Electro Harmonix 45000 Multi-Track Looping Recorder - Review / Demo by Katie Marie

[@kingklabe]

Thanks for the honest review. Great energy, really cool demonstration. Helped me make a decision on what to buy. Overall good vibes. I appreciate channels like this. Thank you!

[@katie_marie_music]

Thanks so much for the kind words, much appreciated :)

[@jimmyv1301]

Wonderful review! Thanks much for your time to share this. Only drawback… now I want one 😱

[@katie_marie_music]

Hahaha! You're so welcome, thank you for watching all the way through :) If you do end up buying one let me know how you like it!

[@Nassuklovni]

Had some doubts about spending over half a grand to a pedal, but this review put an end to them.

[@katie_marie_music]

Yay! That's awesome :)

[@colinscottpayton]

Loved this review! I have the 1440, and I was initially startled by the overdub volume drop. I thought, no way that's a mandatory thing. It's not! I did some manual diving and found out it's a feature of a knob, not a forced bug. Here's the line from your manual: Move the TRACK 1 Fader to 100%. When in Overdub mode, the track’s volume slider acts like a Feedback control on a delay pedal. For example, if the TRACK 1 slider is set to 50%, each time the loop cycles, the volume of the previ- ously recorded audio on TRACK 1 will be halved. So, maybe try recording your loops with the faders at 100% and see if the volume drops!

[@colinscottpayton]

Ohhhh, and here's another line regarding those faders: The 4 track faders serve a dual purpose: during Playback they are the volume control for each track, during Overdubbing they act like a Feedback control as seen on a delay effect. So when you are Overdubbing, the level of the previously record-ed audio on the active track is multiplied by the position of the track’s fader. If the fader is set to 100%, the previously recorded audio will remain at the volume it was recorded at. If the fader is set anywhere below 100%, with each pass of the loop, the volume of the previously recorded audio will attenu- ate according to the setting of the fader. Using this function, it is possible to use the 45000 as a very long delay pedal.

[@katie_marie_music]

@@colinscottpayton No way! I had no idea about this at all, thanks so much for sharing Colin 😁 I'll give this a try for sure! Also appreciate the kind words, thanks so much for checking out my vid 🙏

[@vanklang]

Hi, cool video! I use the EHX 22500 and I'm very happy with it!

[@katie_marie_music]

Awesome! Thanks so much, really appreciate you watching! :)

[@jennirichards4776]

What a great review - really detailed and well explained!

[@katie_marie_music]

Thanks so much Jenni! 🥰 I really appreciate it.

[@LadyK666]

Thank you SO MUCH for this clear and concise demo!

[@katie_marie_music]

You're so welcome! Thanks for watching it, I'm glad it helped :)

[@muzofob]

Hello! It is great loop station, congratulations! I have got the similar one, 2880. If you hold your faders in 0 (max up), your layers on overdub will be loud as they recorded. It depends on fader's position, if you put it down your previous layers will be deleted on selected track.

[@katie_marie_music]

Oh cool!! Thanks so much for letting me know, I have a show today and I'm going to give that a try :)

[@muzofob]

@@katie_marie_musicGood luck with the show! Is it online or offline?

[@katie_marie_music]

@@muzofob Thanks you for the good luck wishes :) It was an in-person gig at Austin Airport. We have 6 stages inside the airport and the gigs are really fun, I can sit with my looper and noodle away! I did try the faders set to max and it seemed to me like the previous layer still got quieter, but with the airport being so busy it was difficult for me to tell, so I'm going to try again at tomorrow's show (which is an online one!).

[@muzofob]

@@katie_marie_music Good! You can also try to delete tracks quietly with this method, when you select the track, move fader maximum down, press record while you just play, and this track will be rerecorded with silence.

[@katie_marie_music]

@@muzofob Awesome! That's so cool! I'll give that a try too :) Really appreciate you sharing this.

[@christopherfulmer705]

Good review ! I have the EHX 45000. At times , it has more features than I need when I am guitar looping. It has become my primary Looper on my guitar rig. Great to see other musicians using it !

[@katie_marie_music]

Thanks Christopher! Really appreciate your thoughts....happy to meet someone else who also loves the 45000. Prior to this I had an Akai E2 Headrush which I loved, but this will be my forever looper for sure :)

[@LORANBELTRAM]

beautiful video ... very helpfull !!!! blessings

[@katie_marie_music]

Thanks so much! :)

[@Sam_Utah]

Thanks, been looking at loopers lately, just have a MemoryMan single channel and it is noisy. This helps a lot. Your video skills are up there with your musicianship. Sub.

