Gibson Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User manual

EchoplexDigital Pro Plus
User’s Manual

i-2 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual
CREDITS
MANUAL WRITTEN BYKIM FLINT AND WARREN SIROTA
LAYOUT & DESIGN BYWS DESIGNS
ECHOPLEX DIGITAL PRO PLUS IS A PRODUCT OF GIBSON GUITAR CORPORATION
LOOPIV SOFTWARE IS A PRODUCT OF AURISIS RESEARCH, LLC
LOOP
®
IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF AURISIS RESEARCH, LLC
ECHOPLEX DIGITAL PRO PLUS AND LOOPIV SOFTWARE DESIGNED BY:
AURISIS RESEARCH, LLC – MATTHIAS GROB, KIM FLINT, ERIC OBERMÜHLNER
WITH MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM: ANDY EWEN, CLAUDE VOIT, ANDY
BUTLER, MARK LEAS, KEITH MCMILLEN, TIM CANNING, ANDRE LAFOSSE,
DAVID TORN, CHRIS MUIR, WILLY STREHLER, LJUBO MAJSTOROVIC,
EBERHARD WEBER, DAVID KIRKDORFFER
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE STAFF OF GIBSON GUITAR CORPORATION, OUR BETA
TESTERS, AND ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED THEIR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS
THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THE ECHOPLEX.

CONTACT INFORMATION
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
INEUROPE:
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P HONE : [phone]
F
AX : [phone]
E
MAIL : SERVICE @ TRACE - ELLIOT . COM
I N THE USA:
G
IBSON S TRINGS AND A CCESSORIES
1150 B OWES R D .
E
LGIN , IL 60123
USA
P
HONE : [phone]
T
OLL F REE : [phone]
F
AX : [phone]
EMAIL : STRINGS @ GIBSON . COM
HTTP
:// WWW . GIBSONECHOPLEX . COM
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CAUTION
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DO NOT OPEN

i-4 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual

Table of Contents ii-1
EchoplexDigital Pro Plus
USER’SMANUAL
Contents
Introduction
Credits ...........................................................................i-2
Contact Info ...........................................................................i-3
Contents ..........................................................................ii-1
About This Manual................................................................iii-1
Typeface Conventions ............................................................................iii-1
Terminology ............................................................................................iii-2
Section I – User Guide
User Guide Introduction ................................................................I-i
Chapter 1 Quick Start ...............................................................1-1
Instant Gratification and Depth..............................................................1-1
Before Powering Up .................................................................................1-2
Level Adjustment .....................................................................................1-3
Start Looping! ...........................................................................................1-4
Chapter 2 Front, Back and Underfoot ........................................2-1
The Front Panel ........................................................................................2-1
The EFC-7 Footpedal ...............................................................................2-6
The Back Panel .........................................................................................2-6
Stereo Operation ......................................................................................2-9
Chapter 3 MIDI..........................................................................3-1

Section II – Reference Guide
Reference Introduction .................................................................II-i
Reference Guide Introduction.................................................................II-i
Key to the Diagrams ................................................................................II-ii
Chapter 4 Parameters ...............................................................4-1
8ths/Cycle .................................................................................................4-2
AutoRecord ...............................................................................................4-6
Channel.....................................................................................................4-7
ControlSource ..........................................................................................4-8
FeedBkCont ............................................................................................4-10
InsertMode .............................................................................................4-11
Loop/Delay (InterfaceMode) ................................................................4-15
LoopCopy................................................................................................4-29
LoopTrig..................................................................................................4-31
MoreLoops..............................................................................................4-32
MuteMode ..............................................................................................4-33
OverdubMode ........................................................................................4-34
Overflow..................................................................................................4-35
Quantize..................................................................................................4-36
Presets .....................................................................................................4-39
RecordMode ...........................................................................................4-40
Reserved..................................................................................................4-42
RoundMode............................................................................................4-43
SamplerStyle...........................................................................................4-44
Source #...................................................................................................4-47
SwitchQuant ...........................................................................................4-48
Sync .........................................................................................................4-57
Threshold................................................................................................4-59
Velocity....................................................................................................4-60
VolumeCont............................................................................................4-61
Chapter 5 Functions...................................................................5-1
Dump ........................................................................................................5-2
Feedback ...................................................................................................5-4
GeneralReset.............................................................................................5-8
HalfSpeed..................................................................................................5-9
Insert .......................................................................................................5-10
Load.........................................................................................................5-18
LoopDivide .............................................................................................5-20
LoopTriggering .......................................................................................5-21
LoopWindowing.....................................................................................5-22
MultiIncrease..........................................................................................5-26
Multiply...................................................................................................5-28
Mute ........................................................................................................5-38
NextLoop ................................................................................................5-41
ii-2 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual

