------------------------------
Content-Type: text/plain

Loopers-Delight-d Digest                                Volume 96 : Issue 37

Today's Topics:
  Re:Beyond Fripp (long)                [ "T.W. Hartnett" <hartnett.t@apple.c ]
  Unidentified subject!                 [ Ray Peck <rpeck@PureAtria.COM> ]
  Re:Beyond Fripp (long)                [ DAVID_MITCHELL@HP-Australia-om1.om. ]
  RE: KC video: live in japan, oct. 95  [ Paulpop@ssnet.com (Paul Poplawski,  ]
  Re: Ed Alleyne-Johnson                [ matthias@bahianet.com.br (Matthias  ]
  RE: Beyond Fripp (long)               [ Michael Peters <100041.247@CompuSer ]
  Re: Beyond Fripp (long)               [ Jon Durant <74074.1316@CompuServe.C ]
  Re: Vortex Problems                   [ cwb@platinum.com (Clark) ]
  Re: Beyond Fripp                      [ Dave Stagner <dstagner@icarus.net> ]
  On-guitar control?                    [ pycraft@elec.gla.ac.uk (Dr M. P. Hu ]
  RE: Beyond Fripp (long)               [ The Man Himself <altruist@shoko.CAL ]
  My credentials as such                [ The Man Himself <altruist@shoko.CAL ]
  Boomerang is at Guitar Center!        [ The Man Himself <altruist@shoko.CAL ]
  Greetings                             [ Dpcoffin@aol.com ]
  Re: Beyond Fripp (long)               [ "Greg & Sandee West" <gdwest@anc.ak ]

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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 96 17:52:10 -0000
From: "T.W. Hartnett" <hartnett.t@apple.com>
To: "Looper's Delight" <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com>
Subject: Re:Beyond Fripp (long)
Message-Id: <199612182351.PAA09764@scv2.apple.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

As far as some people's expressed concern on the "static" nature of 
Fripp's looping work, I think it's a somewhat unavoidable part of the 
process he uses in creating the loops.  A lot of Torn's work is edited in 
the studio, which gives a lot more flexibility in arrangement and 
dynamics. Given that most people have only one loop device in their rig, 
you're going to be limited to adding information into the loop.  Even if 
you've got an Echoplex, the Undo feature isn't going to allow you 
introduce a radical, appealing change to what you're doing.  It just lets 
you remove the last layer or two, depending on how much memory you've got 
installed.  That's not much of a compositional manuever, and unless 
you've specifically planned an overdub to be removed for effect, I doubt 
that Undo really functions as other than a "Whoops!" button for most 
people.  I avoid using it because maybe one in 20 loops strike me as 
fatally flawed.

Too often I've had started something and either made a mistake or what 
appeared to be a mistake, and found five minutes later that I've mutated 
it into something beautiful.  That's part of my concept, and it may be a 
personal preference, but from what I've read of Fripp's approach, it also 
includes the acceptance of hazard as a crucial part of the piece.  I 
prefer to spray information around for the first few minutes without 
thinking about it too much, and then see what seems like a good idea.

Several people have stated that they prefer "1999" and/or "Radiophonics" 
to "Blessing of Tears" (for those of you not familiar with the texture of 
those records, the first two are more dissonant and angular, although 
both have streches of more "pretty" music, whereas "Blessing" is 
mournfully beautiful all the way through, or, droningly facile, depending 
on your viewpoint).  For general listening, I prefer "Blessing" because 
it's more tranquil.  If I put on "1999" or "Radiophonics" while I'm at 
work, even quietly, people start to ask what I'm listening to, in a tone 
that suggests they hope it's nearly over.  They're spicier textures, much 
like "Thrakattak" (again for the unfamiliar, an hour-long release of 
group improvisations which often sounds like horror-film music right 
before the bogeyman jumps out of the shadows), which I love, but I'm not 
going to put it on everyday.  It's like listening to Ligeti--it's uneasy 
listening, and few people can listen to it for long without getting a 
little edgy.  

Someone said that "Blessing" was a fairly easy texture to imitate, and 
I'd agree, but I don't find either "1999" or "Radiophonics" difficult to 
imitate.  Once you're familiar with the form, it's not difficult to 
imitate the "generic" disturbed Frippscape (even going back to 
Eno/Fripp's "Index of Metals").  That's not the point.  Fripp has spoken 
repeatedly of how music truly occurs in the interaction between the 
audience and the performer, and listening to recorded Frippertronics or 
Soundscapes is very different from experiencing it in person, even if it 
"sounds" the same.  Most people don't get a chance to attend a 
Soundscapes show, and fortunately the CD's are available.  With 
Frippertronics, only the backing tracks were released.  The shows that 
"Let The Power Fall" were drawn from consisted of material similiar to 
the album tracks with Fripp soloing in real time on top.  There are 
bootlegs of this, but Fripp has only released a few examples of the final 
product.  Despite that, I think there's a lot of value in the 
backing-loop tracks.

