Ambient Guitar Instructional: “Hybrid Frippertronics” (Meditative Soundscape with a Tape Recorder)
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- čas přidán 19. 08. 2024
- I know that many of us - ambient music players - are fascinated with Frippertronics. This reel-to-reel live looping technique is widely discussed on CZcams.
The name hitchhiked over to the digital world meaning a sound-on-sound system where tape saturation and degradation were taken into account, as well as loops feedback control.
I always found this technique interesting and very “musical” due to the abovementioned aspects - tape saturation, wow, flutter and feedback control.
It does a very important thing - constantly changes your loop a little bit, but this “little bit” is very important - it forces our conscious to be focused on “what is going on there”. If things don’t change, we are bored very fast.
I would like to have the real reel-to-reel system with two different recorders/players, but the reality and limited space appeals to common sense - one need a spacious room and fair amount of money to afford these “toys”.
Thinking over the possible solution I came to the decision that some kind of hybrid Frippertronics might do the trick.
The other day I found this portable Superscope by Marantz CD-330 recorder with 3 heads and tried the idea. It worked great for me!
I got exactly what I was looking for - the texture!
The hybrid Frippertronics is relatively simple - I replaced one of the units with a digital delay, capable of setting a long delay time - 4 seconds and more. You can even try it with your DAW digital delay!
The first unit RECORDS the signal, then it’s PLAY head READS the signal right away with a slight delay of 60-70 mS (which is negligeable in our case) and this signal is sent FURTHER to the digital delay (100% wet).
Let’s say we set 8 seconds delay time. It means that we will hear the sound from the tape in about 8 seconds. This was the initial goal of the old reel-to-reel technique - long delay time.
What Fripp and Eno did was feeding the signal from the second tape recorder (digital delay in our case) back through the mixer to the first tape recorder. They got the desirable amount of the decay changing the volume of the feedback signal.
If the volume was equal of higher than the source signal the system started to overload and resulted into heavily distorted feedback.
In my system I use one tape cassette recorder to do both jobs - RECORD and PLAY. But I’ve substituted the distance between two recorders with a digital delay.
The maximum delay time of the Strymon Timeline is 2500 mS, but there is a trick I found years ago that can expand the delay time of this pedal up to 20 seconds.
This is the link to this “hack”: • “Hack” your Strymon Ti...
All the mixing, signal’s send and return are managed in the audio interface’s mixer on my PC. It also gives me an advantage of recording several sources for later editing.
I record the incoming signal and the tape signal, as well as other send-returns from other pedals, because most of them are connected directly to the audio interface.
I use RME Fireface UC and Behringer ADA8200 ADAT extension that give me 8 stereo inputs and 8 stereo outputs in general with unlimited mixing and routing possibilities.
One of my intensions is to make a video about the way I set this versatile pedals connection.
Gear used:
Godin LGX SA
Soma Terra
Soma Enner
Ebow Plus
Roland VG-99
Strymon Riverside
Strymon Iridium
Strymon Volante
Meris Hedra
Meris Enzo
Chase Bliss Audio Mood MK2
Hologram Microcosm
Superscope by Marantz CD-330 - the main Frippertronics unit
Strymon Timeline - the secondary Frippertronics unit
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That Godin is beautiful and sounds incredible. I have the same model in Koa and its been sitting in my closet for over a year, you have inspired me to take it out and regain my love for her. Thank you for the wonderful music my friend.
Thank you for the response! Yes this Godin is superb!
Beautiful
Thanks!
Это просто бальзам на мое сознание.
Спасибо!
Отличный фон в самом начале!
Не думал 20 лет назад, что настанет момент, когда я соглашусь - да, классно фонит!)))
COSMIC LUSHNESS 🌌
Thanks!
Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you, Stefan!
@@MikhailMedvedev Just listened to it again. It is truly stunning!
Loving this even before you get started..
massive sonic canvas you've created here.......................such a cool session
Thanks Will! Enjoy and have a lot of fun with this setup.
