RE: Boss looper contest in Germany

[Dan Ash <Daniel.Ash@Verizon.net>]

>
> You people were funny at first but now your guffaws of snobbery and 
>elitist technocratic behaviour are really starting to take their toll...I 
>mean what are "we" about here....does it have anything to do with making 
>music?  I am starting to wonder...I guess it has become unfashionable 
>among the "Technocrati" to loop with a BOSS pedal...hmmmmm
I haven't been following this thread too closely, but my impression was 
that the amusement at the Boss looping contest was due to several 
aspects of their support for looping.  The comments here were generally 
related to mocking the idea of an olympic-style competition from a 
community that largely has moved away from evaluating looping in terms 
like those used in the rampant guitar 'gunslinging' phenomenon. 
'Competition' is largely an anachronism here on LD.

Over the years Boss product developers have been rather unresponsive to 
input from the looping community regarding the design of their loopers - 
resulting in three designs that don't incorporate some of the most 
important requirements for looping anything other than accompaniment of 
pre-recorded loops, or for a looping paradigm that plays a static loop 
over and over.  This is true of many/most of the mass-production looping 
products (Digidesign is another company that comes to mind).

The Boss RC-50 is an improvement but as it turns out, a feedback control 
feature was only implemented using a technique developed and documented 
by a determined looper (from this board, I think).  My point is that 
they produced design after design without supporting any more than the 
most simplistic concept of what is actually available in more 
sophisticated hardware or in largely free software loopers.  From the 
top of my list is MIDI sync, saving a loop on the fly, upload of saved 
loops, and the aforementioned feedback control. 

So Boss representatives might well be judging contestants in gunslinging 
contest using tools supporting a limited palette -and their designs 
suggest a lack of some degree of expertise to boot.

I think you will find the participants here are overall very generous 
with their expertise and focused on making music.  I don't even agree 
that the members of LD can be counted on to disparage gear choices of 
those using other units than their own.  Many wonderful compositions get 
posted here from loopers using simple delays, tape machines, and 
re-purposed musical toys.

I think perhaps Akim read too much into a little light-hearted fun at 
Boss's expense.

Dan Ash
White Plains, NY