Advise for looping phrases for practice.

cmcmurphy22

What’s the easiest solution to loop rhythm phrases to practice over?

pickup/pedal/amp?

band in a box?

is there an app that might work to plug in chords and progressions?

geese_com

This is my go to:

https://www.dc-musicschool.com/store/free-gypsy-jazz-practice-playalongs/

With Soundslice you can select sections to loop and also slow it down.

rudolfochrist

I bought a looper pedal for this exact reason and it boosted my practice tremendously. I like that I can operate it with my feet and can keep my hands on the guitar. No scrolling or searching or swiping or tilting with any of my fingers. This makes it very fast and efficient IMHO.

And it has another benefit: I delete everything at the end of the day (or practice session) and re-record a specific chord progression when I need it. This makes memorizing new songs really fast, because you play them over and over and over.

cmcmurphy22

so with the looper pedal I would definitely need an amp or is there another option?

and what’s the best simple pickup system?

im really looking for simplicity. I hate messing around with computers and software.

Lango-Django

I don’t know a thing about loops, so I can’t speak to that...

But I’ve been using Band in a Box for about 15 years, and I still think that it (and GarageBand) are the two greatest things about a Macintosh computer...

Before the pandemic, I used to do solo gigs using an iPod loaded with my own backing tracks that I made this way...

...sigh...

Will

dbox

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/104318#Comment_104318

I use a transducer (Carlos CS Sensor), an equalizer/volume pedal (Carlos mini EQ) to get the transducer's output into the right right range, a looper (boss rc-3) and a small fender electric guitar amp. I'm super happy with that setup, and I use it exactly the same way as rudolfo.christ described it.

Of course you could use a mic as well (e.g. audio technica at831b) instead of the transducer.

rudolfochrist

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/104318#Comment_104318

Yes. As @dbox already said. Personally I use a clip-on mic (like the AT 831b or Pro70) or my peche a la mouche pickup. On the other end there is a small Blackstar Fly Mini amp.

Jim Kaznosky

In the absence of an amp and if you are apartment challenged like me, I use a looper (16 second delay) and the Strymon Iridium set to the round amp (Deluxe Reverb) model. If you don't have a looper, you can use the Strymon with something like soundslice to select the loops. I do agree that playing the rhythm yourself is a good way to practice your rhythm.

You'd have to plug this all into an interface and I use a Focusrite Scarlet Solo. This whole setup allows me to practice all of the stuff that I am working on, not just the GJ.

Bones

Easiest for me is just record it on my iphone and play it back if you are looking for something quick and dirty.

mjd

I just ran into the same question myself. I was doing the same as Bones with my iPhone but wanted to upgrade the sound and features. I don't have a computer near where I practice and wanted something stand-alone to use while I practice. So this ruled out Soundslice/Band-in-Box for playing over backing tracks. I also wanted to force myself to do the rhythm for the backing track as mentioned above by Jim.

I have an acoustic WITHOUT a pickup/transducer/mic, an archtop with a pickup and an electric guitar ... so I was looking for flexibility. Here are the options I considered:

TD Ditto ($100) - Basic looper, but very easy operation. Limited to electric pickup unless you add a preamp and microphone for the acoustic.

TD Ditto Mic Looper ($12) - Basic looper for microphones. Similar to the **** Ditto, however, you would need to add a preamp to go to an amp.

Boss RC-3 ($200) - Similar to the **** Ditto, but with much more capabilities (and cost).

Boss RC-30 ($300) - This seems to have it all, microphone inputs, electric guitar inputs. This got me to start thinking about just getting a digital multitrack.

Boss Micro BR (discontinued, but can find used for $75) - A lot like a looper, but just for electric inputs (i.e. pickups)

Boss BR-80 ($250) - Update to the Micro BR. Mainly for electric inputs unless you preamp a microphone.

Boss BR600 (discontinued, but can find under $100) - This is a true multitrack digital recorder with a drum machine and electronic effects. This device is what I settled on as I found it on Craigslist for $75. It has built in microphones, guitar inputs and microphone inputs (i.e. very flexible). It outputs to headphones or RCA jacks for "line" output. I was recording using the built in microphone and my acoustic and it worked well, but I added an external microphone (Shure SM57) to improve the sound.

I hope this gives you more ideas. If you use a computer in conjunction with you while playing there are probably other options beyond Soundslice/Band-in-Box, but those were beyond what I was interested in.

Azazzell

I find Audacity/Reaper DAW + cheap USB foot pedals useful.