RE: Scripting/Command Chaining in the Max/MSP Kaiser Looper

[Jeff Larson <jeff.larson@sailpoint.com>]

> i see. This is very similar to the first max script I created. It shifted
> down very low (much lower than yours, however), rose up, into high 
>pitches,
> and then fell down to normal.  I had another idea last night that I plan 
>to
> implement today, which will be jumpting from two sets of alternative
> continuous pitch changes. It will go from, let's say -24 to -20, and then
> jump erratically to 20 to 24....and then back, etc.

One subtlety with Per's script that you may be missing is that it
doesn't just pitch shift, it is doing rate shifting and overdubbing
(or rather substituting) at the same time.  This is complicated
because you have to apply rate shifting twice in opposite directions.
Say for example you rate shift the loop down a 5 semitones so a C in
the backing loop sounds like a G.  Then you overdub a B.  When you are
combining live audio with the backing loop you need to rate shift the
live audio *up* 5 semitones so that when you return to normal speed
you will hear the overdub in the same harmonic relationship, in this
case the B becomes an E.

This is one of several things that are difficult to do with loopers
that aren't designed with the "tapedeck with feedback head" metaphor.
I don't know how Kaiser looper works, but many software loopers do
"overdubs" just by creating an autonomous parallel loop (what
Mobius would call a track).  This has some nice properties but
it can be hard to control all of the tracks at the same time
to achieve something similar to what EDP/Mobius call "layers".

Jeff