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Electric Drums VS. Loop Machine

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ilovethesechord

Jun 27, 2008
139
0
#1
Hello Everybody, I've got a few questions.

I bought an RC-20XL loop machine, and I love it. I was wondering if there was any way to raise (or more importantly, lower) the playback volume of the looper WITHOUT having to bend over and touch the pedal.

Also, I've heard rumors that loud bass or guitar frequencies can actually trigger an electric drum pad. I plan on buying this, and was hoping to loop guitar, bass, and drums. Are these rumors true?

Thank you Thank you Thanks.
 
#3
I don't think the RC-20XL supports any expansion except for unlatched footswitches, so it seems like your only options are:

1) Run longer cables and place it in arms reach.
2) Drop some coin on a Third Hand pedal.
3) Develop prehensile toes.

Option 1 is obviously worthless if you want to change the volume while playing.
 
#4
As said, there's no way to change the volume hands-free

As for the drums, I don't know of any units which can be triggered via volume alone. It may be possible- Roland uses a D-Beam on some of their units which basically allows an electric trigger to go off if you block light from entering a small screen- but I don't know of one offhand. Drum triggers can be set to pick up slight vibrations, but I'm not sure how you could set up your amp to trigger a drum trigger by say keeping an electric drum pad right next to your amp as you'd have little control over what vibrates the pad and what doesn't. Nearly any triggering you see is done via MIDI, which the RC-20XL doesn't have.
 
#6
EADG mx said:
You could run a volume pedal.
Click to expand...

Yup, although you'd have to run it AFTER the looper if you wanted to lower its output volume, and you still couldn't raise it as you can by boosting the gain control on the looper. You could always keep the volume pedal a little less than full and then bring it up when needed.
 
#8
ilovethesechord said:
so it looks like I'm gonna have to build some kind of foot-able contraption on top of the output dial?
Click to expand...

Good luck building one :D There's a product (as mentioned) called the Third Hand which is basically an expression pedal with a cable you attach to a knob post, and using the expression pedal alters the dial position. No one around here has tried one that I've seen, and the few reviews for it on Harmony Central are mixed.

There's also a weird knob replacement thingie that has two or three long poles that stick out that you can turn with your foot. Forgot the name of it though. I'd be worried about breaking the post using it, but it may be just what you need.
 
#12
Anything you can get in a hands-free format is better IMO- hands-free=still playing. Raising and lowering the volume of loops when recording adds a great dynamic when looping (something I don't nearly enough). If you want to maintain your normal volume when playing, a boosting pedal (or the gain boost on the RC-20) would allow you raise it.
 
#15
ilovethesechord said:
I find that after layering several tracks it's hard to transition to the next "loop thing." this way i can fade out of a very complex loop, as apposed to an abrupt STOP! New bass line! kind of thing
Click to expand...

The only problem with that is that you'd have to delete the loop and then bring the volume back up for the new one quickly as you can't affect the volume of the loop alone on the RC-20XL without affecting the bass' volume as well. I think you can on the RC-50, but I'm not positive.
 
#16
Alright in that case, I'd go with that option knob or a volume pedal. The pedal would cost more but seem more durable/easier to use. I've been thinking of getting a volume pedal to run after my looper myself.

As for fading the loops and keeping your bass signal, I'm sure you could route it with some sort of A/B/Y system but that might be more headache than it's worth.
 
#17
Bryan R. Tyler said:
The only problem with that is that you'd have to delete the loop and then bring the volume back up for the new one quickly as you can't affect the volume of the loop alone on the RC-20XL without affecting the bass' volume as well. I think you can on the RC-50, but I'm not positive.
Click to expand...

I'm almost sure that the loop level and instrument level are independant on the RC-20XL too. I can check for certain when I get home.
 

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