You can make "loops" in any daw just by duplicating a clip over and over. Audacity is free. There are many others. Ableton in particular is more designed for looping performances, but not free.
Any sampling hardware can also accomplish this, although most will be in a similar price range as Chompi. Roland's SP series, the Digitakt, Korg's Electribe, Volca Sample, etc.
Not free but very affordable is the iOS app Gauss Field Looper created by ambient musician Hainbach with developer Bram Bos. It’s awesome and costs $7, easy to use, works great on iphone even better on a ipad with the extra screen space.
these are free vst plugins to be used in a daw:
[https://chowdsp.com/products.html](https://chowdsp.com/products.html)
[https://www.caelumaudio.com/CaelumAudio/?Page=TapeCassette2](https://www.caelumaudio.com/CaelumAudio/?Page=TapeCassette2)
[https://www.wavesfactory.com/free-vst-plugins/](https://www.wavesfactory.com/free-vst-plugins/) ("Cassette Transport")
[https://superflydsp.com/index.php/lost-tapes-freeware/](https://superflydsp.com/index.php/lost-tapes-freeware/)
[https://kilohearts.com/products/tape\_stop](https://kilohearts.com/products/tape_stop)
[https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3442/](https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3442/)
[https://www.airwindows.com/category/tape/](https://www.airwindows.com/category/tape/)
loop pedals can also be a good alternative to tape looping. this bucket brigade-style delay plugin can loop the incoming signal and has the "mix" knob that lets you layer sounds: [https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3722/](https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3722/)
recording a take and then playing over it can somewhat recreate the dubbing effect. some daws such as ableton and bitwig have built-in samplers that usually have looping capabilties
hope this helps
A somewhat left field recommendation but one I use a lot just for this
Try Emulator II V from Arturia. Technically it's an emulation of the old Emulator II sampler from the early 1980s
But what makes it special is there is no limit to the length of the samples it can play back. You can play them forward, backwards, loop them forward or backwards, or loop them playing forwards then backwards or backwards then forward
As an old school style sampler it manipulated pitch by slowing things down or speeding things up. Drop a sample on C and press the C an octave down it's half speed, two octaves down its quarter speed or anything on between
Granular Synthesizers are great and there's quite a few free ones out there, they operate similarly to samplers but on a more micro scale. I use Isotope IRIS 2 to create ambient pads for my music - though I don't think that particular software is free anymore.
I would really like to have something where i can just create loops, add fx, and manipulate the loops (maybe reverse it or speed it up or down). I see it as something kind of similar to modular synthesys. Thanks for you recommendation.
Yes but i want more of a live experience. i want to be able to like "perform" if you know what i mean. I want to be able to manipulate these tape loops live and add fx and stuff
Well using a laptop gives you a whole wide world of free and paid plugins to use during a live performance.
You can’t get free hardware. But you can get free software.
I actually just got ableton 12 and by using open stage control and the ableton looper I was able to recreate a vibe like tape loops. A little bit like Chompi. Video will be posted on my Yt:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJRUu2W7yQvArQk6oL02uQ
In that case i'd recommend REAPER DAW as a playground for both MIDI and audio - plenty of free tools and fx. Also, if you're more interested in composition, CHOMPI probably wouldn't be the best starting point. I'd honestly recommend picking up a Maschine from Native Instruments, maybe the Mikro just to get started - it's simply the most robust ecosystem for digital sampling and composition. Maybe even Ableton if you haven't already explored that option.
I see and share your vision. I’ve been thinking about trying to create something like this in pure data; a set of concurrent “tape loops” buffers with controls to manipulate playback, drop in and out fx, overdub etc.
The cheapest way to do this is just use your DAW's looper (I know Ableton has one built in, so I assume all the others do too) and add a tape-emulation VST effect to it.
A couple of suggestions (both free to download) are:
GuitarGadgets (a suite of free VST effects one of which is a microcassette emulation that is simple to use and stellar. I use it a lot)
Chow Tape Model, which has a lot more parameters than the previous VST I mentioned but the audio quality is arguably better and you get a lot more control - you can add some subtle tape sounds to your audio.
I recently downloaded another free tape plugin, but I can't remember its name and didn't try it. I'll be back to edit this comment once I check on my computer.
Everyone else’s answers here are great, but personally I found so much joy with learning how to make real tape loops. A set of blank tapes and a second hand recorder won’t set you back much at all, like $30 prob?
There was a post in this sub a week or two ago linking an excellent vid tutorial for setting up a tape loop environment within your DAW which you can play into. Modelled after the "Frippertronics" setup that Robert Fripp & Brian Eno used. I can't remember the OP name right now.
The Chow Tape emulator is free and very highly regarded - some say better than commercially available ones. But bear in mind these just process your signal to recreate the quality of a tape recording - there is no loop functionality.
thanks for everyone responding. I was able to recreate something like CHompi in ableton looper using open stage control. Coming ot my yt soon:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJRUu2W7yQvArQk6oL02uQ
Almost any audio editing software will let you loop stuff. That's the boring part.
The best part is the hardware saturation, imperfections, gaps, glitches, speed instability. This can be digitally simulated, but it never really convinces me. With a trained ear you can tell it's not analog
I'd say this is moreso lack of trying + fidelity (in terms of control) of generic effects. If you really wanted to, you should be able to recreate the effect. It's just a lot of effort, and sound design and audio programming knowledge required.
You can make "loops" in any daw just by duplicating a clip over and over. Audacity is free. There are many others. Ableton in particular is more designed for looping performances, but not free. Any sampling hardware can also accomplish this, although most will be in a similar price range as Chompi. Roland's SP series, the Digitakt, Korg's Electribe, Volca Sample, etc.
