Drop mad beats with the amazing Wii Loop Machine
by Christopher Grant 
{ Mar 22nd 2007 at 10:31AM }
We're just starting to scratch the shiny white surface of what a Wii coupled with a Mac can do. First, WiiSaber allowed every nerd with a Mac and a Wiimote to pretend they were the Star Wars kid; now, the Amazing Rolo's Wii Loop Machine turns the Wiimote into a virtual instrument, controlling the pitch, dropping the beats, and generally doing all sorts of things we're thoroughly unfamiliar with in an unhip grandparent sort of way. Watching the above video has made us believers though ... how long before you kids starts using one of these things at a concert?
[Via TUAW]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eric @ Mar 22nd 2007 10:35AM
Kinda cool.
Gavin @ Mar 22nd 2007 10:46AM
Uhm, you can buy DJ pads with USB connectors for $100 that do the same thing. This is pretty pointless.
BlindsideDork @ Mar 22nd 2007 10:49AM
Umm, this has already been used at concerts. Go to youTube and type in Wii dj or something along those lines and they have a live performance..
moominsean @ Mar 22nd 2007 10:53AM
dance, white boy, dance! (and do some french rapping while you're at it!)
MrXBob @ Mar 22nd 2007 10:58AM
Yes, Gavin. But this is pretty much for FREE.
And if it were so pointless, surely you'd be so utterly bored by it that you wouldnt have made the effort to click the link and type a comment, right?
john @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:01AM
This hasn't been done before. This is the first time I can download a program and start making music with the Wii remote immediately. Granted it's slow, buggy, and not very powerful, but it's a step in the right direction. I made some interesting 'scratching' like sounds using the white noise generator.
What I really want is an easy to use program that translates all the remote actions into MIDI commands so I can hook it right into my Ableton Live sets.
Gavin @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:02AM
How is a $250 system free? Are they giving out Wii's now? Did I miss something?
Poisoned Al @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:03AM
This would be cool if I didn't have a MIDI keyboard with a full deck of sliders and knobs...
But I do.
Jason B @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:05AM
That was easily the most disturbing Internet video I have seen this month. And call me old school, but I still have a very hard time with calling the art of sampling others' music "making music".
Jack of No Trades @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:06AM
This is stupid. If I want to make some beats I just jump on Fruityloops4 on PC. This is wack bro.
Matt B @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:25AM
Just add it to the list of things you can do with the wiimote besides play games. Isn't that what they bought the system to do?
Frogbrother @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:32AM
He had me until he started rap-singing in french. Ick!
iocomposer @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:35AM
I miss melodies...
Doomstalk @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:38AM
Gavin, a Wii remote costs $40. The last time I checked, that's a lot less than $100.
Joe @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:41AM
Dorktacular.
Matt Wagner @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:43AM
Doom, the last time I checked, you can't use a Wiimote without a Wii, so that makes it cost a little more then $40.
Joystiq is still trying their hardest to make the stupid things on Wii look cool... and still failing at it.
LoopyChew @ Mar 22nd 2007 12:24PM
@16: The entire point was that the Wiimote was being used with the Bluetooth connection on the computer, and not a Wii.
polly @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:54AM
That was totally ghey.
Doomstalk @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:56AM
Matt, don't tell that to the EB Games that sold me a standalone remote...
Lance @ Mar 22nd 2007 11:58AM
40 != 250.
Do the math Gavin.
40 < 100
Cheaper and simpler then 100+ worth of equipment.
helio9000 @ Mar 22nd 2007 12:01PM
It makes no sense to imply that only macs and wii-motes work together. You can control google earth or either os with wii-motes and you can use resolume and and wii-mote + glovepie to mix video:
http://www.resolume.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=3102
(You can also use glovepie to control and window's midi apps with lots of different controllers.)
Doomstalk @ Mar 22nd 2007 12:02PM
Matt, er re-read your comment and realized I misinterpreted. You're still wrong, though. The Wii remote is a standard Bluetooth device, and the information it sends has been thoroughly reverse engineered. People have been playing with them on PCs since like a week after launch.
Penpal @ Mar 22nd 2007 7:02PM
Matt Wagner, you don't need a Wii to use the Wii Remote with a computer. It's a bluetooth device, and any computer that is bluetooth compatible will immediately locate it when synced. The Wii locates the remotes in the exact same manner.
What he's doing is great. It's just a demo showing us what can be done with the program, he's not exactly telling us to drop our midi boards and quit using fruity loops/what have you. It's something he made to fool around with music, and that's good enough with me. The squarepusher nod was nice, he's obviously in the know. And the french rap wasn't that bad. It was very low-key, he wasn't screaming beastie style into the mic or anything, it complemented what he was doing with the remote.
And I don't know how this is "stupid". Joystiq is reporting on homebrew tech involving the Wii remote, and this is by far one of the best uses i've seen for it.
Lighten up, dude, and try to inform yourself better. Don't speak if you don't know what you're saying.
bret @ Mar 22nd 2007 5:57PM
this guy is a fucking tool and the music sucks
sgtfubar @ Mar 22nd 2007 12:16PM
The point he's making is that you can go get a wiimote for $40 and a usb bluetooth adapter for $10 and do just about anything you can imagine or have the willpower and know-how to develop on a computer. You don't have to buy a Wii for that. $50 < $100.
And I think some of you missed the opening statement, that the whole idea behind this project of manipulating loops with a wii was to interact with your computer as little as possible. Just let your motions do the work. Which is what the wii does best. That being said, I understand where all the naysayers are coming from, but even they have to admit, it's still interesting to see the different types of applications you can use with a wiimote at it's core. It's just people tinkering, so try not to blow a blood vessel on this one.
