Basic concept for my setup

taking control

At the time I started developing my setup with ClyphX PRO, the basic concept was to have a midi controller on which I could choose how many bars I wanted to record and where. I could easily capture ideas and re-arrange them on the spot, without looking at a computer monitor or touching a mouse/trackpad.

I took a Launchpad X from Novation and built a basic structure.

• Bars: I can select the length of bars I want to record. (Short press small number, long press higher number)
• Slot: I can select the slot (scene) the loop gets recorded. (Short press small number, long press higher number)
• Numbers 1-8: These pads represent an audio track for audio loop recordings.
• Loop 1-4: I have assigned two functions:
  • With a short press, I select how many loops I want to record after each other. (1-4 loops)
  • by holding down and pressing one of the 1-8, I select in which audio track the loop gets recorded. (e.g. Loop1 into loop track 3, Loop2 into track 4 etc….)
• Kick, SN1, SN2, T4 represent 4 drum tracks, which I can trigger with my piezo pickups attached to my bass.
• with Mute, Play, Stop NQ and Stop Q, I can control all 8 loop tracks as well as the drum tracks. NQ stands for Non-Quantised, it will stop a loop immediately whereas Q will stop a loop on the one of the next bar.
• with the pads (none, quarter, eighths, triplets and sixteenth notes) I select the quantisation grid applied after recording. (This works only for beats at the moment)

There are some more buttons I will explain at a later point.

Effect pedals

The second key ingredient to my setup are guitar effect pedals. Why? I'll explain this here in a post: PEDALOSOPHY

Each pedal is connected through a separate input and output of my audio interface.
Regarding the concept of a low-threshold accessible setup I had to address these pedals in my control surface as well. On my main Launchpad X I have 11 pads representing those pedals. I can send each of my loop or beat tracks to any pedal from within ableton. I moved this feature to another controller though. I will reuse these pads for other uses, like arm/unarm tracks, mixer control in the future. I gathered my ideas of what I want to program in my setup in the future here: Future plans

However, after first experiments an idea of a mixer matrix flourished, where I can send everything everywhere. There is a dedicated post about The Matrix

For each pedal which is capable of MIDI I have a dedicated MIDI track routed to each pedal. This allows me to control Program Changes (Preset Selection), modulation of parameters with LFOs or to turn knobs (on the desk) remotely with a (foot-)expression pedal on the floor. And this can be assigned on the spot or scripted in advance.

Setup complexity and Improvisation

It became obvious at an early stage of building this setup that it will be highly complex. Nevertheless, it was important to me that operating remained intuitive. I think and feel about it more as an instrument than as a tool. As a trained musician I know that learning an instrument takes time, but establishing a "muscle memory" is a key competence to be able to improvise. The tactile aspect, the colouring, labelling and visual feedback of a launchpad helps a great deal.

an idea becoming reality

How did I do all of this and how does it work?
I won't explain every aspect and detail(because of the sheer amount), but I do explain my use of ClyphX Pro and give some examples in the next posts:

• ClyphX Pro
• Examples of use:
  • Overview of hardware elements used
  • Midi fighter Twister
  • mobile editing
  • Tutorial series

go to the Master Research Overview

by schlapmin

an interview with KNOBS (a.k.a. Scott Harper)

Prelog

If you ever searched for demo on YouTube for a non mainstream pedal, I am sure that you came across this channel called KNOBS.
I love his approach and visual style. He dives deep into a pedal and after you watched a video you know about all intended and unintended uses for it.
He is the creative mind of blooper by chase bliss audio, a looper pedal with a unique concept. He recently released another pedal, the habit, which you should check out!
Together with KIM BJØRN he wrote this gem of a book in 2019: show It is full with interviews of pedal makers and artists. I love this book! You can browse in it for hours and every time you discover a new little fact or story.
I had the privilege to talk to him. He tells about his musical origins, how he fell in love with pedals in Japan and started his youtube channel during his time in Iceland. He gives advice on how to find out everything about a pedal.
Without any further a do, here is Scott Harper, aka KNOBS.

Interview transcript

Schlapbe
Welcome KNOBS, it's an honour to have you and to talk to you, hear your wisdom and your knowledge. Most most people know you from your videos on YouTube. And I really like to know a little bit more about your origins as a musician. Here's a classic starter question. What is your first musical memory?

KNOBS
Oh, wow. Oh, yeah, my first musical memory was hearing, hearing the Ghostbusters song in a Halloween party at school. This one really stands out to me because I just remember being very upset about it. I really liked the song. It was the first time I remember loving a piece of music. And, it was the first time I wanted to immediately hear it again. And the teacher wouldn't do it. I don't know why it was. It's so, I love thinking about that moment. And I'm sure I'm remembering it wrong. But I love thinking about the teacher being like: "no, like, we have to listen to the whole CD. We can't hear that song twice."

Schlapbe
So was this like an album moment where the teacher was like saying no, no, no, you have to listen to the whole album, or was just like a party going on a playlist?

KNOBS
It was just a party! Yeah, she wasn't like: "you need to appreciate the whole Halloween soundtrack?" I don't think so. I really don't know. I have no idea what she was thinking. But I was quite young, I think it was kindergarten. And so you know, we were just kids like rolling around on the carpet, eating candy. And just this song came on. And I remember also having a similar experience, I saw a live version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. And the time warp song played. And I remember the same at the same time being like, whoa, like this. And I just remember it being very new. And I don't know why those songs hit me and other songs didn't. But that's those are definitely my earliest musical memories.

Schlapbe
That's probably the mystery of music. Why some music talks to certain people and some music does not.

KNOBS
It's like a bit of an awakening, isn't it? Like, it's a fun idea. Like every music lover has that first song that wakes them up and makes them care?

Schlapbe
Yeah. True. Can you when you recall the feeling? Can you tell something about it? Was it just like, because it was new to you? Or was it the sound or the group or? Or the voice?

