Loop4 EXP mode: An observation

[Mark Hamburg <mark_hamburg@baymoon.com>]

I've been using EXP mode a lot. But I realized tonight why. It's my "I 
don't
want to clutter things up with yet another footpedal" mode. There are
essentially 3 broad states for loop evolution for me:

1. Overdubbing/Multiply: Here having less than 100% feedback is critical
since it allows one to replace material.

2. Fading -- i.e., the only change to the loop is a fade toward silence:
Feedback is the essence of this mode.

3. Holding -- i.e., keeping the loop from changing.

Of these, I find that the second is the most dispensable. The first is
obviously indispensable and without a way to hold the loop, I get driven
into adding material more often than I'd probably like.

With a footpedal, I can get all three though the third is achieved via the
second with feedback at 100% -- i.e., don't forget to push the pedal down
when coming out of overdub if you don't want the loop to go away.

Without a footpedal, all control is via the front panel and I generally
don't have a free hand to ride the control when I switch modes. So,
something has to go. EXP mode without a pedal gives me feedback effects for
overdubbing and multiplying but turns all non-modification operations into
holding. That's not as versatile, but it's better than the alternatives.

Actually I used the EDP for quite a while with Loop3 and no feedback pedal.
I used it more like a DL4 and just kept the feedback cranked. Now, however,
I would recommend that anyone starting looping with Loop4 and no expression
pedal run in EXP mode. If you've got an expression pedal, I would probably
recommend Loop mode as a starting point. (My recommendation in the latter
case would be different if the roles of the footpedal and the knob were
reversed in EXP mode when a footpedal was attached, but that's not what
Loop4 does.)

Mark