Other looping artists, such as David Torn, Michael Brook and Steve 
Tibbets, work primarily in a studio context.  Loops are used to build 
tracks upon, but it's not the same sort of high-wire act that live 
improvised looping creates.  You gain control of dynamics and structure, 
and perhaps lose on the magic of the moment.  Understand that I'm not 
knocking Torn/Brook/Tibbets, I've got and love all their stuff, but it's 
a different path.  The live Brook that I've heard is based on playing 
with pre-recorded backing tracks.  I'm not sure if Tibbets has ever 
really toured, and Torn probably won't doing much touring in the future, 
due to health and the economics of the road.  Our loss.

I don't think it's possible to have improvised looping ever match the 
shifting dynamics of edited studio work.  Even if you had multiple loops 
available to you (say four 32 second loops) with the ability to mix them 
in and out, how well could you keep track of what's going on, and how 
good of a job could you do, in real-time, towards organizing it into a 
structured piece?  It's a noble goal, but in the same way that you can't 
improvise a concerto, I don't think it's possible to whip up a coherent 
piece in public.  I wasn't attracted to looping so that I could 
cut-and-paste instrumental songs on the fly--I wanted to chase longer 
forms and textures, in a raga-esque manner.

Going back to Fripp's use of loops, it doesn't show up much in his studio 
work, except as what I think of as "background fairy dust".  There a few 
notable exceptions--the version of "Here Comes The Flood" on Exposure 
comes to mind, but even then I think he had ten minutes of Frippertronics 
and stuck Peter Gabriel's piano/voice performance on top, with a spoken 
word section from John Bennett, and then went to work editing everything 
together.  Indeed, the bulk of Fripp guest appearances in the last few 
years have been of the background-Soundscapes variety, and some people 
have speculated that he just sends the interested party some tapes and 
lets them pick through to find what might be useful to them.  I'm not 
saying this is a bad idea.

Travis Hartnett

------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 15:58:32 -0800 (PST)
From: Ray Peck <rpeck@PureAtria.COM>
To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
Subject: Unidentified subject!
Message-Id: <199612182358.PAA17887@pure.PureAtria.COM>

VanEyck writes:
>       I am new to the mailing list.  I noticed in the archive that there
>have been some problems with the "new" Vortex units from Guitar Centre.
>
>       What is the final word?  Are the units faulty?

Not all of them: mine seems just fine, although I haven't spent that
much time with it (yet).

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 96 11:32:58 +1100
From: DAVID_MITCHELL@HP-Australia-om1.om.hp.com
To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
Subject: Re:Beyond Fripp (long)
Message-Id: <H00000c5024d1355@MHS>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; name="Re:Beyond"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

> Indeed, the bulk of Fripp guest appearances in the last few 
> years have been of the background-Soundscapes variety, and some people

> have speculated that he just sends the interested party some tapes and

> lets them pick through to find what might be useful to them.

I read in one of the UK magazines (Future Music?) that this is exactly
what happened: Fripp was asked to "do his stuff" on a particular
recording, and his response was to send in some tapes with a "Choose
whatever you want" covering note.  This article was part of an interview
with the artist concerned, so it's pretty much a 1st hand account.

Dave Mitchell

------------------------------
Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 20:00:16 -0500
From: Paulpop@ssnet.com (Paul Poplawski, Phd)
To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
Subject: RE: KC video: live in japan, oct. 95
Message-Id: <v01520d04aede43e315ad@[205.216.96.69]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>>>----------
>>From:  Dan Howarth
>>Sent:  Tuesday, December 17, 1996 1:43 AM
>>To:    John_Ott@ATK.COM
>>Cc:    loopers-delight@annihilist.com
>>Subject:       KC video: live in japan, oct. 95
>>
>>
anyone know the availability of the Sylvian videodisk ... where can it be had?



