Whoa-very cool Boris. I dig the Hendrix-esque knob tweaking. I would suggest that you take it to the next level and set the rig on fire at the end, but you probably want to stay in good graces with the shopkeepers. ;-) ---------- Todd L. Greene
It took 1:30 to start the melody of a song. Most listeners (read anyone who doesn’t play harmonica or know who you are) are going to expect the song to have already reached a hook within about the first minute. Generally, you have about 10s…maybe 20s if the audience already knows you…to catch a listener.
I don’t know how your rig is routed, but could you have a pitch shifter after the looper but before the amp? Playing songs with chord changes using a one-channel looper becomes limiting very fast.
To occasionally take longer to set-up a song is totally fine, but the sooner you can avoid doing that the better.
This song takes about 20s less time to get to the first verse and has a lot more overdubs:
I think that this tune takes too long to setup as well. If you listen to Son of Dave – especially the Shake a Bone album, note how he uses an even simpler looper to set up multiple parts without large upfront set-up times. He uses a diverse range of intros, creates choruses, and even finds ways of looping for bridges.
Most harmonica players I hear looping use single channel loopers – often single button (yuck) – to setup multi-part songs where the emphasis is the lead harmonica performance (Noah’s video is not an example of this!). IMO, I don’t think this is a great way to do things if you are taking into account the audience. Woodshedding the math and timing to really create a strong SONG and not just a fun real-time jam track is, IMO, the key to creating a legit one-man band. In all reality, if you (the generic you, not specifically anyone) just need to setup backing tracks, than using backing tracks should be a consideration. I personally would avoid playing live to backing tracks, but if you are just looking for a means to an end….
It all comes down to the sustainability of an act. Any one song is cool in isolation, but if you are planning on gigging a set or recording multiple songs via a one-man looping format, then the same dynamics, variety, structure, and presentation that full bands and non-looping one-man bands are judged by are totally fair game.
I think a number of relatively high profile (at least on MBH) solo acts – looping or not – are doing so simply as a means to an end. They want to gig as a harmonica player, but can’t find another sustainable outlet to do so. They then get extra gear – foot drums, loopers, hand shakers, etc – to doll up solo harmonica pieces. I am not judging that as good or bad, just stating an observation.
What is missing, strictly IMO, is a commitment to the actual format (see SOD or Deak for examples of committed acts) of creating a viable live performance (not just a harmonica performance) to create a legit subgroup, genre, or niche. While the parlor trick aspect of it has grabbed the attention of a number of harmonica playing peers, as it pertains to looping, there is much to be desired. The closest thing to a real OMB via harmonica and looping beyond SOD has been Brandon. I’ve been woodshedding a year to try and get to a similar level of presentation, but it is HARD (I have no formal training in any instrument) and I feel I can only do 45-1hr of solo gigging as a legit act and not a novelty. I've chosen to focus primarily on doing paid gigs via that format - at places known for having full bands, and not coffee house type gigs where you are background music.
While I think a number of skilled players can get a fair amount of love playing solo, I think the most successful acts will be the solo players that follow the guidelines of being a successful fullband. One consideration, in particular, is the role of the audience in the performance…and I am NOT talking other harmonica players. Another aspect that is absent, so far, is the idea of original material. Furthermore, I want to hear solo harmonica loopers putting out harp-driven material that can stand on its own – not requiring soloing. Again, SOD is really the only noteable act doing this. The more I follow him, the more I realize how impressive he really is. He has a complete package to offer music fans.
I am counting myself as someone who is falling short of these expectations.
Boris, you play a lot of instrumental jazz, and a large chunk of that isn’t going to be diatonic progressions or vamps. To sustain a full set with something like the Boss RC30 on a regular basis may be frustrating to you.
There are loopers out there, like the Boomerang III I have that will let you setup a song like this faster while including the chord changes. Learning the Rang is like learning a whole new instrument. It is worth every penny and every minute. I have no idea your goals with looping, and most of what I wrote may not even apply to you. I just have the sneaky suspicion that you are looping out of necessity and not because that would be your first choice in live performance.
***I think a lot of harp players treat loopers like other musicians treat playing harmonica - it is just a novelty of sorts.
I will try and post an example of using the Rang to setup a complicated song in as few moves as possible. With separate channel control, I can overdub different lengths like crazy.
The best example I currently have online is:
Just over 30s and I am singing the song with a full chord progression of rhythm harp, full progression of bass, and a full progression of beatboxing.
If I wanted to add any parts, I would just overdub on the beatbox as it would only take two bars to do so. If you listen carefully, you can hear how I am able to change the bassline too. I can also start/stop different parts. FWIW, this would not be how I do this song live now that I have some experience. I don't take much of a solo at all and I don't noodle with effects.
