Tone Report Weekly Issue 117 | Page 13

timing. Many even have a quantize function, so if your rhythm is a little off the looper can rein it in and tighten everything up. Simply play a riff or progression into it and rock out. Back in the bad old days, guitarists and other musicians practicing alone would use a cassette deck in a similar fashion when rehearsing or songwriting, but this usually entailed playing a riff or song over and over again ad nauseum to avoid having to constantly rewind the tape. Even then, there was an awful lot of tedious rewinding, poor sound quality, and the occasional eaten tape. With a digital looper at our feet, we can leave these dark days behind us. Looper as a songwriting tool In much the same fashion that a looper can be the perfect practice partner, it can also be the ideal songwriting companion—an Oates to your Hall, a Garfunkel to your Simon, a Nash to your Crosby and Stills. It won’t create parts for you, but it will be there to play the parts you have without complaint, in its relentless, robotic fashion, allowing you to easily audition and overdub every musical or vocal idea that pops into your head. Whether you’re coming up with a solo section or composing intricately layered vocal harmonies, the looper will have your backing tracks on lock, and can play them perfectly for as long as you want, without taking even a single smoke break.  ToneReport.com 13