anybody else have this yet? i've watched it twice in the last 20 hours...
>>i'm sorry that i missed them on the tour, but this seems to make up for
>>it. there's great footage of everyone (except TG, in my opinion not
>>enough) and it's very well patched together - except for very annoying
>>camera shaking and panning (i think it was an attempt to be weird. just
>>kinda shook up my stomach a little - and being the worldest evil-est
>>band and slightly drunk... well, the camera didn't need to shake that
>>much - they're hard enough to follow as it is).
>>there's some neat footage of fripp dialing his effects during B'Boom, too.
>>very prominent TC 2290s and Eventide equipment in his main rack.
>>
>>there's not much of a comparison between the stick and the warr guitar (of
>>which TG plays only the 8 string model) in the video. there is an
>>interesting version of the stick improv/duet from the live album, but the
>>processing of each was unclear for comparison value.
><
>
>Got this a few weeks ago myself (also the Fripp/Sylvian laserdisc) from
>Possible Productions.   The video was originally shot for a Japanese
>TV show.   Wierd video is from Director of the TV Show.
>
>What struck me as weird was Belew's guitars.  Saw KC twice
>(Warner june 95 DC as last summer at merriweather Post MD)
>and Adrian had three Fender Custom Shop Strats both shows.
>Yet in the Video he has just the one Strat and Plays a Les Paul
>(one of Fripp's Tokai Les Paul copys?) and a Parker Fly.  He mentioned
>in Guitar Player (June 95 KC feature) that he really likes the Fly
>but would be using the Custom Shop Strats on Tour.
>Did some get lost or damaged in shipping?
>
>>I'll have to post to ET to see if anyone knows the story behind this.
>
>    The Fripp Sylvian disc is much better.  The director was very good
>    at getting the soloist on film.   Cool interplay between Micheal
>Brook and
>    Fripp at one point.   I had the Damage CD (same tour different
>shows)
>    and had a some Ideas as to who played what.  The video straighted
>that
>    out.  (I was right about 80% but was dead wrong on one solo that
>    I was sure was Trey Gunn (just like something on the Third Star)
>only
>    to find Fripp playing it in the Video, oh well they both use
>Eventides)
>
>    peace
>    John

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 02:30:57 -0300
From: matthias@bahianet.com.br (Matthias Grob)
To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
Subject: Re: Ed Alleyne-Johnson
Message-Id: <v01520d02aede1e7ab005@[200.254.32.117]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Michael said:
>Basically Ed Alleyne-Johnson plays baroque (Bach?) influenced
>counterpoint/rhythm/percussive stuff on solo violin and pedalboard, with
>some arabic and Hendrixian influences.  I don't know who to send this to -
>if everyone can sort it out, decide among yourselves and let me know.  I
>really only have time to make one copy, though.  Maybe a tape tree would
>work.

This is definitally interesting to me! But I am not a good point to let a
tape tree grow (trees grow quickly here but until they reach another
continent...)

>The album contains a lot of structured, non-improvised loops - is this what
>we need "beyond Fripp"?  Structure, rather than improv?

What I meant was not about improv or not, rather about dynamics.
Its a bigger question even: Can structure be improvised, or is it by
definition something planned?
Is it structuring if I for example have phases with open feedback, building
a constant carpet, and phases with less feedback, changing clima, or even
rythm in the same piece? This can easily be improvised.

Matthias

------------------------------
Date: 19 Dec 96 02:13:03 EST
From: Michael Peters <100041.247@CompuServe.COM>
To: "'INTERNET:Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com'" <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com>
Subject: RE: Beyond Fripp (long)
Message-ID: <961219071303_100041.247_JHB66-1@CompuServe.COM>

Andre says,

>One thing that I would have to say is that Fripp is the first person I'm 
>aware of who was using real-time looping in a live performance context.  
>I know he didn't invent reel-to-reel tape loops, or any other mechanical 
>looping principle.  But I haven't heard of anyone previous to him who 
>actually took the gear out into the "real world" and performed live 
>concerts using this sort of hardware.  (If there is indeed historical 
>prescedent for this before Fripp, please feel free to correct me).  

Ok, here goes, Andre:

I recommend reading my "History of Looping" article on our web site - it will
tell you about Terry Riley who used loops years before Fripp in many live
concerts, and who probably invented this thing years before Eno experimented
with it.

Michael Peters   
private:        100041.247@compuserve.com
work:   mp@harold-scholz.de
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mpeters

------------------------------
Date: 19 Dec 96 08:27:03 EST
From: Jon Durant <74074.1316@CompuServe.COM>
To: "INTERNET:Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com" <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com>
Subject: Re: Beyond Fripp (long)
Message-ID: <961219132703_74074.1316_GHQ76-3@CompuServe.COM>

Andre writes:
>When Torn staged his solo tour in support of "Tripping" (and Trilok >Gurtu),
many of the songs were accompanied by DAT backing tracks or drum >machines. 
Actually, all the backing bits were loops/samples on his Roland 770 samplers,
controlled by an old MIDI controller. And, much of the noise was being generated
live as well. If you were close enough to see, you could tell which was which by
wathing his right hand moving faders!

