Cycler - first test run

[Rainer Straschill <moinsound@googlemail.com>]

I tested this Cycler thing. Some of my findings may be inaccurate due
to lack of documentation, so here goes:
For whom it may concern, I tested on a WinXP x64 platform with RME
HDSP hardware.

GENERAL CONCEPT:
Cycler is a multi-track, multi-layer looper which seems to be
optimized for tempo-based material. About "multi-layer": from the way
it is displayed on the screen, it seems that subsequent overdubs are
recorded into additional samples which are played back together - so
you can always undo properly. However, there doesn't seem to be a way
to selectively remove specific overdubs (but this understanding of the
concept may be inaccurate).

There are eight individual loopers, which share a common tempo based
on the first looper: after you record your first loop using the
typical "record-record" procedure, a bpm tempo is extracted from this
and then used for all other loopers, where you specifiy the loop
length in number of bars.

There's an effects section, where you can assign virtual stompboxes to
each looper and pre-looper. There's the usual variety of effects
(delay, flanger, chorus, distortion), of which the time-based effects
can be synced to the bpm tempo, and a tricky one called "mini blocks"
which will playback granular sections of the loop and allows for some
very tricky rhythmic loop mangling.

The user interface is a little baffling to me: first of all, while
some functions are accessible by mouse or a button, others seem to be
available only via MIDI (like recording a loop). Fortunately, you can
also use your keyboard to assign keys to those functions via a learn
function.

There's a concept of "users" (and I don't know what that means - only
that they can be assigned to control the various loops independently -
perhaps for two guys with MIDI controllers controlling one instance of
this software?), and then there's commands which work per loop and
others which work on the currently selected loop. While this makes
sense that you might want to be available to hit "reverse" for several
tracks at one while you only record to one track at a time, this makes
working a little counterintutive at times - and more, why can't you
"undo" on any track you like without selecting it first?

While were at it, a few more points of critizism in no particular order:
While the "audio settings" dialogue allows you to select your audio
interface and in case of ASIO interfaces, select the channels you want
to use, this does not seem to work: with my HDSP, I was only able to
use input channels 1 and 2. Also, the channel selecting dialogue is a
little buggy.

While the user interface in general looks rather "normal", the effects
are displayed as virtual stompboxes. While this does look cool, it is
my personal experience that screen real estate and readability are an
issue, and so a screen component which has grey writing in script on a
bright orange housing model and uses 80% of the used screen real
estate for displaying oldskool knobs, LED housings etc. does not make
sense.

In rounding this off, Cycler seems to me more of a performance sampler
than what the ambient/sound design crowd understands as a looper. You
can't adjust feedback, no first loop capability except for the first
loop etc. On the other hand, a clearly laid out multi-track interface
(together with waveform dsiplay on the screen!) will probably work
very well with DJ-kind of use. This is especially true if you want to
avoid to setup a complex software construct (e.g. Mobius in Live or
similar) and just make use of the looper and its built-in effects.

It will remain to be seen how and where this software will find a
place in the loop world. From how I currently work, this is "not for
me" so to speak, but I'm sure that a lot of the more
song/dance-oriented artists may find a use for it.

              Rainer