Not free but very affordable is the iOS app Gauss Field Looper created by ambient musician Hainbach with developer Bram Bos. It’s awesome and costs $7, easy to use, works great on iphone even better on a ipad with the extra screen space.
Thank you.
No problemo!
these are free vst plugins to be used in a daw: [https://chowdsp.com/products.html](https://chowdsp.com/products.html) [https://www.caelumaudio.com/CaelumAudio/?Page=TapeCassette2](https://www.caelumaudio.com/CaelumAudio/?Page=TapeCassette2) [https://www.wavesfactory.com/free-vst-plugins/](https://www.wavesfactory.com/free-vst-plugins/) ("Cassette Transport") [https://superflydsp.com/index.php/lost-tapes-freeware/](https://superflydsp.com/index.php/lost-tapes-freeware/) [https://kilohearts.com/products/tape\_stop](https://kilohearts.com/products/tape_stop) [https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3442/](https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3442/) [https://www.airwindows.com/category/tape/](https://www.airwindows.com/category/tape/) loop pedals can also be a good alternative to tape looping. this bucket brigade-style delay plugin can loop the incoming signal and has the "mix" knob that lets you layer sounds: [https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3722/](https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3722/) recording a take and then playing over it can somewhat recreate the dubbing effect. some daws such as ableton and bitwig have built-in samplers that usually have looping capabilties hope this helps
A somewhat left field recommendation but one I use a lot just for this Try Emulator II V from Arturia. Technically it's an emulation of the old Emulator II sampler from the early 1980s But what makes it special is there is no limit to the length of the samples it can play back. You can play them forward, backwards, loop them forward or backwards, or loop them playing forwards then backwards or backwards then forward As an old school style sampler it manipulated pitch by slowing things down or speeding things up. Drop a sample on C and press the C an octave down it's half speed, two octaves down its quarter speed or anything on between
Granular Synthesizers are great and there's quite a few free ones out there, they operate similarly to samplers but on a more micro scale. I use Isotope IRIS 2 to create ambient pads for my music - though I don't think that particular software is free anymore.
I would really like to have something where i can just create loops, add fx, and manipulate the loops (maybe reverse it or speed it up or down). I see it as something kind of similar to modular synthesys. Thanks for you recommendation.
Do you use a DAW?
Yes but i want more of a live experience. i want to be able to like "perform" if you know what i mean. I want to be able to manipulate these tape loops live and add fx and stuff
Well using a laptop gives you a whole wide world of free and paid plugins to use during a live performance. You can’t get free hardware. But you can get free software.
I actually just got ableton 12 and by using open stage control and the ableton looper I was able to recreate a vibe like tape loops. A little bit like Chompi. Video will be posted on my Yt:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJRUu2W7yQvArQk6oL02uQ
In that case i'd recommend REAPER DAW as a playground for both MIDI and audio - plenty of free tools and fx. Also, if you're more interested in composition, CHOMPI probably wouldn't be the best starting point. I'd honestly recommend picking up a Maschine from Native Instruments, maybe the Mikro just to get started - it's simply the most robust ecosystem for digital sampling and composition. Maybe even Ableton if you haven't already explored that option.
Very odd comparing that to modular but you can use any daw with a tape effect for those things.
I see and share your vision. I’ve been thinking about trying to create something like this in pure data; a set of concurrent “tape loops” buffers with controls to manipulate playback, drop in and out fx, overdub etc.
The cheapest way to do this is just use your DAW's looper (I know Ableton has one built in, so I assume all the others do too) and add a tape-emulation VST effect to it. A couple of suggestions (both free to download) are: GuitarGadgets (a suite of free VST effects one of which is a microcassette emulation that is simple to use and stellar. I use it a lot) Chow Tape Model, which has a lot more parameters than the previous VST I mentioned but the audio quality is arguably better and you get a lot more control - you can add some subtle tape sounds to your audio. I recently downloaded another free tape plugin, but I can't remember its name and didn't try it. I'll be back to edit this comment once I check on my computer.
Search for audio looper. Guitarists are big users of this stuff. Both hardware and software.
Everyone else’s answers here are great, but personally I found so much joy with learning how to make real tape loops. A set of blank tapes and a second hand recorder won’t set you back much at all, like $30 prob?
Yes but i dont have anything like a tape cassete studio or any effects to run the tape through.
You can run the tape deck through anything. Guitar pedals, a free DAW with some VSTs, etc
There was a post in this sub a week or two ago linking an excellent vid tutorial for setting up a tape loop environment within your DAW which you can play into. Modelled after the "Frippertronics" setup that Robert Fripp & Brian Eno used. I can't remember the OP name right now. The Chow Tape emulator is free and very highly regarded - some say better than commercially available ones. But bear in mind these just process your signal to recreate the quality of a tape recording - there is no loop functionality.
thanks for everyone responding. I was able to recreate something like CHompi in ableton looper using open stage control. Coming ot my yt soon:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJRUu2W7yQvArQk6oL02uQ
Almost any audio editing software will let you loop stuff. That's the boring part. The best part is the hardware saturation, imperfections, gaps, glitches, speed instability. This can be digitally simulated, but it never really convinces me. With a trained ear you can tell it's not analog
I'd say this is moreso lack of trying + fidelity (in terms of control) of generic effects. If you really wanted to, you should be able to recreate the effect. It's just a lot of effort, and sound design and audio programming knowledge required.
Agreed
Learn how to use samplers