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  #1  
Old 12-11-2011, 07:33 PM
roadbiker roadbiker is offline
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Default Seeking JamMan Solo Looper tips

A little while ago I bought a JamMan Solo Looper (for use with electric and acoustic guitars) because there is so much depth and creativity that you can get by using these things. I've been messing around with it a bit, but I haven't gotten the knack for it yet and it's a little frustrating. Do you have an experience with these cool gizmo's, and if so, can you give me some tips on how to get the hang of using it?

Thanx, Jim
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Old 12-11-2011, 07:43 PM
lschwart lschwart is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roadbiker View Post
A little while ago I bought a JamMan Solo Looper (for use with electric and acoustic guitars) because there is so much depth and creativity that you can get by using these things. I've been messing around with it a bit, but I haven't gotten the knack for it yet and it's a little frustrating. Do you have an experience with these cool gizmo's, and if so, can you give me some tips on how to get the hang of using it?

Thanx, Jim
I've been using one as a practice tool for a while now, and more recently as a way of creating rough demos of new songs for my band. What, in particular is giving you trouble? The one thing that confused me at first, was exactly where to stomp to create the looping part. At first I thought of it as the end of what I was playing until someone pointed out to me that you really need to stomp at the place you want the loop to start. So if you're counting and tapping your foot, you want to stomp on the one of what will become the first measure of the loop. It was a huge "aha!" moment for me.

Louis
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Old 12-11-2011, 08:57 PM
roadbiker roadbiker is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lschwart View Post
I've been using one as a practice tool for a while now, and more recently as a way of creating rough demos of new songs for my band. What, in particular is giving you trouble? The one thing that confused me at first, was exactly where to stomp to create the looping part. At first I thought of it as the end of what I was playing until someone pointed out to me that you really need to stomp at the place you want the loop to start. So if you're counting and tapping your foot, you want to stomp on the one of what will become the first measure of the loop. It was a huge "aha!" moment for me.

Louis
Great! Thanks for the tip Louis. I think my main problem is doing while I'mplaying. I can make the loop so that it repeats properly, but coordinating it and syncing it while I'm playing it the part that is challenging me. If I make the loop first, then I'm okay.

Jim
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Old 12-12-2011, 08:09 AM
Kyle76 Kyle76 is offline
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I've got one of these sitting in my drawer right now waiting for Christmas, when I'm getting the Les Paul mentioned in my sig. I'm looking forward to learning how to use it. More tips, please!
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Old 12-12-2011, 08:16 AM
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ljguitar ljguitar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lschwart View Post
...The one thing that confused me at first, was exactly where to stomp to create the looping part. At first I thought of it as the end of what I was playing until someone pointed out to me that you really need to stomp at the place you want the loop to start.
Hi folks...
I also discovered if i just rest my toe on the button/pedal, and press it instead of stomping it, my timing is more accurate.


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Old 12-12-2011, 08:28 AM
barefooter barefooter is offline
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I almost got/received a Looper last Christmas so I was told... The wife and daughter went shopping locally and were overwhelmed by there being so many different ones at the music store. The wife said they talked to the sales rep, a young man and they finally decided it would be better not to get something at that time. They told me to go pick out the one I wanted after Christmas, but I never made it to the store.

I would really enjoy getting one, but I never could make the final decision as to which one. Lots of good reviews here about the various brands.
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Old 12-12-2011, 09:49 PM
David Youngman David Youngman is offline
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I use the Boomerang looper for live shows. I'm not very familiar with the JamMan functions and features.

I do have some tips though in general for using a looping pedal.

1) As far as timing, work with a metronome. Tap your foot to the beat and when it's time to press the pedal just shift your foot over.

2) When looping, make it part of the composition. Don't always just stack parts. Maybe stack a couple parts, then solo over it, then stack another, then solo again. Or drop the loop and go solo guitar for part of the song and then go back to the loop. Try some variety of what parts you stack. Start with the bass, then add the percussion, then the accompaniment. On another piece start with the percussion, etc.

3) The ending is the hardest part in my opinion because you build up this big loop and you have to drop it somehow. There are multiple ways of ending a loop though and I would try to vary your endings. It could be a sharp snappy ending that is part of the loop. If you have an undo function you could drop parts. If you have a volume pedal you could fade the loop. Some pieces I drop the loop and immediately go solo to finish the piece.

4) Don't use your loop pedal too much in a performance. It can be very pleasing to an audience but if you use it too much it just gets old. For me I typically don't use my pedal more than 25% of the time in a gig. I try to do it even less and also I don't do back to back looping pieces.