RUSKULL @ Mar 22nd 2007 12:24PM
This is embarrassing, more so because I feel like I walked in on someone dancing alone. Aside from that, a DJ like game COULD be cool, but the real potential isn't found in this video I'm afraid.
joshua @ Mar 22nd 2007 12:57PM
Somebody just make a Wii theramin already!!
Oz @ Mar 22nd 2007 1:06PM
The software is buggy, but its a cool concept. The guy was a bit out there, but so what?
As for the comments.. We'll I knew 2 seconds into watching the video that the insecure kids who post on here would deconstruct his every move - giving themselves a backhand compliment in the process. Or so they think.
"this is Ghey', "This is embarrassing". You guys say more about your about yourselves than you realise.
Thingmaker @ Mar 22nd 2007 3:54PM
"this guy is a fucking tool and the music sucks" = Obviously a Lemming, stink-ass.
"That was totally ghey"
And you're totally a closet case as most hidden homosexuals use that term to shield their secret.
At least he's bringing something to the table, whether it's interesting or not. More then you pot-marked oxygen wasters are probably doing, correct?
Earl @ Mar 22nd 2007 2:29PM
This is pretty cool, not because I think the music is any good. It is such a creative idea and I think that Nintendo intended the Wiimote to be used in a creative manner.
As far as the "this is old" comments: not everyone checks out every video posted on YouTube, so this is new to me.
Hyperfludd @ Mar 22nd 2007 2:49PM
Guys think. You don't need a Wii to use the Wiimote for stuff like this.
reppy @ Mar 22nd 2007 3:06PM
That sounds like an Aphex Twin song. Bad ass.
john @ Mar 22nd 2007 3:08PM
Matt Wagner,
Last time you checked, eh? I doubt you ever checked.
Ever since we've known it uses bluetooth people have been buying remotes without the Wii to play around with it's motion sensing capabilities (and even more so since we learned that the sensor bar doesn't do any 'sensing' at all). I've had my remote syncing with my computer since a few weeks after launch. Being an electronic music artist/performer, this is *very* interesting to me. For more info on the music applications of the Wii remote head over to createdigitalmusic.com and search for 'Wii'. They've even got the DS working as a MIDI device over the WiFi connection!
In other words: You don't know what you're talking about.
Blake Haven @ Mar 22nd 2007 3:52PM
That's really awesome. I can't wait till we see even more complicated things. I don't know why everyone is hating on him for being french O.o This is really great technology.
Khris Killer @ Mar 22nd 2007 3:54PM
There are hundreds of gimicky midi devices that alter samples and tones. This is nothing special. They all do the same lame tricks. Pitch, mod, bpm, etc. Basic shit. Beginers nonsense. Perhaps this is interesting to people who dont know anything about electronic music creation, but to anyone who is into it will think this is a worthless toy. Did anyone else notice the more he "manipulated" the beat the worse it sounded? CRAP!
Matt @ Mar 22nd 2007 4:02PM
there are far more interesting ways to create electronic music with far more intuitive inputs then the wiimote. i don't really care that the mote is a standard blue-tooth. i despise the wii, so i never bothered to find that out. fault me for that if you want to. i don't really care. but if you really want to see the cutting edge of electronic music, look elsewhere.
start here for instance:http://www.jamespatten.com/audiopad/
coma @ Mar 22nd 2007 5:19PM
The haterade that has been sipped in this post makes me sick. If you think it sucks then improve upon it. Otherwise, shut your stinky mouth.
DRJ @ Mar 22nd 2007 4:51PM
The Wii-mote is just not suited well to control electronic music. I tried very hard to thing of intuitive ways to control Ableton Live. In the end each technique ended up being as easily and accurately accomplished with a knob, fader, or button.
As software impooves more control will be availabe, but in the end its a gimmick. A gimmick I'musing in my live electronic set for one song. Why not? Its fun:) I find the Guitar Hero controller way better :)
Craig @ Mar 22nd 2007 5:00PM
@35 and others
I think you are missing part of the point and potential of this device. There is without doubt more intuitive and intricate methods of manipulating electronic music but they tend to suffer from two problems. First most involve the performer sitting at a laptop leaving the audience with no idea if they are doing it live or just recorded it earlier and are playing it back while checking email. Secondly, the more cutting edge ones like you demonstrated require a fair amount of mechanical, electrical, or general technical knowhow. While both these can still produce interesting important music their spread is limited as evidenced by all the people here who instantly balk at the idea of sampled "music".
This guy's idea allows for your everyday dork, who understands a little bluetooth and can work the basics of software, to put something on that, if done right, can be engaging and fun for an audience larger than the John Cage fans
:p @ May 3rd 2007 1:29PM
there are a lot of people here saying the same garbage about how its no different than knobs or sliders.
you obviously dont perform live
the only lame thing about this is MORE talentless hacks will think theyr magically musical because they own a mac and some device
btw.. usb stuff, the audiopad/reactable etc or wii.. theyr all just input devices. no point in arguing which is better cause theyr only controllers. painter use brushes and blades and sponges and whatever to add the paint and get cool effects. ill use them all but im not about to throw away my rickenbacker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw0sP7WKHXY
Psaakyrn @ Mar 22nd 2007 6:26PM
One wonders if/when Nintendo would just make a kit for Mac to port all these to the Wii..
Mana @ Mar 22nd 2007 7:11PM
This was good. I wouldn't be really surprised to see people with this configured for filters at a dance festival or two this summer. Peeps could even get on stage and take part :D
Paul Gale @ Mar 23rd 2007 3:00AM
I'm digging the Wii Loop Machine and always like this type of stuff. I give a lot of credit to people out there that take technology and modify it to do other neat tricks. Good job and thanks for the video, Joystiq.