I borrowed one for a couple weeks and didn’t get on with it. Like modulatia, I found the sync lacking (even manual BPM, not midi) for stage use.
Switched to a Pigtronix Infinity Looper instead and the MIDI sync is rock solid. The MIDI beat quantize is especially reliable and useful. Also loving the reverse+undo via the remote switch.
Cost a bit more than KP3 but if stereo looping is your priority, it is absolutely worth it.
Why no octatrack for looping?
Because all I need is rock solid looping.
Not looping… and sampling, and slicing, and midi sequencing, and effects processing, and mixing, and cross-fading, and all the other stuff that adds up to $1299.
No need for a swiss army knife when all you need are the scissors.
Thanks for the info folks. Having had an OT myself I can’t say I’d trust it for reliable looping either, way too many things to set up and opportunities for disaster.
Curious how the signal path works with this? Can it be in line from your main outs and then can you fade from the loop on the kp3 back to the dry sample? Or would i need a dj mixer with this receiving a send and on channel b and then crossfade from b to a?
Second option.
Maybe some people use the dry/wet mix knob to mix between the two sources… But it’s not convenient, since you can’t effect the loop without affecting the input as well.
Even is you use it with a mixer, there’s another possible inconvenience: if you want to effect the loop, you should change the input selector to mic or your input will feed into the effect again… Which also means remembering to switch it back for the next transition. This is what made me sell it eventually - plus I finally got comfortable working with OT’s transition trick.
That being said, if you’re only using the KP for looping (and you filter with a DJ mixer for example) then it’s a great sampler for transitions.
Ok so Ive watched a bunch of videos and while none show this, it seems like I should be able to use the level fader for the looped sample and the input volume knob to control my input, so while its not a crossfader Ill be able to transition that way?
Seems like you cant apply effects to the looped sample though which would make cutting highs or lows hard for transitions
Ah thanks for your input. Im just trying to come up with something that will allow me to transition across projects if I need to so it has to be independent of the OT.
Might pick this up just for looping and a small 2 channel DJ mixer. Should be able to configure it as both an aux effect and as a looper?
Wish there was a simple solution for this in a small package.
Hehe I feel you… Wish I could have the same! It’s quite incredible that there’s no portable solution designed specifically for this… A transition box, with Crossfader and filters for input and loop
how about something like this?
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RC202--boss-rc-202-loop-station
That doesn’t allow for crossfading or even controlling the volume of the loop and input respectively
Oh, I was picturing it as a sort of send and then you could fade with your dj cross fader. My bad!
I’m actually using the octatrack like this lately
An SP404sx might work for this.
Biggest issue is that the process of recording and the playing/launching the track isn’t seemless.
I prefer it to the Korg boxes (I had both the KP3+ and Kaosillator) for recording loops of longer length, but the Korgs are good fun in their own right.
Edit: I forgot to mention that one of the reasons the KP3 didn’t really work for me was because of the loop recording limits and the way the loops were handled once recorded (always playing in the background).
From the KP3+ manual…
“The KP3+ can record both looped phrases and one shot samples from an external source. The KP3+ can also resample; allowing you to sample external audio sources through the internal effects, or capture the entire output of the KP3+ as a new sample.
Loop samples can be up to four measures (16 beats) long, at the current BPM when you begin recording. (for example, at a tempo of 140, 16 beats would be approximately 7 seconds). If the tempo value is 73 or lower, the maximum of beats that can be sampled is 8. If the tempo is below 39, the maximum is 4.”
Resurrecting this topic as I’ve been trying to figure out the best way for using loops to transition between tracks in a set.
I am building a live set using Analog Rytm alone and I’m looking to pair it with a looper that would allow me to:
I used to do this with the Kaoss Pad KP3+ and it worked pretty great as far as the looping and transitioning was concerned. I loved having the FX there as well. The problem I had with it was not the functionality, but that running the master output of my setup through the KP3+ was degrading the sound quality. It was also really easy to run the KP3+ input into distortion and impossible to get good levels going out.
I also have an Octatrack but for this project I’m looking for a lightweight setup that is easy to travel with (=fits in hand luggage) and quick to set up. Also as someone already mentioned, there’s just too many things that can go wrong when using Octatrack for looping in a live situation.
I was looking at the Blackbox 1010… It might do what I’m after, anyone using it like this? But seems a little pricey to get it for looping purposes only.
Another option is to get a suitable compact mixer and run the AR on one channel and a looper on another. But that’s one more device to fiddle with (the purpose of this project is precisely to downsize and simplify my previous setup).
Any thoughts or recommendations to look at? Thanks.
Just an idea - not the most elegant - but have you considered using an ipad/iphone for that duty? You could get a compact interface (something like the Audient Evo) and run the RYTM main outs into the Evo. Then you can use AUM + Enso Looper or if you don’t want to mess with AUM/AUv3s you could use Loopy HD or Quantiloop to capture your loops while still having full control over dry/wet mix etc…
Interesting, no I had not considered that! All I care about really is the stability, portability, ease of use and of course sound quality. Will look into this thanks!
Alright, nice. Let me know if you need any help/advice regarding the setup and looper options on iOS.
I recently bought a 1010 Blackbox and it’s a great looper. Expensive yes. But small and does exactly what I wanted in a loop sampler for years. Actually just use it for loop sampling at the moment. I like to make a couple sequences on the the OT, set it to record 64 bars, then mute, unmute and mess with the drum pattern. It samples what I did, then I can add synths or whatever on a new blackbox pad… record that with tweaks for 16 bars. Almost too good to be true. I could do this in the OT, and have, but I really like the way the black box automatically mutes the incoming signal and goes on playing the recorded one. In the OT I would have to switch parts or some other work around. At the moment I’m a bit over whelmed that it actually works so simply. Like what happens when you actually get what you want? 
But seriously. It’s great for recording long loops and syncing those to a midi device. It has a bunch of other things it can do, which I haven’t really explored.
Interested in this topic… I’m in a similar scenario, working out a live set with just Rytm. Seems a shame to run the whole master through something like the KP3 with crappy A/D converters. I actually found the Octatrack always made things sound a bit flatter when passing audio through them…
Another possibility is requesting a Pioneer DJ mixer (most DJ venues have them anyway these days) and utilising the effects on there… I think the ‘roll’ effect is basically like a looper?
Although, the Pioneer roll effect might not do a long enough loop… Need to look into it!