Don't Fear The Looper

Started by Toby Krebs, January 26, 2013, 08:22:12 AM

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Toby Krebs

Even though I know it is very limited compared to dedicated loopers( I just bought a Boss RC-3) I am finding the looper in my GR55 to be pretty cool. I am currently rehearsing with a band that does all Motown and dance tunes and have been able to lay down progressions that are easily recalled during a tune. Nice having the electric piano chords behind my solo on Boogie Oogie Oogie etc...I was even able to do a pretty good loop during Billie Jean by M.J. These tunes are so repetitive they really lend themselves to looping if you are the only guitarist/ synth player in a band. Just another great feature of the GR55. If any one else is doing this please share your experience with it.
Thanks Folks,
T.C.

mapperboy

Can you explain what you mean by 'recalled' ?
After you exit Loop Mode whatever you recorded is gone, right?
"No such thing as spare time.
No such thing as free time.
No such thing as down time.
All you got is life time. Go!"
- Henry Rollins

Deus02

Quote from: mapperboy on January 26, 2013, 08:59:31 AM
Can you explain what you mean by 'recalled' ?
After you exit Loop Mode whatever you recorded is gone, right?

That is right.  From what I have seen or experienced so far, the issue with loopers on board various floor pods, such as the GR55, is they have a very limited time allocated to the loop and unless I have missed something, even more important, they have no memory function to keep the loop for future use.  I just purchased an RC3 myself and it perfectly fits the bill with its up to 3 hour looping capability and dozens of memories.  I use it right after the GR55 for fill-in stuff(strings, horns, organ, piano etc. etc.) and it is exactly what the doctor ordered for a very reasonable price and very easy to use.

greekjgg

I really could benefit from a looper for my live playing...do you fear not triggering it exactly at the precise moment and being off time? That is my fear and what has prevented me from totally diving in.
Setup:
Homemade EVH Frankenstrat with built in GK3
GR55
Rocktron Talkbox
TC Helicon Voicetone C1
Tech 21 Power Engine 60

Deus02

Quote from: greekjgg on January 29, 2013, 05:37:54 AM
I really could benefit from a looper for my live playing...do you fear not triggering it exactly at the precise moment and being off time? That is my fear and what has prevented me from totally diving in.

It just a matter of practice and what particular fills you might want to put in to the loop that would be the easiest to activate to make sure your timing is correct.  Simpler is usually better.  As I stated above, the separate looper with your pre-programmed memories is the most convenient since all you have to do then, is pick the one you want and press "play" precisely at the time you want.  With all the distractions involved in a live performance and with the various sounds one would use, once again, in my opinion, the separate looper is the way to go.

atonal

I had a digitech jamman stereo and that had a mind of it's own,my gr55 was easy to loop in time but such a short loop time and no recall I think they put it on the gr55 as a teaser..So after months of research and trying this and that I bought the rc-300 and IMHO amazing,It does what I tell it ,sound quality is very good and midi out is clocking my other synths,simply loving it !!

Toby Krebs

#6
I recall the loop when needed during the tune I am playing. I record it say during the chorus if that is what the solo is over and  then play it back during the solo. Yes once you exit loop mode it is gone. I don't "exit" loop mode until the song is over. I have spent more time yesterday with just the GR55 and RC-3  into one of my alto 10 in. FRFR cabs and the ability to store loops and have a rhythm  guide is very very cool. I will be replacing and subbing for a keyboard player in a dance band so the RC-3 allows me to simulate two handed keyboard techniques and also store an entire tunes chord progression if needed. "Billie Jean" by M.J. is an example that requires elec.piano/strings and funk guitar. I am now able to do almost all of it(good enough for live performance) with just the GR55/Line 6 HD300 and the Boss RC3.The RC3 has 3 hours of record time and 99 slots to store loops for instant recall. I however will continue to get better using the GR55s' looper as well.Yes you have to deal with it in "real time" during the course of a tune but if you are in a trio you can have some backing chords behind your solo when it comes around. I am going to use this looping thing to offer myself as a keyboard player and guitarist vocalist now more than ever. Thanks for the responses. All of them are helpful and once again I am very grateful to all who share experiences on this forum!

Unsung Hero

Hi All,

I am playing in an instrumental prog rock band covering Focus, Magenta, Edgar Winter??? to name but a few and I am using the GR55 looper to create harmony guitar parts and backing tracks for various lead breaks. It is limited but with practice, very usable. I'm sure that the dedicate loopers are superb compared to the GR55 but beggars as they say can't be choosers. I agree with Toby. It's not perfect by a long way, but with practice, Usable.

Cheers, Phil

greekjgg

Quote from: Unsung Hero on January 31, 2013, 08:44:58 AM
Hi All,

I am playing in an instrumental prog rock band covering Focus, Magenta, Edgar Winter??? to name but a few and I am using the GR55 looper to create harmony guitar parts and backing tracks for various lead breaks. It is limited but with practice, very usable. I'm sure that the dedicate loopers are superb compared to the GR55 but beggars as they say can't be choosers. I agree with Toby. It's not perfect by a long way, but with practice, Usable.

Cheers, Phil

How do you assure that your loops are "in time" with the rest of the band? Do you play to a click? I'm interested in similar implementation. Would like to loop keyboard parts for Bon Jovi tunes on my GR 55 while I'm using my Talkbox. I also use my ipad during shows both for setlist notes as well as triggering some samples (IE. 80's cover band, we play Girls, Girls, Girls and I have a motorcycle sample for the intro). I've debated just using a footpedal to trigger certain prerecorded loops I've made as well but unless you play to a click I don't see any other way to implement a looper?
Setup:
Homemade EVH Frankenstrat with built in GK3
GR55
Rocktron Talkbox
TC Helicon Voicetone C1
Tech 21 Power Engine 60

Deus02

Quote from: greekjgg on February 01, 2013, 04:59:42 AM
How do you assure that your loops are "in time" with the rest of the band? Do you play to a click? I'm interested in similar implementation. Would like to loop keyboard parts for Bon Jovi tunes on my GR 55 while I'm using my Talkbox. I also use my ipad during shows both for setlist notes as well as triggering some samples (IE. 80's cover band, we play Girls, Girls, Girls and I have a motorcycle sample for the intro). I've debated just using a footpedal to trigger certain prerecorded loops I've made as well but unless you play to a click I don't see any other way to implement a looper?

Considering that in a live situation, unless you are using a metronome to count off every song, then a band is never going to play any song exactly the same tempo every time.  To get the timing as close as possible, the best and probably only way is to create your loops during a rehearsal with all the members. 

Unsung Hero

The loops I use are recorded as we play. We decided that except for  intro sound bites, we would play everything live. The phrases I loop are played more than once so I record the first occurence on the looper then hit the play back and play the harmony over the top. On other occasions the backing tracks are recorded as we play in one voice and then the solo's played over the top with a different voice. As I said earlier, it's not perfect and the triggering of the Ctrl pedal has to be spot on. It's getting better with practice. ???

Toby Krebs

The general rule is the looper sets the time. Meaning the other band members must defer to it and fight the urge to speed up and play louder during your solo LOL! Not that any one actually does that. I have found that when some one has a solo the other players often want to play louder and faster . Maybe I will start a separate discussion on this phenomenon.