Technique:Create Freakazoid Electro Loops

Loop abuse is not against the law, so feel free to bend, fold, staple, and mutilate

by Craig Anderton

Although much of the work involved with loops is to try to make them sound as good as possible when stretched, there’s something to be said for experimenting with twisting the loop sound beyond all recognition. Here’s a technique that works with Cakewalk Sonar and Sony Acid Pro that processes loops in totally freakazoid ways—from sci-fi to electro. It’s all based on deliberately mis-setting some of the looping parameters to create effects unobtainable by any other type of processing.

These processed loops can work very well when layered with the original loop, which should be set to normal loop settings. They also make great breakbeats when you drop out the original loop, as well as make some sounds in their own right.

Start off with drum loops, but feel free to try other variations on this madness.

FREAKAZOID LOOPS IN SONY ACID PRO

Click on the loop, then choose View > Clip Properties. Under the General tab, set Pitch Shift to 24 semitones for now (you’ll want to experiment with this later). Then click on the Stretch tab, and set the parameters as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: Acid Pro's Clp Properties window is where you can find the freakazoid action.

• Number of Beats = the number of beats in the loop
• Stretching Method = Looping Segments
• Transient Sensitivity = 0
• Timing Tightness = the main rhythm for your loop; 16th notes usually works well
• Stretch Spacing = 32nd notes

Click the Clp Properties window’s Play button, then try different Stretch Spacing values (this makes the biggest difference), and different pitches under the General tab. The sound becomes less interesting if you go much below 12 semitones, but there are still useful sounds at pretty much anything other than 0 transposition—especially if you slow way down, and choose a large rhythmic value for Stretch Spacing.

FREAKAZOID LOOPS IN CAKEWALK SONAR

Double-click on an audio clip to open up the Loop Construction window (Fig. 2). Turn on Looping, then specify the number of beats in the clip. The default number of beats should be correct, but edit this parameter if necessary (the most common glitch is detecting twice as many beats).

Fig. 2: Sonar's Loop Construction window allows for a variety of loop processing options.

You’ll see slice markers that indicate individual rhythmic segments overlaid on the waveform in the window. Working with this window, set the following parameter values:

• Pitch = 24
• Trans Detect slider = all the way to the left (0%)
• Slicing slider = 32nd notes

Now click on Play or Preview to start the loop playing, and experiment with the Slicing slider. A 32nd note value gives the most robotic/metallic effect, but also try 16th, 8th, etc. Each slice setting produces a different type of freakazoid effect.

A pitch parameter of +24 is a somewhat “magic” value, but +12 also produces useful effects. –12 and –24 give weirdly pitched, slowed-down effects that also sound fabulous layered with the original loop. Note that you can often simplify the loop beats by setting the Trans Detect slider to a low value, like 10%.

Craig Anderton is Editor Emeritus of Harmony Central. He has played on, mixed, or produced over 20 major label releases (as well as mastered over a hundred tracks for various musicians), and written over a thousand articles for magazines like Guitar Player, Keyboard, Sound on Sound (UK), and Sound + Recording (Germany). He has also lectured on technology and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages.