Re: Anyone messed around with the Boss SL-20?

[Mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 12:39 PM -0500 3/6/10, Ace Ovil wrote:
>On Mar 6, 2010, at 7:56 AM, "Mech" <mech@m3ch.net> wrote:
>>
>>Anything in particular you want to know, though?
>
>Well. One of the things I'm curious about is whether this is 
>something I would want before or after my stereo edp setup in the 
>mixer.

Depends on what kind of effect you're looking to achieve.  Don't 
forget -- as effect chains go -- the last effect in the chain always 
leaves the greatest imprint on the signal.  If you put the slicer 
last, then your whole mix will become a rhythmic pulse reflecting the 
current SL-20 settings.  Also, you'll be limited to a single rhythm, 
since that's all the Slicer can control at one time.

Conversely, if you put it before the EDP, you'll probably have finer 
control on the amount of the effect on each layer of overdubs.  As an 
additional side-effect, you can build up polyrhythms inside the EDP. 
Just record a track using one setting on the SL-20, then reach down 
and change the setting on the Slicer before recording an overdub. 
Experiment with different rhythmic patterns and how they interplay 
with each other on successive overdubs.

>How long is the loop? Is the inboard looper infinite overdub like an 
>rc-20?

The Looper is okay as an extra, but DO NOT buy the SL-20 on this 
feature alone.  I would not compare it to the RC-20, or even the 
RC-2.  In fact, it's really just the "Loop" preset from the Boss 
DD-20 (which is a setting that many of us see as barely useful).

That said, the Looper is really just an add-on function so that a 
guitarist could lay down a sliced rhythmic backing, then solo over 
the top of it.  There is *NO* overdub whatsoever, and in fact, once 
you kick in the Loop Playback most of the other functions become 
inactive so the whole thing reverts to being just a one-shot 
recorder.  Just to be mind-numbingly clear here: you can not loop a 
"sliced" line then record or play any other effected/sliced part over 
the top of it, since all the Slicer functionality becomes completely 
inert once you start the Loop playing back.  The box will be 
effectively frozen and will only pass the direct signal until the 
Loop stops.

Also, the Loop function doesn't work at all if you've got the 
Start/Stop pedal set to "Momentary" mode (which can be kind of fun to 
tap-&-hold sliced lines interactively).  So if you wanted to use 
both, you'd have to stop in the middle of what you're doing and reset 
the pedal using a series of button presses on reboot.

Sucks as a Looper, I know, but it can be useful sometimes for 
recording a quick one-shot loop.  It'll also function while recording 
only the direct signal, so that can be kind of handy in instances 
where you'd like to record a single line and you're not using the 
Slice function at all.  And I guess it's better to have it and not 
need it, than need it and not have it.  I just wouldn't make a buying 
decision based on that one function.  <*shrug*>

>Also , can you tell me a little about that stereo ping-pong thing?

Stereo Ping-Pong is one of the output modes.  It takes the output 
signal and routes it either hard-left or hard-right on each 
successive slice, so the pulsed signal "bounces" between each side of 
the stereo image.  Nice for making your audience sea-sick at faster 
tempos.  ;D

Auto mode does roughly the same thing, but rather fades the sliced 
signal from left to right in time with the current tempo.

3D-Cross and 3D-Pan are the three-dimensional equivalents to the 
aforementioned two modes.  the 3D modes add some EQ and 
psycho-acoustic stuff, so that the stereo movement occurs not only 
between the left and right, but also the front and back.  3D-Cross, 
like Ping-Pong, cleanly bounces the signal between 
left/right-front/back, while 3D-Pan does a smooth rotation through 
all directions: right to front to left to back to right, etc., etc.

And, as Rick already mentioned, there is a Random mode, which bounces 
the slices back and forth in a completely arbitrary manner.

Now as I've pointed out previously, any panning device can be turned 
into a Tremolo/Slicer merely by tapping only a single one of the two 
L/R outputs and running it in Mono.  This is no different, and what I 
was talking about in my previous "Dummy Plug Trick" post.

If you insert a null plug into one of the outputs (required in order 
to make the unit behave in Stereo mode; otherwise everything just 
sums to Mono internally), then you have what amounts to one Slicer 
running into a second Slicer.  Sweet!

Use this setup in Ping-Pong mode, and you'll get another(!) two 
variations on each of the 50 internal Patterns.  This first variation 
only plays the odd-numbered (1st, 3rd, 5th...) rhythmic slices in a 
pattern, while the second only repeats the even (2nd, 4th, 6th...) 
slices.

In Auto mode, this results in a sliced Pattern fading in and back out 
again.  The 3D modes, of course, attempt to add front-to-back motion 
to each of these previous modes (sometimes it works; sometimes not so 
well).

And of course, as Rick also pointed out, you can use the Random mode 
to add a tempo-locked pulse to your music.  Since it's still 
outputting the chosen Pattern, it's not completely random, but 
instead a shifting variation on that Pattern.  Find a Pattern that 
fits your music, then use this output trick to add "humanizing" 
variations to that Pattern.

I'm not surprised that Rick hasn't had a chance to go through all the 
Patterns on the box, either.  If you count that these output modes 
can each add a variation to the original Pattern, that's something 
like 19 variations each (Normal Mono, Normal Stereo, Single-Left and 
Single-Right Channel versions for every one of the 5 Output Modes). 
Multiply that times 5 Banks of 10 Patterns -- 50 Patterns in all -- 
and you're getting close to almost a thousand different variations. 
And that's not even counting that you can make each variation 
smoother or choppier by playing with the Attack and Duty (a.k.a. 
Slice Length) controls.

Yeah, I think of the SL-20 -- like the DD-20 before it -- as another 
one of those Boss "sleeper" boxes.  It sounds really dull on the 
surface.  But once you start to dig a bit, its quirks start to come 
out.  And many of those quirks are actually really interesting, and 
can be twisted for some amazing results.  Try using it before your 
EDP and I think you've got hours of fun in store for you.

Hope that helps....  :)

        --m.
-- 
_____
"I want to keep you alive so there is always the possibility of 
murder... later"