jhart26

Q: Is this possible? live vocal loops, guitar loops/effects.

Hi, I am a solo artist.
I use a boss rc-50 loopstation, a korg electribe (drum machine), a fender telecaster, and an effects board with delays and other effects.
when I play live I run a midi cable out from my rc- 50 and in my electribe drum machine.
I run my guitar into my effects board then into my rc-50, I also run a mic though my rc-50 for vocal loops.
I have one more mic running just out the pa. I play light techno, pop music.

I recently purchased logic studio 9 and I am trying to see if I can pretty much do all of what I explained above through my mac, that would make life much easier, especially set up and take down.
if anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let me know,
Thanks!

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Mar 14, 2011 2:46 PM

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Q: Is this possible? live vocal loops, guitar loops/effects.

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  • by jhart26,

    jhart26 jhart26 Mar 14, 2011 3:41 PM in response to jhart26
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 14, 2011 3:41 PM in response to jhart26
    Would it work
    using ultra beat to set up my sequences
    and an interface such as duet to get my vocals and guitar in and out of mainstage?
    and maybe purchasing a midi foot controller?
  • by jhart26,

    jhart26 jhart26 Mar 14, 2011 3:42 PM in response to jhart26
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 14, 2011 3:42 PM in response to jhart26
    Would it work
    using ultra beat to set up my sequences
    and an interface such as duet to get my vocals and guitar in and out of mainstage?
    and maybe purchasing a midi foot controller?
  • by jhart26,

    jhart26 jhart26 Apr 6, 2011 9:23 PM in response to jhart26
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 6, 2011 9:23 PM in response to jhart26
    any ideas?
  • by CCTM,

    CCTM CCTM Apr 7, 2011 12:42 AM in response to jhart26
    Level 6 (10,904 points)
    Apr 7, 2011 12:42 AM in response to jhart26
    Hi

    The short answer is yes....

    see http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/mainstage/ and the manual for details.

    Mainstage has a Loopback plugin which will do the "live looping", all the effects you'd want and all capable of being controlled from a MIDI controller.

    Some might find that the loop pedal you already have is easier to use, even if you integrated it into a Mainstage rig.


    CCT
  • by sam squarewave,

    sam squarewave sam squarewave Apr 7, 2011 2:50 PM in response to jhart26
    Level 1 (45 points)
    Apr 7, 2011 2:50 PM in response to jhart26
    Totally possible. The FCB1010 is a good foot controller to use, around $100 too, so not a bad deal. You have the right Idea, syncing ultrabeat up - the only thing is that you have to program your sequences into ultrabeat and send a midi note to switch between them.

    Then you route your inputs to the LoopBack plugin. You can also use PlayBack to run your backing tracks if running the drum machine is too much for you. I recommend mapping the tempo to an on screen number as well as the measure count.

    If you have any questions about this setup, don't hesitate to ask - I have done exactly what you are wanting to do
  • by Pianafiddle,

    Pianafiddle Pianafiddle Apr 8, 2011 8:05 AM in response to sam squarewave
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 8, 2011 8:05 AM in response to sam squarewave
    So, I'm wanting to do the same thing. Wondering though if the Mainstage loopback will do what my boomerang III will do. Really, what I liked about it, were the two different ways I was able use it. Serial, and Serial sync, in which I lay down a short master rhythm loop, then create a second (slave) loop that is in sync and a multiple of the master loop. I can then also create a third loop (and even a fourth loop) that I can toggle between. (Master is always running, and can be stacked upon if I so desire, fyi.) So, how do I do THAT in Mainstage?

    Thanks!

    Adam
  • by CCTM,

    CCTM CCTM Apr 8, 2011 8:57 AM in response to Pianafiddle
    Level 6 (10,904 points)
    Apr 8, 2011 8:57 AM in response to Pianafiddle
    Pianafiddle wrote:
    then create a second (slave) loop that is in sync and a multiple of the master loop. I can then also create a third loop (and even a fourth loop) that I can toggle between. (Master is always running, and can be stacked upon if I so desire, fyi.) So, how do I do THAT in Mainstage?



    Hi

    Set up the required number of LoopBack plugins in parallel (probably at Set level) on different Aux Channels.

    You will probably need some MIDI control switches to "drive" it all.


    CCT
  • by Pianafiddle,

    Pianafiddle Pianafiddle Apr 8, 2011 9:18 AM in response to CCTM
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 8, 2011 9:18 AM in response to CCTM
    CCTM,
    thanks. How will I get them to sync together? Won't they kind of just roam free? I want my "second" loop back to stick like glue to my first.

