Not really sure what Iâve preordered 
Have you made the payment?
No mate. Just send your details through (name, address, phone, email and PayPal email)
I have. Just got a reply.
Frippertronics ??
Has quite a lot in common with this beast from 15-20 years back.
https://www.elektronauts.com/t/fs-uk-maneco-filter-eko-ii-mad-dangerous-vintage-looper-sold/149582
Itâs not for me but it looks like a lot of fun.
That looks like an entertaining lineup, minus the âhow to build a Hardware Synth Setupâ portion of it.
Studio Berlin has an especially 
looking schedule.
That does seem to be the rap on Soma stuff, and I donât disagree with it exactly. Take the Lyra-8: it has a certain each-time-is-the-same quality to it, but thatâs more sonic niche than literal repetition. I mean, it always sounds great and itâs a classic that lots of people are still willing to purchase in neon pink and whatnot. Itâs well-made and you pay a premium price, but if you want to do that at that level of quality, where else are you going to go? Plus, the more you work with it, the more you can make it less same-y. Pulsar is the same thing, just prohibitively expensive, or else all the Lyra buyers would go for it because where else can you get a drum machine with such a full suite of real-time performerâs features? The live loopers are way underused in all the demosâexternal CV, tooâwhile we all regret that it doesnât quite sound good enough to be used simply as a utility drum machine. Somaâs gear is niche, which means theyâre not as flexible as youâd like for the price, but they do what nothing else does, plus youâre guaranteed it will be fun doing it when Vlad has his name on it.
This Cosmos is more of the same: lovely and engaging sonic territory, but the demos seem same-y. Well, bebop jazz seems same-y too in its own way. At the priceâand considering the confidence in quality inspired by the Soma labelâI find this gizmo a no-brainer. Not so much for establishing and using its textures which are wonderful, though not themselves worth the price of admission, but for interacting with the Cosmos in live performance. Itâs not clear how things will go on that count. For example, it better be reasonably easy to make significant and smooth transitions because Iâd rather hang myself than be trapped in the same key or tonality for 20 minutes against my will. I also wonder what you can do with it using live, expressive percussion. Iâm concerned that non-pitched instruments will lead too easily to cosmic obliteration while trying to work with and against the delay presets. But then there are also monophonic expressive instruments via wind or MPE controller that could make for far better solo performances than loopers, which I personally donât like very much. Guitarists might like that angle, but I shy away from guitar these days, not just because I suck, but also because I only want to bother with stuff having more expressive features, i.e., persistent, âalways onâ tone modulation like you get with winds or bowed strings, but not with plucked or hammered strings. Yes, I understand guitar and piano are perfectly expressive, just not with my chops.
In any case, even if those demos leave me with significant questions, I will say bitchinâ 335.
This was totally âinspiredâ by Terry Rileyâs âTime-Lag Accumulatorâ tape system.
Edit: I like Fripp/Enoâs work (especially Evening Star) in case above comment comes across as a bit salty.
This looks really neat, except looking at the manual as far as I can tell, you canât actually change the delay time in any way? I know it modulates the delays anyway but it seems really odd not to be able to sync it. So youâd kind of end up having to play in time with what the COSMOS is doing? Or am I missing something?
Admittedly Iâve only had the Lyra8 for a bit over a week, but Iâm actually quite surprised how versatile it is. Sure, it has a really recognizable timbre, but thanks to the 8 voices as well as the delay, LFOâs and distortion it can fill so many roles: piercing leads, backround atmospherics, crazy bass rumblings (when sampled can be used for traditional bass lines), or just all around industrial mayhem, no overdubs or other elements needed. Definitely not a one trick pony or same-y. Itâs more like a guitar, on itâs own pretty recognizable but so expressive that it doesnât matter.
Am liking mine. The inability to balance levels between voices is driving me a bit mad. But otherwise it is a pretty functional instrument. It seems to evoke the spirit of the lost musical genius that was Kendra Smith for me (for some strange reason). Must be the battered harmonium type sounds you can sometimes coax out of it:
Agreed, thatâs the only obvious thing Iâd like it to have, dedicated volume knobs for each voice.
Looks like a good candidate to substitute for my Ciat Lonbarde Cocolase.
Cocolase was designed with a similar âanti-looperâ aesthetic. Like COSMOS, it defies any attempt to build a song, one track at a time, in the way more conventional loopers like the Boss series, tc electronic Ditto, etc. are designed. Cocolase can record whatever you feed into it, but it decides on its own when to repeat certain slices of the recording. It does a lot of things on its own and all you can do as a user is influence it. Pretty much the diametric opposite of loopers designed for control freaks.
As much as our band loves the Cocolaseâs quirky behavior and gritty 8-bit sound, if we ever get touring Iâm not sure it would tolerate the punishment. COSMOS looks more road worthy.
Hey blipson â Taking your list of very legitimate concerns, would it be safe to consider things other than the COSMOS, that might be able to get to some of the same territory, but perhaps with a little more âcontrolâ ?
Others here will have other possible suggestions, but iâve come up with two, albeit much more costly.
Both the Tasty Chips GR-1 (with an added USB audio interface), and the Waldorf Iridium, allow for live input into their granular synth engines. By choosing the right settings and modulations, itâs possible to get effects not too dissimilar to the COSMOS. (Iâve put video links for these two, showing their live granular capabilities.)
They both would lack qualities in the COSMOS, but bring other capabilities, like pitched tonalities, and certainly in the case of the Iridium, the other synthesis options. These are in another price category, so iâm not going to make unfair comparison, i am only considering alternatives.
That all said, the COSMOS has its own thing going on !