Overdub ..................................................................................................5-43
PreviousLoop..........................................................................................5-46
Record .....................................................................................................5-47
Rehearse..................................................................................................5-53
Replace....................................................................................................5-54
Reset ........................................................................................................5-55
Retrigger..................................................................................................5-56
Reverse ....................................................................................................5-58
SamplePlay .............................................................................................5-62
StartPoint ................................................................................................5-64
Substitute................................................................................................5-65
SUS Commands .....................................................................................5-69
SUSNextLoop .........................................................................................5-71
Undo........................................................................................................5-72
Chapter 6 Synchronization ........................................................6-1
AutoStartPoint ..........................................................................................6-2
BeatSync ...................................................................................................6-3
BrotherSync ..............................................................................................6-7
Global/Local MIDI Clock ........................................................................6-9
MIDI Sync Indicators.............................................................................6-11
MuteQuantMIDIStartSong....................................................................6-12
QuantMIDIStartSong.............................................................................6-13
QuantStartPoint .....................................................................................6-14
ReAlign ....................................................................................................6-15
SongPositionPointer and Continue ......................................................6-22
StartSong, StopSong, Continue.............................................................6-23
StopSync .................................................................................................6-28
SyncStartPoint ........................................................................................6-29
SyncRecord .............................................................................................6-30
TempoSelect ...........................................................................................6-32
Chapter 7 MIDI Control..............................................................7-1
DirectMIDI................................................................................................7-2
MIDI Command List................................................................................7-3
MIDI DataWheel ......................................................................................7-7
MIDIpipe...................................................................................................7-8
MIDI VirtualButtons ..............................................................................7-10
Receiving MIDI Commands ..................................................................7-11
SysEx........................................................................................................7-12
SUS MIDI Commands ...........................................................................7-13
Transmitting MIDI Commands ............................................................7-15
Chapter 8 Parameter Presets.....................................................8-1
Parameter Presets.....................................................................................8-2
Preset Editor .............................................................................................8-8
Chapter 9 User Interface ...........................................................9-1
Table of Contents ii-3

DataWheel ................................................................................................9-2
Feedbk Indicator ......................................................................................9-4
Feedback Pedal Jack.................................................................................9-5
Feedback Knob.........................................................................................9-6
Footpedal Jack ..........................................................................................9-7
Input Indicator .........................................................................................9-8
Input Jack..................................................................................................9-9
Input Knob..............................................................................................9-10
Loop Display...........................................................................................9-11
Loops LED...............................................................................................9-12
LoopTime Display..................................................................................9-13
MIDI LED................................................................................................9-17
MIDI Ports ..............................................................................................9-18
Mix Knob.................................................................................................9-19
Multiple Display .....................................................................................9-20
Output Jack .............................................................................................9-21
Output Knob...........................................................................................9-22
Overdub Jack ..........................................................................................9-23
Parameter Button...................................................................................9-24
SmartButtons..........................................................................................9-26
Switches LED ..........................................................................................9-28
Timing LED.............................................................................................9-29
Visual Tempo Guide...............................................................................9-30
Chapter 10 MIDI Sample Dump .................................................10-1
Introduction ...........................................................................................10-2
Sample Dump User Guide.....................................................................10-9
Other Device Implementations ..........................................................10-16
Sample Dump Trouble Shooting ........................................................10-20
Chapter 11 MIDI SysEx..............................................................11-1
MIDI SysEx Detailed Reference ............................................................11-2
ii-4 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual

