Re: Re: Looping in a band context/new album spam :)

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

On 7/22/64 11:59 AM, andy butler wrote:
> Really though, and I think Rick would agree, this is
> all "crisis management". If you're having to re-sync
> then it's going to sound bad...a better strategy is preferable. 
Errrr, with complete respect,  I don't entirely agree with you, Andy,  
merely from a lot of personal experience
playing in non-synced situations that involve loops.

Most times when using loops in an ensemble (either of other 
non-synchronized loopers
or musicians who are playing with the loops)  the big problem is lack of 
monitoring.

Consequently,  an ensemble may drift a little bit and a retriggering of 
one's loop to
start again is not only necessary but can subtly make the ensemble 
listen harder.

I've also used this technique the most when playing concerts with my 
brother after
our Lexicon Jamman phase and pre-LP-1  or when syncing failed for 
whatever reason.

One thing I've found if I suddenly am not getting midi sync is to record 
my loop against
Bill's loop,  playing to it's timing as carefully as possible but also 
making my own loop
last for as many bars as possible (given the limited time of the DL-4, 
this might only be 2-4 bars).

In this way,  my loop will only start to drift after several repetitions so
my little trick of One Shot/Stop/Play is very effective.

Bill and I have played several big concerts where the loopers in the 
audience thought we were synchronized
when we weren't.

Syncing is the best, of course,   but the keys to re-syncing with a 
non-looping ensemble
are
1)  making sure they can hear the loop very clearly
(and something I can recommend as an inexpensive solution for giving 
monitoring to your accompaniest's
is to split your signal:  send one to the board and the other to one of 
those wonderful and inexpensive 5 watt Vox
guitar amps,  placing that little speaker right up close to whoever 
needs the monitoring.  They can then control
their own volume)........ and

2)  having a very good sense of timing when one retriggers

This can be a very musical tool I've found.

My one last caution is to looping guitarists trying to get other 
instrumentalists to sync, acoustically, with their loops and that is:

If you overdub in the same register on your instruments,  the masking 
that occurs can make
it very, very difficult for an accompanist to hear the rhythmic ostinato 
of your original loop.

trying splitting your various overdubs to different registers of the 
instrument or even have very different effects on
each overdub so the ear can clearly hear what the original 'groove' is.