KNOBS
I think it must. It had to be the way that it made me feel like because I don't think music was new. And I don't think that those songs are very unique. I think they're both kind of euphoric in some way. I know, the time we're born is very euphoric. And I think

Schlapbe
What does euphoric mean?

KNOBS
like completely blissful? You know, like, like, all of all of the chemicals in your brain are just released at once. Yeah, I think it must have. Because I was such a kid. And, you kno w, I was a very typical boy, I'd say in the sense that like, all I wanted to do was have the funnest thing possible. So I don't I don't think I was appreciating any nuance in the music. I think it just made me feel in a way that I really liked and wanted to, like, do again, immediately.

Schlapbe
Probably like you, you felt like a superhero? Or something like that?

KNOBS
I have to think. Yeah, it was some kind of like, approaching adrenaline or something like that. Because, you know, they're not like subtle, or refined pieces of music. They're kind of exciting.

Schlapbe
Yeah, cool. Did you listen to music to specific style when you were in your teens? Or was it already broader from like, classic stuff rock, and whatever style you listened to?

KNOBS
Very focused. Yeah, very classics teenager behaviour, like, all the other music sucks, except this one.

Schlapbe
in what era was that?

KNOBS
So I was born in 1988. Ri ght, so when I was a teenager, I guess, the 2000s Yeah, I turned 13 and 2001 I think, and I just really enjoyed rap music. That was that was basically it. And that was also my start in music. I was making productions like sample based reductions. But I didn't realise till years later that all the stuff I was gravitating towards was just sampled from old soul music. And then that's what I actually liked. I just didn't have I didn't know I had no idea. Yeah, like Isley Brothers and that kind of stuff.

Schlapbe
And did you grow a love for like old music? Like the origin of the sampled music?

KNOBS
Oh, yeah. Yes. I still really love it. There's something to me that's still a bit elusive, and special about Motown and old soul music. This is probably a dumb thing to say. But I, it seems to me like, it didn't have a clear evolutionary path. Like a lot of other kinds of music did. Not that people aren't making that kind of music today. But it seems like there was a special it was like there's one capsulized era, Motown in particular, that was just so different from other things.

Schlapbe
Maybe it had, like, a certain sound. I for me, most Motown is like one of my origins. My Awakening song was "can't hurry love" from Diane and The Supremes. And the bassline really stuck to my head. And I became a bassist. Although I wanted to be to become a drummer in the first place. Yeah, but probably it's about the sound and Motown in particular, because it has it had like this, this studio, and they had like this workflow when the desk and like everything came together and the head great singers coming in. But the head always like this. This trademark sound. Good say probably. Yeah,

KNOBS
thank you. Right. It's kind of simple in a way, isn't it? It's like, every other genre was happening in multiple places at once. And not that I'm not a music historian. But yeah, that's my impression of Motown is that it really did happen. It was Detroit, right. I think just a very focused place where it was happening. And you still hear that! That song is awesome. There's also like the tambourine like there's not many songs where I think of and I just think like, yeah, that tambourine was something special

Schlapbe
There is such a special moment, you know, the the movie "Standing in the shadows of Motown." There's a documentary about the band. I think they're called The Funk Brothers. So like James Jamerson, the bass player, and like all the other cats, and there's one scene where the tambourine like one guy is playing the tambourine. And you're just like: That's the sound of Motown. That's like, and I spoke to other musicians about that movie and yeah, you know that scene with a tambourine that really special? Yeah, the tambourine. So,

KNOBS
yeah, it's something Yeah,

Schlapbe
probably it's like the the sound of that bass in combination with the tambourine.

KNOBS
just simple classic lead instruments.

Schlapbe
Talking about awakenings: How did your pedal life began?

KNOBS
I think, I know when it when it latched on. I think that the moment for me where pedals were or I realised what they could do for me was playing delay. It was one of the bosses delays. And I was not very good at the time and the preciseness of the echos were able to keep me in time, because it gave me something to follow and latch on to exactly. And it just immediately elevated my abilities as a guitarist and in a huge, huge, huge way. And I still rely on that and use that a lot. Like layering sounds in unnecessarily dense ways, I guess. And I think even that first experience was kind of like that, where I was able to turn off my brain and even with the limited... so at the time, I I barely knew anything about music. And and now I think it's more like intentional like, trying not to think about what I know. And just playing. And delays are just wonderful for that.

Schlapbe
...., getting in this like naive spot. Did you did you practice with the metronome before? Or was like delay your first metronome? In a sense.

KNOBS
I was a bad student of guitar, I only took up guitar, because I thought it would be an easy course in my school. I took it in high school in a class. And I did think the guitar was like, I didn't think it was uninteresting. I didn't know guitar music at all at the time. So, it was just a thing I could do. I remember a friend brought it up. And I did just enough to pass the course. So, I wasn't dedicated, I guess. I didn't hate it or like it. I just did it enough to get through it. So, I don't know that I had like a work ethic, I guess, with the guitar. I don't think that I ever, nor do I now ever had, like any ambitions to be very good at it. I just, I just liked it enough that I kept doing it. And then eventually I realised it was like very helpful for me. So yeah, I don't I'm gonna have a metronome now. I think I got my first metronome last winter.

Schlapbe
It's really funny. So but there were like, no ambitions, okay, I want to become the best whatever this guitar player in the world. Like, no, one of those typical young person ambitions. At what age did you did you pick up the guitar?

KNOBS
Oh, like making music. So I was 17 or 18 When I started playing it. But the time I was around 20, or 21, I was more interested in a diverse array of music. And I guess what really happened was wen I started to take interest in guitar, I didn't immediately play the electric. At first, I was very interested in the acoustic guitar exclusively. So there was even a window there where I wasn't playing electric guitar, and I wasn't good. So I wasn't playing in bands or anything. I was just just playing guitar by myself. But then I met friends who were very, very into jazz, and very, very into improvisation, and all of their philosophies and ideas and what they were doing just stuck. And but I couldn't do it. I was too bad to do it. But I think that was like where the motivation started is. That's when I started using loop pedals. And then I just realised, like, at first I had ambitions to, to just be a part of what they were doing, I guess. But then I started using a loop pedal. And I remember being like, Oh, I'm already I'm happy with what I'm doing here just by myself. This is something I could get into.

