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Looper's Delight
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Hi loopers,
It's been a while since I posted to this site, but here's a bit of
business I must attend to.
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NOTICE from Boomerang Musical Products 23 July 2001
We have worked hard to insure that the Boomerang (R) Phrase Sampler is the
most reliable
and productive looper
on the market. Despite endless hours of testing and almost constant use by
many musicians,
we have only now
become aware of a flaw in the software. The problem only affects users of
the new
Boomerang+ Phrase Sampler or
users who have upgraded older units with the V2 module. Software versions
1.0, 1.1 and
1.1+ are not affected.
Software versions 2a, 2a1 and 2a2 have the flaw. What follows is a
description of the
problem and some
recommended procedures to deal with it as you continue to use your Rang.
The Problem
If the recording of a loop is started and no other buttons are
pressed the Rang will
eventually reach the
end of available memory and the recording process will stop automatically.
This condition is
indicated by all
5 green LED's being brightly lit. When this happens you have a choice of
pressing PLAY to
play the loop or
RECORD to re-record it. This presents no problem if done immediately. But
if the unit is
allowed to stay in
this state for a period of time, the stored signal data in memory will
begin to deteriorate. The
amount of
deterioration and the time required for deterioration to begin will vary
depending on the
characteristics of
the particular memory chips in your unit. It varies from a few seconds to
several minutes, and
every Rang will
be slightly different. There are many manufacturers of DRAM chips and
modules and many
different "lots" of
chips as well, so the variations are great. If given sufficient time
however all DRAM types will
eventually
begin to degrade sufficiently to produce pops and clicks in the signal
during playback. If you
wait long
enough the signal can degrade completely to wide band noise. If the 3 way
switch and trim
pot are not set
correctly, the noise can be very loud, louder than your loops.
The Work Around
There are several things you can do to avoid any surprises.
1) Be sure to have your signal levels set as high as possible (indicated
by the occasional
blinking of the
yellow CLIP LED). This is always desirable as it provides the lowest
background noise, but
it also prevents a
corrupted signal from being much louder than your normal playing levels.
If the problem being
described does
happen the playback of the corrupt data will sound bad, but not be louder
than your loops.
Please consult your
users manual if in doubt about how to optimize the recording levels.
Moderate lighting of the
CLIP LED will
rarely cause noticeable distortion and will give you the best
signal-to-noise ratio the Rang can
provide.
2) If you see that the recording of a loop has resulted in all 5 green
LED's being brightly lit,
don't press
the PLAY/STOP or ONCE buttons. Pressing either of these buttons will begin
the playback
of the loop and the
signal data could be badly distorted. Instead press the RECORD button to
erase the
previous recording and
clear the error condition. A new recording can be started immediately and
will work
correctly. As an
alternative you could turn down your amp and cycle the power to the Rang.
This clears the
fault and erases all
signal data; once re-powered the Rang is ready to go as usual.
We have fixed this flaw in a new software release, V2a3. If you think this
software bug will
cause you any
problem, you may exchange your V2 module for a new one. Please note there
are no new
features in the new
software, only bug fixes. To exchange a V2 module, just package it so the
pins are protected
and mail to BMP,
305 Easton Rd., Dallas, TX 75218. Include a note asking for V2a3 along
with a complete
return address.
==============================
Mike Nelson
Shipping address for repairs & upgrades:
305 Easton Road
Dallas, TX 75218
Boomerang Musical Products
PO Box 541595
Dallas, TX 75354-1595
800-530-4699 * 214-340-6913, Outside USA * 214-343-1038, Fax
http://www.boomerangmusic.com
"Some products make you sound better;
the Boomerang Phrase Sampler makes you play better."