midi looper

[goddard.duncan@mtvne.com]

Title: midi looper

http://www.colinfraser.com/p3/p3.htm

this is a device that can be used as a midi looper in the same /sort/ of way that we are used to using audio looping devices; although principally it is designed as a multi-track step sequencer, it has a couple of live record modes that allow the pattern steps to be updated from a midi device (keyboard or w.h.y.) whilst it is running.

it's monophonic, but with a bit of sleight-of-hand, it can be persuaded to create polyphonic &/or polyrhythmic patterns, all in real-time.

I exploit this by creating playlists of several patterns for each track (there are 8, which may correspond, if you want it to, to as many as 8 midi channels or as few as 1).

 
I give each of these patterns a suitable timebase so that the overall "loop" is of several chained patterns of 16 steps each. this gives a suitable resolution to the live-recording so that nuances of one's playing are adequately captured. essentially, I'm using 8 patterns of 16 steps each as one large pattern with high resolution, & over-recording their contents in real-time, while other tracks are playing patterns in their own playlists, maybe at different resolutions &c.....

 
at this stage, I should point out that the current software build only captures note data, though it's possible to pre-program the attendant velocity values aswell as a bunch of other controller values per step, per pattern.

colin has designed this machine from the perspective of providing a genuinely useful step-sequencer for live performance, & the result is an excellent tool for electronic music. that said, the live-record features haven't been purposely designed as an analogue of the sorts of looping hardware we are all using for audio (jammans, repeaters, EDP's & the like), but I have to say- especially for monophonic lines- it's getting very close.

more later.

d/r.m.i.

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