    And I have a midi foot controller that is very customizable. (softstep)

    Thank you in advance for any suggestions. (Hey, you don't know of a place where one can download or share mainstage templates with other mainstage users, do you? I'd love to study what other people have done.)
  • by CCTM,

    CCTM CCTM Apr 8, 2011 9:30 AM in response to Pianafiddle
    Level 6 (10,904 points)
    Apr 8, 2011 9:30 AM in response to Pianafiddle
    Hi

    If need be they can be grouped, or set to run to Mainstage's internal clock.


    CCT
  • by Pianafiddle,

    Pianafiddle Pianafiddle Apr 8, 2011 9:42 AM in response to CCTM
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 8, 2011 9:42 AM in response to CCTM
    I guess I'm just not yet adept enough in mainstage to even really understand that. I will continue my research, but the grouping suggestion didn't really make sense to me. Do you mean group in on one channel strip? Or group the controls together? Seems like somebody could (and should!) make a looper template and sell the sucker. I'd buy it As for the internal clock... I'd do whatever I needed to do to make it work. Yeah, I could just hook up my loop pedal, but you know, that's just a pain and REALLY limits my soundman's ability to control the loop level.

    Ehhhh, I'll get this, and I really appreciate your help!

    Thanks,

    Adam
  • by dingdangdawg,

    dingdangdawg dingdangdawg Apr 12, 2011 2:31 PM in response to Pianafiddle
    Level 2 (455 points)
    Apr 12, 2011 2:31 PM in response to Pianafiddle
    I bounced back and forth between using MainStage/computer setup, and my hardware/mixer setup for two years. I perform solo with vocals, guitar, sax, and often use a Rang III looper, plus various floor effects.

    I REALLY wanted to use MainStage full time to reduce setup time and cables and hardware, and spent many hours working and refining a custom setup. But in the end I have gone back to and settled on a pure hardware>mixer>PA setup (rather than MainStage>audio interface>PA.

    There are two main reasons why I went full circle.

    1) latency. Even after upgrading my MacBook and memory and interface, I could never get latency down low enough to not bother me during vocals or fast fingerpicking.

    2) the main reason....if any one piece of my MainStage or the laptop or the audio interface weren't working for some reason, the entire gig shut down. Fast. With no sound man, troubleshooting any problems became frustrating and difficult during the heat of a gig in front of a waiting audience. With my hardware setup, even if one piece of my setup fails, I can quickly determine the problem quickly, bypass it, or find a quick workaround and continue playing. Things are "real" and not "virtual".

    I'm love Apple products and software, and I'm sure many musicians are having great success using MainStage for live performance, but for singer/songwriter solo gigs, I find that it can be like doing a tightrope act with no net.
  • by dingdangdawg,

    dingdangdawg dingdangdawg Mar 21, 2012 1:36 PM in response to dingdangdawg
    Level 2 (455 points)
    Mar 21, 2012 1:36 PM in response to dingdangdawg

    An update. After upgrading to MS 2.2.1 and getting a faster Mac, things are running stable enough to give MainStage a second chance.

     

    However, I am still not able to use Loopback as described by Pianafiddle in this thread (master - slave looping, as done by a Boomerang or Boss hardware pedal). If I try to set the first instance of Loopback to dictate the clock, it is not time reliably. And, If I try to Group instances of Loopback, I am stuck with all of them being the same length, so I cannot do a traditional "Master/Slave" style of live looping.

     

    If someone has this figured out (Loopback live looping on-the-fly, not looping to a metronome or drum track), please let us know. Otherwise, Mobius is working very well.

  • by dingdangdawg,

    dingdangdawg dingdangdawg Mar 21, 2012 1:40 PM in response to CCTM
    Level 2 (455 points)
    Mar 21, 2012 1:40 PM in response to CCTM

    Have you actually tried doing this and succeeded?  I am also unable to get a setup syncing multiple loops in a slave-master relationship (and not tied to a metronome or drumtradk) with any sort of usable timing. Spent a couple of hours with it today, read everything online, watched every youtube video, read the MS documentation, threw I Ching, chanted, prayed....

  • by CCTM,

    CCTM CCTM Mar 21, 2012 11:59 PM in response to dingdangdawg
    Level 6 (10,904 points)
    Mar 21, 2012 11:59 PM in response to dingdangdawg

    dingdangdawg wrote:

     

    Have you actually tried doing this and succeeded?  I am also unable to get a setup syncing multiple loops in a slave-master relationship (and not tied to a metronome or drumtradk) with any sort of usable timing.

    Hi

     

    Generally, yes.

     

    What is it that you need, and what have you tried?


    CCT

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