>One thing that I would have to say is that Fripp is the first person I'm 
>aware of who was using real-time looping in a live performance context.

I've heard that in the old days of Roxy Music (when Eno was in the band) Phil
Manzanera was using a "prototype" frippertonics system live. Can't confirm this
myself, but maybe someone else out there can.

Travis chimes in:
>Indeed, the bulk of Fripp guest appearances in the last few 
>years have been of the background-Soundscapes variety, and some people 
>have speculated that he just sends the interested party some tapes and 
>lets them pick through to find what might be useful to them.  I'm not 
>saying this is a bad idea.

Which is also why Torn did his Tonal Textures CD ROM (and the forthcoming
Pandora's Toolbox CD ROM). He was being used in soundtracks where he had no idea
(and payment for same, btw) that he was being used, because people got a hold of
some dats, etc. So now he's making himself available cheap to people who are
willing to fork over $100 bucks for 70 mins worth of loopage.

Later,
Jon

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 10:31:13 -0500
From: cwb@platinum.com (Clark)
To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
Subject: Re: Vortex Problems
Message-Id: <199612191531.KAA10712@octopus.ab.platinum.com>

I just got one from Guitar Center - Boston.  I gave it a
thorough workout last night and it worked fine.  Its not
often you find an effects unit that sounds this good on 
bass.  The effects dont diminish the clarity of what is
being played even on the most extreme effects.  It is very
dynamic too.  On one preset it sounds like a good reverb
if you play softly but if you really spank it it turns into
a multi-tap delay.  The grapevine is right.  Snatch these
things up while you can!

Clark

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 10:45:38 -0600 (CST)
From: Dave Stagner <dstagner@icarus.net>
To: "INTERNET:Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com" <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com>
Subject: Re: Beyond Fripp
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.93.961219103223.4810A-100000@icarus.icarus.net>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Something about this particular thread makes me a little
uncomfortable.  It's not intended to "dis" Fripp, but that's sort of
how it comes off.  It seems like people are faulting Fripp for not
going far enough, not being sufficiently dynamic, not being
experimental enough.  

I don't believe an artist must continually break new ground for ever
and ever.  Fripp has found a formula for looping that works for him,
and he practices his art within a set of self-imposed limitations.  To
my ears, Fripp's looping has always been oriented toward developing
textures by layering simple, consistent tones, a sort of minimalist
expressionism where tonal color is all-important.  Dynamics, movement,
and tonal variety distract the listener from the details of texture.  

If this is Fripp's intent, then he has nothing to gain by playing more
dynamically.  Saying that our work, or the work of someone who
emphasizes dynamics like David Torn is "beyond Fripp" strikes me as
similar to saying that Eddie Van Halen is "beyond Segovia".  After
all, Segovia limited himself to a classical guitar and an ancient
repertoire, right?  Eddie's playing is much more creative and
dynamic. 

Please, don't compare musicians like this.  It's not a competition.
Respect Robert Fripp for his incomparable achievements, but don't
fault him for not going where you want him to go.  

Damn.  Now I wanna go listen to "Requiem"...

-dave

By "beauty," I mean that which seems complete.
Obversely, that the incomplete, or the mutilated, is the ugly. 
Venus De Milo.
To a child she is ugly.       /* dstagner@icarus.net */
   -Charles Fort              

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 19:22:16 GMT
From: pycraft@elec.gla.ac.uk (Dr M. P. Hughes)
To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
Subject: On-guitar control?
Message-Id: <24148.199612191922@rank-serv.elec.gla.ac.uk>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I don't have a Vortex, and my guess on the ac/dc separation might be way
off, but...

would it be possible to wire a guitar signal to a stereo plug, with the
other tap driving the 'tex CC input?  Could the signals be separtated by
capacitor,
eg

-------------------------|         |-------------- 
pickups, vol etc           stereo                 to amp in
-------------------------|  cord   |-------||-----
spare pot                               |
-------------------------|         |----=======to CC i/p

does this make sense?  (sorry, I'm no ASCII artist either!)

