RC-300 - Is it possible to turn OFF Tap Tempo feature on Boss RC300

Started by byron78, February 06, 2014, 07:42:51 AM

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byron78

Hi all,

Is it possible to Is it possible to turn OFF Tap Tempo feature on Boss RC300?
Let me explain what I mean.
I'm using RC300 for few days. And still getting to know the features, and options. I have faced the following issue.
Suppose I'm playing with band, or live drummer. I would like to use RC300 only to loop some very short part of the song, while playing live with other memebers. It makes it impossible to make loop, without predefining the song tempo. Usually, live tempo is changing.
What I would like to do is, to set RC300 to automathically calculate the tempo, according to loop start/ loop stop measures. In other words, it's the same like Boss RC-3 would do, if you play without setting tap tempo, before recording. It sets start point, and point, and when reached the end of loop, the tempo is calculated automatically.
I really couldn't find neither such option, neither some articles on this topic, and would really appreciate if someone share, if he had the same problems, and maybe how to manage this.

Thanks in advance.



shawnb

Yes, if I understand your need correctly.   

Pretty simple - Do NOT have rhythm ON when you start recording.  This forces the RC300 to back-calculate a tempo/measures when you stop the recording.  It does a very good job at doing so, per the rules documented on page 19 in the manual ("track's number of measures not specified"). 

Experiment with track lengths of 'FREE' and 'AUTO'. 

(EDIT:  Also, no tracks recorded already!  (With tempo sync or loop sync on...  They force tempo ON...))

I free jam with friends with the RC300.  Initial loop using the method above, then later, if needed, a tap-tempo to adjust to where my drummer went... 

What I do more often is this - I simply tap the tempo at the beginning, before recording.  I use the RC300 to feed tempo to downstream gear (e.g., GR-55), so I instinctively tap it whenever I sense my delay (or autowah, or vibrato, etc...) is out of sync with my drummer.  I.e., tempo is never turned off during an improv. 

Without a click track, it can be hit-and-miss.  Some drummers just pick it up instinctively & lock in.  Some I have to chase a lot & tap-tempo a lot.  Sometimes I give them a heads-up by drawing a circle in the air with my finger, so they know to listen & lock-in.  it really helps them if there is a clearly audible beat to the recording. 

Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

byron78

Thanks for your reply.

Generally my rhythm is off. But... the tap tempo is always on (blinking all the time). And there is no option to avoid memory tempo. In that manner, you allways have a defined tempo, that the looper is following.
...So I tested... I putted rythm off, loop sync off, tempo off, track length auto/free. But... I played a random tempo loops, and it is still quantizing, according the defined "memory tempo".
When I start the loop, and then try to stop it, where it is suppose to loop the pattern, it is still keep recording till the quantize moment.
And what I'm trying is to avoid defining the tempo from the beginning of the part/song. To be more specific, I'm trying to blend both acoustic/classical guitar improvisations (with variable tempo), with some looping phrases and moments, and ambient music. So, a mashine tempo from beggining to end of the song/composition, will not work at all.
And what I need in this case is, when I need a loop, to exactly set the beggining/end with exact foot-tap for start/stop, and to define the phrase, and the phrase tempo, for some parts of the composition. Just like it would work on Boss RC-3. Tap for start, tap for end, and the loop is looping :)



shawnb

Ah, gotcha. 

If the light is blinking, tempo is on, and that's the issue.  You can turn it off again by turning the Rhythm volume counter clockwise all the way.  If you ever press the STOP buttons few times in a row, it acts as a tap tempo & turns rhythm/tempo back on.  Very easy to do, even when you don't want to.  Make sure you save a patch with Rhythm OFF, and the lights are not blinking.   

It sounds like you want EVERYTHING free...   What I suggest you start with:
  -  Rhythm OFF and **no blinking lights**
  -  Nothing recorded
  -  Set all track lengths to 'FREE'
  -  Tempo sync OFF on all 3 tracks
  -  Loop sync OFF on all 3 tracks

Save a patch in that state for experimentation. 

A couple of other gotchas:
* The presence of a "tempo" does not mean the track is tempo-sync'd.  All tracks have a "tempo" and a # of measures.  It will back-calc these when recording has stopped.  If you record 3 different tracks as noted above, you will see that it thinks they have 3 different tempos.  (My earlier post was confusing on that point, I'll fix that shortly...)
* If the red light blinks at all, you're locked into 'quantization' (recording to full measure lengths).  If it stays off, you're not. 
* There is a minimum recording length that can be very confusing.  Sometimes if you try to record a quick second or two, it will act as if it's going to the next measure boundary.  I.e., it will not stop recording when you tell it to.   

FYI, one of our forum members found a bug (acknowledged by Boss) in which once ANYTHING was recorded with EITHER tempo sync on OR loop sync on, ALL subsequent recordings were recorded basically with tempo sync, whether or not the track was defined that way. 

So...  Because of that bug, you cannot have mixed mode, e.g., you cannot have two sync'd tracks (whether tempo or loop sync'd) and one 'floating' track.  The three tracks are either all 'floating' or all sync'd.   

That's why I suggested above to turn EVERYTHING off, tempo sync & loop sync for all 3 tracks. 

Hope this helps,

Shawn
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

byron78

I think I catcha the little "bug" :D

I'm pretty sure it was the midi sync setting, that was doing some quantization, and delayed the stop command, for closing the loop. I forgot I putted a memory bank, to be controlled by Ableton tempo. And I was trying to use the same bank for the "free tempo" tests. And probably that was bugging the "internal calculation of the tempo". Now when I switched back to "internal sync", it appeared to be ok. 
Cool, I will just have to put a bank, setted up for "live free tempo jam", and another one for "external tempo".
Looks like it will take time to play with this toy, till getting to know it closely :)


Thanks a lot for the tips and the support!

bogatiakos

Hey, I found the solution to the problem :)
You need to do a factory reset, so your loops won't be forced to go with a specific bpm, so the standard way is that the bpm will follow the first loop's tempo (so you can turn on the rhythm track if you want some additional drums synced to your own loops on the fly. :)