I'm an advanced intermediate. And while I think what is most important for me to move up to the next level right now is to begin playing with other people, I also play guitar, and have seen some amazing things done with loopers. Before I buy one, I'm wondering how one learns how to use one. Can anyone direct me to a resource, youtube or other, than can direct one who to use a looper? Or maybe you could write about how you learned how to use one? Thank you in advance.
Practice, practice, practice... You have to treat your looper like a new instrument and get really consistent in your bedroom before trying it live, or you'll come horribly unstuck... Here's a harp-vocal-rap-beatbox example:
The hardest part about looping, timing aside, is figuring out what features you need.
I love the Boomerang for the serial-sync mode. I don't want any of the "at home" features the Digitech and Line 6 stuff offer. I wanted something that was great for live looping with harmonica and not something that was useful for recording.
With the Boomerang, I am able to setup songs extremely fast and then control three separate loops and layers all at the same time. The loops can be synched and of different lengths, which is HUGE for me.
I had a gig this last weekend, but didn't get to video tape. I'll see what I can do at home, but I think it looks cheesy when I record in my man cave, lol.
With something like the Rang, you can easily setup up 2-4 changes on guitar - like a verse, chorus, and bridge to play over. You could also setup a 12bar blues progression in three bars, but you'd have to tap dance to make the changes when jamming.
Check out he embedded vid. I don't use the free looping or the other sync (where you can create different sections one at a time). I always use serial-sync and then work out how many separate loops I want from there.
IMO, whatever you do, these two tips are crucial to success:
1. Learn to hit the record/play button while playing into the one of the last/first note of a loop.
2. Get a looper with at least two buttons - at least if you want to use it live.
One thing that you can't get with most hardware loopers is the ability to edit the loop--the Gibson Echoplex (EDP) has a feature called windowing (originally a bug!) that lets you select a portion of the loop and make that the new loop size. It can even be bigger than the original (reminds me of Steven Wright's joke about getting a tattoo of himself, only bigger). So let's say you have a simple riff recorded--you can select the portion you want to repeat, and have that be the new loop size--and then expand on that too. One of these days I gotta learn how to use Ableton Live . . .
"1. Learn to hit the record/play button while playing into the one of the last/first note of a loop."
Fully agree on this point. For the few loopers I've used, this has been KEY to getting the loop to sound seamless. Each looper is slightly different, so you have to adapt to its idiosyncrasies, but figuring out when to start and stop the loop is the most important part of looping. Then, just like riding a bike, once you've got the basics, it's just figuring out how to change gears on the particular model you are riding now. I also agree that loopers with more buttons/features are easier to use live, and probably also allow you to be more creative, but my main looper is a one-button type, and I've learned to be pretty creative within those confines. There are definitely boundaries, but I've been able to do okay within them, even in live situations. That being said, I do want a better looper as part of my performance rig.
I'd go one further, actually, and say that in order to be truly good at looping (like Emily Wells, for example), you really have to approach the looper as an instrument to be learned and played just like any other instrument. Once you playing your looper as an instrument - with precision, passion, and musicality - then you've got it down. That's something I'm still working on, even after two years of looping.
Mike - its not just blues harp players. I remember when Little Mac Simmons started using a drum machine on some of his gigs in the 80's. He caught a ton of crap from musicians, audience members and critics.
For me part of the fun of playing music or seeing live music being performed is the interaction between the musicians. I like trying to identify their influences and how they put their material together. I like the energy it creates.
I know a great guitarist that works with a looper on cheap gigs that don't pay much. I enjoy seeing him play, but I prefer his sound with a full band.
Right, but we're on a blues harmonica forum. I could have easily just said blues. I'd think players of that genre would be pretty quick to dismiss the use of a looper compared to other genres.
IMHO, a lot of people use a looper as a means to an end rather than using it like an instrument. They setup backing tracks to jam to rather than using it as another instrument if that makes sense. I find that hard to avoid, but continue to push that direction.
Yesterday I started working on a Black Keys song that has a rather long (forgot how many bars) rhythm part in addition to a bridge. I was able to work it out in about the length of the song's recorded intro, but there was so much math involved...
Anyways, I see some harp players putting them to extremely good use in order to ENGAGE an audience rather than dictate. Pretty cool!
I have to chuckle, though, as I've been sharing some home recordings with a very famous harp player who has moved to using a looper (and drum tracks and other prerecorded material) and a wealth of effects.
He felt my style was very "primitive" and "rural". He thought it needed a lot more effects (synths and mods). At first, I thought he had a point, then I realized that if I wanted a band with no harmonica in it, I wouldn't be going solo to begin with, lol.
I like the idea of doing roots music and mixing tones up now and then...ultimately, though, I like the way S.O.D. and Brandon play solo without a ton of synths, etc.
This past weekend, I used several delays and reverbs, but the only other effects I liked using were a rotary drum/horn and chorus. The synthy stuff gets too out there for me.
