![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Downloadable PRESS PACK |
|
| Here's a quick comparison chart of some looping devices avaiable today. It doesn't cover the the market completely and I have on purpose selected a few functions that I think make sense for comparing the devices. Please feel free to contact me with suggestions on how to improve this chart. If you see the sign * inside a cell it means the issue is better explained down at the Enlightening Comments at the bottom of this page. Share on Facebook | ||
| Overdub | Feedback | Undo | Multiply | Quantize | Reverse loop | MIDI | Presets | Sync | Cut n Paste slices | Pitch transposing | Time stretching | Tap tempo | Max numbers of loops | multiple loops in parallel | Audio channels, Tracks | Stereo recording | Built-in storage option | can run on battery | Memory RAM | |
| Echoplex LoopIV | yes | yes | yes backwards scalling off layers | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | MIDI clock, Brother, pulse | yes | half speed | no | yes, two taps defining initial loop cycle length as tempo base | 16 | no | 1 mono | no | no, externally via MIDI | no | 16 MB |
| Repeater | yes | yes, but only in Overdub Mode | yes, deleting only the last layer. When still in Rec Mode all new layers are deleted. | yes | sort of... | yes | yes | no | MIDI clock, beat, tap | no | MIDI notes, MIDI cc, manually | yes | yes | 99 | no |
4 mono or 2 stereo | yes, by linking two mono tracks | CFC card | no | 8 MB |
| Boomerang 2.0 | yes | 7 fixed levels | no | no | no | yes | no | no | no | no | half speed. Interval can be changed from an octave to a lower 2nd., 4th., 5th, or 7th. |
no | yes, sort of... In version 2.0 you indicate the loop length and the device extrapolates the tempo | 2 | no | no | no | no | ||
| Line6 DL4 Modelling Delay | yes | no | no | no | no | yes | no | yes | no | no | half speed | no | no | 1 | no | no | no | yes | ||
| Boss RC-20XL | yes | no | Yes. Last layer has Undo + Redo | no | yes related to tap tempo | yes | no | yes | no | no | no | yes, but not fluently while loops are running | yes | 11 | no | 1 | 16 min mono | yes battery or AC | ||
| Looperlative | yes | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | ? | MIDI Clock, internally by first recorded set as master track | no | half speed | no | ? | Many! Only limited by 128 MB RAM | yes. synchronous, poly-rhythmic or non-rythmic loops is possible | 8 stereo | yes | no | no | 128 MB |
| Digitech JamMan | yes | no | yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | yes | 99 | no | 1 mono | no | CF-Card; PC via USB | 128M-2G CFC | |
| Zoom G2 | yes | yes | no | no | no | no | yes | yes | no | no | no | no | yes | 1 | no | no | no | no | yes | |
| Electro-Harmonix 2880 | yes | yes | no | no | yes, for 1 bar length | yes, action taken on all five tracks | yes | no | yes, MIDI clock | no | half speed, octave button affecting all five tracks. Tempo slider also affects pitch. | no, pitch changes with the tempo | no | 1, but with 4 tracks. Mixdown to 5th track can free up the 4 tracks for more looping | no (?) one loop may have four tracks |
4, can be mixed down to a 5th stereo track | yes, by linking two mono tracks | Flash card, 128 MB to 2 GB, USB computor backup and restore | no | |
| Roland RC-50 | yes | no (can be achieved if you bridge SubOuts with AuxIns) |
yes only one layer back - then "REDO" back again |
no (can be achieved if you bridge SubOuts with AuxIns) |
yes | yes | yes | yes (even audio for old loops can be saved in a patch) |
yes | no | yes (but it sounds horrible - unusable IMHO) |
yes (but it sounds horrible - unsuable IMHO) |
yes |
3 (but then only one playing at a time) |
3 (but then no "Next Loop") |
3 | yes | 49 minutes in mono (half of that in stereo). 99 patch presets. USB to /fromcomputer. Good editing/library software bundled. |
no | |
| Boss RC-2 | yes | no | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | yes, but not fluently while loops are running | yes | 11 | no | 1 | 16 min mono | yes |
||
| Electro-Harmonix Stereo Memory Man with Hazari | yes | "yes" |
no | no | no | no | no | yes | no | no | varispeed (continuous half to double speed) | yes (via tap tempo) |
yes | 1 | 0 | 2 | yes | no | no | - |
| Yes, kind of: sound-on-sound-recording in SOS mode |
yes | no | Yes, kind of: only in Delay Mode | no | reverse delay setting | no | 4 (flash RAM) |
no | no | no | no | yes | 2 | 'yes* | 2 | yes | no | yes battery or AC |
holds 23 seconds of audio | |
| Overdub | Feedback | Undo | Multiply | Quantize | Reverse loop | MIDI | Presets | Sync | Cut n Paste slices | Pitch transposing | Time stretching | Tap tempo | Max numbers of loops, linear | multiple loops in parallel | Audio channels, Tracks | Stereo recording | Built-in storage option | can run on battery | Memory RAM | |
