Echoplex - Overdub fails

[Jon Arterton <flirts@wn.net>]

I'm a Newbie with a new Echoplex (which I love).
Suddenly it will no longer overdub.
The loop repeats and OVD goes red but nothing's being recorded over. 
Then when I hit OVD again the light goes green and it starts 
overdubbing. Seems backwards to me.
A Second question: what's the easiest way?
Say I wanted four loops and wanted an original rhythmic pattern from 
first loop to be repeated into the next three. I've tried with 
LoopCopy but it continues on subsequent passes to copy onto following 
loops. I really just want the first pass to be repeated. Is passing 
though all four loops (perhaps with NextLoop & Multiply) necessary 
before I start layering (not-for-copy) layers on top?
Thanks for the help.  FYI -  I'm an a cappella vocalist.