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Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 4:10 pm
by fever606
I mainly use the looper (Ditto X2) in the "couple seconds of silence then repeatedly overdub some shit in key" style. Full wet reverb helps. Playing with your fingers helps, cutting the attack of notes. The goal - for me - is to make a cool noise / tone that can brought in for a chorus or bridge part, something that isn't necessarily rhythmic but more atmospheric.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 4:31 pm
by neonblack
I think maybe I should get a looper with more character. I loved the sound on sound mode on the el cap. CT5 seems awesome.
Anyone used the lo fi loop junky before? Not that I need anymore warble in my chain. It just seems to have an interesting character to it.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 5:23 pm
by Ugly Nora
I posted this in the drone music thread and thought it might be helpful here as well. She is very good at building a song with a looper using her voice, and other instruments.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aocOcGhPUFU[/youtube]
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 5:41 pm
by ChetMagongalo
I think being "good" at looping, is making something that doesn't get old when it's repeated; or changing the loop often, which is pretty hard to do with just a guitar. I think having a creative drummer can add a lot of depth to the same repeated phrase, something you can't really do playing by yourself, unless you're a drummer. if i'm alone, I will usually have to change up the loop often or make the phrase a longish chord progression. something that's super fun is making a loop and then drumming over it. my favorite groups who do a lot of looping are Battles, Don Caballero and Noxious Foxes, all math rock bands haha.
about the Ditto X2, it's a great looper, but the footswitches seem like they won't last long, mine doesn't weird stuff sometimes, like if I press hard on the volume knob while there's a loop going it will skip and glitch, but it's very inconsistent. this is a problem for my timing because I usually have to stomp with a good amount of force and confidence to get the timing, but doing so will eventually break my looper. but it was pretty cheap I suppose.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 6:07 pm
by Inconuucl
ChetMagongalo wrote:
about the Ditto X2, it's a great looper, but the footswitches seem like they won't last long, mine doesn't weird stuff sometimes, like if I press hard on the volume knob while there's a loop going it will skip and glitch, but it's very inconsistent. this is a problem for my timing because I usually have to stomp with a good amount of force and confidence to get the timing, but doing so will eventually break my looper. but it was pretty cheap I suppose.
The switches too, I'm starting to think about upgrading from it because the switch and second footswitch are starting to be less consistent. But the Infinity and boomerang are super expensive and the EHX 2250 hasn't come out yet.

Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 6:10 pm
by Inconuucl
I used to use looping for drones pre-superego, but nowadays I use it as a practice/composition tool more than anything. I play the chord progression of the song I'm working on and play around with melodic ideas. Also use it to stack copies of similar chords notes to create a huge crescendos, which is less standard.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 6:17 pm
by albertjq
dibs on the flip?
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 6:26 pm
by neonblack
My Ditto? PM me buddy!
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 7:58 pm
by karmablock
I thought the X2 can be used Record-Play-Overdub or Record-Overdub-Play with dip switches. Or am I mistaken?
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 8:02 pm
by neonblack
I'll check in a few minutes. That might make it alright for me.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 8:10 pm
by technicoloraudio
Looping is hard, fo sho, but there are some things that make it easier a lot of them already discussed in this thread and the PG article. I've gone through a bunch of loopers and occasionally not had one, now I use a Boomerang III locked up with my Octatrack. The music I make with it isn't my personal best, but nothing helps provide me with greater inspiration. I recorded an argument I had with my wife about the thermostat once (I proved my point with science, it was glorious and full of manhood) then looped it in reverse for forty minutes one day. It sounded rediculous, mostly because of all the percussive backwards "fuckin" that I kept saying, but it was hilarious and made me happy and it helped me make good music.
Loopers make beautiful ambient music, provide rhythmic guidance, and help build sound, but songs in the classical sense sound pretty lame and repetitive when they're loop dependent IMO.
I like wall of sound shit, I loop guitar, bass, synths, saxophones, whatever...but eventually it overwhelms and all nuance is lost.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 8:31 pm
by Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.
i think i would like a more looper / delay hybrid type of deal. like a looper that has delay like functionality.
i really like when u can allow what you have looped fade out as it loops, then u can start washing in new stuff. i know some loopers have a function like this.
some have like a knob, and some do it naturally when u overload them w/ a louder sound.
anyway it definitely helps get out of that repetitive loop zone.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 8:40 pm
by karmablock
neonblack wrote:I'll check in a few minutes. That might make it alright for me.
They do I just checked mine. Flip dip #2.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 8:42 pm
by karmablock
Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. wrote:i think i would like a more looper / delay hybrid type of deal. like a looper that has delay like functionality.
i really like when u can allow what you have looped fade out as it loops, then u can start washing in new stuff. i know some loopers have a function like this.
some have like a knob, and some do it naturally when u overload them w/ a louder sound.
anyway it definitely helps get out of that repetitive loop zone.
I wish they would make something like the PDS series again.
Re: I suck at looping. Do you?
Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 8:44 pm
by Inconuucl
Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. wrote:i think i would like a more looper / delay hybrid type of deal. like a looper that has delay like functionality.
i really like when u can allow what you have looped fade out as it loops, then u can start washing in new stuff. i know some loopers have a function like this.
some have like a knob, and some do it naturally when u overload them w/ a louder sound.
anyway it definitely helps get out of that repetitive loop zone.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hOkFjVMYMk[/youtube]
Like this in stomp box form? I would kill for that. I think Cloudscapes (Sonic Crayon) Made one for himself ages ago, but I could be wrong. His Mechanical Sun can also be thought of as so.