Support
Looper's Delight
|
Support |
|
|
> I'm not set up yet with a computer, sound card etc. to > try these out, so I'm hoping to get some reviews of > how these programs work compared to the EDP for live > on the fly application from those who've used them > with live acoustic inputs. The first thing you should decide is whether you want to use a Mac, PC or Linux. If you have a preference, that will limit your choices as not all of these are available on all platforms. Next, decide if you prefer something that runs by itself or runs as a plugin inside another application. Standalone programs can be simpler to configure and use, plugins are much more flexible. Some loopers only run standalone, some only as plugins, some both. If you are specifically interested in something that works like an EDP, Mobius (PC) and SooperLooper (Mac/Linux) will come the closest as their designs were inspired by the EDP. But the EDP is a *very deep* device. If you have no prior experience with it and just want to do overdubs with feedback, you may find these loopers somewhat overwhelming. Plan to spend some time with the manuals. If you intend to use it on stage, then stability is an important concern. Some of the loopers on this list are commercial products, others are written by individuals in their spare time. I don't gig live so I can't offer good advice on this issue. Since the PSP 42 is a commercial product I would expect it to be stable. Several people on this list use Augustus Loop live. The others may be fine depending on what you want to do with them, just never try anything live you haven't rehearsed in the studio. Here is my quick assessment of each looper. I have a personal interest in one of these (see if you can guess which one :-) but I am trying to be fair. Others will no doubt disagree, but here goes. Augustus Loop - Mac/AU plugin More of a "tape loop" emulator than an EDP-style looper, but it has some very nice features. Several people use it live, it appears to be quite stable. This will probably be the #1 recommended looper on the Mac. Musolomo - Mac/AU plugin I would call this more of a "phrase sampler" than a looper. Once a loop is captured you can do several interesting things with it, but there is no overdub or feedback that I could see. Lexicon PSP 42 - Mac & PC / plugin I would call this a delay-oriented effects unit that has some looping features. I don't have any experience with it but it looks like a phrase sampler, not sure if it supports overdub and feedback but I would be surprised if it didn't. For $150 it had better be stable. SooperLooper - Mac & Linux/Standalone but supports Jack This has a large set of features, though I've heard there may be some issues with the alignment of successive overdubs. It is not a VST or Audio Units plugin but it supports Jack which is similar to ReWire on the PC. Jack can be hard to configure, so I would consider this a standalone looper unless you're into tinkering. Elottronix - PC/VST plugin This has been around a long time and appears fairly stable. It is designed to emulate a tape looper so it doesn't have the most features, but what it does it does well. And it's real pretty. On the PC, I would start with this one and see if it does what you want. AngstroLooper - PC / VST plugin This doesn't seem to be mentioned much, but it looks like a nice simple looper with good basic feature set. The "touch" function looks unique and interesting. This would be my second stop on the PC. Loopy Llama - PC & Mac/VST plugin This one is relatively new, but I think the author uses it live. Its features are similar to a DL-4 or JamMan, and I found it easy to use. This would be my third stop on the PC. Mobius - PC / Standalone or VST plugin Mobius has the broadest coverage of EDP features, but as a result it has a fairly steep learning curve if you're not already familiar with the EDP. It is relatively young and has been known to crash, though basic overdubs with feedback should be ok. Check this out if you decide Elottronix, AngstroLooper, and Loopy Llama aren't powerful enough. AmbiLoop - PC / Standalone This has been around awhile, is stable and has some nice features, but the main issue for most people is that it cannot be run as a VST plugin. I have had issues with crossfades at the loop point that cause clicks, so you have to be careful. The builtin effects are convenient. The ability to run several loops in parallel is powerful, though may be difficult to control live. Coldcutter - PC / VST plugin This doesn't look like a looper to me. It takes a loop (not sure if it can record) chops it up and plays back the segments in random order according to a set of parameters. No overdub or feedback that I can see. Interesting but not what I would call a looper. Loopitch - PC / plugin I haven't tried this and there isn't much information on the web. The download page has some disturbing comments like "This is an early demo intended to generate feedback" and "if I can ever get the VST version happy with a few hosts!" so it does not appear to be under active development and may have stability problems. Divine Machine - PC / Standalone & VST plugin This looks more like a static loop manipulation and triggering tool. No overdub and feedback, I'm not even sure it can record. It is very powerful but not what I would call a real-time looper. Freewheeling - Linux/Standalone This looks interesting but it only runs on Linux. Unless you are also a computer geek (and I mean that in the nicest way) I don't recommend Linux for musicians. You will have far more options on the PC or Mac.