Re: Line6 Echo Pro

[mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 5:13 PM +0100 12/29/05, RPGfreak@web.de wrote:
>Does anyone know or use that thing? How suitable 
>is it for looping? Can feedback be controlled?
>How is MIDI control or control on the device itself?
>I was thnínking about getting one since it's 
>rackformat is handy. SInce I play ambient music 
>with lots of evolving textures, a long loop time 
>would be nice.

If it's a decent price, grab it.

Go through the list archives, you'll see lots of 
posts regarding the Line 6 Echo Pro and DL-4 
(they're pretty much 90% the same machine, only 
in different form factors).  Also, I think there 
are some write-ups on the main LD site.

I've got two of the Echo Pro's, as well as a DL-4 
I use in a busking rig.  In short, I think think 
they're wonderful (I love the Line 6 stuff; it's 
dead simple and sounds great).  Essentially, the 
Echo Pro is the same engine as the DL-4 stompbox. 
The main differences are that with the Echo Pro 
you've got an expanded 60 seconds of loop time or 
120 seconds if you begin recording in half-speed 
mode, better audio quality (IMNSHO) with an 
improved S/N Ratio due to the balanced I/O, and 
full MIDI control of the front panel parameters. 
Also, I'm another person who prefers the 
convenience of having everything in a rack, 
rather than dealing with a mess of spaghetti on 
the floor, but obviously YMMV on that last point.

Downsides are that, just as on the DL-4, the loop 
algorithm squashes everything down into mono 
(why, Why, WHY did they do that <*grumble*>). I 
deal with that little design flaw by having two 
Echo Pro's running together as a "pseudo stereo" 
pair.  And while you can control all the 
parameters via MIDI you still can't sync the loop 
itself to MIDI clock.  As for Feedback, you don't 
have a Feedback control on the looping presets 
per se, but you can get the same effect (each new 
overdub squashes the older layers a little 
further down into the murk, er... mix) by playing 
with the Mix control as you record into the loop.

You say you play ambient music with a lot of 
evolving textures, so here's an example to which 
you might relate: I have mine dedicated solely to 
my E-mu Morpheus (controlled by a Yamaha G-10). 
Using just the distortion guitar patches on the 
Morpheus into the Echo Pro's, I can pretty much 
replicate the classic Frippertronics sounds from 
Fripp & Eno's "No Pussyfooting" or "Evening 
Star".  So, that should give you a (very) raw 
baseline.  Now start updating the sounds you're 
feeding into the Echo Pro and you can take it 
into some really cool directions.

Just do it!  ;)

        --m.

--
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