Re: Zoom 508 delay vs. Steinway pianos vs. Klein guitars

[mgsam@wave.net]

Kim:

Thanks for your thoughtful and open minded response to our ergnomonic rant.

Here's one idea we've kicked around...the shape of these loopers...the rack
mount notion seems to dictate a box with an umbilical connection to a
footpedal.  Or the looper becomes a footpedal period -- like the Boomerang
or Zoom.

A saxaphone, a guitar, a piano evolved their shapes to the requisite needs
of fingers, hands, mouth...the bodily points that would by extension create
the music, and which are highly adaptable and trainable to musical
inflection.

But as we said, all the loopers we know out there seem to be toe/foot
operated.  The LoOpDoctOrs drive their cars with feet/toes...we walk with
them too, and we can do the proverbial tapping of the foot, but we are not
monkeys...we tend to do out best work from the groin upwards...this is
where we have the most dexterity, agility, thrust...and we have been
trained to make music with these upper body parts, although when we get
something good going we shake our asses too.

The foot, on the other hand, tends to be an on/off, go/no-go, or go faster
appendage.  So in adapting your musical instrument to the dictates of the
toe are you in turn imposing something on the musical capabilities of the
instrument?

In other words, the rack dictates the box, the box constricts knobs and
bigger more open menus, and it makes for a fairly edgy, linear,
seen-this-a-million-times-before shape.  Not so inviting or beautiful as a
Strat, a Klein or a Steinway or as irrisistably touchable as a Sax.

The box by definition makes a looper look and feel like a million other
boxes.  Interestingly, the paint job on the Oberheim is one of our favorite
things about it because it is so invitingly individualistic...but the rest
of the structure leaves us pretty much cold.

Think about it...a Looper in the shape of a Mobius strip maybe? ;)  Or how
about a looper that was soft and pushy like an accordian.  How could you
the sensory/tactile interface invite us into the musical capabilities?
Could you play a looper with your nose?  Could you design one to work with
facial grimaces?  How about the elbow?  Elbows usually seem to be available
to most musicians.  How about a looper your inserted between the shoulder
and guitar strap, kinda like a b-string bender concept on a telecaster?

One of our favorite and not immediately noticable things about the Klein
guitar is the way the body is bent like a mildly melted chocolate bar...or
a deep sea ray.  The Klein just wants to stick to your hip bone.

Are we out there or what? ;)

Best,
The LoOpDoctOrs