Michael

Dr Michael Pycraft Hughes      Bioelectronic Research Centre, Rankine Bldg,
Tel: (+44) 141 330 5979        University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, U.K.
        "Everything in moderation, including moderation" (Zen Proverb)

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 15:51:33 -0800 (PST)
From: The Man Himself <altruist@shoko.CALARTS.EDU>
To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
Subject: RE: Beyond Fripp (long)
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.91.961219154638.18513A-100000@shoko.CALARTS.EDU>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

On 19 Dec 1996, Michael Peters wrote:

> Ok, here goes, Andre:
> 
> I recommend reading my "History of Looping" article on our web site - it will
> tell you about Terry Riley who used loops years before Fripp in many live
> concerts, and who probably invented this thing years before Eno experimented
> with it.

Thanks Michael.  I had a feeling there might be something to that effect
lurking in your article (which, incidentally, I had checked out shortly
after it was posted, and which I enjoyed very much), but I thought I'd
make the posting anyway just in case.  I've just checked the article over
again, and it seems that Riley was indeed using a very similar
methodology, although the exact nature of the work that he describes seems
more along the lines of playing and recording silently, then stopping the
instrumental performance and playing back some of the saxophone, which is
a different sort of beast.  (Of course, I may well be in error about
this...)

At any rate, thanks for clearing it up, and I hope I didn't give you the
impression that I was ignoring your contributions to the web page. 

--Andre

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 15:59:25 -0800 (PST)
From: The Man Himself <altruist@shoko.CALARTS.EDU>
To: loopers-delight@annihilist.com
Subject: My credentials as such
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.91.961219155136.18513B-100000@shoko.CALARTS.EDU>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Hi folks --

I just wanted to mention a point which I had tried to state in my
mega-post from a couple of days ago, which I have probably not
sufficiently made clear.  That point is that I don't claim to have any
special information or insider's account of how Fripp, Torn, or any other
loopers (aside from myself) do their thing, and any statements or analyses
that I may make should be taken for what they are -- which are
combinations of observations I've made either through listening, watching,
or reading. 

Which is to say, my statements about Fripp and Torn's different ways of
making music should not be taken as gospel, since I may be (and in some
cases actually am) mistaken in my assessment of how these people do their
thing.  They're just my own conclusions and assumptions (and often
opinions), so don't get the impression that my analysis of these
procedures are factory-authorized statements from the men themselves. 
(Heh.)

Anyway, I just wanted to make that clear, and see to it that no one runs
around taking what I'm saying about either Fripp or Torn as absolute,
incontrovertible fact. 

Now setting the hubris elimination system to maximum intensity,

--Andre

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 16:36:11 -0800 (PST)
From: The Man Himself <altruist@shoko.CALARTS.EDU>
To: loopers-delight@annihilist.com
Subject: Boomerang is at Guitar Center!
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.91.961219161715.18666A-100000@shoko.CALARTS.EDU>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

I was in the Hollywood Guitar Center last night, taking a passing glance
at the footpedals on display, when what should I see but a Boomerang
Phrase Sampler sitting there.  I gave it a fairly quick run-thru, and here
are some thoughts: 

-- The thing is nicely laid out for live performance, and is clearly
designed more for live work than studio endeavors; the pedals feel pretty
substantial (definitely a step up from the Lexicon jobbies), and the
addition of a foot-roller volume control and a thru-signal bypass are very
clever features.  There's also a selectable, three-stage input gain switch
for toggling between instrument or mic level inputs. 

-- The controls are somewhat reminiscent of a tape recorder, as there are 
controls for "starting" and "stopping" the loops, as well as a "one-shot" 
playback feature.

-- The overdub function only seems to work while the button for it is
being held down; this is a fairly significant limitation in my opinion. 
(I didn't have access to an instruction manual, so there may be provisions
for this that I'm unaware of, but the thing is pretty spartan in terms of
its layout and available controls, and seems to be designed very
intuitively, so I'm a bit inclined to doubt that I may have missed a
possible way around this). 

-- The half-speed function is very cool.  Unfortunately, I was only able 
to access it by first stopping the loop and then hitting the overdub 
button (which alternates as the half-speed button), and then starting the 
loop up again.  Not exactly the most seamless procedure.  Again, there 
may be provisions around this that I missed by not having the manual, but 
I doubt it.

-- The reverse function is cool (as it was/is in the Echoplex) and has 
its own dedicated pedal.

-- I didn't see any feedback control on the unit.  There may have been one
lurking on the back panel next to the input gain, trim, and other
controls, but once again, I think I would have noticed running across it. 
The volume control can be used to fade a loop in or out, but there's a lot
more to using feedback than simply fading in or out, and if this isn't an
available factor, then that's another fairly substantial drawback. 

