Phase-Lock and Free Loops

One of the Loopy Pro's most important settings is the Phase-Lock option for loops. Phase-lock is turned on by default in Loopy Pro's default settings. This setting may or may not be appropriate to your use. Understanding it is key to using Loopy Pro.

When loops are phase-locked, their playhead is always moving when Loopy Pro's transport is moving. For phase-locked loops, play and stop are essentially unmute and mute. When a phase-locked loop starts playing, it starts playing from wherever the playhead is located. Use this mode when your loops are the same length or multiples of each other and you want to be able to freely turn them on and off (unmute and mute them).

When phase-lock is off, loops are called free. Free loops always start playback from their beginning. Use them when your song sections are different lengths or when you always want the loops to start from the beginning regardless of Loopy Pro's transport or master cycle.

Projects can contain both free and phase-locked loops. All loop types can be synchronized. Which type to use depends on your needs. Free loops are typically used when songs have parts of different lengths or if you need to be able to start loops from the beginning at will.

This short video is a quick explainer of the difference between phase-locked and free loops.