Re: Handsonic looping (was Re: finally, loop NY)

[Tom Roady <tomroady@charter.net>]

Title: Re: Handsonic looping (was Re: finally, loop NY)

From: Mark Hamburg <mark_hamburg@baymoon.com>
Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2002 21:37:53 -0800
To: "Looper's Delight" <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Subject: Re: Handsonic looping (was Re: finally, loop NY)

on 2/9/02 3:49 PM, just john at just-john@just-john.com wrote:

> What I was proposing was audio looping.
>
> However -- and I was experimenting with this last night -- one can use the
> onboard sequencer for looping of one part of the sequence.  There's even
> something to allow you to keep it in record mode but not actually record
> what you're playing.  So you record a little something, put it in this mode
> to play along, then back to recording some overlays.
>
> And that's actually sufficient for straight percussion.

I've used the sequencer in the Handsonic this way. (Warning: Don't leave it
sitting in record mode with recording active. I managed to fill up memory
doing this and the machine became rather unhappy.) I find it quite annoying,
however, that there's no provision for erasing elements let alone live loop
construction options like multiply. And as you also noted, it's frustrating
that you can't switch parts while recording using the sequencer.

A really good MIDI looper could do so much. After all, the data rates are a
lot smaller than the rates for audio. Some of the things I would like in a
good MIDI looper include:

* Options like on the Echoplex for multiply, replace, and insert.

* I'd like to be able to do note erasing.

* I'd like to be able to have multiple tracks and mute/erase tracks
essentially as the equivalent to passes through the loop.

* I'd like to be able to record phrases live and then fly them in on demand.
Sort of a: "Hey, I liked that addition to the loop but I don't want to play
it every time. Give me a way to trigger it when I do want it."

An audio looper provides an expensive way to do some but not all of this.
I've used my MC-505 with some success to try playing with having multiple
tracks but it's non-ideal. So, far I've resisted having my computer running
in my music "studio" because amongst other things I don't want to mess with
a keyboard or mouse while playing. If it were the only way to get a really
good MIDI looper, I might reconsider.

Mark

P.S. On top of this, I really wish I had a better way to map my Handsonic to
the sounds in my Emu Planet Earth. The Emu box has some really great sounds
in it but it's going relatively unused because it's proven somewhat
inconvenient to access from a control standpoint.

MARK....I USE THE HANDSONIC AS WELL AS THE PLANET EARTH IN CREATING LOOPS ALSO...I'VE FOUND THAT THE SEQUENCER IS PRETTY MUCH SETUP FOR JUST PLAYING SHORT PATTERNS TO PLAY ALONG WITH AND NOT VERY FUNCTIONAL AS A STAND ALONE SEQUENCER...ROLAND TELLS ME THAT IT REALLY WAS ONLY DESIGNED FOR THIS ...ONE OF THE  REAL DRAGS ABOUT IT IS THAT WHEN YOU GO INTO THE MELODIC SECTION AND RECORD BASS OR KEYBOARDS INTO A TRACK AND THEN TRANSPOSE IT.....IF YOU APPEND IT TO ANOTHER(STICK IT ONTO IT) IT DOESN'T COPY THE TRANSPOSE ALSO...IT GOES BACK TO THE DEFAULT SECTION....MIKE SNYDER AT ROLAND AND I ARE FRIENDS AND HE TOLD ME THAT IT REALLY ISN'T DESIGNED FOR THIS...HE SUGGESTED I GET A LAPTOP AND PERFORMER! HE WAS KIDDING BUT HE MADE HIS POINT CLEAR......BUT ......THE ONE THING THAT WOULD MAKE MY WORLD A LOT EASIER IN STUDIOS AND IN MY LOOPING LIVE WOULD BE TO SIMPLY HAVE ANOTHER PAIR OF ASSIGNABLE OUTPUTS ON IT....THEN I COULD LET THE MIDI OUT OF THE HANDSONIC COUNTROL THE EDP AND NOT RECORD THE SEQUENCE ITSELF BUT BE ABLE TO RECORD WHAT I ACTUALLY PLAY ON IT INTO THE EDP...I'VE ALSO FOUND THAT THE HANDSONIC REALLY HAS SUCH A WEIRD NOTEMAP LAYOUT THAT IT IS VERY LIMITED MELODICALY AND IS DIFFICULT TO ASSIGN IT AS A CONTROLLER FOR OTHER MODULES...PLUS IT DOESN'T REALLY WORK WELL WITH MY ZENDRUMS THAT ARE FAR SUPERIOR AS A MIDI CONTROLLER...I USE THEM TO PLAY THE PLANERT EARTH AS WELL AS MY OTHER MODULES AND SAMPLERS....TR

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