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Published on 09/09/11 at 16:18Sampling at 48KHz, the III records for 8 minutes 46 seconds in mono. Sampling at 24KHz, the III records for 17 minutes 32 seconds in mono. Using the octave down function, the record time can be extended to 35 minutes. Stereo recording cuts all times in half.
Serial Play Style - loops play one after the other like the Rang™ Plus
Serial Master Play Style - In addition to playing loops one after the other, there is a cool type of sync in the Serial Play Style where two loops can play simultaneously. If loop 3 is recorded first, it will become the master loop, otherwise it's just another loop and there is no master. If loop three is master, it can play along with the other loops. So at one time you can play loops 1 & 3, 2 & 3, 4 & 3, but not 1 & 2, etc. Loops 1, 2 and 4 will be created so they are a multiple of the length of the master. For example, if master loop three is 4 seconds long, the other loops will be 4, 8, 12, 16... seconds long.
- Here's the purpose. For serial style loopers it's nice to have a rhythmic background behind the melodic loops. Mute the strings and record a short "chika-chika" or beat on the sides of your acoustic axe. This rhythmic master loop can then play along with any other loop.
Sync Play Style - all loops can play simultaneously and are synced so they stay together
Free Play Style - all loops can play simultaneously and are NOT synced; this is great for creating ambient soundscapes
3 or 4 loops - your choice
Stacking - "stacking" is adding a part to a loop
Undo/Redo - the last part stacked can be muted, then played again or rerecorded
Erase - loops can be erased one at a time or all at once; one loop can be erased while another plays
Copy Loop - a loop can be copied whether it is playing or not
Copy Live - this enables "re-sampling" and is very powerful; the pedal's output is routed to a new loop
Octave - loop plays at half speed and an octave lower
Reverse - loop plays backwards
Once - loop plays one time through then stops or if already playing, it stops at its end
Fade - loop fades in or out with one button press; fade time can be 3 to 43 seconds
Reverse Solo - this is a built-in effect and enables you to create reverse leads live
Two Sample Rates - 48KHz or 24KHz, both use 20 bit samples; through signal is always 48KHz / 24 bits
Thru Mute Function - turns off through signal
Expression Pedal Volume Control - plug in an expression pedal for foot control of playback volume
Loop Playback Volume Knob - this is always available to set loop playback volume
Decay Rate Knob - sets the rate at which earlier parts fade when new ones are added; continuously variable from 0-100%
Stereo or Mono - recording and playback will be stereo or mono depending on which of the Smart Jacks you use
Smart Jacks - the Rang™ III senses which jacks are being used and provides different signal routing options
UTILIZATION
This pedal is incredibly deep. DEEP. It does one thing - realtime phrase looping, and it does it better than anyone. With nearly 35 minutes of looping time, it can record most anything you can throw at it short of a whole gig. It can record up to 4 loops that can be played simultaneously, synced or unsynced. It can play in reverse on the fly, or an octave down (or octave up!). It can do stereo loops. This box is fantastic.
SOUND QUALITY
At 48k sampling, it pretty much spits out the exact sound it gets put into it. It does not color the tone at all. With a loop going, one can play leads over the top, or harmonies, or additional riffs. With more than one loop going, one can get really interesting ambient soundscapes.
Since this pedal will do up to 4 different loops, one could record into it an intro, a verse, a chorus, and a bridge rhythm part, and then play higher melodies on top while cycling through the pre-recorded loops in song order. Cool!
OVERALL OPINION
This is bar none the best realtime phrase looper out there. The only competition for it in my mind is the older Boomerang II, and this improves on most of that pedal's functionality. The only think I wish the 'Rang III had is the volume rocker that the II has, but in leaving it out, the box has a much smaller footprint, which is handy in preserving pedalboard space. It's quite expensive, but it is the perfect tool for the job. I unabashedly love this product.
Serial Play Style - loops play one after the other like the Rang™ Plus
Serial Master Play Style - In addition to playing loops one after the other, there is a cool type of sync in the Serial Play Style where two loops can play simultaneously. If loop 3 is recorded first, it will become the master loop, otherwise it's just another loop and there is no master. If loop three is master, it can play along with the other loops. So at one time you can play loops 1 & 3, 2 & 3, 4 & 3, but not 1 & 2, etc. Loops 1, 2 and 4 will be created so they are a multiple of the length of the master. For example, if master loop three is 4 seconds long, the other loops will be 4, 8, 12, 16... seconds long.
- Here's the purpose. For serial style loopers it's nice to have a rhythmic background behind the melodic loops. Mute the strings and record a short "chika-chika" or beat on the sides of your acoustic axe. This rhythmic master loop can then play along with any other loop.
Sync Play Style - all loops can play simultaneously and are synced so they stay together
Free Play Style - all loops can play simultaneously and are NOT synced; this is great for creating ambient soundscapes
3 or 4 loops - your choice
Stacking - "stacking" is adding a part to a loop
Undo/Redo - the last part stacked can be muted, then played again or rerecorded
Erase - loops can be erased one at a time or all at once; one loop can be erased while another plays
Copy Loop - a loop can be copied whether it is playing or not
Copy Live - this enables "re-sampling" and is very powerful; the pedal's output is routed to a new loop
Octave - loop plays at half speed and an octave lower
Reverse - loop plays backwards
Once - loop plays one time through then stops or if already playing, it stops at its end
Fade - loop fades in or out with one button press; fade time can be 3 to 43 seconds
Reverse Solo - this is a built-in effect and enables you to create reverse leads live
Two Sample Rates - 48KHz or 24KHz, both use 20 bit samples; through signal is always 48KHz / 24 bits
Thru Mute Function - turns off through signal
Expression Pedal Volume Control - plug in an expression pedal for foot control of playback volume
Loop Playback Volume Knob - this is always available to set loop playback volume
Decay Rate Knob - sets the rate at which earlier parts fade when new ones are added; continuously variable from 0-100%
Stereo or Mono - recording and playback will be stereo or mono depending on which of the Smart Jacks you use
Smart Jacks - the Rang™ III senses which jacks are being used and provides different signal routing options
UTILIZATION
This pedal is incredibly deep. DEEP. It does one thing - realtime phrase looping, and it does it better than anyone. With nearly 35 minutes of looping time, it can record most anything you can throw at it short of a whole gig. It can record up to 4 loops that can be played simultaneously, synced or unsynced. It can play in reverse on the fly, or an octave down (or octave up!). It can do stereo loops. This box is fantastic.
SOUND QUALITY
At 48k sampling, it pretty much spits out the exact sound it gets put into it. It does not color the tone at all. With a loop going, one can play leads over the top, or harmonies, or additional riffs. With more than one loop going, one can get really interesting ambient soundscapes.
Since this pedal will do up to 4 different loops, one could record into it an intro, a verse, a chorus, and a bridge rhythm part, and then play higher melodies on top while cycling through the pre-recorded loops in song order. Cool!
OVERALL OPINION
This is bar none the best realtime phrase looper out there. The only competition for it in my mind is the older Boomerang II, and this improves on most of that pedal's functionality. The only think I wish the 'Rang III had is the volume rocker that the II has, but in leaving it out, the box has a much smaller footprint, which is handy in preserving pedalboard space. It's quite expensive, but it is the perfect tool for the job. I unabashedly love this product.