Introduction iii-1
INTRODUCTION
About This Manual
TYPEFACE CONVENTIONS
User Interface elements like Buttons, Jacks, and Knobs are shown in
bold, since references to them are usually about actions that you might
take.
Function and Operation names are shown in a plain typeface.
Buttons generally either represent parameters or initiate actions, which
we usually call functions or operations.
We use different versions of the same typeface for the button (bold) and
the function (regular); e.g. "the Record button starts and ends Record
operations."
Parameter Names and Values will be shown as italics.
EXAMPLES:
■"Press the Overdub button."
■"You can end the Record operation several ways:"
■"When MuteMode=Continuous , the loop runs in the background even
when it’s silent."

iii-2 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual
TERMINOLOGY
There are a few key terms that are used frequently in this manual. Here’s
a summary:
P LAY M ODE
This is the condition of the Echoplex Digital Pro Plus when you’re not
editing parameters or performing an operation like recording,
overdubbing, inserting, etc. None of the Row Indicator LEDs are lit in
this condition, and the current loop simply plays back over and over.
P ARAMETER E DIT M ODE
This is the condition of the Echoplex Digital Pro Plus when you are
editing parameters. You reach this state by pressing the Parameter
button, and you will see one of the Row Indicator LEDs lit to indicate
which row is being edited.
O THER M ODES
These are the states that the Echoplex Digital Pro Plus is in after you’ve
pressed a button to initiate an action, but before you’ve ended the
action. The mode is the name of the button that you’ve pressed; e.g.
Record mode, Mute mode, Insert mode, etc.
L OOP , L OOP L ENGTH , C URRENT L OOP , C YCLE
A loop is the entire program that plays when the Echoplex is in Play
mode. The
length of the loop is the number that is in the LoopTime

Introduction iii-3
Display while in Play mode (the length of the recorded material), which
will be less than the total length available for recording.
If the
MoreLoops parameter is greater than one (see MoreLoops in the
Reference section), then the Echoplex will hold several different loops.
In this case, one loop will be active at any given time, and we’ll call this
the
current loop. The leftmost digit in the display is the number of the
current loop.
When you use Multiply or Insert, a new loop is built from a number of
blocks of material with identical lengths. We’ll call each of these
component blocks a
cycle, and continue to refer to the entire groups of
cycles as a
loop.
R ESETTING L OOPS , E MPTY L OOPS
When you Reset a loop by holding down the Record button for half a
second you completely empty it. The time display will show just a
decimal point. This creates an
empty loop. We often refer to this as being
in
reset, or the Reset state .
If you have set up multiple loops using the
MoreLoops parameter, you
can reset them all at once. This is called a GeneralReset and is done with
a long press of the Multiply button while in a loop that is already reset.
S HORT P RESS
Most functions are accessed with a quick tap of the appropriate button.
This is usually referred to as a
Short Press.
L ONG P RESS
In many situations, a Long Press of a button will have a different effect
than simply pressing the button and releasing it immediately (resetting
a loop through a long press of the Record button is the most obvious
example). Although there are situations where you may want to press a
button for quite a long while, any press longer than half a second will
count as a long press.

I MMEDIATE A CTION
This is a term used in the Reference chapter to describe buttons that
initiate an operation as soon as you press them, in contrast to buttons
that set parameters.
Q UANTIZE
When an action is Quantized it means it will waits until an appropriate
rhythmic moment before it executes. The
Quantize parameters let you
choose whether actions wait until the next Loop StartPoint, the next Cycle
StartPoint, or the next Cycle Subdivision point (or 8th).
R OUNDED AND U N R OUNDED
Some functions, like Multiply and Insert, are designed to automatically
operate for an integer number of Cycles. If you end the operation
sometime in the middle of the Cycle, it will continue operating until the
end of the cycle time so that you end up with an even rhythm. This is
called Rounding, because it rounds off to the nearest integer number of
Cycles. The
RoundMode parameter lets you determine how the Echoplex
operates while Rounding.
It is possible for the user to force a Rounded action to end without
Rounding. This is referred to as an UnRounded operation. For example, an
UnRounded Multiply is a Multiply that is forced to end without reaching
the end of the cycle.
iii-4 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual

SECTION I
User Guide
USER GUIDE INTRODUCTION
This section will help you get started using the Echoplex and provide
instruction on using some of the Echoplex’s most common features. For
greater detail and complete information about all Echoplex features,
please consult Section II, the Reference Guide.
This section contains the following chapters:
■Chapter 1 - Quick Start
■Chapter 2 - Front, Back, and Underfoot
■Chapter 3 - MIDI
User Guide I-i