If you want some examples for looping I have a few looping pieces on my recent album release called "ALIVE". I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post my website on this forum (I'm a newbie), but if you search David Youngman Guitar in Google you will find my website. The looping pieces on the album are "Starry Night", "Oh Susanna", and "Jesus Loves Me".

Hope this gives you some ideas.
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Old 12-12-2011, 10:18 PM
gimme789 gimme789 is offline
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You can also use the Jamman to play a song through its entirety once and stop.
I use mine to record a whole song, and then play along with it. (rather than loop)

Also, with the Jamman you can download a mono wave file from your PC. So sometimes
I record a song on the PC, do some editing, and then transfer it over to the looper.

When using it as a looper.
1) in 4/4 count, start and end the loop on 1.
2) you don't have to step hard on it. An easy tap will work just fine.
3) I upgraded the memory card to the max ( 2 Gig I think)

I love my Jamman so much, I got another one, because I don't ever want to be without one.
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  #9  
Old 12-16-2011, 08:04 PM
Steve-R Steve-R is offline
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Just practice, practice, practice with it. Like guitar chords, the more you play them, the easier it gets.

You'll get the hang of it, my friend!

Steve
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Old 12-28-2011, 08:24 PM
David Youngman David Youngman is offline
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Thought you fellow loopers might like to see this video I just had professional done. It's an original looping piece off of my new album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78xWi...1&feature=plcp
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  #11  
Old 12-29-2011, 08:22 AM
TomHB TomHB is offline
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Get the FS3X footswitch for it. GC had them on sale for $14 several months back, but even at full price (usually $36), it's really a great thing to have. Allows you to switch loops on the fly so you can record a chorus, bridge, end, or whatever, and switch back and forth while playing.

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  #12  
Old 12-29-2011, 10:02 AM
buzzardwhiskey buzzardwhiskey is offline
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The timing thing takes practice. As Steve-R wrote, practice, practice, practice.

Here's a thought experiment for you that might help...

Tap your finger on your desk. Bonk, Bonk, Bonk...

Now say "click", in the half beats. Bonk, "click", Bonk, "Click"...

If the Bonks are the downbeats of the tune, you can make a perfect loop by tapping the start/stop button on the half beat clicks ahead of the downbeat. This works just fine for a large number of tunes.

Now to get it a little finer, say "click, click" between each Bonk. If you train your foot to press the start/stop button on the second click, you'll have gotten even closer to the downbeat, which is what you're trying to do.

Your foot needs to be trained to press that button just a delicious slice of a beat ahead of that downbeat - EVERY TIME.

Once you've gotten this you can concentrate on adding in and pulling out pieces.

Have fun!
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  #13  
Old 12-29-2011, 11:56 AM
Jasonbee6868 Jasonbee6868 is offline
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Default How I use the Jamman Stereo

The stereo is pretty close to the solo. I use mine in 2 different ways.

1-as a true looper. In this capacity I do mostly songs that have the same progression the whole way through - example - Viva La Vida, Hit The Road Jack, Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes, etc. But I try not to over do these songs. I'm surprised how people get bored and/or turned off by the build up. Personally I think that's the best part. Case in point - look at the comments left on Youtube hits of loopers ( "Lost me in the first 1:30 min, but then it's good). Others (usually fellow musicians) give me BIG standing ovations for my inginuity (I'm in kind of a small town - my looping is still big news ). But so that I don't "lose" people, some times I just do a VERY basic drum loop to do song over (example - 4 thumps on guitar body -> loop it -> then play song normally. Like Hole-Hearted. Works good for Moves Like Jaggar too). My next arragement will probably be like Howie Day (ie-play song normally, (just ac guitar n voice) then keep adding loops to make a VERY big outro).

2-to play backing tracks. Since the memory can be expanded SO big - this was a no brainer. Mostly I take midi tracks & delete everything except Drums n bass (or some times just bass) -> convert to wav files -> load onto Jamman. I used to use a laptop for this, but bringing a laptop to gigs seemed to be inviting problems (stolen, water damage etc - or the most probable is dropping/hitting laptop & having hard drive malfunction. I know this the hard way). Also this saved the problem of starting the track. The Jamman is already a footswitch. For songs where the entire 1st verse was solo acoustic then the rhythm section came in - I had to free a hand to turn on track. Although I did it - it was never smooth. With Jamman it's very smooth transition. The only thing I'd like to do now is figure out a way to substitute the "normal" drum sounds for congas, bongos, guitar body slaps, etc. I think it would sound cool. Wish me luck.
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