-- The sound struck me as very good.  I was running a guitar (with a 
still-affixed, broken top string -- see, it really *was* at Guitar 
Center!) direct into the Boomerang, then straight out into the 
standard-issue Fender combo, and heard fairly little difference between 
the actual input signal and the looped sound.  If someone's hoping to 
loop higher-fi sounds than an electric guitar, they should spend more 
time checking it out, but it seemed quite passable to me, especially 
given the Boomerang's obvious slant towards off-the-cuff live work.

This is a very happening box; GC was selling it for somewhere around $350
(one of those year-end Holiday deals, ya see).  The half-speed function is
awfully cool, though I'm not sure it's $350 worth of cool for someone who
already owns one of the other Big Three.  There were some things, such as
feedback, automatic record start, and others, that I missed from the
Echoplex, and I would much rather have seen a pedal dedicated to
half-speed rather than to a one-shot playback.  Nevertheless, it's a
must-see for anyone on this list, and if the Hollywood GC is carrying the
thing, then chances are most other store sin the chain can get one in. 
Check one out if you get the chance, and please correct me if I'm in error
regarding the limitations I cited above.  (That seems to be my mantra 
these days...  :-/ )

--Andre

------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 21:53:10 -0500
From: Dpcoffin@aol.com
To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com
Subject: Greetings
Message-ID: <961219215309_841700938@emout03.mail.aol.com>

Hello, loopists...been enjoying your rantings and ravings as i struggle to
locate the looper of MY dreams: stereo a MUST, expandable ram, all the other
usual tricks ala Vortex, Jamman, Echoplex, AND no more than $1000...(or at
least not much more...too bad I can't afford to jump on a pair of Echoplexes
right now!). I keep leaning towards, then backing off the little Roland
MS-1...great price and memory, but so limited...too bad.

....to that end, I called Bob Sellon, the guy who did Torn's PCM-42 tweaking
(he's at 617-280-0395...not the # in the GP article...and seems to work for
Lexicon)
Very interesting...I was asking if the Vortex could be expanded
delay-time-wise, and it seems not without the addition of another chip, for
which no provision was designed in. BUT, he claimed, 1: that he may be coming
out with some Jamman tweaks, and 2: that the just-out MPX from Lexicon Does
have space for extra memory/chips, thanks to his insisting on it at the
design stage, but no existing plans to actually use the space or expand its
sampling/looping capabilities...his advice? Call Lexicon and ask for extra
features.

btw; My current guitar rig, for playing in my mostly quite modest home
studio:
Centerpiece is a VG-8, aided by a MesaB studio pre + ADA Ampulator, and a
DP-4. My guitar's piezo outs go into a Vortex, and all are mixed into a
little Mackie...there's some intriguing SHORT looping possibilies here, but
that VG is such a pharmacopia of atmospheres that longer loops are a must
Thanks for your great list!
David

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Date: Thu, 19 Dec 1996 22:41:57 -0900
From: "Greg & Sandee West" <gdwest@anc.ak.net>
To: <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com>
Subject: Re: Beyond Fripp (long)
Message-Id: <199612201054.BAA04988@anc.ak.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Hi everyone,

For one, I'm thankful that Fripp has chosen to limit his Soundscapes to the
dimensions he has so far.  His genius is such that he always leaves room
for those he influences to make their own personal statements.  If you look
at the catalog of British prog-rock groups that developed from former
members of KC, plus other groups or soloists he has touched through the
Guitar Craft (like the California Guitar Trio).  I don't see Fripps major
role in modern music as that of a virtuoso performer (although he certainly
qualifies as such).  His main contribution is breaking down barriers or
opening up new horizons and then stepping aside as others, inspired by the
vistas he has revealed, blaze new trails of their own.  The really amazing
thing to me is his openness to what can only be termed as "revelation." 
His process of patiently waiting for the future to reveal itself to him (as
in the double trio concept, or Frippertronics) enables him to tap
inspirations that transcend technical abilities and perceived limitations
of the guitar as an instrument.

In my own music, as in much of the music the guitarists here perform, all
owe a debt to RF's visions.  But thankfully, he left much unsaid in the
musical sense, leaving room for me and others to explore the alleyways of
the paths he paved.

Greg West/Six-String Arts

P.S. If you haven't already, visit the SSA websites at
http://users.aol.com/GregWest01/index.html

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