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Looper's Delight
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So I went and listed my 2880 (with foot controller and 12 compact flash cards) on eBay - I dont' suppose many of you will be interested in that after all the public complaints I lodged here about it last week, but if you are then the listing is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=019&item=290035966509&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1 My reason for posting, however, is not to find a buyer for my unwanted gear, and I don't wish to abuse the list... which is to say, I know there is a huge archive of info for this list, not to mention user reviews at Harmony Central, which are at my disposal for evaluating the currently available tools of the trade - I spent two or three hours last night looking over some of that material and barely scratched the surface of what's already been discussed in depth here (wish there was a way to narrow my search since when I type in Boss RC-50 I get an enormous page of posts to look at and there is no way to guage the contents of each one without opening them one at a time, or so it seems)... Anyway, I'm shopping for another looper - I definitely don't want a laptop/software based setup because it's too much money for me to spend (I'm broke, unemployed, and I don't want to pay more than the $500 I hope to recoup for my 2880 deal) and I haven't got the time or the patience to learn all of that - I'd prefer not to have to learn MIDI either, at least to start - And for rather petty reasons (I'm out of rack spaces in my gear case and I don't want to have to sell my road rack and buy a bigger one) I'm leaning away from buying a rack-mounted looper (there is the added issue of having to shop for a footswitch if I go that route, also, which I'd prefer to avoid) So, that leaves me with the floor-mounted models that are out there: Boss RC-50, RC-20XL, DD-20, RC-2, Digitech Jamman, Boomerang, etc... Forgetting about the Line 6 and all of those which have the loud metal pushbutton switch design, are there any others I'm missing? I've used Boss pedals before (the DD6 was my looper before I got the 2880) and I've found them to be quiet and suitable for use with quiet live-miked instruments, so I may go with a Boss I'm deciding to let go of a lot of the features I was hoping to find in a looper, because I can't afford to pay for them all, basically (I'd probably need to get a Looperlative) - I'll have to live without discrete loops I can pan and fade individually (I'm not buying another Repeater, having owned one and got frustrated with the noise issues it had) - I guess I can live without storing loops... I'd love a reverse button, but it's not essential... One thing I would like is a stereo output (my mixer only has mono effects send but it has stereo return, so I don't need 'true stereo' but I would like a looper that offers a stereo output) - Although I'm not sure if this is a meaningless thing, I mean: unless the looper takes the mono send and processes it to a stereo signal (like a stereo delay) then it wouldn't amount to anything but a left and right send of the same signal? - I don't know... the RC-50 and the DD-20 have a left and right out; the RC-20XL, RC-2 and Digitech Jamman only have one mono output But the DD-20, which I am leaning toward on account of the price (Boss has so many options) doesn't have a feedback control for the looping feature ('sound on sound'), apparently: that sucks... Now, the RC-50, that model appears rather forbiddingly difficult to master in terms of its vast feature set, but it does appear to have everything I want in a looper except the individual track mixing option (that only the Repeater, 2880. and Looperlative offer, or does the EDP have that? in any case it's too much money for me) - Now, many of the Harmony Central reviews state there is an issue with the RC-50 about cropping off the first part of the loop when you go from record to play - Is this a real defect in the unit, or is it due to some failure on those users' parts to read the manual and make the proper settings? I don't expect everyone to want to repeat everything that's already been written here, but if maybe one of you would (or point me to a specific link where my questions are addressed)... Is the RC-50 bunk? Does it have serious drawbacks any buyer will have to contend with?... And a more general question, if not the RC-50, then what would you recommend I buy, based on my above criteria and profile (I'm kind of a tech dummie, need quiet foot controls, want stereo output)? Sorry to burden you with my doubtlessly redundant discussions, but there is just so much info and so many choices out there that my head is spinning trying to come to a decision (one real option I am considering now is to abandon entirely the live looping option, and just get a basic stupid effects pedal)... Oh yeah, the other thing is, I hear that Mike Nelson is gonna introduce a new Boomerang upgraded model next year, with lots of new features, so I'm thinking I might do without a looper till then and check out the new Rang when it hits the streets... And one other thing (sorry): there is the option of buying a used looper of some kind, I know there are a lot of cool discontinued models out there that are worth looking at... but I'm thinking I might be better to play it safe and get something from Guitar Center with a 30-day trial option, and test it out THOROUGHLY this time, so I can return it if I find any unexpected drawbacks that I can't deal with (like noisy footswitches or what have you)... Ferrara Brain Pan http://www.formsofthingsunknown.com "Let the great constellation of flickering ashes be heard..." Noel Scott Engel