LoopA suggestions/improvements/ideas

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For instant mutes, would the following workflow help?
Tap a “mute”: mutes/unmutes synced to the next measure
Hold a “mute” (0.5-1s): mutes/unmutes instantly when released

Can’t remember if that conflicts with any other UI 😅 , or maybe you find it counterintuitive!

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Thanks @Hawkeye & @latigid on

here are some comments to the features you picked:

1. Yes that would be great, but ideally then that the shift-mute is instantaneous and the mute page is synced to the bar (so that both are simultaneously possible). And no @latigid on , holding a button to do an instantaneous mute is not really instantaneous, I think it will feel really weird and will be hard to time in practice.
2. I think a simply action in the session menu would work
6. yes a session parameter, but only affecting the clips which have set their quantization and/or swing to SESSION instead of another value
8. This might also be a session parameter, yes I think it should either wrap around until it reaches full length or do the full length the next round from start to finish.

I think number 8 is my favorite if I have to pick one.

and, 10 is possible with external clock, right?

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@Timo thanks a lot for your feedback, adding #8 to the dev wishlist for the next release, then - these are all great ideas, thanks again, maybe more can be done than this single point! 🙂

Regarding #10 - it should work in theory, but i’ve got to admit that i never tried loading a session while LoopA is remote clocked. If it does not work, please report back, i can have a look if it is fixable 🙂.

Best regards,
Peter

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Hawkeye good luck with squeezing and puzzling for the new firmware version (I was wondering btw, could it be upgraded with a new STM32 core board with a beefier chip? The problem I see with that now is that all the other boards seem to have a slightly different form factor so it will probably need a custom layout to be a drop in replacement)

regarding #10: I did some tests today:

loading sessions with midi sync on works fine! It stays in sync and there are no perceivable tempo jumps
I also tried syncing by using the gate in set to tap tempo sending gates from my eurorack ( from the changelog “With the new tap-tempo function, LoopA can be tempo-synced to a modular system”), but that is a bit odd:
- every gate input is highlighted as tap tempo input in the UI
- it doesn’t sync, but only adjusts the tempo (so there is an offset between the eurorack system and the loopa)
- loading sessions will mess up the tempo temporarily
  
  So I think the gate in might work well for actually using it a tap tempo, but not as a method to sync to a modular system

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Hi, I hope you are doing well!

Speaking of CC and Midi messages, I’d like to adress a small need I have too:

MIDI incoming Program Change messages (useful to switch LoopA’s session for example 😄) are per-channel messages by MIDI specifications. LoopA listens to PC messages on every MIDI channel if I’m not wrong .

This is problematic for me because I need to work with a complex chain of devices (Nerdseq -> Digitakt -> LoopA -> Various HW poly synths) and don’t want to affect the LoopA when I’m sequencing pattern changes on the Digitakt with PC from my Nerdseq (before the LoopA). And I would like to be able to sequence session change on the LoopA with PC on a different MIDI channel at the same time.

It would be very helpful to be able to choose the MIDI channel(s) on which the LoopA listens to PC messages!
An alternative that could work too: being able to switch session with CC messages, just like you do for Scene selection or Bank selection.

(I tried a lot of MIDI chains for sequencing my devices, and for way too complex reasons + similar difficulties as the one I’m reporting here but with other manufacturers, this appears to be the only chain that could do the job for me, if you were to add this I’d be very grateful :') )

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schematicwizard thanks, all is good over here, hope for you as well. Your request makes a lot of sense, and you’re right, LoopA is currently treating “its” PC messages as omni messages, listening to them on every channel.
Fully agreed, adding a configuration option to allow filtering PC messages for a single channel is an important feature for more complex setups - added it to the wishlist for the next version.

Best regards,
Peter

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I am still very happy with the LoopA (even considering a second one).
I hope you are still working on a firmware update.
The biggest feature I miss is this:

the option to load a new session without interruption and to (optionally) ignore the saved tempo that comes with the session so that I can change that based on the current flow of the set (dj style)

I have this working currently by having an external clock that is translated to a midi clock, but it always feels a bit unnecessary and overly complicated.

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@Timo glad to hear that you’re happy and that transitions between sessions are possible (with a bit of work)! Improving the transition further (i.e. with a tempo adaptation or transitioning the session timed to a bar) would need both sessions to be loadable to memory at the same time - which is technically not possible, as a single session uses up all of LoopAs available RAM.

Best regards,
Peter

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Hi Peter,
I think the hiccup I have now when loading a new set (when externally synced) is acceptable, so there is no need for loading them both. It is then just a matter of keeping the clock running and not applying the tempo that is stored in the new set. I think that is doable?

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@Timo - thanks for the suggestion! Noted the request for a future version - yet, at the moment, i cannot promise when that will be released.

Best regards,
Peter

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Hawkeye Hi Peter, I hope you are doing great! I’m eager to see the new set of features you’re preparing for the next update 🙂

One I’ve been dreaming about is an evolution of the Live Transpose behavior. In another thread on this forum, you wrote about creating a footswitch setting to enable live transpose in v2.11, which would be already great (especially if we can target all Ltr On clips at the same time). Another approach that would be super useful for my workflow would be a setting to enable live transpose at all time, with a second one to chose between multiple kinds of transposition sources:

Turning the Live/Mode button as usual
Receiving a MIDI note on a specific MIDI input channel:
- from external MIDI ports / USB Inputs
- from one of the six sequencers

That way, we could Live Transpose from an external keyboard, and be able to record the transposition notes as a loop, The LoopA would transpose itself with a clip, which is a very powerful way to achieve complex melodies and harmonic progression! (especially with the FTS Scales)
This is something we do a lot with modular synth sequencers (a second sequence transposing the first one).

Cheers from my yearly summer music residency, where I tend to use the loopA the most 😉

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schematicwizard thanks a lot for your suggestions and have a great holiday time!

These are great suggestions for better live transposition controls - i’ve added them to the wishlist.

Unfortunately, i still cannot say when the new software release will be available, but will give an update as soon as i can - sorry for the long delay!

Best regards,
Peter