LoopA suggestions/improvements/ideas

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I dont know if there is a list of ideas that are going to be implemented to the LoopA. If not this could be a thread for that in this forum.

My suggestion:
All of my synths lack an arpeggiation mode. So to get those sweet sweeps it would be nice if the LoopA could handle that. Like if you have a chord progression going on you could navigate to the track menu and just enable arpeggios. And then use the data knob to choose up/down/u&d. Note lengths could be set in setup menu.

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vmv thanks a lot for your feedback!

The arpeggiator is already on the list of future LoopA improvements (as is the keyboard mode) - we’re currently working on the MatriX firmware, to be able to connect the LoopA to the MatriX, but after the MatriX release, this is definitely a development goal!

Best regards,
Peter

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Hawkeye Thats awesome! Looking forward to it ^^

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Excited about arps!

Also wondering if the gate input could be set as a clock, or rather, “advance to next note.” This would allow syncing to uneven modular sequencers.

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joshuaandrew Thanks a lot!

Currently still hard at work integrating LoopA <-> MatriX - but collecting ideas for the gate-in ports! 🙂

Reclocking the sequencer engine with external advance-single-note pulses from a modular system might not be as easy as it sounds though, as the sequencer timing logic would need to be rewritten and also as multiple tracks can have notes on different positions. For the time being, a mapping of the available footswitch commands to the GATE INs is the primary plan, so you can map the already available commands to be controlled via your modular. For example you could use a eurorack gate/pulse to switch to next or previous scenes without the LoopA being in reach.

Best regards and have a good upcoming weekend,
Peter

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LoopA firmware release v2.10 is finally out! Many thanks to everyone contributing ideas!

Yes, it includes a new and powerful song mode, have a look:

Also:
Robert as requested (and quite late, sorry!) we now have scale note replacement support - check out the new session fts note replacement feature - if you want to create a list of nice replacement patterns, we could add these as MatriX presets for the next MatriX firmware - thanks a lot! Also: check out white keys FTS mode! 🙂
talondnb song mode is here, finally! 🙂
@gwpt , @forestcaver and joshuaandrew tap-tempo support has been added, as well as eurorack gate-in support for tap-tempo, like this it should be possible to sync your LoopA to your modular system! 🙂
@safrosch LoopA song mode now has a pattern launch feature, which is very similar to your request to launch a full scene - with the cueing feature in song mode you can now launch “scenes” from their start - it’s explained in the video linked above
@schematicwizard we’ve now got the requested session safety confirmation (before destructive save/load/new operations), song mode and the screensaver should now start screensaving when a MIDI clock start packet is received
@autopoiesis as requested, an extension from 32 to 64 user instruments has been added 🙂

There’s also a widely improved CC remote control support, a configurable CC remote control port filter (to avoid CCs triggering unwanted activity on LoopA), a new triplet quantization feature and a new FTS “Scale 615 Schoenberg Hexachord”.

Hope you’ll all enjoy! 🙂
Best regards,
Peter

PS: footage from the video shoot:

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This is somewhat out there, but it would be interesting to have something similar to a shift register implemented on the LoopA. That mode would combine any combination of pre-existing patterns and create a new one that could be assigned to pattern or FX.

The user could determine how much influence each pattern has on the shift register based off of a percentage value.

I’ve never seen anything like this with midi but heavily utilize similar techniques in the modular world.

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GryPpl Thanks a lot for your idea!
Will think about it!

As a note, LoopA is intended to be an easy-to-use sequencer, i.e. one philosophy was to just find the six most important features for every page and implement just those to avoid menu diving and potential confusion - this should maximize the usability for many users - we frequently get positive feedback on how simple, yet still powerful it is to use - so simplicity will always be a major factor to decide which features will be added.

Best regards!
Peter

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Hawkeye totally understand, it’s super fun as is.

I may have overlooked this in the manual but is it currently possible to record velocity per note? If not that would be more useful than my shift register suggestion 🙂.

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GryPpl Per-note velocity recording and modification in the notes editor is supported! 🙂 There’s also a velocity-dampening MIDI effect available, which can sound very nice, e.g. if the synth filter is closed based on velocity.
Best regards, Peter

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Hawkeye I must have overlooked this, I’ll check later today

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Hi Peter, enjoying using my LoopA its a really useful addition to my equipment, could say my modular is being built around its functions!
Although electronics generally is not a problem for me, being a guitarist I have little experience of MIDI other than plugging in leads and setting channels etc.
I’ve noticed that although LoopA passes Pitch Bend data via the MIDI ROUTER screen, when recording or using FWD in the Mute screen etc Pitch bend is neither forwarded or recorded, have I missed something?
If I have not missed anything could this function be added?
Thanks Harry

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Hi @TanDog / Harry,

thanks for your kind words! Pitch Bend recording (and forwarding) is on the future wishlist for firmware developments, just added another +1 by you.

Best regards,
Peter

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I’ve mentioned this in another context, but I’ll add it here as well for tracking. It would be lovely to be able to designate a track for looping MPE data, with a dedicated soft or physical input and output for the track. Personally, it’d be fine to lose most of the note by note editing, just leaving effects, LFOs, and overdubbing, etc.