Schlapbe
Cool. So the pedals got you starting? What keeps you going? Your interest in pedals, did it continuously grow? From that point? Or was it like something you were hooked on? And then at a later point, it became more often of a primary interest

KNOBS
I think it just grew and grew? I was living in a very small city by Japanese standards. It's considered like a rice rice growing city, in the Northwest. And but there were some there are still some interesting, I mean, like anywhere in the world, there was interesting musicians. And there are some people that are just really, really into obscure pedals. And this is at a time where boutique pedals were not common, like small batch pedals or just wasn't common. It was just like boss or electro harmonics and stuff. But this this little town in Japan, for whatever reason, had this music store that had like all the weirdest fuzzes, and stuff like that. The people that worked in those stores, were good at it and knew how to use them. And I think, you know, pedals are just kind of beautiful, right? There's something about them. The combination of just the objects themselves being beautiful, and the cool names and all this stuff. It just really got into me. And then and then right after that I went to live in like a really small city in Iceland. where there was nothing.

Schlapbe
That's quite a journey.

KNOBS
Yeah. And that's when I think I turned to YouTube. Like, that's where the bridge connects. I fell in love with pedals for this time I was in Japan, and I was going to like, used stores and stuff and looking for all kinds of obscure pedals. And then I immediately went to a place that had nothing at all.

Schlapbe
So just to put it in context, like, what was the timeframe? You started YouTube channel in end of 2014? So and boutique paddles? So it was like in the late 2000s?

KNOBS
I think so. Yeah, like Keeley and Zyvex, and a few others were doing their thing. My my timelines are, I'm not a timeline guy. I didn't write that section of pedal crush.

Schlapbe
Yeah, that's like the guest author, right.

KNOBS
Yeah, we had Dan. Dan Orkin, he did the timeline. Yeah, I couldn't tell you exactly when this was. But there was there was a gap in time. Yeah. Where between Yeah, between that time in Iceland and starting the demos, it was it was more like, that was when I first went on to YouTube to look for pedals. And then I think, what what got me to make a video was that it was probably,..... well, some amount of years later, I came back to Toronto, where I was born and where I live now. And what I had noticed while I was in Iceland is that the YouTube videos were tailored towards guitarist that didn't play like me, basically. And so I was curious about making..... I thought that there might be people who would like demos that aren't really about rock music, and just kind of like really focus on the pedal and try to be neutral, I guess.

Schlapbe
Talking about your, your YouTube channel, you have such a unique style, and it's artistic, beautiful. And even the visuals are inspiring of its own. So, could you tell us a little bit about how that came? Was it just like something you already had in mind? Like the stop motion? Did you do films before? Or was it just like an happy accident?

KNOBS
The more the latter? For sure. Yeah, I think what happened is, like I mentioned, I wasn't home for a number of years. And then just kind of by chance, when I came back, the people I had known and the people I met were just all into film. They were all working on film. And and so I think it was a combination of that. And seeing that, you know, I was still interested in pedals, obviously. And I just, I just found that every time I got curious about something, I would look it up and I would still have more questions. After looking at all the videos and information I could find. As for the format, I think it just I just wanted it to feel right. I don't know how else to put it. And I do think that they change..... I guess even the first ones, they do have a real visual emphasis to them. And I couldn't say exactly why I did it. I think it's just what I wanted to see. I don't know how else to put it.

Schlapbe
Yeah, so it was like kind of like an impulsive or like, unconscious process.

KNOBS
Yeah, totally. It almost felt like a video is like anything else where

KNOBS
, it was naked without decoration. You know, it it felt like it needed some decoration. I knew I wanted the pedal on this wood slab. Keep push the distractions out of the way. But then it still needed a little something. I think it needed some humanity and also the there's something I enjoy and I don't get it from anything else like that. That rectangular frame is an interesting thing to furnish. So you've got the pedal, you know, dominating that left side. And then it's just a case of like pushing around the right objects until it feels right. And there's no rhyme or reason to it, except maybe getting the colors to match or like, express a theme. It's very satisfying. So I think once I put a chestnut on the table, it's like, oh, the chestnut will look nicer if it goes over here. And then I guess that just evolved.

Schlapbe
Cool. I would argue you invented an art form. because there are like, some other pedal demos which have like now a similar style or like imitating that, but like yours, were like, You were ahead of your time. And when I was into pedals again. And I also looked up on YouTube, and like, your videos, instantly stand out to me. because they weren't trying to sell anything. It was more like really focusing on what can you do with the pedal in a musical way? Whereas most other demos were analytical. I really liked your text in your videos. Like, what you what you wrote, besides that, whereas like other videos were more something like you would expect in a music store when you ask somebody, can you show me the pedal? That really stood out to me. And it was like, really intrigued, who is this guy? And I'm a big fan of stop motion. So that spoke to me instantly. So yeah, thank you for that.

KNOBS
Thank you.

Schlapbe
Is there a story about your opening chord?

KNOBS
I think the answer is no. Okay. I know why I did it. I don't know why I chose that chord. I think it was just my favourite chord at the time. I did it because I wanted there to be at least one consistent element between every video that you could compare against the others. So that first little intro is like a snapshot, like if you have no other patience, or you know, if you only have 20 seconds to spare, that would be the quick summary of the pedal.

Schlapbe
Yeah, it's a lovely concept. So, when I look at a video from you, there's like sometimes they're just noise or a deconstructed Loop, whatever. And you starting to, to hear that chord. Like okay, that was like probably the basic material and then then comes the arpeggio and then you know: okay, now the movie begins. sit back and relax. As such a great moment.

KNOBS
never video. It's nice to hear, because of course, I don't really know what it's like to watch one of these videos. I have no idea.

Schlapbe
Yeah. How is how is it as a, ....can I call you a YouTuber? How is it as a YouTuber to get this kind of feedback or how is the feedback circle? Like, when you play a gig, you have the audience who gives you feedback. How is it, when you make pedal demos videos?

