Anyone know anything about loop stations?

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:20 pm

I keep seeing acoustic acts using loops and I keep thinking someone should do that in a band so I'm thinking about getting something to get some loops going. Problem is I don't know jack about equipment, I just play with what I'm given! What's the easiest and cheapest way of setting up some loops when playing live?

moderator Joined: Jun 30, 2007 Posts: 333

i know a software yes, " madtracker 2.6.1 ' i make my live perfomance with it...but be ready for harsch and dry learning, however its aspect it's a soft of 40$ that can make things soft like cubase can't do.

search in the net :

madtracker

there is a forum where you can talk to the creator of the sofware he can advice you if it's a good soft for you better than me and you didn't telled a lot what is your plan with making loop music.

if you want studio loops music then :
fruity loops 8
is the best soft for you

good luck

ubw newbie Joined: Mar 31, 2008 Posts: 10

It depends whether you want to loop what you playing live eg your guitar or whether you want to play pre recorded loops.

For live looping of you guitar try this , there great you just stomp when you want to record play and stomp again to stop recording and it loops.

For playing prerecoded loops i would use Abelton Live on a laptop and set up a click track for you or your band. Cubase can also do this but it's more messing about. If moneys a problem there are plenty of free software loopers that work like Abelton Live but sometimes they arn't as stable. You can get a budget version of live which comes free with some gear or on Ebay for about £30 (US 60 dollers).

ubw newbie Joined: Jun 05, 2008 Posts: 4

would love to have one of those

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:19 pm

I recently got a Boss RE20XL looper thing off of ebay to play around. It's a fun little pedal, and after a bit of confusion I found it very easy to use. It has an undo which would be very useful if you're building loops live and screw something up. It also has a mic in if you do vox/beatbox as part of it.

It's definitely something you'd have to practice beforehand to work out the arrangements though. I initially thought I'd just be able to improv easily and come up with all sorts of cool stuff, but that quickly devolves into noise. With a little planning it's easy to get good loops going though.

I got inspired by the videos posted here. Very cool stuff.
http://slowgroove.blogspot.com/2008/04/looper.html

Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 10:43 am

there are loads of ways to go about it, as you've read here. a rpogram that i've heard is good for live performance when working with loops is Albeton Live, but it's pricey. as far as stomp boxes go, i'm a fan of the Headrush pedal. there are loads of similar gadgets that cater to specific needs. here's a link to all the loopers they have on sweetwater.com, which is a pretty comprehensive list. it kind of comes down to how extensively you'd like to use loops. if you're wanting to use a lot of loops, then going with PC or Mac based software might be the better way to go. that said, Ian Williams of Battles, formerly of Don Caballero, uses the hell out of the head rush. you can loop up to 28.3 sec, which is pretty impressive. my cousin plays keyboards and uses it for that, too. works great. good luck! Cool

Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 12:55 pm

Or......
Ive just seen this recently......route your laptop through the PA system...just do a google search on free loop software......downlod it...find the loops you want....there are a ton of free royalty free loops out there and then have at it....
this guy i saw used NTrack Studio.....might get ya goin in the right direction....
hope this helps
GG

Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:56 pm

that's the route i was going with Albeton Live and PPB with MadTracker, although he may just lug his whole PC with him since he's a one-man-band.

my bandmate just got a laptop for such a purpose recently, for us to use. so far he's only done real estate appraisals on it for work, so don't expect to hear any live stuff with it at his pace. lol

i'm sorry to say i haven't take the time to check your tracks out for a while and can't remember which genre(s) you delve into. i'd look up bands like 'Four Tet, Tortoise, Battles, Daft Punk (but only early performances, since later they went back to DJing their stuff), anything by the guy that also goes by the third eye foundation and bands like these that use a wide mixture of live and recorded music. that should give you loads of ideas.

plus, it just kind of depends on what type of effect you want to create. do you want to be going along with a riff, and then loop just that riff, and then play another riff over it, and so on and so fort? you know, to build up a wall of different loops or even just a few so you can play some melody over the progressions? iif that's the case, then a pedal is perhaps the best way to go. the Headrush, which is the one i mentioned the other day, is good for that and it's a very sturdy stomp box. an acquaintance at the local music shop i frequent has recommended the Jam Man several times, and digitech is a good brand. we were talking about looping acoustics when he's mentioned that one. a difference between the Jam Man and the Headrush is that the Jam Man, according to my understanding, is actually recording your loop, whereas the Headrush pedal is in essence a delay pedal with an extremely long delay time of 28.3 sec if desired. but it works like a delay w/ tap. you set the lenth of the loop much in the same way you would with a digital delay effect where you tap in the length, if that makes sense to you. lol i think the point i'm trying to get at is that the Headrush can be a bit more tricky to work with, although it is definitely a great item.

the Boss models look very interesting as well, and have some different positives. one being more recording time for loops. go here to read about their base model, which has some interesting specs...i'm reading about the Boss pedals for the first time myself, and know that NekoNeko mentioned this model for live looping, and it sounds like it's a lot like the Jam Man. if you're interested in just getting absolutely crazy, want to spend big bucks and be able to store up to 49 min of loops, check out this bad boy from Boss. this would allow you to control all sorts of loops both prerecorded and live. so you could be building on a looped phrase and trigger a prerecorded percussion loop to beef up the drums. if you use a lot of preprogrammed midi stuff, it'll also sync up to that so you're always in time...or at least all the programmed changes would be in time. lol

going the software routes has definitely got it's own advantages, but maybe not the best option if you're wanting to work with live loops. if you're pretty much planning to exclusively use prerecorded loops, in my opinion, the laptop/software through the PA is the best way to go. pricey, but really good....except when the thing crashes during a performance. i've that happened at a [/I]Tortoise[I] show i saw in 2004. and for you snotty Mac users out there that are always on about how great they are, it was a Mac that crashed and burned. i still want a mac, though. lol

i hope between everyone's input you find the solution you're looking for. pretty much none of the options out there are 'cheap and easy' as you requested. for live looping, the Boss RC-2 Loop Station or the Boss RC-20 or RC-20XL (what NekoNeko mentioned) are going to be the more affordable devices. the good thing about that is that Boss makes good equipment. it's not my favorite brand, but it's by no means one to thumb your nose at. they are perhaps the best selling brand for peripheral gear for guitars, and make a ton of other really cool stuff.

good luck with your search...which might already have ended since i notice you posted your question at the end of march this year. lol if you don't mind, let us know what product, if any, you end (or ended) up getting. i'm curious to know and how it's working out for you. Very Happy

moderator Joined: Jun 30, 2007 Posts: 333

brandon <=== the only reason you are not mod is cause you write more than a bible an more compact yet....omg i need a coffee and my fruity loops now

moderator Joined: Jun 30, 2007 Posts: 333

someone telled me ABLETON LIVE is the best live editor for pc...

Anyone know anything about loop stations?

UBW Resources

Music Forums

Music Forums

Partners