
> Mobius on one track and letting it be in complete control over
> what is playing.  Then on a different track record directly into
> the VPR without Mobius and use the time stretching features on that.
>
> Or, you could build up a loop in Mobius and record a section
> of that into a VPR loop, similar to bounce recording.  Then
> stop Mobius and start time stretching the VPR loop.
>
> To combine time stretch with real-time loop manipulation
> like overdub, SUSInsert, Retrigger, etc.  both functions
> have to be done in the same looper.
>
> Jeff
>

Greetings from Sweden

Per Boysen
www.boysen.se (Swedish)
www.looproom.com (international)