KNOBS
I'd say it's generally very encouraging. I do remember especially starting out that it was a big part of my motivation is it seems they seem to be making a difference for people and and it's nice. whenever you put any amount of work into anything. I think it's just really nice to hear some feedback of some kind. And yeah, like a live show that comes usually in the form of like an evening of celebration, you know, you like play a show, then you have a bunch of fun. And so this is like it's a different version of it. Less concentrated, you know, it's less like a triumphant moment, but it also you get these little bumps of encouragement and that's nice. I feel like I'm not actually answering your question.

Schlapbe
That's totally fine. So it's probably more sustainable, like it's more sustainable feedback than compared to a live gig.

KNOBS
Yeah, it's interesting and it's different. And I think it's also, I know that YouTube feedback also becomes the quitting point, or the biggest deterrent for other people. Because one negative comment is just so much louder than 100 positive ones. And I think in live show that's just, you know, how many in how many arenas of life is someone going to come up to you and just be like, I really hated that. You know, it's less common. Yeah.

Schlapbe
And the chance he gets to you is by chance, it has to be really, really bad that he takes all the effort to let you know.

KNOBS
And I think it's different when you see the human being talking to you, as well, right? You end up developing like coping mechanisms for mean comments, because you always read them in your own voice. And so you always assume that the person speaking to you is like, you know, like yourself, or like a reasonable person instead of someone who's just really mad at everybody or whatever else. Yeah, it's never been a huge problem for me. But it is an interesting part of the YouTube feedback cycle. Like I saw a comment the other day. not on my video about a guy video. I really, really liked this video. And someone was just saying that he showed his face too much. And he was just saying, like, it was just it was just cruel, the way it was worded. And you just, I think, all but the strongest willed of people. That stuff trickles in and starts to affect your decision making. And that's like the biggest bummer I think about it. Is the hurt feelings also stink. But anyway, I'm going on a tangent about internet negativity now, but it's an interesting wrinkle.

Schlapbe
It's the general problem of the internet. And it also applies to innocent pedal video makers right.

KNOBS
Totally. Yeah, the most insignificant thing

Schlapbe
What could be more unharmful than a video about a pedal ora fuzz? I asked myself, How much time does it cost? Or like, how many hours you work on a video? Like, approximately to give me an idea? Because they look like it's hell of work?

KNOBS
Yep. Yes, it is.

Schlapbe
Like just the just the filming the filming and editing itself, not the preparation.

KNOBS
It's about a week of not short days to do one from beginning to end. Not including the prep work.

Schlapbe
Yeah, well, that's surprising, surprising that surprises me. Wow.

KNOBS
I do it in not a very efficient way. I'll say that. That's, that's my own. I had like, especially in the beginning, I had some ideas about the way I wanted to demo to be, and I didn't think about, you know, being able to do 100 of them without dying. So, I did make it kind of hard on myself.

Schlapbe
.....you set high standards, right from the beginning.

KNOBS
I didn't think at all about longevity. Yeah, I didn't, I wish I had. But one of the things I really wanted to do was, I think one of the like flaws of a demo is that you very seldom get them from people that are using music in the way that you eventually will be. Which is to say you always get the demo of a person who's used a pedal for like a day. But the aim should be that this is like a part of your musical setup and that you like grow with over time. So obviously, I don't have a year to play, but I like really play the pedals in advance and try and like, find applications that weren't intended or stuff like that, because I just want a more realistic view of what's possible instead of what I can do in my first 24 hours. Which is really just going to be like you know, some of it will be okay. Some of it will be confusion. Because every everyone has different control schemes and nuances.

Schlapbe
and probably it's not something anyone could figure or after 24 hours for himself?

KNOBS
Exactly. It doesn't matter how well intentioned you are, they just take some time. Each pedal has its own personality, and you have to spend time with it.

Schlapbe
In one of your columns in Premier guitars, you said, find the four corners. Is that in an expression or saying or what do you mean by that?

KNOBS
I'm pretty sure I made that up. I don't think that's real. It's just always what I say to myself

Schlapbe
it was like it. It's in some lyrics. And somebody asked me about what does it mean? Yeah, sorry, I interrupted you.

KNOBS
It, I think I just said four corners, because you know, pedals are rectangles generally. And it really just meant, like, find the full capacity of it. Like, don't, you know, don't just find like the general, easiest, most common application of it, but find the most surprising combination of controls, or the most unintended use, like that's, that's generally my favourite: what are some applications of this pedal that the designer didn't intend that it can do? Just as a, just by chance? Right? That kind of stuff?

Schlapbe
Do you have any techniques you apply? Or is it just like experimentation?

KNOBS
It's, educated guesses, I would say. Because most pedals, are iterative, in the sense that they do build on the pedals of the same category that came before them. So you can usually zoom in on what most of those features do. But then it's like, okay, well, I know how this works. And this is new, or I've never had these two controls in the same pedal before. What would happen if I do this or do that? Or, yeah, just it's thinking of it like a piece of machinery. And once you know the full sweep of what a knob does, what it does all the way down what it does all the way up. And you do that for all five of them. There's five KNOBS on the pedal. You know, that's, that's like your research. And then from there, you can start to make guesses about how things combine. And you know, it's like interactions with the different parts.

Schlapbe
So you would say a lot of it comes from experience.

KNOBS
Yeah, but even if it's just that one pedal, I think i t's like play testing. It's experienced with what the pedal does, what each of those KNOBS do. And then you start guessing about how they could be combined together.

Schlapbe
Do you read manuals before you play a pedal?

KNOBS
I do like to read manuals. I think I usually do read manuals before I use things. Pedals are a bit unique, because I think if you have to read a manual, then it's probably too complicated. That's not always true. But I find it almost always helps. And I like to, I like to give like engineers and product designers the chance to tell me what's on their mind. I think that's what manuals are so helpful for.