I-ii Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual

Quick Start 1-1
CHAPTER 1
Quick Start
Congratulations! You’re in for more fun than you can possibly
imagine, playing music with the Echoplex Digital Pro Plus. This is
the spiritual successor to the original Echoplex, a device made by
Maestro in the 1960s that relied on tape loops to create effects. It was
used extensively by the Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and many others. Now,
the temperamental tape technology that terminated the triumph of the
original Echoplex has been replaced by high-fidelity, utterly consistent
digital technology. Not only does this result in increased sound quality,
but the flexibility afforded by programmable digital control also makes
possible a much wider range of performance options.
INSTANT GRATIFICATION AND DEPTH
One of the great things about the Echoplex Digital Pro is that it offers
both instant gratification and depth. Once you hook it up, it will
probably take you about 10 minutes to learn how to work the basic
functions and start making music. After that, you may be intoxicated
with power for an hour or two before you’re ready to come back and
learn more. The Echoplex Digital Pro will reward further study, because
there are layers of refinements that will allow you to create more
complex pieces with interesting variations. But, because you start
making cool music from day 1, you can learn to use these refinements at
your own pace, gradually adding to your bag of Echoplex tricks when
you have the time and energy. We’ve tried to make that process as
efficient for you as possible by providing you with a carefully-planned
front panel, footpedal, and manual.

1-2 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual
In the next few paragraphs, you’ll learn the basics of using your
Echoplex Digital Pro. After you’ve recovered from the shocking joy of
your first loops, browse through this manual at your leisure. You’ll
discover lots of new ideas that will keep you coming back time after
time.
BEFORE POWERING UP
Make the connections
The basic connections for using the Echoplex Digital Pro are quite
simple: power, audio in and out, and the optional footpedal. Follow
along with the steps below, and refer to
Figures 2.1 and 2.3 in Chapter 2
for more information.
1. Check that the Power Selector Switch on the back of the unit is set
properly for your power source—115V for US- and Japanese-style power
outlets, or 230V for European-style. If it is set incorrectly, change it to
the correct setting with a screwdriver.
2. Plug the Echoplex Digital Pro into a power source using the supplied
power cord.
3. If you own the optional EFC-7 footpedal, connect it to the Footpedal
jack on the back panel using a standard guitar cord with 1/4" phone
plugs on each end.
4. Connect an audio source to the Echoplex’s back-panel Audio Input
jack with a standard guitar cord, or plug a high-impedance microphone
directly into the jack. The Echoplex Digital Pro can accept microphone-
level, instrument-level, and line-level inputs (along with anything in-
between).
5. Connect the Echoplex’s Audio Output jack to an amplifier, mixer, or
preamp to let you hear what’s happening!
These are all the basic connections. See Chapter 2 for information on
additional possibilities.

Quick Start 1-3
Turn it On
Use the power switch at the right of the Echoplex Digital Pro to turn it
on. The display will briefly show the software version number and then
switch to the standard display (see the section titled “The Display” in
Chapter 2).
LEVEL ADJUSTMENT
Set the Levels
1. Turn the Output knob all the way off.
2. Turn the Feedback Knob all the way up. This is the best setting for
most uses of the Echoplex Digital Pro. See Feedback Knob in the
Reference chapter for more information.
3. The Mix knob lets you balance the volumes of your playing and loop
playback. Set it to the half-way point (straight up) to start with.
4. Set the Input knob so that the LED light labeled “Input” is dark when
you’re not playing anything, green when you play at normal levels, and
orange when you play at your loudest levels. This light will turn red if
you overload the Echoplex input. Fortunately, the Echoplex has a built in
limiter to protect you from causing ugly digital distortion in your loops.
However, if you are engaging the limiter the audio recorded in your loop
will still not be a perfect representation of what you played. If this
happens, turn down the Input level.
5. Play your instrument and adjust the Output knob until you reach a
pleasant listening volume.
6. The LED labeled “Feedbk” indicates the level of the audio recorded in
the current loop. This turns red to indicate digital distortion in the loop.
If you see this after Recording and Overdubbing a loop, your Input level
is set too high.

