Here we are, banging into the wall that is 'live loops'...

You see, they are just that... loops. So forget about editing them, forget about creating your own rhythms from them, forget about importing styles from other arrangers and having them access the same kits, forget playing SMF's and have them access the same kits, etc., etc..

They are what they are, and that's all they are (or ever will be). But hey, they sound GREAT...!

Trouble is, of course, once you get used to 'great', you want 'great' all the time... and the loops are not infinite. There's only a limited number, and then you are on your own. Importing your own, slicing and dicing, matching fills to grooves, matching volumes and EQ's, these are all very complex tasks (it ain't like Acid or Garage Band!).

AFAIK, Ketron NEVER added one more 'live loop' style after they released the SD-1, so you better be content with what you got. Anybody, with skill and patience can sit at home and edit an existing style into something quite different and unique. We are all used to editing MIDI styles... move a kick here, a snare there, change the 'swing' value, etc., etc., soon you have a totally different groove.

But loops can't do that. As I have said many times, I would MUCH prefer the ROM space taken by loops (it's considerable) just given over to MUCH better multi-velocity drumkits recorded in a room (which is what makes the 'live loop' stuff sound so real, anyway), like EZ Drummer, BFD, etc, and just have great drummers play the drum pads to program it...

At least THAT way, you will still be hard pressed to tell it's not a 'live loop', but you get back the ability to edit, change kits (can't turn a brushed loop into a sticked loop), change the groove, change drum sounds WITHIN the kit, etc..

All things we take for granted, now...