Schlapbe
true. I mean, I would say it's like really different from pedal type to pedal type. Like a fuzz you don't really need to read the manual about your first try in comparison to an 856 from montreal assembly. But we'll come to that later. How did it influence your overall career, your YouTube channel

KNOBS
well, I guess it's kind of made made my career I ya know, it has it totally as was said, I was doing something different.

Schlapbe
Was it something you had in mind when you started it?

KNOBS
Oh, no, I didn't know you could do that. No, I had no idea. But then, yeah, I think it's a simple, it sounds so strange. But I think if you're ever, either directly or indirectly, if you're helping people sell things, then there's a job there. As I discovered Yeah, so that's all there was to it. And now I'm not really doing that so directly, but I'm, you know, it's all still like the byproduct of just starting to making YouTube videos.

Schlapbe
Nice. Yeah, we were earlier talking about, like how much work goes into one video. And that being said, I want to talk about the book, "Pedal crush". In one interview, you said it was like a black hole, suckin' you in? But, congratulations, I love that book. And I think it's a piece. It's like really a classic book, which you can grow old with.

KNOBS
And that's really nice. That's the nicest thing anyone's said about that book.

Schlapbe
It's not a book you read from the start to the beginning. It's just like explorations. And like, all those glimpses in into the pedal wonderland, like the fascination and the pedal scene really? How did it come together? Or like, how did it start? Was it your intention? Or did Kim approach you? Or was it something like Kim did two books before? I guess?

KNOBS
Yeah, exactly. I knew the books Kim was making. And he contacted me, but I don't know that he had in with pedal crush, I don't know if he was looking for a co-author specifically. He spoke with me. And I think it wasn't like: "hey, I want you to write this book with me?" It was just like, does this does this idea interest you? Let's have a conversation. And I was just, I was just excited about it. I don't know. I think I kind of convinced him to let me be the co author. I can't remember exactly how it went.

Schlapbe
I would guess it just came naturally. Fall into place? Probably. Yeah. How long was the process? Like, how long did it take? When did you start? And when did you finish?

KNOBS
I know, it should have taken longer than it did. Because Because if you write a book, you have to have it ready for Christmas. To survive as a company. this the cold hard economics of writing a book in in 2020 or 2019? Maybe it was like, yeah, so anyway, we just had to hit that deadline. And there was no, no flexibility around that. So it was very feverish, I remember that the process of writing it took place over the warm months. So it was like spring summer. And Kim is one of these people that doesn't need a lot of sleep, I think. this isn't like a doctor didn't tell me this. But the amount of not sleeping he did is still one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. And I did my best to keep up it was nuts. Because there's no end to it, right? And I think we both cared about the subject matter. So we learned along the way that this is not well documented stuff. It just isn't. So it's hard to it's hard to research.

Schlapbe
And you said in one of you wrote in one of the premier guitar columns that there was a point where you stopped looking or trying to know about all pedals that exist. And what was that moment like?

KNOBS
Liberating I think. And I think it was also it's interesting, because I think I never considered at the time, but he'd been doing books on synthesisers, and it's just so much harder. To make a synthesiser. you need so much more electrical engineering knowledge and experience. And so I think, just by nature, there have been less synthesisers made over over history than pedals. This isn't a fact. But this is just like something I've kind of come to believe. And it seems to add up to me, so maybe with synthesisers you can really find them all both pedals, it's just you know, you can you can modify a pedal, a fuzz, you know, you can modify a fuzz and turn it into a new circuit with almost no practical electrical engineering knowledge, like you could really just do it with trial and error. So then, there's just, there's just so much out there.

Schlapbe
What what parts did you work on in the book? Did you do the interviews or more of the pedals or did you both of you did everything?

KNOBS
Kim did all the interviews. And aside from the first chapter, so I did all the effect categories. He did the first section, which include multi effect and expression pedals, but all of the types of effects like delay, chorus, reverb I did all that stuff.

Schlapbe
Okay, cool. Nice. What did you learn about pedals, you did not know before?

KNOBS
Oh, so much. Tons.

Schlapbe
Something that's stands out for you?

KNOBS
I do remember that were certain. Like I mentioned, the research was difficult. But there were some things that genuinely couldn't be found anywhere. And one thing we wanted to do is, there's a whole family of modulation effects that work by creating frequency, like small notches of frequency cancellation. So phasers, do that Flangers do that, choruses do that? And probably the most, well... there's many differences between them. But one of them is what those slices like, what those missing pieces of audio look like? And we couldn't find what they look like for I believe it was Uni-Vibe now. And Uni-Vibe was really hard to pin down is like, why is this different? It was the hardest one to pin down. As why is this different? And I remember that we had to talk to Mark Hammer, who's who's this guy who like just through the internet has answered 1000s of questions for 1000s of people about audio electronics, and he's kind of just like, walking library. And in the end, we kind of just had to turn to Him and be like: what happens? Like how, why? Why are these different? And then he was just giving us sketches. And that's one that definitely stands out. And there was a few other things like that, where we just got to the end of available practical knowledge or knowledge that was like written down about pedals. But we we felt that this was like something that had to go in the book.

Schlapbe
Pedal making: the blooper. How did that come? Like? What was first? Did you first have the intention? Or the idea the concept of the or did you meet Joel first?

KNOBS
I knew Joel first. Definitely, because I met Joel shortly after knob started. And I was just having little by little, some more input on products. Not for a while. But I think that he, he noticed that whenever he sent me something finished, as he described it, it was always a stressful day when he sent me the pedals because I would have opinions I couldn't keep to myself. So then finally, we got to a point where..... there was, I know that I helped out with dark world a little bit. And that might have been the first one. So then, you know, we'd already been having some discussions about what I thought about his products and what he could do with them. And then I remember one day after NAMM, …. Well, we haven't done that in a while. And for people listening who don't know, that acronym: NAMM is like the biggest music, device musical equipment gathering. And I don't know in the world after COVID, but it certainly was. And it was always a kind of a big event because you would launch products at NAMM. But also just be like everyone, you know, making pedals in one place. So it always would end up being such a creative, exhausting, amazing week. And I say exhausting in a good way. Because I think there's something about those extremes where ideas tend to happen at times like that. I remember one NAMM, we were going straight to San Francisco just Joel and I, no, not just Joel and I Joel, myself and his filmmaker at the time. And the conversation came up on the plane. And I think it just felt like it was about time for a variety of reasons to do it. And looping has always been my favourite thing. That was a long way to get into why we made blooper. What I can say is I didn't have a concept I just knew I really wanted to make a looper with a different kind of energy. So he agreed to make the pedal before there was a concept. And I remember sitting in a park in San Francisco doing the first sketches like right away,

Schlapbe
like a record deal.

