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Tagged: looper
- This topic has 10 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 8 months ago by Vorocnan.
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July 11, 2021 at 6:15 pm #261759
Hi All, Looking for some input before I go shopping!
Before moving to Texas I had continuous use of a good friend’s BOSS RC300 Looper. While I used it for practice and some song writing it was VERY complex to operate and I never really got comfortable using it for performing.Here in Texas, it seems finding a ‘bass-man’ to work with is a real challenge. Having that ‘fat’ bass element in music doesn’t SEEM to have as much value as I was accustomed to, but I miss it.
I’m thinking I’d love to get a ‘modest’ looper and create my own bass tracks to play against. Any ideas on un-complicated loopers would be appreciated.
I’m also ready to begin my “pedal” education. I know NOTHING and will begin doing some research, JUST interested in a blues pedal – I THINK!
But that’s another post topic for another time. Research and education to begin soon.
Marie
“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau -
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July 11, 2021 at 8:05 pm #261771
As a longtime looper, I have tried many, and here’s my opinion: Although the Boss RC-300 seems complicated, really it’s not that bad if you just ignore all the built-in effects and use it strictly as a looper pedal. I run my guitar through my pedal board BEFORE it goes into my looper. Much easier than fiddling around with the RC-300 effects. As you become more skilled at looping, you will want to add in layers of tracks, and be able to turn some off and back on again. What I like about the RC-300 is that each of the 3 tracks has a separate On and Off footswitch, and I believe it’s the only looper that can do that. If you have a single pedal looper, you can lay down a loop, then lay down a second and third loop over it, etc. But what if you want to mute the second loop and leave the 1st and 3rd loops running? Here’s a good example of multi-track looping from my virtual friend Hvetter. See if you can figure out how he’s managing his loops:
And now comes The Big Question: If you want to create your own bass tracks to jam with, why would you want to use a looper in the first place? It’s waaaaay easier to just use a DAW, if you have a computer or an iPad. And with GarageBand or Logic Pro, you can instantly add a really cool drum track generated by it’s built-in drummer algorithm. I have made lots of jamtracks on my DAW, and I play along with them almost every day.
Sunjamr Steve
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July 11, 2021 at 8:14 pm #261774
BTW, Hvetter told me uses the two pedal RC-30 because he’s a world-traveling guitar performer, and the RC-300 adds too much weight to his baggage. So he has to double-click his loops to stop recording. And also note this important feature: The Boss loopers all have auto-sync, so you don’t have to precisely start and stop the loops on the beat. For non-synced loopers, it’s quite tricky to hit the start or stop button on time.
Sunjamr Steve
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July 12, 2021 at 11:25 am #261796
Hi Marie quite a few loopy folks on AM probably including myself. 😅
One thing that does get people loopy with the Boss loopers is having to do the double stomp to stop the looper however that can be reduced to one stomp on most Boss loopers with the additional foot switch attached, some of the new loopers like the RC 5 have improvements like 32 bit recording quality over the 16 bit of previous models but using more battery power, the RC5 only has about 1.5 hours while the RC 3 has 3 hours if using batteries. The RC 5 needs bit more learning if your going to use all the optiions. But the graphics are better than previous models.
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July 12, 2021 at 3:12 pm #261811
Aha! I did not know that there was an RC-5 now available. It looks like a significant upgrade over the RC-3. Much better display, more drum beats, etc. Of course, you still have the problem of easily accessing those inner loops to turn them on or off. But I would definitely buy one for basic looping.
Sunjamr Steve
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July 12, 2021 at 4:37 pm #261820
Hi Steve if you go to 14 mins in the first video below the demo shows the foot switch being used to access other loops while he plays. There is also a RC 500 which has lots more, it has two loopers and more drum options. Danish Pete appears to like the RC 500.