*****
Here is a clip I whipped up at lunch...second take (on the first I stopped beatboxing at the wrong time). While the mix/quality sucks, it is a great illustration of taking similar elements and combining them quickly. I did in 20s what took you 1min 30s. I wasn't familiar enough with your song, nor did I have time to learn it, so I improvised a similar set up - two bars of bass for the master loop. Then I used two of the remaining synched channels for beatboxing and harmonica. I made sure I had two layers of harmonica, like you did, beyond the beatboxing layer.
If you listen closely, when I go from the bass singing to the beatboxing, that is when I start the master loop replay. In order to switch patches, I let a couple bars go by here and there to get to the rotary harp and lead harp sounds. I could have done this in even fewer repeats, but that wasn't the ultimate goal.
I intentionally tried to make everything two bars as to illustrate you can do this on just about any looper. The real advantage of the Boomerang is that I can have independent loops of DIFFERENT lengths.
If I was really doing a performance off this setup, I could manipulate the bass, beatbox, and harmonica parts as three independent channels - starting them, stopping, erasing, dubbing.
What I generally try to do is set the master to 1-2 bars. In that way, I can always quickly add a new part between vocal phrases and such. I do a cover of Chain of Fools where between phrases I add in the bass and beatboxing mid way through the first verse (start with looped harmonica). Later in the song, I then drop everything out to just the bass. Lots of dynamic options far beyond undoing the top overdub.
PS. I got the recording thing figured out, but I can only mix via headphones or my live rig at volume. I ordered decent studio monitors and will be able to make better quality recordings. For this, I didn't even mix. I just took a line out from my monitor and monitored live. Not a good way to do it!!! ---------- Mike VHT Special 6 Mods Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
Last Edited by on Mar 06, 2012 11:17 AM
FWIW, the Rang runs $469 US new. I got mine for $385 used. The POD HD500, which would do, I think, everything you were doing with the other pedals, is $500 new. I got mine for about $350 used.
That would be under a thousand new.
Your board runs about $635 new - assuming a RP255.
To Mike's point about taking time to build loops: I've noticed from watching people build loops for other instruments there are four approaches-
The most basic is to play a loop, then add a loop and keep adding loops, with no regard for what it sounds like until they get to the 'good part' when it all comes together. I've seen people even deleting what they just laid down and redoing it to get it right. That seems to be the studio guys who aren't really performers.
The second group at least gets everything right in one try. I think that tends to be musicians who aren't really studio guys.
The third group is people like Son of Dave (he's probably in the fourth group as well). The third group uses a combination of instruments at the same time to layer things more quickly. He may be beatboxing and using a shaker at the same time. He gets two layers out at the same time, which halves his set-up time.
The fourth group makes the first layers more interesting to listen to while you are waiting for the hook to arrive. That means composing more complex intros that still work with what you do later. There are two ways to do that- you can adjust what your final sound is going to be like, with maybe more complex bass parts, or add some parts to the mix that you drop out later in the song. You could even start with a little sample of melody and lay the bass parts down after you've got a hook going.
Of course, you are doing this sitting in a music store, but if I was going to offer a critique, watching this video, I'm not sure what button options you have, but you repeated that first snippet three times (well, twice, and then a third time with an extra boom at the end.) With the right buttons you might have been able to do it once, instantly looped it 2 more times, then add the last beat, and maybe used a shaker or more advanced beatboxing (I can't do it, but I've seen beatboxers who regularly combine two beats in one layer, by making a combination noise, a snare and bass drum noise at once, for instance).
Then just make sure all your knobs are set so you can lay down new layers as quickly as possible. Way beyond my skill level. I love your tone.
Thanks, Mike! I agree with you. From one hand I'm relatively new to livelooping. I know it can be faster, two bars of beatbox - two bars of rhythm - two bars of bass, but sometimes I didn't get harp right side or switch effects enough fast. So for my current looping skills I'm not ready for whole long solo gigs. And unfortunately I don't sing at all, I'm practicing singing, but I'm not satisfied yet. So now I use livelooping as a "special songs" inside band set. I think I'll do it better with years.
BTW My board is around $1000 too and I'm not ready to buy any heavy gear. My pedalboard is already about 10 kg and it's already too heavy, I'm still thinking how to reduce weight (e.g. only multiFX and looper, I don't know, I love carbon copy and HarpAttack too much). ---------- Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
That's why I went with the POD/Rang. It allowed me to create the most effective patch switching combined with the most diverse/easiest looping.
I have four patches for OMB stuff - vocals, harmonica, bass, and beatbox/harp. Each patch has its own effects bank (I only use effects on vocals and the lead harp stuff).
The POD HD is large, but I only have two pedals on my board. A simpler right (in terms of use) was the M13 to a looper to the Bass Driver DI.
No need to change gear if you are doing a couple songs a night. I've done up to two hours solo, so flexibility/versatility is a huge deal. ---------- Mike VHT Special 6 Mods Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
