by Fuzzharm » Sun Jul 04, 2021 10:58 am
Hi all, I just joined because I want to talk about this pedal (well, among other things). So I just got an 856 a week ago and it's amazing but does take time to learn. My first sessions with the 856 left me feeling disoriented - confused but giddy with the possibilities. I'd wanted a looper but knew I wouldn't be satisfied with its limits. The 856 delivers in the left field looping category. The only thing missing is reverse (as others have mentioned). I've been a guitarist forever but have left it and come back more than once. After some time devoted to synths, and modular synths, I've come back to guitar again. However, even though guitar remains much more expressive and dynamic, I wish for the ability to step outside the sound and manipulate it, as you can with analog synthesizers. Well, the 856 is getting me close to my ideal of folding a guitar into modular synthesis by taking a snippet of guitar sound and manipulating it against itself. Now I'm just imagining the 856 having separate outputs for each N that could be fed into pedals and then into a mixer. Is this what Max/MSP is like? In any case, I like limits... so I respect the idiosyncrasies that come with not being able to control every detail and staying with the controls on the 856 itself instead of breaking out into full MIDI control.
A few things early in my 856 journey that I'd like to note, and which might help others...
1) Not screwing up the recording-set loop tempo. Record in R=B mode to set the base loop and the beat tempo, but then switch to FREE record mode before overdubbing using the FBK control. This way, you set the initial loop time (R=B) and do not reset it when overdubbing because FREE keeps whatever tempo has been set. However, I am having some issues with not getting the timing of the overdub perfectly, and ending up with audio drops as the loop end and beginning fade out and in.
2) Avoiding volume jumps when switching between N. Someone (cosmicevan?) mentioned that if you hold the FBK switch while turning the GAIN knob, the gain is unaffected. This is absolutely invaluable when switching between N where, for example, N1 might have GAIN at max but N2 has GAIN up halfway. You switch from N1 to N2, hold down FBK while turning GAIN to halfway, then release FBK and manipulate GAIN starting from the correct initial location for N2 (halfway in this case) - voila, no volume jump. This trick of holding down FBK and turning a knob without affecting it works for any parameter. Crucial! The trick, though, is you have to remember the settings for your individual N in order to set the knobs in the right locations. Close enough is close enough here, and this trick works great.
3) The limiter. Apparently there is a built in limiter and you'll definitely hear it in action if slamming all N at max gain. Gain staging is important to keep in mind especially when the layering starts getting intense.
4) Footswitch. I need the 856 on the tabletop but also with footswitches on the floor. Just got the Singular dual footswitch that's made for the Beat Buddy. It was cheap secondhand and works fine. Connect the footswitch to the expression pedal in of the 856 and set the internal dip switches from expression pedal to foot switch operation and you're good. Worked perfectly.