I play live a lot and noticed that I tend to be really inconsistent about my method of triggering quantized loops and longer stems.
- For some songs, I use disabled Trigs (Trig on the first step + press FUNC + the Trig), then use ARM ALL or ARM TRACK to get it to launch.
- For others, I’m using Plays Free + Slice mode, then launch the loops using slice mode.
- For both I’m quantizing the track launch settings either in sample or pattern settings, so if I’m in slice mode, the loops or stems stay quantized and synced to the BPM.
Both methods have their pros and cons, but the inconsistency is really confusing for me during a performance to remember what I have to do to launch either. I would like to pick and stick with one.
I think in both cases, if I switch banks/patterns and there isn’t an armed trig (or the same track in the next bank/pattern is also set to plays free), the loops keep running, which is great for smoother transitions. I guess that’s a little bit safer in Plays Free, in case I accidentally arm tracks before switching banks/patterns…
So to those of you who have tried either of these methods in a live set, which do you prefer and why?