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songboy
Published on 08/15/08 at 16:52
This is a sampler/looper with three seperate looping channels. It is completely digital. There is a lot of editing options for this thing (i.e. individual phrase volume, tempo, reverse options, etc.) and you can hook it up to a computer, but you only do that to add audio files on to the device ( I am not sure if you can use it to control playback and recording of loops on the computer for I do not use a computer in my rig). This thing has 1/4" inputs/outputs for audio and expression, one XLR with phantom power, miniplug input, Midi in and out, and USB. It is not rackable, as well as it shouldn't be, its a floor pedal.
UTILIZATION
I opened it up and started looping right away, but there are quite a few options to this thing so I would say you should study the manual to use its full potential. The playback sound is great and there are a lot of knobs for real time tweaking which makes it pretty user friendly. The manual is actually pretty good for a Roland manual. I have had bad experiences with their manuals in the past (i.e. VS 1880).
SOUND QUALITY
As a hardware, stand alone looper, this thing is great. I use it for quick ideas and also for live looping. I run this after my multi synth/alt. vocals mixer and it reproduces everything very well. The nice thing is you can set it up so that every new loop coming in is slightly quieter than it was when you were recording it. This reduces the volume increase that usually happens after every additional loop.
OVERALL OPINION
I have had this for two years and it has been a great tool for writing, live looping and just having creative fun. I love having three seperate looping channels. You can run them together, or set it up so you get one going, then switch to the other loop. What I absolutely hate is the restricting time measures. Sometimes I right in crazy time signatures like 29/4 (I know that might sound weird, but its true) and I don't expect it to have that measure built in, but having a 1/4 time measure would solve the problem. The lowest you can go is 2/4. I know you can count in half time and record that way, but why wouldn't they have a 1/4 time sig. It seems like so little to expect. Also, if you sample something at a certain volume and need it louder, you CAN increase the volume with the individual phrase volume knobs, but then everything you record on top of it gets increased also. They should have solved this by letting you resample a loop at a higher volume, saving it, and having that be your set volume. That would have saved me a lot of frustration because when I right a loop in Ableton Live 7, I don't know what the volume out put will be until I disconnect it from the computer and play it through an amp. It turns out to be a long and arduous guessing game. If these two things weren't the case, this would be the most amazing hardware sampler ever.
UTILIZATION
I opened it up and started looping right away, but there are quite a few options to this thing so I would say you should study the manual to use its full potential. The playback sound is great and there are a lot of knobs for real time tweaking which makes it pretty user friendly. The manual is actually pretty good for a Roland manual. I have had bad experiences with their manuals in the past (i.e. VS 1880).
SOUND QUALITY
As a hardware, stand alone looper, this thing is great. I use it for quick ideas and also for live looping. I run this after my multi synth/alt. vocals mixer and it reproduces everything very well. The nice thing is you can set it up so that every new loop coming in is slightly quieter than it was when you were recording it. This reduces the volume increase that usually happens after every additional loop.
OVERALL OPINION
I have had this for two years and it has been a great tool for writing, live looping and just having creative fun. I love having three seperate looping channels. You can run them together, or set it up so you get one going, then switch to the other loop. What I absolutely hate is the restricting time measures. Sometimes I right in crazy time signatures like 29/4 (I know that might sound weird, but its true) and I don't expect it to have that measure built in, but having a 1/4 time measure would solve the problem. The lowest you can go is 2/4. I know you can count in half time and record that way, but why wouldn't they have a 1/4 time sig. It seems like so little to expect. Also, if you sample something at a certain volume and need it louder, you CAN increase the volume with the individual phrase volume knobs, but then everything you record on top of it gets increased also. They should have solved this by letting you resample a loop at a higher volume, saving it, and having that be your set volume. That would have saved me a lot of frustration because when I right a loop in Ableton Live 7, I don't know what the volume out put will be until I disconnect it from the computer and play it through an amp. It turns out to be a long and arduous guessing game. If these two things weren't the case, this would be the most amazing hardware sampler ever.