1-4 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual
START LOOPING!
Record
It’s easy to record your first loop.
1. Press the Record button.
2. Play a few notes.
3. Press the Record button.
Now you should be hearing your notes loop over and over again. If you
don’t like what you recorded, simply repeat the steps above once again.
The Record function starts instantaneously when you press the Record
button. You’ll probably find that you get the best timing results if you
press Record simultaneously with the first note or chord of your loop
(as opposed to trying to press it an instant before). To end recording,
press it exactly at the time when you want the loop to restart (right on
the downbeat, if you’re recording rhythmically). A few minutes of
practice will be all that you need to create great loops with no audio or
rhythmic glitches.
As you record, you’ll see the length of the current recording in the
display. Keep an eye on this, especially if you don’t have much memory
installed in your unit (see Appendix A,
Memory for more details). Your
maximum recording time is displayed when you first power on the
Echoplex Digital Pro Plus. If you exceed this time during recording, your
loop won’t be kept (with the default settings. See
Overflow in the
Reference chapter for other options).
If your loop seems surprisingly loud or soft in relation to what you
played, adjust the Mix knob until you find the right balance.
If you want to record a new loop, simply repeat steps 1-3 above. If you
want to reset (completely clear) the loop, simply press and hold the
Record button for half a second.
For more information on recording, see
Record in the Reference chapter.

Quick Start 1-5
Mute
If you get sick of listening to your loop, you can silence it without
erasing it by pressing the Mute button. The light under the Mute
button on the front panel will turn red. Press the Mute button a second
time to hear your loop again.
For more information, see
Mute and MuteMode in the Reference chapter.
Overdub
Now that you have a loop running, let’s start to have some fun by
overdubbing some additional sounds. It’s incredibly easy.
1. Press Overdub. The Overdub light turns red.
2. Play. Each time the loop restarts, you’ll hear whatever you played during
the last pass added to the mix.
3. When you’re done overdubbing, press Overdub again to stop (it’s a
good idea to not leave the Overdub function on when you’re not actually
playing).
For more information, see
Overdub in the Reference chapter.
Undo
If you don’t like what you’ve just overdubbed, you can press Undo to
erase it. If your loop length is short compared to the amount of memory
in your Echoplex, Undo can erase the layers of overdubs one by one.
However, this capability is limited by the amount of memory that you
have installed. If your loop length is longer than half your memory
capacity, for instance, you won’t be able to Undo at all.
Undo also cancels a function that you may have started by accident.
After you press Record without meaning to, for instance, you can
recover your loop simply by pressing Undo instead of Record to end
the Record operation.
For more information, see
Undo in the Reference chapter.

Multiply
Multiply is like Overdub, except that Multiply lets you record longer
passages. For instance, you can use Multiply to overlay a 4-bar bass riff
over two repetitions of a 2-bar chord pattern. Or, if you have enough
memory, you can use Multiply to record a long solo over a repetitive
backing track. It’s a powerful function that adds a lot to your expressive
capabilities using the Echoplex Digital Pro.
Here’s a quick introduction to Multiply:
1. Record a simple, short loop.
2. Press Multiply and play over several repetitions of the loop.
3. Press Multiply again to end the recording.
Multiply doesn’t restart the loop the instant you press it the second
time—it always “rounds off” so that the original loop isn’t cut-off in the
middle.
Notice that the right-hand digit of the display counts the repetitions of
your first loop as the entire loop is played back. There are a number of
situations where we’ll need to distinguish between these, so we’ll
introduce some terminology:
KEY POINT:The first loop, the “atom” that you started with, is called a cycle. We’ll
reserve the term
loop to refer to the full loop, which can consist of
several full cycles (never a fractional number of cycles, like 2-1/2). If
you’ve just recorded a single loop and not used Multiply or Insert, then
your loop will be exactly one cycle long.
Reverse
Reverse is a great deal of fun. In the Echoplex, loops can be Reversed at
any time. You can easily and quickly create loops with some parts going
forwards and some parts going backwards. Before we can do Reverse
however, we will need to edit a Parameter value. This is a good
opportunity to learn how to do Parameter editing.
The parameter we wish to change is called
InsertMode. This parameter
determines what function the Insert button will do. We are going to set
it to become the Reverse button.
1-6 Echoplex Digital Pro Plus User’s Manual