KNOBS
I guess. Yeah, that was the most exciting thing possible.

Schlapbe
Did you did you intended is to be primarily a looper or a modulated delay? So the talking about modulation, how did that was an idea which came later?

KNOBS
The now the modulation was something that was there pretty early on. I definitely did not intend for it to be used as a delay. We knew that it would, as soon as we put that repeats knob on there, we knew it would work in that capacity. But I was just completely focused on looping, and making that interesting, but I thought the modulated part would be very nice, because,...... there's so many reasons why modulation is a magical thing that we're drawn to. But functionally, for me, it was just fixating on the idea of a piece of machinery that you could make malfunction. That you could have in its like pristine ideal state, or could be like something you picked up off of a pile of junk, like 100 years ago, you know, it's been sitting there for 100 years. That was more the concept. But then then it was like, Well, what would it have to be able to do to have that feeling? Right? Like a reel? Yeah,

Schlapbe
I think there was one point where in the development, you were like, kind of had a big obstacle I can't recall exactly, but we were like, Okay, we this is today, we have to solve this problem. Can you recall on that?

KNOBS
Yeah, we had, we had a lot of days like that with blooper because it was a new concept. And it was a bit impossible to predict how all of the pieces, there were constant, there were lots of unforeseen conflicts between the different pieces. And it's so strange, it's like I really do, I do think about it, like a machine. And I often think about pedals like machines. And if you were building a piece of machinery in the real world, you could and must like physically map out all of the pieces first and how they're going to combine. And you just you can't really do that in this case. And so we just kept bumping into things. And I wish I could give you a more specific answer. But I think we had a lot of days like that. And and certainly some of those days got like, like pretty hopeless feeling or frustrating.

Schlapbe
Would you do it again?

KNOBS
Definitely, yes. Well, such a good question, actually. Because it was very difficult. I think that if I had to start from scratch right now, knowing everything I know, I would think long and hard about it. If I went back to that time, I would do it 10 times out of 10. I don't know if we could have done it better. I do wonder about that. The one thing I would not do, again, is publish a documentary series in parallel with the development. A lot of the stress came from the fact that we could not radically change features beyond a certain point. Because we'd already we'd already kind of committed to them. And I didn't want to anyway. So maybe in the end that helped us because it made us push forward. But there was genuinely dozens, dozens of discussions and debates about like: "This feature is impossible!" And, and trying to just figure out how, you know, make it not impossible anymore.

Schlapbe
I just remember, there's like a massive thread on on Reddit about the blooper, which like, yeah, really long comments and discussions, and imagining reading and moderating and stuff. whilst working on the pedal must have been really stressful.

KNOBS
The video series became stressful, because the development process became stressful as like, you know, like, we've talked about videos take a while. Yeah, so having that extra layer of stuff to do felt not important. You know, like, I shouldn't be working on this actual pedal instead of this video. So that part was odd. But it was so nice that people were excited about it, you know? Yeah. And there was like a definitely a sense of duty once we got started to deliver.

Schlapbe
Right, right. Yeah. But that being said, I really like the reel and I think it's a unique document of a process how to develop a pedal with all the ups and downs and the story behind actually people interacting and working on a device, I found most interesting and inspiring.

KNOBS
I think like to revisit it, but not like that. I think it's possible. Like, I'd love to tell a story like that again, but in a different way.

Schlapbe
Yeah, maybe like these once in a lifetime? things? I mean, it stands on its own. It's like, a closed, it's a closed book, I would say. Congratulations for that. I want to talk about the, like, the most important thing, at the end of the day making music, like the creative process. I said, earlier, like when we talked before the interview, preparing for the interview, you wrote some really nice articles, informative articles, sharing your experiences, and maybe it's a big word, but wisdom or wise statements, how to approach making music with pedals. And you're talking about swimming downstream, find places where you feel comfortable versus, on the other hand, having the courage to go with the hard mode, like really digging into something, which doesn't feel natural or easy at all. So , what do you think about about them?

KNOBS
So, I think both have their merit? I think in this article, specifically, I was. I think that this doesn't only apply to music, but if you if you find things, and then everyone has these things in some form, that just seem so easy to you that you can't believe they're difficult for anybody? I just think that that will naturally be something where you can go further. You just, it's just an personal inclination. And I think we all have them. And being able to spot those like, it doesn't mean you should always take the path of least resistance and do easy things. But knowing what those things are for you is just so extremely valuable, because there is something satisfying from doing the hard mode and like really challenging yourself. But then you might get tired, or you might lose inspiration, or you might not be productive enough, like there's so many reasons why staying in that space can become problematic. So if you know what you can do, that feels just completely natural and yourself. That's just extremely valuable. I think it makes everything feel easier. And for me with music again and again, I'm reminded of that. And I tend this problem, I wrote it, I tend to ignore those things, because it feels too easy. And I just think that I'm either not growing or that it can't be that interesting, or like anybody can do this. But then I'll make a piece in that world. And I'll just be reminded like, No, this is probably what I should be doing.

Schlapbe
yeah, like admitting. In another article you said about releasing music. Even, like, don't hesitate too much. And like your videos are so with so much love to detail. That's kind of contradictory. Probably, because they're there in some sense, in some sense. There appear to me like, okay, this guy is really a perfectionist and really fiddled around with details for a long time. And on the other hand, for me, it was really encouraging to read that from you, like: "Don't think too much! It's okay to release your music. Even if you think it's not good enough. There's probably somebody out there for whom it is good enough." And yeah, that's a really positive message.

