Boomerang III is officially released

[froglord]

http://www.boomerangmusic.com/Rang%20III.html

Interestingly, the Sync Play and Free Play styles haven't been included - they're reserved for v2.0 of the software. Probably not a bad idea given how long the Rang has been in the making. It certainly looks like one hell of a looper!

[BadMelonFarmer]

Cool, glad they have officially released it!

it IS a fantastic tool, I have had one of the pre prod units since May and it has been rock solid.

I hope it is the big success it deserves to be.

Cheers

BMF

[Pestophan]

This doesn't seem any different to before. Except they are now calling it "the official release of the Rang III V1", instead of Pre-Production model. After reading the thread title i thought it was 100% complete... Kinda dissapointing. Still, it is a few steps up from the Rang+ i have now, so maybe i'll try get my hands on one anyway.

[BadMelonFarmer]

the difference is mainly that the Rang III in it's current form will be available throught the retail chain, it was only available direct when it was pre-prod.

As I said, the pre-prod was so stable to be considered a full release.... IMHO.

[Pestophan]

Yeah that's true. I definately think it's worthy of being classed as a full release at this current stage, i just expected it to be released store-wide as 100% complete. The free software upgrade is a smart move on Mikes behalf, otherwise it would have been a massive deterrent. I just want to use those freakin' Sync & Free loop features!!! Haha. The other features haven't got me quite as excited and impatient to try.

[BadMelonFarmer]

Totally agree, those Sync and Free loop feature look way cool.

[Pestophan]

I'll probably have to wait until March though before i can get my hands on one. This might sound ridiculous from a looping perspective, but i want to get a Digitech JamMan first... I owned one a while back and hated it, but i'd like to own one again purely to utilise the 99 storable loops, not for live-looping or as a main looper. I already have a Rang+ and DD-7 for that, and the JamMan would come in hand for those parts that would take way too long to replicate live, ie. excessively layered ambient soundscapes, or just things like random percussive parts and field recordings.

I know there is a divide here with live-looping and pre-recorded looping, but i would like to utilise both. Seems like i could make a set more dynamic and diverse. Just my thoughts anyway. But for what i'm doing now the JamMan would come in more handy than a main looper upgrade. Still, it's only 4 months away.

[johneeeveee]

I really like all the additional features, but when I A/B'd the III with my Boomerang + I was surprised to find I liked the guitar tones through the Boomerang + sounded better (?!).
Anyone else have a similar reaction?

[Crazyquilt]

Actually, John, I just played my first gig with the Rang III, and I'm listening to the recording (w/a Sony D50) now. From the perspective of both sound and (equally important to me, anyway) feel, I think the RangIII is light years beyond the Plus.

Here was the rig I used:

I used the full stereo capacity of the Rang. The Left channel was assigned to the effects loop of my Shen Compak300. This allowed me to use both of the amp's front inputs, so I had both an acoustic (CA OX with Baggs Element) in Ch1 and various Native American flutes (using a Pick Up The World strap-on mic & preamp) in Ch2. The Right channel was in front of my '62 Princeton, and I used either a Gretsch 6120 or my National M2 with Hot Plate. I controlled the output volume with an expression pedal.

It as also nice not to have to mess with the input gain setting, as on the Rang+. If you got it just right, it was splendid, but I found it fiddly. Tonight, I could switch guitars from the Gretsch to the National on the electric channel and the Rang kept up without a problem.

For the entire show, I kept the Bonus Assigns to Erase, Stack, Fade & Undo; this has turned into my default config. I used both the regular serial mode & the master loop mode. The Rang performed far more flawlessly than I did -- it's only hiccup was about 2+ hours in, when I got an inescapable hum from the Rang through the Shen. As with computers of all makes & sizes, rebooting it cleared it up without issue, and the rest of the show was great.

Setting up a simple acoustic guitar chord progression & then playing rounds on flute, with subtle variations of decay & volume was loads of fun. Throw in some Gretschy goodness, a little brown tremolo...mmm!

I got many, many compliments, and I could not have done it without the Rang. It is simply the best small hardware looper available, even without the sync & free modes -- which I am positively salivating over, mind you!

[BadMelonFarmer]

I really like all the additional features, but when I A/B'd the III with my Boomerang + I was surprised to find I liked the guitar tones through the Boomerang + sounded better (?!).
Anyone else have a similar reaction?

Interesting...

I guess it is a totally subjective area and I have not tried a Rang + myself but I have zero complaints with the Rang III tone.

All the posts I have seen where people have A/B'd the two the Rang III has been perceived to be the "better" of the two

But tone in always in the ear of the listener I guess.

YMMV

Cheers

BMF