“Love Will Tear Us Apart”

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I’m about to rip up my long-running live looping rig to make some changes I’ll write about soon. But before doing that, I’ve posted the solo live-looped version of “Love Will Tear Us Part” that I’ve been playing live. You know, just in case I can’t follow the trail of breadcrumbs back to where I started.

When I first heard the sing more than 35 years ago, it frightened me. So different! So dark! So hopeless! But when I was in Palm Springs earlier this summer, they were playing it over the P.A. at the supermarket. So I guess everything’s okay now.

Comments

8 responses to ““Love Will Tear Us Apart””

July 24, 2017

Gilles

really Nice !
humm… very curious about your brand new live Looping Rig !!

Reply
1. July 24, 2017
  
  joeto
  
  Thanks, guys! I’m literally sitting behind my gig computer right now, banging my head against the digital walls. (Hence the “check email” break.) What I’m trying to do is slim my hardware setup way down. I’m hoping to take all may looping into software. Logic/MainStage has a cool looper plugin, Loopback. But when I first started putting this system together years ago, it was too buggy and slow, even though I had the top-of-the-line MacBook Pro at the time. But years later, after many MainStage software updates and with a faster machine, I’m hoping I can make it work somehow. It just might not be in exactly the way I’m accustomed to, so it’s a work in progress.
  
  Thanks for asking! Now back to the grindstone.
  
  I’m also taking a new look at Jam Origin’s MIDI guitar plug in. It’s a fabulous pitch-to-MIDI convertor, but last time I tried it a year or two ago, it wasn’t quite fast enough for tracking live drums. It’s so much quicker now — it might even work! But again, it’s going to demand changes of concept and lots of practicing.
  
  My motives are to simplify so it’s easier to travel and tour, and to not be glued to any particular hardware devices (which can go out of production). Plus I want to see what new ideas alternate setups suggest.
  
  Reply
July 24, 2017

J. Maus

Indeed, we look forward seeing the evolution of your looping set-up. Question: Joe, Is there still a link to the finger picking exercises?

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July 25, 2017

Oinkus

Thats pretty great , you have that setup down so well it would be hard for me to change it ever. Slim and less is a good thing too especially if you are working , never going to haul 4x12s and multiple amps around ever again ! I would imagine you might even travel with the 1 guitar maybe ?

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July 25, 2017

joe

I’m hoping to get it down to a guitar, a backpack with computer and accessories, and a small case to hold two or three featherweight SoftStep controllers. Wish me luck! 🙂

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July 26, 2017

Joel

Nice, I like when the “tinkle-y” sounds come in around 3:50.
Good luck with the new rig!

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August 22, 2017

Avi

Hey Joe, real nice as always. Couple of ideas:
1) For a smaller interface, check out the RME Babyface Pro. USB but latency specs akin to Thunderbolt, and bus powerable.
2) Ableton Live has a great audio looper plugin, and can easily do Midi looping. There’s also SooperLooper https://essej.net/sooperlooper/ which is fantastic, though perhaps it’s overkill.
3) I use MIDI Guitar, and indeed, the latest version is far superior to the original. I think it’ll work out for triggering drums, but it’s probably a little glitchier with slightly more latency than whatever hex pickup system you’re used to. But I would definitely test it out to see if it’ll work well enough.

Reply
1. August 23, 2017
  
  joe
  
  Thanks, Avi! It’s always a treat to hear from you. Those are all great suggestions, and ones I’d recommend to anyone. But if you’re curious, here’s why they weren’t for me.
  
  1. While everyone seems to love the sound of RME interfaces, I’m committed to the Apollo platform because it’s the only way I can use UA’s phenomenal plug-ins live. The conversion sounds great, and the Apollo Twin is nice and compact.
  2. Ableton is awesome! I used it often until I became a Logic Pro developer. But since I’ve now designed thousands of sounds that only run in Logic/MainStage, I’m committed to that platform as well.
  3. SooperLooper is cool. But I need to run it alongside MainStage, and the linking software adds too much latency. (But for players who create tones at the pedalboard and only need a looper, it’s a fine option, if you can stand the ugly interface. Call me a dork, but I resent looking at ugly UIs.)
  
  The MIDI Guitar app is phenomenal. But it’s not fast enough for looping live MIDI “drums,” though it works fine for melodic stuff, especially tones that rise up after an initial guitar attack. TriplePlay is the only thing I’ve found that can, say, track a basic rock drum beat at 140+ BPM. But having said that, I’m experimenting with using MIDI Guitar only, and creating some rhythms with drum machines
  
  That’s a big break for me, ’cause I’ve made it a point of pride to use no sequenced tracks. But I’ve gone about as far as I can with the “guitar drums” approach, and I think I’ve been sticking with it for bragging rights, not musical reasons.
  
  So I’m putting together a VERY different looping setup, and I’ll share it here soon. (As in, after I have a few weeks of practice and don’t sound so crappy on it.) I’m using the Loopback plugin in MainStage, which is phenomenal in some respects and frustrating in others. There are some old things I won’t be able to do anymore, but I’m gambling that the new possibilities will outweigh them.
  
  Plus dicking with all this complicated stuff lets me go hours at a time without thinking about Trump. (That’s also one reason why I’m currently practicing Spanish, French, and Italian every day.)
  
  Reply