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The Boomerang III Phrase Sampler Thread

#61
Joelc73 said:
Cool - I just emailed Mike. What exactly does the new software give you?
Click to expand...

Got my update email. With all the 'warnings', etc. regarding costs of 'unlocking' if the upgrade doesn't work right, I've decided not up update mine. For the simple looping I do for practice/rehearsal, the functionality of the III without the update is more than adequate for my needs.

Here are the two things the upgrade will give you, according to the website:

Sync Play Style - all loops can play simultaneously and are synced so they stay together

Free Play Style - all loops can play simultaneously and are NOT synced; this is great for creating ambient soundscapes
 
#62
KJung said:
Got my update email. With all the 'warnings', etc. regarding costs of 'unlocking' if the upgrade doesn't work right, I've decided not up update mine. For the simple looping I do for practice/rehearsal, the functionality of the III without the update is more than adequate for my needs.

Here are the two things the upgrade will give you, according to the website:

Sync Play Style - all loops can play simultaneously and are synced so they stay together

Free Play Style - all loops can play simultaneously and are NOT synced; this is great for creating ambient soundscapes
Click to expand...

Thanks Ken. I'm not sure that, for my needs at least, either of those are compelling reasons to upgrade. I may just leave well enough alone.

I really like this pedal a lot. I do wish it had the ability to save loops but, besides that, it's pretty perfect for me.

Thanks,
JC
 
#64
I just upgraded mine despite never having even looked at a MIDI cable before, and the cost of the upgrade if you had to send it in would only be $30 + shipping. From what I've seen on other forums, there have been few issues with user upgrades as long as you follow the instructions and know how to set the correct MIDI output (which was my only issue, as Microsoft Vista doesn't have a way to select MIDI outputs without some directory modifications- *I hate Vista, by the way*). Super easy once I got over the Vista hurdle and totally worth it-

the Sync mode is exactly what I was looking for in a looper (now you are able to play all 4 loops at once or in combinations), and I could see the Free mode being pretty fun, though without any automatic syncing, the looseness of the timing of my button hits becomes obvious very quickly (as the loops get farther and farther out of sync over time, but this would be awesome for ambient looping).

The gapless stack option is also a great upgrade for eliminating the little stutter that you could get overdubbing with the version 1 firmware. Now this pedal finally crushes the comparable Boss pedals in everything I'd have a use for apart from saving loops! The only thing I'm hoping is that he eventually releases an external bonus pedal so I can use 4 loops without sacrificing features!
 
#65
wdinc01 said:
If you read into the manual, there are also a few other features added. I forget what its called, but basically there's now a stuttering effect and a droning effect.

I haven't upgraded mine yet, though. I need to get some MIDI cables first.
Click to expand...

The "Droning effect" was a fix to an issue that would happen when stacking on loops where there would be a break in the stack where the loop started over- it is especially obvioius with any instrument with sustaining notes (synth or Ebow-guitar, for example), though I had issues with it on bass as well, as you couldn't sustain a note over the repeating loop without a stutter. Now it's fixed though (although optional-read the manual that will come with the upgrade), and apparently was a ramping of volume that actually had a logical reason to be there in the first place (the "pop" you can have when overdubbing loops on other pedals- I remember that from my old Boss RC-20xl).

The stutter effect is cool too for percussive start-stop of loops.
 
#67
wdinc01 said:
I actually haven't been able to get either of them to work. I don't know if I'm just doing it wrong, but it seems that the stutter isn't working.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you did the process to select the options for stuttering/seamless overdubs (it's a little confusing)? I haven't tried the stutter on the Boomerang yet (done similar things with other loopers), so I can't comment on that- and the "play once" option is not one of the Bonus features I will probably use until/if there is ever an external features add-on pedal made available. But the seamless loops was one of my big niggles with the Version 1 firmware, and it is definitely fixed with the version 2- that was the first thing I tried after upgrading the firmware.
 
#68
So I tried the "stuttering" option today- it does indeed work, but I think that it is disabled when running either of the Master loop modes (Serial with Master, or Synch)- this makes since, because the stuttering would un-synch the tracks from the Master. It's pretty cool, but I still probably won't use it unless I do some sort of improv Free mode jamming sometime!
 

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