This thread is getting novel length and I may be conflating different "objections" into one reply, but here goes.

I started my computer-aided music making with loops. Acid software from Sound Forge...20 + years ago. It still exists, having gone through the hands of first Sony, and now Magix. I was also a regular listener and contributor to it's "showcase"--Acid Planet--as were some other members of this forum. It no longer exists. I heard some good stuff, and an awful lot of awful stuff from people who painted three loops coast to coast and called it a song.

As is the case here, the "best" loop-based material had other input. Live recordings, synths, samples, vocals, whatever.

IF you are looking for a music creation method that will bend to your will in ways that some are complaining RT's do not, you are going to be very disappointed with loop libraries. Even free ones. Even massive ones.

The "one to four bar phrases" that BIAB delivers in RT segments are in some significant ways LIKE LOOPS. BIAB manipulates it's RT phrases with input to and from the program...tempo, key, chords, groove adjustments, time and pitch stretching, etc. combined with intelligence. That's the way loops work. It's just the input method that is different.

Modern production relies heavily on loops, midi, and samples. Even live recordings are often "looped". Making a loop out of a human (non-quantized) performance is a skill. Cutting a smaller snippet may be a skill as well, but it is not anywhere near as difficult. In "loop" parlance, we referred to these "snippets" as One-Shots.

In modern production you are stuck with loop libraries unless you know how to make your own loops. You can make a loop with midi. You can make a loop with audio. You can even make a loop out of other loops. But until you know how to make one yourself, you're going to be limited to the sounds resident in the loop. And unless you just enjoy making loops which may or may not ever have any real-use application, you're going to need to do it in the creation of the project.

And then you have to be creative in using them. Modern production might have 40, 60 or 100 tracks, some of which may only play for a beat or two.

I haven't looked into the link Jim provided yet. I've no doubt they've simplified and automated the process considerably since I gave up trying to make complete pieces with them. They can be "fun" and add some significant sparkle to a piece, But unless you create your own, on the fly, and manipulate the hell out of them, you are not setting yourself free. Not by a long shot.

For me? Viva BIAB. I'd have never touched a loop if I'd known about it way back then. Besides, there are thousands of hours of live play ready to be sampled, manipulated, and even "loopified" that come in the package.

Have fun.


Last edited by Tangmo; 07/29/21 12:20 PM.
BIAB 2021 Audiophile. Windows 10 64bit. Songwriter, lyricist, composer(?) loving all styles. Some pre-BIAB music from Farfetched Tangmo Band's first CD. https://alonetone.com/tangmo/playlists/close-to-the-ground