KNOBS
And I think we have control. Also, it's easy to forget, we have control over HOW we release music. Like, not every piece of music you put out has to be, it is your declaration of like, this is the best I can do. You know, like you can, you can release it as like, a project like or like an EP or like, besides like you can, you can communicate with people listening about your intention behind something. And I think that just getting that message was mostly for people who stopped themselves. You know, and I think that happens for lots of us. And I think with music, it's invisible and it makes it so much harder than anything else I've worked on personally to know when something is done, to know when you're being ridiculous. I think I mentioned it in the article, but a friend was explaining that our brains will correct errors in music we're working on because it knows what we want. And so you can you can really tie yourself in pretzels trying to make things perfect. And it still won't be if if this is the way you're working, you know, I think it 10 These these places tend to be for like solo musicians. Because I think when you're working with a group, you share the momentum and things get finished. But when you're working on your own little masterpiece, it's so easy to just spiral forever. And never finish.

Schlapbe
Could you speak a little bit about limitations, I'm part of your patron and you have a series called nudge, where you put out a monthly challenges to your patrons where they have a challenge to the last one was write a piece which has to be sped up at the end. And so how important or what you think about possible limitations can enhance creativity.

KNOBS
So important, yeah, essential, truly essential. And every professional musician I've ever met does this in their own way, and has like almost like their own little survival tips and survival strategies. Like I remember, Eric Kidkwala. He, he knows that he only can make music at night that he likes. So during the day, he'll do like the labor of music, like he'll set up his equipment, or he'll do this. But if he's going to record something, he'll only do it at night. And some people I remember hearing don't know who it was now. But if they're going to do a solo, they, if they don't get it by like their fifth try, they're just going to stop, they know it's not going to get better. And I think every musician learns these ways. And I think you can even think about instruments themselves, like they have built in limitations. And like where I think we often, it's easy with, like modular synthesis, or when you're building a studio to never impose limitations, because you can always add another piece and another piece and another piece, and it becomes too big. And you know, but instruments like the bass have built in limitations. And it's just it's a weapon, it's truly a weapon because you have something to push against. I think we need we need something to push against. If there's always like, further you can go then you just wind up drifting and drifting and not focusing, I think you need that tension that comes from limitation to focus.

Schlapbe
Resistance, focus needs resistance.

KNOBS
I think so. And the more the better. I feel.

Schlapbe
Yeah. Anything in particular, or any technique when it comes to working with pedals, maybe not too many pedals? To start is something?

KNOBS
I think, well okay, that's a hard one for me, because to me, I really, really, really like to use one pedal at a time. I think that it's, it's very difficult to use multiple pedals, unless they're purely functional, you know. But if you're trying to do something like creative, like some kind of sound design, I think that it's far more interesting to just zoom in on one and find a spot whatever spot you're looking for. Even if it's not the right pedal for the job. I find that that can be really interesting. There's not many situations where you really need one specific sound.

Schlapbe
Super interesting, that's that's a good that's a good tip. Yeah. For the last nudge, I started to do some music. And that was for me something like, okay I want to use the blooper more. So I get more familiar with bluebird and that's something you you talk about as well, like really digging into a pedal you really have to get know the pedal I know the effect with, with pedal boards. I built a pedal board like years ago, and then I left it unchanged for one year and played all my gigs with it. And it grew over time. And I modulated something. And I made modular. Literally, last week, I finished my what I consider my last pedal board. But yeah, there was like a 10 year or like 15 year process to get to that the point. But anyway, talking about pedalboards: G.A.S., gear acquiring syndrome, you posted a recipe against that, which I really liked. And it really spoke to me because I discovered something similar for myself, that it is...... or maybe you quickly talk about that because it were your words....

KNOBS
it's been a while since I wrote that one actually like the way you summarised it was better than I did a recipe. That's what you think, against G.A.S. Yeah, I know that. I mean, one thing, one very, very simple. One is just absolutely not letting yourself change anything about your setup for a fixed period of time. I think what I advised is moving the order the order of things around, because that can have a dramatic effect. I'm not sure what else I did. You told me what I said.

Schlapbe
You weren't talking there's a moment when you when you're teased to take out your credit card. Rather than being interested in what the pedal actually does, then it's probably not the time to not buy it because you're not looking for something to pedal can do but you want to have this moment of yes, I'm getting new pedal this new pedal day and what I did last year when starting the almost two years ago now when everything came together, writing the thesis about petals and double bass. I did some experimentations. I bought the 856zellersasn from montreal assembly. And I had strange expectations from the pedal. Back at the time I was really tight on money. So I had to decide between the microcosm and 856. And that was an interesting process because I kind of regret it. When I when I received the 856zellersasn I thought of it, okay, it's like one of those panels, you switch it on, you play one note, and it does all the things for you, which, to me, the microcosm is that sort of Pedal and the zellersasn extremely, extremely in exactly the opposite.

KNOBS
It is, I agree.

Schlapbe
Back at the time, it was really good because it was I had the tensor and this one. And I could focus in on that pedal. And I would say I understood probably 5% of it, but I have some like muscle memory techniques where I want to do that and you know, and but then I decided okay, I want to go further and build my setup. And I cancelled a life insurance money fond and bought like a whole bunch of paddles and put them together and where I'm at now. I have the feeling they are way too many possibilities. I'm totally overwhelmed. But on the other hand, it's like being this kid, that kid in this candy store and you can choose any whatever and how much you want to and you just enjoy it. I do like jams where You and I often end up just using one sound or like one one preset, but it's something which happens. But I had to learn not feeling guilty about not using that pedal. You know?

KNOBS
That's a big one, totally. Yeah, they all they all cost money, and they're just staring at you as you use just the one.

Schlapbe
But yeah, that's true. That's true.

KNOBS
It's a weird feeling.

Schlapbe
Do you have any friendship with Scott monk from montreal assembly? Have you been involved in his development in any sort?

