Yes, I tend to go with parallel or linear depending on what I'm after. Lately I've been into parallel but with crossfading pedal control. Gives a nice morphing option.

That's true, but the challenge - that I'm struggling with - is to find the most playable way of controlling effects as you go. With no control the effects take the role of a set sound you are playing though but a more interesting approach is to make the effects part of the extended instrument to play.

Yeah, so far bandcamp rules! its so basic and its all about the music. If your broke than stream it with headphones, otherwise you can donate whatever. I just hope its not insulting with like 50 cent donations, haha
Gonna stream the track right now, and the the fact its 18 mins already makes me happy....

Jesus, YES!!!!

Very elusive and glorious, Amazing exploration. Insane sound quality as well!

Yes, the intro is cool.

Not to be contrair, I love Greg's work in fact one of the top reasons I took up the Stick
is because of Greg and his style So I like this piece because it is unmistakably GH
but it is different in that it is exploring some quasi 'outside' experimental tones and phrasing;
further out IMHO than Big Bang or Guitaresque....

As an avid looper I took note at approximantely 6:10 that there is a really cool loop
that emerges and is underpinning the otherwise smokey, wispy, spiraling, somewhat distorted lead playing (with some bass salt and pepper along the way;-) that after almost exactly fifty seconds stops suddenly (loop over) and then to my ear Greg plays one of his most beautiful passages ever; very much evoking the acoustic guitar as a counter balance...

My problem with this is not the music as you can tell but the part on the Band Camp
page that says:




Like the music is more sanitary (?) or the musician is elevated by this addition like
"No dolphins or cute dogs were injured in the making this music".



I guess the reason that I am interested in this trivial aside is because I am trying to figure out how to ' re-present' myself as a musician and I come up against these odd little things that musicians do and say ( artists, advertising and media too)
that I think no one is supposed to read or care about but get ever so gently
passed through our filters and into the unconscious where they do indeed register.

But what if we ask 'what does that mean, "no loops or overdubs"? Are we supposed to
say "well, you know", "I used a whole rack of highly sophisticated effects and processors
and (echo devises) but "no loops or overdubs"

There is a subtle impression here that when pointed out is not subtle at all; that if
a musician makes some music it is better, of a higher quality or possibly is worth
more money if , regardless of the truckload of electronics that is actually used,
some 'special' technologies were not used because those technologies
are...What?

Even if i do it I will say I didn't because.....?

Inspector Freud is tapping his foot.

*j*
.~

Hi JRJ,

For starters, many thanks to all of you who have made such kind comments, and to those of you who actually bought the track, many, many thanks! I'm really glad you like the music, and I wish you could have been in the house at the concert.

To your point about the credits: it's not actually a "loop" that you are referring to, but what I call "delay soup" - long time setting delay with high feedback level. It acts partly like a loop, but decays and morphs over time. A subtle distinction, but an important one in the days of "apple loops" and backing tracks.

That's not really the answer to your deeper question, which goes more to a question I got from two separate people at my duo gig last Monday night. "So you have a backing track? How do you bring in the other parts?" To which I can respond with great delight "it's all live, just me playing."

People still don't understand how The Stick works. How it's possible to have really developed two-part music coming live from one player. I think they notice it more on this gig because it's just me and a drummer, and because the melody side is sonically very distinct from the bass side.

There are lots of great musicians who use loops, some of them are Stick players, like Cides, Tom Griesgraber and Glenn Poorman.

So, I'm not trying to poo-poo loops at all, just trying to explain how the recording was made.
Since there's no video, and you can't watch my hands in action, I felt this was an important element to include.

Personallly, I don't find looping all that interesting as a creative device. I always use "delay soup" as part of an improvisation, never trying to incorporate it into an arranged part. It's more of an effect than a "part" to me. In that way it follows the spontaneous ethos I feel the instrument and playing method give me as a musician.

So, loop away! whatever makes you happy. I hope that clarifies things a bit.

For a really clear example of delay soup in action, check out the beginning of "Water on the Moon":

http://greghoward.bandcamp.com/album/water-on-the-moon



Is it looping? I think "not exactly", but you can decide for yourselves.

interesting, I've always thought of it as looping. To my ears it achieves the same basic thing.

I love it no matter what you call it.

Brett

Ok, real quick on the looping/delay thing. No matter what method I like best(at that current time). The fact for me is that looping is on a technical level more difficult. Just making the loops dead on and the whole switching between loops. Most loopers have their quirks and nuances to learn, but to play a show with loops dead on is friggin very hard. And not let the loops get old, and if you are me I like to add fx after the loop. Ahjhh its like I make it hard for myself with loops! I feel alot safer using the delay method of long decay, not that either is better. In fact the safety I feel with delay is comforting. Loops are like a dragon to fight with.

Hi Brett,

Oceans spelled it the difference out pretty clearly. From a musical standpoint this is more of an "echo chamber", albeit a persistent one. Subtle distinctions but real sensations.

Hi Per,

I remember you mentioned that you were going to check out the SoftStep, did you ever do that?