Re: Mixer with MIDI scene recall

[mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 10:29 PM +0000 10/31/06, Greg Mills wrote:
>Mech, have I noticed you posting on the Looperlative forum? What do you
>think of the LP1? How does it compare to the EDP? I've been looking for a
>stereo looper for awhile, rather than another EDP. The LP1 looks nice, and
>would cost me about the same as two EDPs. Would be interested to hear your
>thoughts.

I'm out on travel right now, so I'm sorry I keep losing Internet 
access.  But yeah, that's me annoying other people over on the 
Looperlative board.  ;)

As for the LP-1, I love it!!!  I just wish I could get off the road 
and spend more time with it.  I need to get mine sent back in for the 
free noise mod (with the second manufacturing run Bob found a way to 
reduce the noise floor by a further few dB's and offered it as a free 
upgrade for existing users).

In regard to comparisons with the EDP, I'll state up front that I've 
dropped cash on the LP-1 rather than the EDP.  In itself, that fact 
tells you where my biases lie.  However, I have managed to gain some 
respect for the EDP over time.  In the past, I was always rabidly 
irritated by the fact you were forced to buy a second unit merely to 
get stereo functionality.  Prices seem to have dropped on the EDP 
since then, so I've mellowed out on that front somewhat.

I think it's fair to say that both units have their strengths.  As 
far as basic looping functions, you're obviously well covered with 
either.  For differentiators between the two units, I'd say the 
'glitch' functionalities on the EDP, or the asynchronous looping and 
multiple tracks on the LP-1 for major functions not directly mirrored 
on both units.  That said, the Scramble feature on the Looperlative 
does a pretty good job of glitching up the sound, and I've heard some 
people do a darn good job of faking asynchronous loops on an EDP.

While I primarily used the Repeater (amongst other things) prior to 
jumping over to the Looperlative, one of my collaborators uses a pair 
of EDP's, and we've done a quick side-by-side with our units to check 
the fidelity.  Both units sound good, but we both agreed that the 
LP-1 sounds better in terms of frequency response and noise level (it 
should, however, since the basic hardware and design are more 
current).  One of the main things that impressed my pal was that the 
input settings aren't nearly as tweezy as on his Oberheim EDP's, 
where he frequently has to play around a bit to get the input level 
settings just right.

More things I really like about the LP-1 include the ease of setup 
for MIDI control, as well as the ability to set up the commands into 
'macros', or sets of ordered commands executed in sequence.  Also, I 
think the Aux Outs are brilliant!  I'm using them to actually extend 
the capabilities of the LP-1, since I can shoot a particular track(s) 
out one of the Auxes to an effect unit to have it individually 
effected.  Then, if I want to continue manipulating that inside the 
Looperlative, I can manually feed it back into the LP-1 -- the same 
sort of manual "bounce" you used to have to do with, say, an old 4- 
or 8- track recorder -- and re-record it onto a new track or overdub. 
And, of course, having the realtime control over each individual 
track is fantastic.

Also, don't underestimate the ability to update the unit via 
Ethernet.  Bob is committed to its continued development, and can 
implement or change features of the unit nearly instantly merely by 
publishing a software upgrade that can be quickly downloaded into the 
unit.  For example, as Doug mentioned you can now import and export 
your tracks using an external storage device, thanks to a recent 
update.  (Additionally, Bob has mentioned on the board that he 
*might* be able to figure out a hardware upgrade that would allow the 
LP-1 to use something like a CFC/SD card.  As always, stay tuned...).

Anyway, that just scratches the surface, but like Doug, I find myself 
using the Looperlative more-and-more as my primary/sole looper when 
I'm using hardware.  Let me know if you've got any more specific 
questions, though, and I'll be happy to tackle them.

        --m.
-- 
_______
"You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike..."