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Advice needed on using loop pedals at live shows.


joeClockwork

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I've got a Boss loop pedal and I'm trying to get some routines ready for CSG next month. I'm a bit of a novice so I wanted to see how everyone approaches live performances with these contraptions.

 

Do you come with preloaded rhythms on your pedal or do you build loops up from nothing? I posted a routine here recently where I built up the loop without anything preloaded but I'm not sure if I've got the balls to do it live. The video shows my fourth take because the first three attempts didn't loop correctly. I was chatting to Jimmy Penguin about this and he pointed out that if you get the initial loop wrong, the whole routine falls apart and that's no good for you or the audience.

 

How do you switch between phrases? Do you have a second pedal or do you use the low-budget approach and bend down and twist the dial with your hand? Or are you on some next shit and twist the dial with your foot?

 

Finally, do you use vinyl only or DVS? Or both? I know some people prefer using different records because it looks more impressive but I don't like to ruin my records so I'm thinking DVS is the way forward. Plus you can use any sounds you can get your hands on and aren't restricted to your record collection.

 

I'd really appreciate any advice or opinions you all have on this.

 

Cheers

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I'm no expert either mate, but...

 

 

I'd definitely have the first loop of every routine prerecorded and saved. Getting that first clean loop under pressure on a strange sound system could be a bastard and I don't think it's cheating to go into a show prepared for all eventualities. You're there to entertain the crowd, not keep Rob Swift happy ;)

 

For switching phrases, the add on extra foot switch is a better look but I've seen everyone from the mighty Dave Styles down, bending over to make their pedal work.

 

For DVS, same as you - preserving my vinyl and having a bigger choice of sounds to use would definitely win out for me.

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yeah these are all things that keep me from doing more live loop stuff at shows.

 

having the loops pre loaded is a good thing to do, at least a hi hat track.

 

i tend to use looping as an improvisational thing, and that normally means a lot of messing up, so for a showcase its better to have some solid foundation to work on

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DVS will make it faster and give you more ability with cue points. I'm no expert but toy around and IMO the hardest thing about looping sets is taking too long to build a loop so anything that can keep you moving is going to be very good--DVS and then like someone mentioned, have your first loop set... that's a good idea too. Good luck!

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I've done both but if you want to increase your chances of getting it right, pre-record at least a blank space so you can work off the template. Another trick is to put down your first loop over a track you're mixing off of. You can take a couple of times to get the loop right and very few people will notice if you mess up because as soon as you figure out its a little off you can undo and try again. When it's locked drop the previous track and build off the layer you put down.

 

A 3 table setup is really helpful when working with loops by yourself. Like diggla said, you don't want shit to get boring. 3 tables allows you the ability to set things up in advance use records with longer samples to keep things moving while you build the track, etc. Another trick is not to forget that you can always go back to the vinyl even after you've laid down loops. You can really switch shit up this way, either "juggling" back and forth between a multi-track loop and your source vinyl, or using different parts off a record to switch things up but then going back to the loop you recorded.

 

But yeah, that first loop is always a doozey and from my experience the pedals just aren't as responsive as they need to be. I always find myself thinking "I need to hit the pedal just a tad early or otherwise it won't be on time" so it's counter-intuitive.

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Thanks for your input. You all rock!


I hear what you're saying about it being boring for the crowd having to stand there why you build a loop. I like the idea of building a loop and then digressing over to vinyl and back to the loop again. You could get really busy with that.


I think I'll go for a mixture of DVS pedal loops and vinyl, maybe a juggle as well. Pre-loaded beats only, none of that fancy DJ Radar shit (his performance at Scratchcon was the first time I ever saw a loop station set and still hasn't been topped IMO).


Maybe I'll throw a little something in there for Rob Swift as well, like an all-vinyl juggle of Good Times on 45 with my shirt off, haha.


Thanks again all.

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I always find myself thinking "I need to hit the pedal just a tad early or otherwise it won't be on time" so it's counter-intuitive.

