Re: endings for live performance

["Mark Smart" <marksmartus@gmail.com>]

Well, the way I do a fade-out is to have a volume pedal after the
looper in the chain.

I do jazz, so I've come up with one main trick to do endings. I have
two RC-20's that have pre-recorded drums in them, and this goes into
an Echoplex. I use the RC-20s strictly to play back drum loops, and
the only reason I use 2 is so I will have 22 drum loops available
instead of just 11. The same method could be used with only one drum
loop playback device.

I do a lot of Count Basie type endings like:

Chord with bass+drums --> solo riff without bass & drums --> last
chord with single bass & drums hit

At the beginning I play drums loops out of one of the RC-20s mixed
with a bass sound, and record this all into the Echoplex. Then play
that back, stop the RC-20, and turn the RC-20's select knob with my
foot to its last slot, which contains a one-shot bass drum/cymbal hit
for the last note.

Then I play through the tune, soloing and playing the out-head. On the
last phrase I hit "Mute" on the Echoplex to shut off the recorded
bass/drum loop, play the "Count Basie" riff, and then play a last
chord while simultaneously hitting Play on the RC-20 to play the last
drum hit.

That's the way I do it, but it requires one pedal for drum loop
playback and another for the actual looping. Maybe you could use some
variation of this, I dunno. It took me a long time to figure out any
way to end a tune other than fading out with the volume pedal, at
least one that would sound like something out of the jazz tradition.
It works pretty well.

Check out the "Shiny Stockings" mp3 to hear it:

http://www.marksmart.net/bands/jazzlooping/jazzlooping.html

Here is my setup if you haven't seen it before:

http://www.marksmart.net/gearhack/jazzpedalboard/jazzpedalboard.html#V2

Mark Smart


On 7/19/08, Mike Kilburn <mkilburn@eastlink.ca> wrote:
> Hi
>
> I'm new at this and have only had my Boss RC-2 for a week but I'm hooked 
>and
> 'want more' and of course the more is more features on a looper. I'm 
>looking
> especially for  a looper that can provide for smooth endings to live
> performances – one of which would be 'fade-out'. I believe the RC20 or 50
> may do this.
>
> Any advice on this topic would be helpful.
>
> Mike
>


-- 
Mark Smart
http://cdbaby.com/cd/marksmart
http://www.marksmart.net