[@katie_marie_music]

Thanks so much Sam! I really appreciate it 😁🙏 I've not tried the MemoryMan before but I've heard from others that it's a bit noisy. What other loopers have you been looking at?

[@Sam_Utah]

@@katie_marie_music EH95000, Boss,RC 505... mostly. I think the 45000 might be the sweet spot. Having a mixdown track is a really useful feature.

[@katie_marie_music]

@@Sam_Utah The 95000 scared me quite honestly lol 😜 For me I don't really need a ton of features and you're totally right, a mixdown option is really useful. I've seen the RC505s used by others but I've not tried one yet, they definitely look fun and I believe they have built in FX like reverb, right? Let me know what you end up with and how you like it 🤠👍

[@Sam_Utah]

@@katie_marie_musicWill do, I am with you on complexity. My Ableton skills are so rudimentary and not getting better. I rather not work in the box. Problem right now with footprint space. A friend purchased the 95000 so I want to look at it and the RC505 as well. But so far the 45000 looks to be the front runner. I play keys so stereo tracks are necessary.

[@katie_marie_music]

@@Sam_Utah I think the RC505 is a good size and doesn't take up too much space and you're right that for playing keys it's great the 45000 has a stereo input and output. Would be interested to know what you think of the 95000 your friend has!

[@thomaspetita.8061]

Thx a ot. I'll have it in a couple of days, and what you tell confort me it's a new instrument to play with my other ones. You rock

[@katie_marie_music]

Awesome!! 🤠🙌

[@antonhosinsky3090]

A very clear review and you transmit just such a lovely personality, I thoroughly enjoyed this vid. Not into looping myself yet, I mainly compose eithe on my DAW or on the piano, but I love improvising and have a bookcase full of assorted noisemaking junk, so it would be really fun to get into it.

[@katie_marie_music]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Anton, I really appreciate it :) Happy to hear you enjoyed my vid! Loopers are SO much fun, once you start there's no going back. Would be interested to know if you do decide to dive into the world of looping, keep me posted!

[@railroadtracksmusic]

I would definitely sample that slowed down part!! So are you using the foot switch separately? Would they work as a standalone? Just wondering. Great video and I would be down to work on something as well!!!

[@katie_marie_music]

Thanks so much! :) The unit will totally work without the footswitch, but because I mostly use it with acoustic guitar I need the footswitch as my hands as busy playing...and plus it's easier to have the switch at my feet with my other pedals.

[@bendesrosiers3524]

Great review! I also don't need a looper with a 1000 fx etc etc. I'm an analogue person!

[@katie_marie_music]

Thanks so much! And happy to hear you're also an analog person like me :)

[@findmads]

Simplistic :D ...try importing a 10 sec drum loop to play over and please teach me how to do it, because I have just spent maybe 3 hours trying to get it to play back a simple audio file (44.1 -16 bit wav file)

[@katie_marie_music]

You should be able to add files to the folder on your SD card and then play them through the 48000 🤔Sorry it's not been working for you, the only reason I can think of is the sample / bit rate isn't compatible, otherwise I'm not sure why it wouldn't work.

[@findmads]

thank you for taking the time to answer. I did find the only solution to this problem, but unfortunately its not simplistic, but it works. If you want to import a track to your SD-card you need to do as follows: I use Audacity (its free).1. Convert your track of choice to a stereo wav-file , in 16 bit 44.1, and name it TRACKM. 2.then record a silent two min track or longer, but in mono, also 16 bit 44.1 and make 4 copies, they have to be exactly equal in length (this part you only have to do once). 3.Then name them TRACK1,TRACK2,TRACK3,TRACK4. 4. Open the tempo.txt file in the LOOP-folder and change the record tempo to match your TRACKM and save (leave the last play tempo). 5. Drag all 5 files into the SD folder to replace the existing files, leave the tempo.txt (but adjust the record tempo) and you are good to go. 6.Make a copy of your LOOP-folder and then you only have to drag a new TRACKM into this from now on. Its really nice to practice over your own drum tracks or your own arrangements and definitely worth the struggle:) Happy looping and best regards from Copenhagen!