 

Yes, exactly. I thought it was me doing it wrong or that my pedal was faulty. Glad it's not just me. Sometimes I'll think that I've hit the pedal too late and closed the loop wrong, but then find that it loops perfectly!

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I'll show you my set up with Traktor for live looping in Galway Joe. It's pretty straight forward. It allows me to catch clean loops without too much worry as long as I've put the work for practice in. While prerecorded is for sure way safer, when I can find a good way to be able to pull all the loops live, it leaves a great feeling for myself. Mission accomplished kinda thing.

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I have tried a teeeeeny bit with looping, but only Traktor and ableton based. The advantage is you can have a properly synced loop right from empty and have a click track in there too. Actually that's a thought - perhaps recording a loop to a cue tracks timing will help you ensure you get the perfect loop. I've never used a boss pedal, that non perfect timing sounds like a bitch.... the advantage with Traktor and ableton is that the signal is midi so it's immediate. There are plenty of disadvantages with being computer based tho I guess, but if you use Traktor for DVs then a Traktor loop setup could be a very interesting way of doing things..?

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I haven't used a loop pedal for some time but I use the infinite echo feature on the S9/62 a bit when doing showcases which works in a similar way. I find the best bet with that to avoid messing up is to set a small loop first, like a 1 beat loop, or have a lead in track at the same bpm as your looping routine and record the foundation layer in time to that track and then fade the track out to ensure you get your foundation loop tight.

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I haven't used a loop pedal for some time but I use the infinite echo feature on the S9/62 a bit when doing showcases which works in a similar way. I find the best bet with that to avoid messing up is to set a small loop first, like a 1 beat loop, or have a lead in track at the same bpm as your looping routine and record the foundation layer in time to that track and then fade the track out to ensure you get your foundation loop tight.

 

Yeah, that "lead in" is what I was trying to explain above. That has worked for me.

 

One thing the loops pedals I've tried lack is an easy way to double and half my loops. It would be way more versatile if you could do things like record the drums in 2 bar loops, then add a 4 bar bassline over that, etc. The ability to add and drop tracks independently is also key. That's way better than just building and building and building.

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I completely overlooked what you were saying about recording a template of silence. That's a good idea!

 

It might be best to record 4 bars of vinyl static than nothing, just so you know there's definitely something on there, haha.

 

The usefulness kind of depends on the situation. I started doing it because the RC-50 has this weird glitch where it mutes out the first note of sound after your first loop. I started doing it to get around that glitch.

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As a viewer more than a partaker of loop pedals (Prefer launchpad style triggering myself) I have to say, have a shit ton of loops ready to go and saved, while loopers sound great on you tube videos where the performer has practiced a routine for days or weeks, there is nothing worse than going to a gig and listening to somebody fumble through trying to create a set of live loop recording, one or two on the fly loops here and there is great (DVS) but beyond that it is exactly the same as the difference between a party DJ and a routine DJ, Routine DJs may not like to hear this, but most of them can't actually rock a party for a few hours, they will blow your mind for ten minutes, but beyond that not so much.

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Hi,

Late to the party (but I gave some likes over) I started looping from a killatactics (?) video and later kid beyond.

I've used lots of hard/soft loopers (Ableton with bome, ehx2880, SP555, some rc of friends, infinite delay at faderboard and the last 4 years with iOS loopyHD and Group The Loop; I didn't tried quantiloop but it seems the best of hardware loopers plus Ableton looper device inside an iDevice (iPhone 4s at 90€ in my area))

 

So take a look

 

http://quantiloop.com/

 

 

For the song structuration is why I use Group The Loop (and the combo Novation Blocs wave/Launchpad app with launchkeys @Flexinoodle) atm:

 

And at last but not least for pure experimentation and solid stability LoopyHD (until Loopy Masterpiece get released):

 

All of these let you start with pre-recorded material, had quantization for record/launch and different loop lenghts.

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