[Harp-L] Re: Boss Loop Station mod (Question for Brendan Power)

["Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Harry said: " I was lucky enough to see Brendan's clinic in San Jose, CA
back in May where he used a Boss RC-2 loop station to great effect, and it
got me interested in the idea. He had his mounted on a mic stand shelf so he
could operate it by hand, and had modified it by drilling a large hole in
the pedal and installing a button that he said gave him better control over
the start/stop of the looper (or so I recall).

So, Brendan, do I understand the mod correctly, and do you think it's
essential for use with harmonica? If you were shopping today do you think
you'd buy the RC-2 again? Or do you know of better options?
-----------------

On the small one-pedal loopers such as the Boss RC-2 and the Digitech
JamMan, to stop the loop you need to hit the pedal twice. In the heat of
battle I found this a bit tricky, so modified the pedal to insert a push
button that allows me to stop the loop with one hit. You can buy a foot
pedal to do this instead, but I like the compactness of the on-board button.
I simply wired it to the jack socket of the extra footswitch.

I don't think this is essential at all. The main thing to bear in mind with
loopers is that they require PRACTICE - lots of it! Hitting the pedal twice
is something you can learn to do easily in time.

On your second question, which looper would I buy now? Well, the new
Digitech JamMan Solo is very impressive:

http://www.digitech.com/products/Pedals/JamManSolo.php 

It's got massive storage, USB... Way more impressive than the RC-2 in most
respects. The only feature it seems to have omitted is the sound-trigger
function, where you can start recording a loop with your first note. With my
setup, where I use my hands to operate the pedal, this is something I like;
you can see me use it in these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Yr0jCMM4M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=156EQGrkzy8

I need both hands on my harp because I'm using the finger rings to create
the pulse under the harp chords, and that first hit triggers the loop to
start recording. For that reason, I'm sticking with my RC-2. However, if
you're using the looper as designed, to be triggered with your foot it's not
an issue, so I'd definitely choose the JamMan Solo. 

Hope that helps,

Brendan Power
WEBSITE: http://www.brendan-power.com
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic