Re: ReCycle, Loop Slicing, Looperlative.... (was: ReCycle, LoopSlicing, GURU)

[Mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 11:04 AM +0100 11/5/07, Per Boysen wrote:
>>Jeffrey Larson wrote:
>>>REX2 is a file format for storing "beat sliced" loops.  It has nothing
>>>to do with pitch shifting.  Beat sliced loops can be played back with
>>>special software to achieve a form of time stretch, changing the tempo
>>>without changing the pitch.  Basically loops are cut up into multiple
>>>"slices", typically with a slice for each beat or fraction of a beat.
>>>To change the tempo, the playback software shifts each slice closer
>>>together (to speed up) or farther apart (to slow down).  This works
>>>well for percussive loops with obvious beats and slices carefully
>>>designed so they don't cut off sustained notes.  It doesn't work well
>>>for non-percussive loops such as a legato horn line.
>
>On 5 nov 2007, at 10.08, andy butler wrote:
>>Sounds like a fantastic feature to put in a looper.
>
>Yes, I fully agree with that!

Me too!  I wonder if Bob and CPR have considered doing anything 
similar to this with the Looperlative.  After all, the Scramble 
function is already based in part on similar functionality.

With the LP-1's Scramble, the loop is divided up into a number of 
"slices" which are then randomly reordered.  So the Looperlative can 
already divide the loop up into chunks that can be manipulated.  For 
REX-like functionality, you'd just need to insert a delay in-between 
the playback of each of the slices (without re-ordering, of course; 
or, well, I guess you could do both if you really wanted).

As always, the difficulty would be in the actual use, which is why, I 
think, REX is almost always implemented as a studio (rather than 
performance) tool.  Even with drumbeats, you'd have to play in an 
extremely disciplined manner.  If you recorded, then sliced, a beat 
with any tempo variation to it -- rushing or dragging to add feel -- 
it wouldn't sync properly at the slice points.  You might end up with 
a kick and half the snare in one slice, while the second half of the 
snare continues in the next slice.

Still, I think you could do some really interesting things with 
larger slices.  Think of a phrase made up of 8 evenly-spaced notes. 
Slice the loop into four slices (two notes per slice), then delay 
each slices playback by the equivalent of one note.  Now you've 
instantly added a triplet or "three" feel to the loop, since the 
phrase now consists of a series of two notes followed by a one note 
rest.  I'm sure there are lotsa other fun things you could do with 
the timing too (not to mention a possible solution for Per's eternal 
quest to add subtle timing variations to a loop in realtime ;)

I wonder how much they've considered building on that functionality....

        --m.
-- 
_____
"the wind in my heart; the dust in my head...."