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I don't play guitar, but keys and live looping is incredible fun. I do it in my DAW (Reaper) though and I'm not satisfied with the ease of use but also don't wa

I don't play guitar, but keys and live looping is incredible fun. I do it in my DAW (Reaper) though and I'm not satisfied with the ease of use but also don't want to have another pedal lying around. Does anyone know a working software solution that just mimics a basic pedal? Should also be trustworthy, I'm hesitant to install random free VSTs.

mr_sturd 4y ago
Would you be looking for a MIDI control pedal which could be assigned to the record command in the DAW?
- jerpint 4y ago
  Do you know how to do this? Also what would be the best software for live looping?
  - mr_sturd 4y ago
    I'm just getting started exploring with exploring DAWs myself and haven't looked at live looping yet. You'd want some sort of MIDI controller for it, and I understand there's hardware for recording samples and MIDI if you don't want to use a DAW.
  - tanseydavid 4y ago
    Be sure to look around on YouTube to see what people are accomplishing with Ableton Live for live looping.
    - sixdimensional 4y ago
      Ableton has an actual looper plug-in it comes with that works just like a pedal, in addition to Session View, which is looping on steroids and one of the key features of it. I'm just somebody who has used it a lot, not associated to Ableton in any way. Another popular DAW for loop-based recording is FL Studio (a little less expensive than Ableton with lifetime free updates and plenty powerful). Also a longtime user of FL.
- cooldrcool3 4y ago
  I'm not an expert at recording but in my experience trying to do anything live with a DAW is next to impossible due to latency issues. It would probably just be easier to record into the daw then spend a few seconds in the gui to loop it properly.
  - slater- 4y ago
    yes. for this reason (and because screens are lame), i would just get a pedal.
  - mr_sturd 4y ago
    Have you used any hardware for playing live? Genuinely open to tips in this domain.
    - slater- 4y ago
      the boss rc series kills. if you're a beginner, i'd recommend the rc-1. it's very basic, but this is a good thing at first. you'll want to get yourself to the point where you can click it on and off in time with the music, making a multi-bar sequence that stays in time without any quantization. don't even worry about midi to begin with, just sync yourself up with your own playing. looping seamlessly is its own musical skill. once you get to be more of a wizard, you'll want things like backwards playback and multitrack looping and midi sync. you could progress toward more advanced boss pedals, or start looking at things like the electroharmonix 95000 (i have one, i bought it because i saw a video of reggie watts using one) it's always gonna be a tradeoff between simplicity and complexity, and honestly more complex isn't always better. i find myself reaching for the rc-1 way more than the ehx95000 because it's so simple. just experiment, figure out how YOU like to loop. there's no right or wrong way. the gear should make you want to keep playing. if it doesn't, trade it in for something else. don't burn too much time deciding.
      - sixdimensional 4y ago
        Seconded, good advice although, some may prefer to go to at least an RC202 to have two tracks. But simplest is one track, RC1 for sure.
- weinzierl 4y ago
  Yes, exactly, I use my left piano pedal, which has no use for me most of the time otherwise.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
brudgers 4y ago
Boss has desktop loopers in the RC lineup, now. The guide in the link is more than a decade. There’s the RC202 and RC505. Not that you can’t put a peddle on a desk and use your hands if the switch design doesn’t actually require a stomp.
- sixdimensional 4y ago
  RC505 is definitely the gold standard for standalone desktop looping (5 tracks) that are suitable for hand operation. The 202 is just a less expensive 2 track. There are other hardware options, like Aeros loop studio or even things like Akai MPC One, for example, but these get more complex than just a simple looper. There are basic looper pedals but I suspect most people want something like an RC202 or RC505 for basic but multitrack simple live looping.
kitotik 4y ago
While definitely not basic, Sooperlooper[0] is a fantastic opensource clone of the old Echoplex hardware. [0] https://sonosaurus.com/sooperlooper/ https://sonosaurus.com/sooperlooper/
phkahler 4y ago
I've always been interested in trying to code guitar effects. Just over the break I submitted an 8-band EQ to OBS studio that has yet to be merged. That got me thinking about doing more, but I don't know what the best environment to code for is.
- erik_p 4y ago
  Wouldn't that environment be VST?
  - phkahler 4y ago
    That looks like an option. But then I need to load the plug in in a DAW of some sort. If there a simpler, more basic place to use them, like an effects box app for raspberry pi?
    - diydsp 4y ago
      check out axoloti, hoxton owl, and CoreFX and FV-1
InCityDreams 4y ago
Look up wusik stuff - pretty sure the guy has what you need. And, it might be $1 at the moment.
InCityDreams 4y ago
Installing random free VSTs is a great deal of half the fun. Here's nine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCzf38fCqB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCzf38fCqB4 If I'm not mistaken, one he does miss out on is Synth1, but then that would be 10 free VST's, and also gives www.kvraudio.com a reason to exist. *The real problem is, people writing crappy VSTs and installing bits of crud all over my PC (and that inclludes DAW software writers), but hey,that's why backups and rollbacks exist, I guess. To specifically answer your question "Does anyone know a working software solution that just mimics a basic pedal?" - which particular pedal? The software you may be hesitant to install may have the answer you require: I've found software that sounds better than the pedals they emulate, but aren't as easy to control (with a mouse), and are equally at the mercy of a DAW crash (looking at you Steinberg :-).
sixdimensional 4y ago
There is also an iOS app called Loopy HD which is pretty simple and cheap, if you have the Apple audio input adapter cable.
mhh__ 4y ago
Buy Ableton or Bitwig
Blackthorn 4y ago
Seems like most pedals should be handled by reaper's built in effect plugins, no?