[@katie_marie_music]

@@findmads Oh waw!!!! That's not straight forward at all, thank you so much for persisting and for being nice enough to share the process. I really appreciate it. Happy to hear you found a solution! Happy looping to you too, please keep me posted on your progress! Greets from sunny Austin, Texas :)

[@meldeer6253]

it has come down quite a bit i shop on ebay, i did not realise there was a footswitch that came separate so that's Good to know and i did not know about the SD card ... Question: what was the process to get the drum track can you do live and how so thank you ... i guess the reversing the track is a option i do know the beatles used something back in the day. i have 4 looper's now kind on the fence with this one,,, i get the staring at the computer ,, what a draggggg that is lol excellent thanks again

[@katie_marie_music]

Waw! 4 loopers, you are spoilt for choice! :) The footswitch is a real game changer, especially if you're like me and need your hands to play an instrument. I do know people who have loaded drones or pads onto their SD card and then played those live, it's a simple drag and drop situation on from your computer ahead of time. The reversing feature is so much fun for sure. Keep me posted on how you get on!

[@meldeer6253]

will do Katie @@katie_marie_music

[@billypilgrim1]

Great review! I've been meaning to get one for the past month or so, this definitely tips me in that direction. One question: with the footswitch stores individual loops or a set of four loops for each track channel ? So in theory I can record different parts of a song and just switch between them? if that's the case that seems to be a really fun compositional tool

[@katie_marie_music]

Thanks so much Billy! Glad you enjoyed this vid :) To answer your question, yes it saves 4 channels of loops....really whatever you have created on those 4 tracks it will save. It really is a lot of fun and I'm sure you wouldn't regret getting one! Keep me posted :)

[@billypilgrim1]

@@katie_marie_music Great to hear! I can see myself doing entire tracks with it. I'm definitely going to get one, I'm just hunting for the right deal on Reverb and Ebay, I'll keep you posted!

[@katie_marie_music]

@@billypilgrim1 Awesome! Please do :) I managed to find my unit on eBay for around $350 and I bought the foot switch new. Look forward to hearing how you get on with it!

[@VJFranzK]

btw - have u tried 505 loopers? Lots o nice fx!

[@katie_marie_music]

No I haven't, but they look amazing! I've looked them up many times and would for sure like to give one a try some time.

[@AI-Consultant]

09:25 i agree with her, its easy to use, i had the 505 and never wanted to learn it, too complex even though i know the 505 are awesome, but i think i am gonna get one of these 45000 soon!

[@DragDealer]

How to import files to this unit?

[@katie_marie_music]

Hi Andrex! The unit uses SD cards which you can load files / sounds onto and then play them through the 45000.

[@DragDealer]

@@katie_marie_music it’s a pain! Never seen something as hard as this. It must contain 5 tracks 4 mono 1 stereo in 16bit 44.1k plus a tempo file, just did it and the looper won’t play the sound from the tracks. In 20 minutes I realized this thing is a dinosaur of a looper. Complicated and inconvenient. Well let’s not be that hard it’s great but I want a playback machine to play with tracks I did on logic and expand them for live and the way this thing handles files sucks. 🎤🔥🤘🏻

[@katie_marie_music]

@@DragDealer Ahhh, yes it probably does suck for what you're trying to do :) The looper was originally released in 2013 (I think) and is intended to be an updated version of the earlier 2880, so it does lean heavily into those analog vibes, which I completely appreciate isn't everyone's cup of tea. People who I know that play sounds through it generally have pads or a single sound on a channel and then play over that in live situations. Sorry it didn't work out for you.

[@jamestillman5247]

Almost 500 dollars for setting that can't quantization anything but 4/4. That's a rip off in my opinion. All that processing power and they couldn't be bothered to write an algorithm for that. That's what it's difficult fore to go dawless

[@katie_marie_music]

Hey James! I completely agree, for the money you can definitely get something with a lot more features that is much better value. I personally love the analog vibes and always wanted a 2880, which is what this looper is modelled on. I know many people love having a quantize option but personally it doesn't bother me, as prior to this looper I had an Akia E2 Headrush which doesn't quantize at all, so I'm actually ok with that. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@PunkRockRog]

No XLR #jussayin

[@katie_marie_music]

I completely agree! I didn't like that either, but the other loopers I've used previously also only had jack outputs....if you were using this for recording instead of live applications it would need an XLR out for sure, but in live situations it's not been an issue. But I agree with you, I too would've preferred both an XLR input and output.