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Re: Let's play a game- it's called Imagine The Perfect Looper
Wow! Thank you all SO much for taking the time to respond and help me out with this. I've taken the time to address every one of you :)
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Modular. Different aspects of every function should be up in the
"preferences settings" to activate or deactivate. You would come
pretty close by taking the existing Mobius looper and integrating
everyones favorite scripts into it (extended EDP paradigm).
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I agree; since everyone is going to want to use this differently, I will be doing my best to make it flexible by having preferences for a couple things: When and how it begins recording, when and how it stops recording, whether or not record takes will be beatmapped and cut to fit the tempo (won't want loops to diverge unless you're doin a little Steve Reich experiment haha), etc.
I've downloaded Mobius and am playing with it and exploring its features. It seems more complicated than I want. For instance, I don't think it's necessary for the looper to know what time signature you're playing in. I'm having a hard time finding scripts for it on Google, I assume its that people write them and host them online for others?
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For those who don't like to start out "in the music" there could be
"functionality presets" in the preferences so they can start out "in
the looper".
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I'm not sure what you mean by this, could you elaborate?---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Per forgot to mention that it should have MIDI, Firewire, USB2, and
optical interfaces to work cross-platform with "NIX, Mac, and PCs, and
have 3 expression pedal inputs, too.
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I do like the idea of having it interface with MIDI, Firewire, and USB. If this becomes expensive it might just have to be USB and MIDI. What would the advantage of having Firewire capabilities along with USB be? I probably am not thinking of something, but I know that Macs and PC's both support USB and that Firewire is faster than USB, but if that's the only advantage then I think USB is fast enough.
As far as pedal inputs, I was thinking that people could run their instruments through a pedal and then run that into the input if they wanted to do so, and multiple inputs would allow people to run different pedals into different inputs, using them simultaneously. Is this the functionality you were getting at? I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that.
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Oh, and 8 1/4" stereo inputs and
8 outs, plus cost less than $500 US ... oh, and list members get to
beta test it first!
*GRIN ...hey, we ARE dreaming here.
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I like the idea of multiple inputs and corresponding outputs for each track if one wishes, along with one 1/4" output for the sum of all, if that's all one needs. It SHOULD cost less than $500, I am not planning for it to be more than that.
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P.S. Can you make it go to 11 1/2? 11 is so, I don't know ... so 90s.
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Again, I'm sorry for not being able to communicate fluently with you all yet, but what do you mean by this? 11 what?
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The perfect looper, though I really don't like that
term "perfect", is one that would morph and evolve with me over time, adding new
features and removing others, vs. being a static set of features and
functionality.
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What if when a new version were released, you could mail yours to them, pay the difference, and get the new version in return? Or would you like to be able to request features to be added or removed from your model, and get a customized machine shipped to you?
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To me, "perfection" means it exactly meets the defined requirements.
The problem is that different people and different situations will have
different requirements. Here are mine:
- intended for guitar players
- single-width floor stompbox (see Guyatone's Micro Effects series)
- powered by 9V battery or standard Boss adaptor
- 30 seconds looping time
- true bypass (ideally)
- minimal controls: single footswitch, volume control for the looped output, one or two LEDs
- single loop only, no modulation, no overdubbing capability
- cheap: US$100 each (want multiple loops? buy two)
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Does true bypass mean that anything you're playing, whether being recorded or not, always goes directly to the output without any modulation? If so, I agree. If not, please explain :-S I agree that there should be no modulation; this is a LOOPER, not a reverb pedal or a phaser and no effects would come with this. The only modulation one would be able to do is with the volume of individual tracks and of everything as a whole. One thing I'm not with you on is the single loop concept, with no overdubbing capability. To me, the point of this is to be able to layer and construct soundscapes and whole songs live in real-time with this one device, so the ability to record several tracks is key. While one can only have a finite number of tracks, the ability to consolidate multiple tracks into one would allow the user to in theory have infinite tracks, preserving freedom.
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For me (admittedly I'm a beginner), there are a lot of products that do
a lot (e.g., the Boss RC-2), but the more they do, the more complicated
the interface gets, and the more cramped things get (e.g., the Boss
RC-2). I want something that's single-use, easy to operate, and cheap
(again, see Guyatone's Micro Effects series, or Danelectro's effects
"food" line of pedals).
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I agree whole-heartedly with your minimalism; I think the success of Apple and Google has proven that most people also dig intuitive and simple products.
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Also, while there is a certain amount of "electrical engineering"
required here, in practice I think your bigger problems will be
software development and manufacturing economics.
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You're right, the most difficult part will be software development. As for manufacturing economics, it's not as much of a limiting factor as it is a check. The more insane features I want it to have, the more it will cost. But the more insane features it has, the more narrow its user demographic becomes and the less flexibility it offers. At this point, I can't estimate the manufacturing cost.
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I'll assume you're familiar with the devices out there now from the
Boss RC-2 on up to the Looperlative and Gibson Echoplex. Do you have
a particular price point or market segment in mind?
[...]
You will probably get more specific advice if you can pick which range
of the market you would like to target.
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Instead of starting with a market segment or a price range in mind, I am starting with its functionality. I am disregarding the issues of price and difficulty of development while I solidify its concept and features. Once I have a prototype, I will begin researching development costs and then I will start primming and tweaking based on these "reality checks", cost and development. In the end, I would say this would be mid-range, with its price between $100 - $500. I would like to offer many of the features that existing machines do, selling it for much cheaper. Though researching many of the products out right now, much of the more superfluous features will be excluded without question. Like the Echoplex's Substitute feature....
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Jeff hit the nail on the head here. Honestly, I think the economics is
the largest issue. It is easy to look at the market and say that
electronics are cheap, but the reality is that they are only cheap if
you are willing manufacture several thousand. I have investigated
options for manufacturing the LP1 for less money, but without a huge
amount of investment capital, it can't be done.
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In the beginning, I will buy parts in small quantities, being more expensive but safer for a venture like this. Can't buy parts assuming I'll sell thousands immediately. If I offer Virginia Tech a portion of sales, I may be able to receive a grant for my investment capital, allowing myself to buy parts in greater quantity and thus sell it more cheaply.