KNOBS
Never involved. but we do...., we actually grew up in the same city, which I said Toronto earlier, but I live it's a suburb of Toronto. We grew up with a sort of, of course, we didn't know that at the time. But now, you know, these past two years, he's not been around, like, like everyone, but we would we would see each other basically every time he came to town. And can we think maybe I've seen him a couple times in Montreal, but yeah, yeah. But I've never been involved in any of his work at all.

Schlapbe
Okay, great. KNOBS, thank you very much for for your words and for sharing. Sharing is caring. It was most enlightening and entertaining and super interesting. And as well, as like diving into a pedal: Time flies!

KNOBS
It was fun.

Schlapbe
Really, really, really a pleasure to talk to you.

KNOBS
Likewise. Cool. Thanks.

Schlapbe
Thank you.

Merch:

"PEDAL CRUSH"

other merch on KNOBS website

Articles referred to in the video:

State of the stomp in Premier Guitar:

The Critical Mind Is an A**hole

Don’t Tell Me How to Music

Find Your Guitar’s BFF

Why Inspiration Is Like Lightning … or Beans

on moogmusic.com:

Matriarch Explorations

by schlapmin

the holy quest of the perfect looper

First of all, there is no such thing as THE PERFECT LOOPER. But there is a perfect looper for ME and a perfect looper for YOU. And they are most likely very different. But first, I want to tell you about my search for the perfect looper and something about the history of looping.

(my) history of looping

I remember I did start live looping back in 2001 at a local steady gig where the band played without a drummer. Drum loops came from Ableton live triggered by our keyboard player. I looped my bass line and played guitar parts on top. It was super hard to get the loop lining up with the computer. There was no such thing as MIDI sync at that time. But it was a great practice to stomp in the right moment on the foot switch. I believe I used a Headrush E1 from AKAI back then.
I had some other loopers like the BOSS RC-2 and the bigger version BOSS RC-20XL. But I was looking for a looper which could sync to a midi clock or be synced in any other way.
In 2002 the company "Electrix Pro" released a unit called "Repeater".

It had everything I was looking for. It had MIDI, four independent tracks with faders and loops were stored on a Compact Flash Card. The best feature though was an effect send/return. You could record a loop and send and manipulate it afterwards and even re-record it. It was also possible to connect a standard 2way foot switch for recording & stopping and place the unit up right next to you.

In 2004 for my diploma graduation concert I did a solo performance with it which was filmed:

Actually, the story could end here, this unit was versatile, flexible and had almost every feature I could ask for (full feature list). It was acclaimed as the "Best looper unit of all time".
Here comes the sad part: Unfortunately, it broke after a short time. The company was out of business and the product discontinued. I got a unit second hand which had some issues with the power supply. After some research I sent it to "Condor Electronics" in Oregon, USA. They fixed it and installed some improvements. When I got it back from customs, I plugged it in with great excitement. It went on, but after 30 seconds it made a puff noise and there was a funny smell of burned capacitors. Having spent a ridiculous amount of money and left with electronic scrap in my hands, I'd had enough of looping. I took everything and threw it in the bin. That was in 2005. When I started my master study in Maastricht, I rediscovered my interest in technology and looping. I wanted to explore the possibilities of 2020'ies in regards of live looping. To develop a one-man-show setup due to the covid pandemic seemed logical to me as well.

What attributes does my perfect looper have to have?

I started developing an idea into a concept. I had very limited resources to buy new gear, so I worked with the gear I already had and see what I could achieve. It was basically some pedals, an audio interface and a computer.

Of course, looper units became much more sophisticated and developed over the last 15 years. But still, they all lack an important aspect for me: flexible audio routing for multitrack output and more importantly various send/return loops for external effects.

And they are very expensive.

I'm working with ABLETON LIVE since 2003. There are so many aspects why ABLETON could be the core/heart/brain of a perfect looping machine:

• It is designed to work with loops in a totally different way compared to other DAWs.
• It is extremely stable and designed for live performance.
• It has the ability to connect to remote hardware, e.g. launchpads to control all sorts of functionality
• It can handle both MIDI and audio signals
• It is capable of complex audio and midi routings.
• It has built-in effects (optimised for live performance)
• With MaxDSP integrated, you have got an incredible powerful platform for custom effects and tools of all kind.

In a perfect looping machine I want possibilities like:
- different loop lengths
- pitch shifting of individual loops
- independent effects for each loop
- quantisation of recorded material

BINKLOOPER and scripted looping

My dear teacher, Matthias Nowak, recommended me to check out Frank Wienk aka BINKBEATS who is an artist who does complex loop performances.

Fortunately he gives some insight on how he uses ABLETON to record his loops and doing all effects.
He uses a MAX for LIVE device called BINK LOOPER with which he can "script" the recording process. Here is a link to a video where he explains everything: Binkbeats: Live Setup
I used this device (which he gives away for free here) to build a loop performance of a tune called "Mo'Better Blues":

I reflect on the process using BINK LOOPER here. How to program, its specialities and frustrations. Everything needs to be planned in advance and it is very fussy to program.
I switched to Clyphx Pro as soon as I found out about this software.

ClyphX Pro

Improvisation is a very important aspect to my musical identity. Being flexible, spontaneous and fast with my looping setup was a key ingredient. I need the operation to be low-threshold and intuitive.

Funny enough it was this BINK LOOPER tutorial video of Connor Shafran where I found out about Clyphx Pro. He mentioned it in the comments. This software is so powerful and gives me everything I need to bend ABLETON LIVE to my needs. It became the center piece of my setup and still has a steep learning curve. Because it is very complex and extensive, it has its own chapter in my Master Thesis:

ALL POSTS regarding Clyphx Pro

Summary

The quest is fulfilled. I found the ultimate, perfect looping machine. For me. At least I see the path I have to follow further. The possibilities it can offer me already are not only more than enough, there are actually too many and I need limitations in order not to be overwhelmed.

go to the Master Research Overview

by schlapmin