I woke up to this video this morning. I love what you're doing. It is beautiful and inspiring. Once again nice video techniques (you fading out like the music). I would love to try this myself. I think i caught enough to experiment with this idea. I am racking my brain to see if i can pull this off with just my daw as I don't have a tape machine. I am very grateful for your sharing your talents and inspiration.
Thank you for this kind response!
the core idea that attracts me in this Frippertronics style looping is constant sound evolving - a loop never stays the same, thus making me interested in listening to it
@@MikhailMedvedev I agree with you. I love the ever evolving element. I really enjoyed it.
So impressive. Very nice!
Thanks!
Incredible setup ❤
Thanks!
Woooow! Awesome!❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Thanks!
Cool setup. Cool sounds.
Thanks!
❤ nice track. 7:32 that flutter is great
Thanks!
Soma cosmos and ribbons pedal would help based on your remarks, beautiful track ps you need the rhythmic firmware for cosmos to do your kind of music
Thanks! I'm glad people mention Soma Cosmos in comments, because I also think this pedal is great for this style of live looping. There are several videos on my (and Soma) channel that I did for them with this looper.
This sounds very good. 👍👍 Very inspirational video. 👏👏
It inspired me to check out my Chase Bliss Habit for Frippertronics experiments.
Thanks! Guys in CBA make great pedals. Blooper is one of my favorite. If I ever sell my pedal I will sell the last!
Михаил здравствуй..отличный музон..вопрос..где Электро смычек покупал?
Привет. Уже не помню, возможно в штатах заказывал. Сейчас есть какие-то китайские аналоги, вроде на алиэкспресс
Hi ! You are running exactly what i am trying to do at home...I did not understand how each instrument's signal goes to your pedals ?? Could you do a diagram of your signal chain maybe ? I also got a Terra, a Dvina and a guitare but i don't know how to send everything to my pedalboard...
Hi! Much depends on your audio system... I have RME Fireface UC + Behringer ADA8200 which is 16 mono inputs and 16 mono outputs. I would like to switch every pedal I have separately to the audio interfaces, but lack of inputs/outputs))) so I had to decide which pedals are necessary to be connected directly to the audio interfaces and which can be connected in serial. Another problem - instruments. I would like to switch them all independently to the interfaces either, but again has no free inputs for that. Thats why I had to use a summing mixer for guitars and synths. Thus I use only 2 mono inputs to send all my instruments. Several pedals stay only in guitar line before the summing mixer. The rest is a matter of mixing in DAW. I use RME's TotalMix capable of sending anything anywhere without a latency. It means I can send my instruments all in parallel to all the pedals I've connected. Or I can rout them through the mixer one after another in serial mode just like it could be in a pedalboard. I hope the other day I will be ready to make this video with diagrams how I set this all up....
@@MikhailMedvedev awesome !! I was also considering a separate mixer to gather every instrument and then dispatch it to the pedalboard.
Thank you for sharing your expérience !!
Have you tried the Soma Cosmos? I have not, but it seems like a piece of gear that would be helpful in creating slowly evolving ambient soundscapes.
cosmos is great for this
Yes. I actually did several videos with Cosmos for Soma Laboratory and their CZcams channel).. You can find these videos on my channel also. It is one of the best looping machines for Frippertronics style! It has some great and unique features! Highly recommend this looper for those who what more then just looping.
Absolutely!
What would you say is the difference in texture between the cassette recorder and something like a Volante? I used to have two of those cassette recorders - they both stopped working after a while, but were great machines.
I would say the difference is significant. Cassette tape is hissy and has drop outs (depending on a tape) plus other irregular imperfections. It is less sterile than Volante. But it is OK for both of them. I guess everything depends on the player's intentions - what is needed here and there. Since the cassette is generally less perfect than a wider and faster tape of reel to reel recorders I find it useful for distinctive and hard textures - something that is difficult to achieve with Volante. Gen Loss could do something of this, but it is still digital and well... costs twice more!