I’ve been using Looper more lately to add punch to vintage tracks. It’s fun and easy but is a very manual process of remembering which loops I want and then hitting multiple loop buttons on time, only to remove them one by one for breaks and then remember the buttons for often the same loops to build up again. Actually, it requires 2 layers of memory because I have to first remember which Looper set I used on a track AND which loops within the set need to be activated. This is way more than I want to be saddled with during a live performance!
Custom Looper Memory Slots
Adding eight or so Looper memory slots could be a feature to save custom Looper sets. Example might be saving 3 Looper sets:
- Set for intro and outro that loops kick 1, hi hats 1, bass 3, and synth 3.
- Set of loops running during song chorus with all eight loop tracks on for a full sound.
- Set for breaks with just kick 6 and bass 4.
With these looper combos saved into 3 memory slots, I can call them up whenever by tapping their respective buttons and know exactly the sounds that will be played without having to remember where the right loops I need are located and then manually pressing all of the right looper buttons in time.
Interface
I imagine there can be a row of eight buttons along the top of the looper that allow the custom save slots. There would also have to be a way to set the memories on the buttons for new combos and edit/clear them as well. Like the writing and editing tools in other parts of djay, memory slots need to be easily editable.
Saving & Naming Sets For Future Use
A deeper feature would be a way to save sets of memory slots for later use with custom titles. This way I could save the above 3 slots and name it with a song title so I can call up them up later in a drop menu when I want to play the same song in a future performance.
"Smart" Loading
Extra bonus points would be awarded to djay devs if this system could be “smart” and remember Looper sets for certain tracks. Similar to how djay can save cue points for tracks to iCloud, these custom Looper memory sets can be assigned to a given track it was created for and be automatically available when that song is loading again in the future.
As mentioned in the first paragraph, there are two layers to be saved: the Looper parent set and the loops within. So, if djay auto-loaded loops, there’d have to be indication of which Looper set was required to do so. Otherwise, there could be an unwanted surprise if I was working in Electro Swing Looper set but the saved loops for a given track are in Deep House and are auto-loaded without warning. Probably the best situation here is to make past saved loops available through a drop menu but not loaded automatically.
This wouldn’t be obtrusive at all since the custom Looper set would simply be available for a given track and accessed by the Looper memory buttons or simply ignore them and start/stop loops if that’s all that’s needed. If a new set is created and needs to be saved, then simply add the new combo to any open memory slot or overwrite a slot as needed.
Cloud Availability
Of course, since it’s in the cloud, it might be possible to have different djay installs on different platforms remember as well like when I go from using an iPad at one gig to my laptop at another gig.
