Audio tracks with looper
I would love to see audio tracks and audio clips for recording vocal loops. Even better would be the ability to overdub loop record on these clips. Something I’ve always wanted to see in ableton live. Maybe drambo could become the new ableton live for me _ I know that I could use flex i sampler to record audio phrases but its not ideal for recording different vocal phrases in different song sections
Comments
I like Enso Looper https://apps.apple.com/us/app/enso-looper/id1449640589 but some of the parameters aren’t available to Drambo directly so to get the most of it you may have to send CC’s from a Midi CC generator.
I realize thats not what you were asking for and I agree its a good idea but in the meantime Enso might work for you. You can save the loops and load them in Flexi.
Flexi can overdub record (just record again on an existing sample).
Using multiple Flexis on a track for multiple song sections would be the Drambonic way to do it.
You could trigger them by different notes, even parts of recordings, if you want.
I know there are auv3 solutions but a real Drambo looper would be very useful, complete with trig inputs for record/play/overdub. Something simple and somewhat modular, like ableton looper.
Let's design one!
Dunno how often I mentioned it to @giku as well but the more we thought about a good design, the more questions came up (including polyphonic playheads and potential glitches when freely modulating the playhead positon while live audio fills the buffer) and after playing with different Flexi, buffer and delay combinations, I somehow got lost in my alchemy lab 😅
It should certainly be a combination of a looper and a buffer for live audio if it makes sense from the usability perspective.
Modulating delay alone is such a powerful method.
A set of modules I never managed to get into, much to my sadness, are the buffer modules.
Would really love some practical pointers on what to do with them, besides the obvious, and in tandem with flexi.
What are some ways these modules (and delay) could be used for live looper designs?
Doesn’t need to be all complex, but I’m intrigued and would like to learn more
I’d put my vote in for a native looper module, especially because a working prototype already exist. I had an extensive back and forth about one with @giku , around the time of the original launch. Then of course other requests took priority.
My preferred method for live is based on two buttons but also requires the currently absent hold action for ‘clear loop’.
I’m currently hosting D in Loopy so it doesn’t irk me as much anymore though.
I’d absolutely prioritise making it easier to set odd signatures in the sequencer on pattern level. I’m missing this a lot actually to the point of only using D for sound creation rather than sequencing.
Midi sequencing is currently being worked on in loopy pro. If it works in a way the audio loops do it will make for a formidable alternative for midi sequencing.
In fact I find the buffer modules so unintuitive that I try to avoid using them. You never know what's happening and there's no visual clue about what is buffered and how the buffer is read. Plus there is only a fixed set of rules about what you can do with them. Tape stop is the exception 😉
Using delays isn't more intuitive either but at least they give me more control.
I must admit that I'm a fan of reverse delays so I started building long-ish racks...
Here's a stripped down version of a reverse delay that uses both delays and buffer modules. Unpack the zip, open the project in Drambo and hit Play.
Towards the end of the rack, the X-fader lets you adjust the effect amount and the Convolver Dry/Wet adjustment lets you tame some nasty transients in the reversed signal that might happen with percussive material.
Edit @pedro:
A simple reverse delay would look like this:
Make sure you set the LFO modulation depth in the Delay module to 0.25
Hey that’s a really cool concept! Gave me some inspiration, thanks for sharing.
I bet those morphs were a pain to get right 😅
@pedro Yeah, sometimes there's a lot of fiddling involved. I fiddle therefore I'm a fiddler? Nevermind 😂
Here's another one that I should have posted on patchstorage long ago so thanks for bringing up the subject again:
Ha, that’s also a cool idea. Let’s see if I can get some of that inspiration
im no help on the actual DSP/coding side of things, but my minimum criteria are gate inputs for record/play/overdub, true looper behavior where the buffer is extended for the duration of the recording time. Things like double or halve would be useful. The visual cues given in ableton looper are great.
polyphonic would be cool but if it impedes development it seems like largely a fringe case. Maybe a more dumbed down buffer module with longer buffer times and polyphonic would work.
in terms of glitches, what kind? Modulating the playhead position while recording in sounds absolutely dreamy.
@bcrichards ”in terms of glitches, what kind? Modulating the playhead position while recording in sounds absolutely dreamy.”
i had a similar thought, bring the glitches! 😂
@bcrichards No no, with "design" I really meant a sketch from the users' perspective.
Thanks for these suggestions, anyone else with nice features in mind?
So you guys are talking about a new looper module, or designing looper features with the modules we already got?
Hopefully both?
Rather a new looper module.
Well, one feature I think it should have is optional control over bpm and transport. if I have no loop recorded, how sick would it be to tap/trigger record, then i finish my phrase and stop the recording, and it immediately launches my other clips to start playing at my new bpm.
I can almost see two different use cases - a mini looper module, that is more meant for modular use cases (basically buffer module with an additional gate triggered loop lengths and overdub ability, and a phrase looper with full midi control and access to project bpm/transport.
And I think the bpm/transport control is one major reason that Loopy and ENSO don't do it for me. They are both fine (great) loopers on their own, but the fact that they do not interact with the DAW in that way makes them less useful as part of a larger project.
So would it at this point be possible to create a realtime editable 1 bar looper? As I only get as far as recording it but the playback doesn't catch up
I don’t have a solution for you, but kudos for posting a gif. We need more moving pictures in this forum (hosted elsewhere 😅)