mr_sturd 4y ago

Would you be looking for a MIDI control pedal which could be assigned to the record command in the DAW?

jerpint 4y ago
Do you know how to do this? Also what would be the best software for live looping?
- mr_sturd 4y ago
  I'm just getting started exploring with exploring DAWs myself and haven't looked at live looping yet. You'd want some sort of MIDI controller for it, and I understand there's hardware for recording samples and MIDI if you don't want to use a DAW.
- tanseydavid 4y ago
  Be sure to look around on YouTube to see what people are accomplishing with Ableton Live for live looping.
  - sixdimensional 4y ago
    Ableton has an actual looper plug-in it comes with that works just like a pedal, in addition to Session View, which is looping on steroids and one of the key features of it. I'm just somebody who has used it a lot, not associated to Ableton in any way. Another popular DAW for loop-based recording is FL Studio (a little less expensive than Ableton with lifetime free updates and plenty powerful). Also a longtime user of FL.
cooldrcool3 4y ago
I'm not an expert at recording but in my experience trying to do anything live with a DAW is next to impossible due to latency issues. It would probably just be easier to record into the daw then spend a few seconds in the gui to loop it properly.
- slater- 4y ago
  yes. for this reason (and because screens are lame), i would just get a pedal.
- mr_sturd 4y ago
  Have you used any hardware for playing live? Genuinely open to tips in this domain.
  - slater- 4y ago
    the boss rc series kills. if you're a beginner, i'd recommend the rc-1. it's very basic, but this is a good thing at first. you'll want to get yourself to the point where you can click it on and off in time with the music, making a multi-bar sequence that stays in time without any quantization. don't even worry about midi to begin with, just sync yourself up with your own playing. looping seamlessly is its own musical skill. once you get to be more of a wizard, you'll want things like backwards playback and multitrack looping and midi sync. you could progress toward more advanced boss pedals, or start looking at things like the electroharmonix 95000 (i have one, i bought it because i saw a video of reggie watts using one) it's always gonna be a tradeoff between simplicity and complexity, and honestly more complex isn't always better. i find myself reaching for the rc-1 way more than the ehx95000 because it's so simple. just experiment, figure out how YOU like to loop. there's no right or wrong way. the gear should make you want to keep playing. if it doesn't, trade it in for something else. don't burn too much time deciding.
    - sixdimensional 4y ago
      Seconded, good advice although, some may prefer to go to at least an RC202 to have two tracks. But simplest is one track, RC1 for sure.
weinzierl 4y ago
Yes, exactly, I use my left piano pedal, which has no use for me most of the time otherwise.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

brudgers 4y ago

Boss has desktop loopers in the RC lineup, now. The guide in the link is more than a decade. There’s the RC202 and RC505. Not that you can’t put a peddle on a desk and use your hands if the switch design doesn’t actually require a stomp.

sixdimensional 4y ago
RC505 is definitely the gold standard for standalone desktop looping (5 tracks) that are suitable for hand operation. The 202 is just a less expensive 2 track. There are other hardware options, like Aeros loop studio or even things like Akai MPC One, for example, but these get more complex than just a simple looper. There are basic looper pedals but I suspect most people want something like an RC202 or RC505 for basic but multitrack simple live looping.

kitotik 4y ago

While definitely not basic, Sooperlooper[0] is a fantastic opensource clone of the old Echoplex hardware. [0] https://sonosaurus.com/sooperlooper/ https://sonosaurus.com/sooperlooper/

phkahler 4y ago

I've always been interested in trying to code guitar effects. Just over the break I submitted an 8-band EQ to OBS studio that has yet to be merged. That got me thinking about doing more, but I don't know what the best environment to code for is.

erik_p 4y ago
Wouldn't that environment be VST?
- phkahler 4y ago
  That looks like an option. But then I need to load the plug in in a DAW of some sort. If there a simpler, more basic place to use them, like an effects box app for raspberry pi?
  - diydsp 4y ago
    check out axoloti, hoxton owl, and CoreFX and FV-1

InCityDreams 4y ago

Look up wusik stuff - pretty sure the guy has what you need. And, it might be $1 at the moment.

InCityDreams 4y ago

Installing random free VSTs is a great deal of half the fun. Here's nine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCzf38fCqB4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCzf38fCqB4 If I'm not mistaken, one he does miss out on is Synth1, but then that would be 10 free VST's, and also gives www.kvraudio.com a reason to exist. *The real problem is, people writing crappy VSTs and installing bits of crud all over my PC (and that inclludes DAW software writers), but hey,that's why backups and rollbacks exist, I guess. To specifically answer your question "Does anyone know a working software solution that just mimics a basic pedal?" - which particular pedal? The software you may be hesitant to install may have the answer you require: I've found software that sounds better than the pedals they emulate, but aren't as easy to control (with a mouse), and are equally at the mercy of a DAW crash (looking at you Steinberg :-).

sixdimensional 4y ago

There is also an iOS app called Loopy HD which is pretty simple and cheap, if you have the Apple audio input adapter cable.

mhh__ 4y ago

Buy Ableton or Bitwig

Blackthorn 4y ago

Seems like most pedals should be handled by reaper's built in effect plugins, no?