What is quantize in looping?
Anyone who has ever tried creating loops during a live performance knows how hard it is to sync your loops. A slightly off-timed loop can ruin your entire song. And there is no going back.
This is where the quantize function comes in to help us. Quantization adjusts your loops into perfect ones, so that you can perform more easily.
The problem with timing
Starting or stopping a loop you are recording marks the beginning and the end of your loop. Without quantization, these moments are captured exactly when you press that button, whether it’s right in time, a little before time, or a little after the time it should be pressed. That small imperfection, even a couple of milliseconds off, gets repeated with every loop cycle, making the whole loop sound weird and off-beat.
What is Quantization?
Quantization in looping is essentially an automated correction feature that aligns your start and stop loop points to the nearest beat. Instead of recording your played loop exactly when you press the button, the looper waits until the next beat to start or stop recording.
With this feature, you can focus on expressing your playing without worrying about hitting the looper button with total precision.
How Looper Quantize Works
There are two ways that loopers with a quantize function can work:
1. Internal clock: The looper, this way, has its own tempo setting. It is set with a knob or via a tap tempo button. Loop points snap to this internal metronome.
2. MIDI Clock Sync: When playing with more devices that are tempo-based, we need an advanced setup. This way, the looper receives MIDI clock signals from an external device like a drum machine. With this method, your loops stay perfectly in sync with all your tempo-based gear.
Loopers offer these quantization resolutions (a type of calibration):
- Quarter notes ( = 1 beat)
- Eighth notes ( = 1/2 beat)
- Sixteenth notes ( = 1/4 beat)
Benefits of quantization for live performers
Quantized looping offers several advantages that can make your live performances more stress-free.
Perfect timing, all the time
Even the best musicians can’t be perfect while recording layer after layer. The quantize feature makes all your loops line up with the beat.
More creative freedom
When you’re not worried about perfect timing while performing with a looper, you can focus more on your creative expression.
Less gear
When using quantization for your looper and other gear, you might find yourself not needing additional musicians or backing tracks altogether. Synchronized gear might be exactly what you were missing.
Integration with other devices
When using MIDI clock sync, your looper stays in perfect sync with other tempo-based devices like drum machines, delays, and sequencers.
Loopers with quantized looping
These looper pedals offer excellent quantization capabilities:
Boss RC-500
Boss RC-600
Electro Harmonix 95000
TC Electronic Ditto X4
Pigtronix Infinity 3
TC Helicon Voicelive 3 Extreme
Conclusion
Quantize in looping helps with timing, but it does require a bit of training. You will get the best results when you pair a looper with a MIDI clock source. This can be a drum machine, another pedal with MIDI clock output, or just a MIDI controller used for tempo control.
When you get used to playing with quantized looping, you may wonder how you played your previous gigs without it. The quantize feature is one of those things that will elevate your playing to the next level. This is very helpful when playing solo acoustic gigs. No more stressing about when to press the loop button.