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July 12, 2021 at 9:44 pm #261831
Steve and Vorocan,
You both have really peaked my interest in loopers even more with the info you’ve provided here. The RC-5 IS very enticing, especially due to its tiny footprint compared to the RC-300. However Steve, you’ve reminded me how much I did enjoy playing with the 300. I find myself thinking beyond the complexities I experienced with it those years ago and realize it did what I wanted it to do for the level of understanding I had at the time. I’m now retired with more time to experiment and discover and learn to more smoothly operate the 300. Since I posted my question earlier, I did get a quick peek at a few other loopers but am also feeling that they would all come with their respective learning curves and I already would be comfortable enough with the RC-300 and wouldn’t have to re-invent that wheel! Yes, at the moment, I’m leaning toward the 300.I do have a DAW, I’ve been using CuBase5 but have not yet gotten into using the built-in beats etc. hoping to learn that in near future. I’ve primarily used it to record my myself in multiple vocal tracks to layer with guitar, simple bass notes, shaker, tambourine etc. for my amateur simple music mixes. (See the link to sample below.)
I’d like to have the looper not JUST for bass tracks to practice but to be able to add additional tracks to sing and play over while I’m performing live for audiences in the small venues that I do. I have several songs for which I have the individual tracks to sing against but I can’t “play” those guitar and bass parts – yet! LOL!
I could however load all onto the RC-300 and bring my “band-in-a-box” to add that level of richness to my live performances ala Ed Sheeran (well, almost LOL!). I love the ability to ‘auto-sync’ the loops/tracks.
No impulse buying however, I’ll be deliberating on this for a while before making that investment.The Hvetter loopYing video is one I fell in love with several years ago after stumbling onto it on YouTube. Such a beautiful piece! I was able to follow his footwork in playing, recording and overdubbing. I totally understand his using the lightwt, smaller Boss over the 300. That 300 is a substantial tool! But, dang, I find myself missing it after this conversation! LOL!
Thanks to you both for the chat.Little Lufkin-Loopy-Lou,
Mariehttps://www.broadjam.com/songs/MarieJarreau/next-time
“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau -
July 13, 2021 at 2:01 am #261842
Hi Loopy Lou I can see the RC 300 has advantages in what you want to do and the three input and outs would be useful it is a bit dated and the loops are only MP3 16 bit compared to a RC 5 or 500 which are 32 bit WAV.
Combining an RC 5 with a RC 500 which has a Mike XLR connection might be an alternative or the RC 505 but the RC 300 still appears popular good luck.
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July 13, 2021 at 7:24 pm #261885
Hi Marie
I have just the basic RC1 and so far not used it a whole lot but maybe this RC5 has got me thinking. I came across this video and I think it does make quite a deep dive into the RC5 so you might like to look at it. Its part review and part video manual so its quite long but pretty clear too. He gets some good info across and demonstrates well.
JohnStrat
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July 13, 2021 at 8:54 pm #261893
Thanks John,
I’ll make some time to review that info. Sounds like a good one to add to my Looper research.“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau -
July 17, 2021 at 1:59 am #262133
Hi Marie
I have just the basic RC1 and so far not used it a whole lot but maybe this RC5 has got me thinking. I came across this video and I think it does make quite a deep dive into the RC5 so you might like to look at it. Its part review and part video manual so its quite long but pretty clear too. He gets some good info across and demonstrates well.
JohnStrat<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”The complete guide to the Boss RC5 – A video Manual/Review” src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/wyBJEyT7WWY?wmode=transparent&rel=0&feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https:%2F%2Fwww.activemelody.com” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen=”” id=”fitvid0″ data-gtm-yt-inspected-1_25=”true”></iframe>Hi Johnstrat I had to force myself to watch this one but did find some interesting points like it appears you can send the drums to a separate amp with the RC 500 but you cannot do that with the RC 5 considering that and the extras you get on the RC 500 like more drum options, XLR INPUT FOR MIC, two loopers, also looked at the specs and found the RC 500 can be run on batteries make the RC 500 an interesting option to the RC 5.
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