| Logelloop OS X |
yes both traditionally summing layers OR each new layer given its own channel in the loop | yes | yes (but no "redo") | yes | yes (for mixer and effect preset changes) | yes | yes | yes swapping between mixer and effect presets as musical performance | no | no | yes | yes | yes | 3 as default but many more linear loops can be created and lined up | yes, but rather l10 layers of the same loop. Layers can have different length though | 10 loop layer channels, 2 VST plug-in channels and 1 chanel for built-in effects | yes | yes. can save files and has a syncable "file player" aside the looper | yes, if laptop battery | |
| Ableton Live OSX/XP | no | no* | no* | no* | yes | yes* | yes | yes | yes | yes* | yes* | yes | yes | Many! Depending on computer spec's | yes | yes | yes | yes, if laptop battery | ||
| Lexicon PSP42 OSX/XP | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | yes | yes by the host appl | no | half speed | no | yes | yes | no | yes, if laptop battery | |||||
| Augustus Loop OSX | yes | yes | no | yes* | sort of | yes | yes | yes by the host appl | yes | no | MIDI notes, MICI cc | no | yes | 1 per instance | yes | no | yes, if laptop battery | |||
| Sooper Looper Linux, OSX | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes by the host appl | yes | no | half speed, rate shift | no | yes | Many! Depending on computer spec's | yes | no | yes, if laptop battery | |||
| AU Looper OSX | yes* | yes* | yes* | yes* | yes* | yes* | yes* | yes by the host appl | yes* | no | yes* | yes* | yes* | 4 per instance | yes | yes | yes, if laptop battery | |||
| Mobius, XP | yes | yes | yes backwards scalling off layers. Customizable | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | MIDI Clock, internally by first recorded set as master track | yes | yes (not perfected yet), half speed, rate shift, | yes (not perfected yet) | yes | Many! Depending on computer spec's | yes. synchronous, poly-rhythmic or non-rythmic loops is possible | 8 stereoper instance, or more if you tinker with the code | yes | yes, store loops or record complete performance to the computors drive | yes, if laptop battery | |
| Loopy Lama XP, OSX | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes, if laptop battery | |||||||||||||
| Radial
Mac OS |
yes | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | yes, if laptop battery | ||||||||||||
| Overdub | Feedback | Undo | Multiply | Quantize | Reverse loop | MIDI | Presets | Sync | Cut n Paste slices | Pitch transposing | Time stretching | Tap tempo | Max numbers of loops | multiple loops in parallel | Audio channels, Tracks | Stereo recording | Built-in storage option | can run on battery | Memory RAM |
Relateded links you may find useful:
Augustus Loop Multiply: (Os) If you turn off the 'tape inertia' feature, then you can change the loop length to anything you like, while you're looping, with no glitches. So you can record a phrase and later change the loop time to e.g. four times the original length - which is effectively a multiply. The joy of the complete flexibility this gives you is that you could e.g. record an 8 beat phrase and then change the delay time to 11 beats. So you have fractional multiplies going on, if you so desire. Same applies in reverse - you can change the loop time to lower than the original time. So e.g. go from 4/4 to 3/4 seamlessly if you like. BOSS DD-20 multiple loops in parallel: (Rainer Thelonius Balthasar Strschill) I describe the "parallel loop" function of the DD20 in some more detail below, but the quick answer is still "yes" (2) (Some of the details here do not apply if one of the modes in question is the stupid "SOS" mode): The DD20 has four memory slots to store your favourite settings and then switch between them and "manual mode" (i.e. what you set up with the dials and knobs). It also has a "seamless switching" function which will have the last delay playing - only disconnected from the input as well as from the controls - if you switch to a new memory slot. This last delay will then continue playing either until it has faded out or until you switch memory slot again. Note that you lose control over that "last loop" completely, so you can't adjust feedback or volume or even go back to it and overdub further. But it sure does qualify for your description of "making changes to one loop whil still hearing the other looping on". As a matter of fact, you can even create four loops in parallel, namely if you choose the double delay for both your memory slots ;) |