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Dymaxion thanks for the suggestion! I’ve looked more closely into the MPE specs and while it is memory intensive, i still think it should be possible to add MPE support as an extra data layer. Still working on the MatriX integration though, which is a lot of work. There are also a few other promised LoopA code extensions, which will come before MPE support, but it is on the list!
Best regards,
Peter

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Hawkeye Yup, understood! Do y’all have a public roadmap somewhere? That’s always kind of nice for users.

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Got my new LoopA (thanks Mike!)
Beautiful ergonomics and use of keys, encoders and screen. Extremely versatile! MERCI!

Here are my $0.02 for next ideas:

main idea without any doubt: a mean to scroll in SD card in various folders and pick a (small) standard midi file to import into a selected scene/track. I can imagine the 1000s of possibilities to have a library of rythms/drums and import one or more in various scenes. Extensive libraries, both free or paid, exist in all genres.
more on the HW side: this is a complex assembly … I really think Peter you should consider having all basic CMS components done by pick-and-place in the PCB manufactory. Even resistors would be CMS also. This would reduce errors, improve quality and even reduce the total final price (compared to Mouser individual purchases). JLCPCB, PCBWay and many others do that for very small money and very small runs. And giving them only the CMS to do does not give them all your knowledge 😉 That would probably increase a lot your DIY customer base
I am personnaly not a huge fan of the keys acting as a keybord as others have suggested or Loopop. These keys do what they do currently very good, but a keyboard like that will not be that good (sensitivity …). Also as the device is not standalone anyway so even if it is probably not too hard to program compared to the rest, I find the interest is nul (my view only)
BR,
Fabrice

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Salut Fabrice,

Glad you like LoopA! For your suggestions:

Peter would have to say if it is possible but had an earlier thought to “play in” a MIDI file as a workable solution. That way it also can have timing info applied, which is likely to be missing in a standard MIDI file unless it is formatted in a certain way.
Probably the project will stay as is, but thanks for your thoughts! It is quite simple and fun to build and the SMT is really no problem because of the wide pitch. PCBA would not necessarily be cheaper and might actually increase the cost, let alone require redesign of all boards for this.
The keyboard mode will actually be a controller mode on the MatriX. It will fit very well there! But I agree with you: care should be taken not to complicate the user interface too much.

Thanks again!
Best,
Andy

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Danke Andy,
The first opens a lot of possibilities (DRUMS, arpeggios …) and would be very aligned to the logic of this device, ie manipulating short sentences of MIDI notes. Becuase time is inside the midi, tempo can be solved in various way and LoopA has already tools to expand or compress length, or change tempo.
The 2nd: you’re right, it is a redesign of all the PCB. I have examples about purchasing such in far-east, and believe me, the cost was cheaper than adding separate vendors in EU by far, as long as you keep it simple with only automatically-placed-standard-locally-sourced-components. And probably you under-estimate the community size this LoopA could have if much simplier to assemble.
F

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@Fab thanks for the suggestion - added to the idea list. Currently we have a lot of LoopA users in the world, with many people having a suggestion or improvement thought or two - which is per se highly appreciated.

But: if we implemented everything, as Andy stated, the user interface would quickly be very cluttered and the UI become either unusable or not as quick as it was before (menu diving) which is definitely not in the design scope of LoopA: it was a design choice in the beginning, that every screen only has 6 commands/choices - to avoid deep menu diving and guarantee ease of use. For your usecase, you can easily “play in” remote MIDI via USB from your computer - with the option to cut it on the computer on a big screen and get the correct sequence segment required. This will also facilitate browsing, if you have a large MIDI library with 1000+ files - would not recommend to do this on LoopAs small screen.

Basically, for every feature request, we’re waiting for other users to chime in and when there is menu space and LoopA program space/RAM available we implement those suggestions that many users would like to see.

Best regards and enjoy your LoopA!
Peter

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Hi Peter. My suggestion was also to use the capabilities on the SDcard. These files are extremely small (=handlable by a ucontroller). If I have to use a PC -what I will not-, I would not use a LoopA anymore and go 100% SW. The BeatBuddy for example does that with 1 encoder and 1 buttons to both select and navigate. And its screen is ⅓ of the loopA. Nevermind, you decide. No harm (ARM ? 😃 ). Best regards, F

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Dymaxion Hi, currently it’s a simple 2-step roadmap 🙂

MatriX first
everything else

The MatriX has been brewing too long in the labs, so it needs to be released, but the good news is, that we’re hopefully only a few days away 🙂.

Regarding the LoopA development - there are some changes for v2.09 that have been collected in the last year - we’ll create a MatriX-Support version first (v2.09 prerelease) and immediately afterwards work on the promised new features, such as remote CC control, an alternative display mode that scales the notes vertically for better visibility (e.g. in drumtracks), and native keyboard input on the LoopA, if there is no MIDI keyboard attached or available.

Then, we’re open for new discussions - with the only point that memory is already quite limited on LoopA and we can’t easily introduce memory-heavy new features.

Best regards!
Peter