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Looper's Delight
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Like I was saying in my intro note...I like the
RC-20 and use two of 'em! The only other looping device I've used is the
Oberheim Echoplex, so that's the only thing I can compare it to. I'd say that
function-wise, two cascaded RC-20s are almost as cool as an Echoplex (and
still cheaper), because you can do the multiply function. I also like to use one
RC-20 to record a background for the head of the tune, and the second to record
a background for soloing over, then go back to the head background at the end
(this is good for Monk's Dream, with a stop-time background on the head). I
THINK you can do this on the Echoplex using the Next Loop pedal, although I
never figured out how when I was borrowing one.
For what I do, being able to keep 11 loops in
memory when the power is turned off is VERY useful for my Peter Erskine jazz
loops. I don't use any MIDI gear in my setup, so I don't really need synch
capability.
It's nice that the RC-20 has so much more memory
than a fully expanded Echoplex, but this doesn't really impact what I do much.
The longest time I ever need is enough to record a full chorus of a ballad, and
the Echoplex's 198 seconds is plenty for that.
The input mixer on the RC-20 is useful for me
because I mix together the straight guitar sound and the octave-divided bass
sound there. If I used an Echoplex, I'd have to add a mixer.
Things I would change about the RC-20:
1. Eliminate the idiotic-sounding "guide" drum
tracks. To me these are absolutely useless, and I have embarrassed myself in
front of an audience more than once by forgetting to turn this knob all the way
down and having stupid pounding drums come on in the middle of a jazz tune!! I
may end up just removing the pot and soldering a jumper wire in so that this
won't happen!
2. Get rid of the dang noise gate on the input, or
at least make it possible to turn it off. If you don't have the input level up
high enough, the noise gate cuts off long notes when you play softly. This is
extremely annoying.
Other than than, I think the RC-20 is a really
great thing.
Mark Smart
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