Same rules as Vol I — nothing hard, everything open, shared strings between every change. Different moods this time: darker, wider, weirder, and one that's just three chords and a bad attitude.
Broadcast at 9 o'clock, low-cut at noon. These loops are darker and more cinematic than Vol I. BigSky on cloud or shimmer — let the wet side do most of the atmosphere. The dry Badger is the anchor; the wet Mesa is the dream.
C → G/B → Am → Fmaj7. The descending bass line — C B A F — walking down step by step while the top voice (open E) stays constant. The G/B is just a G chord with the B bass note — one finger moves, the whole mood drops. This progression has been in every film score, every singer-songwriter's catalogue, and every busker's setlist since 1965 because the falling bass against the static treble creates a melancholy that the brain can't resist. The Broadcast makes the bass walk glow.
| Over | Play | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Whole loop | A minor pentatonic: A C D E G | The bass walks in A minor; the melody lives in A minor — one key, no thinking, pure feeling |
| Fmaj7 | Hold the E (open high E) | The E is the maj7 of F — it's the note that makes the chord ache. Don't resolve it. Let it hang. |
Pick the bass note with the thumb on every beat — C, B, A, F — while the fingers hold the chord shape above. The bass walks; the treble sustains. Same independence as the monotonic thumb from Session 02 but easier because each bass note only plays once per bar. The Broadcast's germanium saturates the bass notes more than the treble — natural voice separation from the circuit's compression curve.
(thumb on bass, fingers sustain the chord above) C G/B Am Fmaj7 e|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~| B|--1~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--1~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--1~~~~~~~~~~~~~| G|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~| D|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--3~~~~~~~~~~~~~| A|--3 |--2 |--0 | | E| | | |--1 | thumb: C thumb: B thumb: A thumb: FTARGET · bass line smooth and even, treble sustaining through all four · the bass tells the story
Asus2 → Asus4 → Asus2 → D. The A chord with the third removed and replaced by either the 2nd (B) or the 4th (D). The chord never commits to major or minor — it orbits around A without landing. One finger moves between fret 2 and fret 3 on the B string and the entire harmonic centre shifts. The D chord at the end provides the only resolution in the loop, and even that has the open high E ringing (the 9th of D) so it doesn't fully close. Through the BigSky on shimmer this is ambient music from three fingers.
| Over | Play | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Asus2 / Asus4 | A Dorian: A B C D E F♯ G | No 3rd in the chord = the melody decides. Play C and it's minor. Play C♯ and it's major. You choose, bar by bar. |
| D | D major pentatonic: D E F♯ A B | The F♯ sings over the D and connects back to the Asus2 — it belongs to both chords |
Let the A chord ring. Move one finger between fret 2 (B note, sus2) and fret 3 (D note, sus4) on the B string. That's it. One finger, one string, one fret of movement. The chord breathes in (sus2) and out (sus4) like a pulse. Through the Broadcast the note change is a subtle harmonic shift — not a chord change, a mood change. Through the BigSky the sustain tails of both notes overlap and the chord becomes a living thing.
(let everything ring, one finger moves on B string) Asus2 Asus4 e|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| B|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| G|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| D|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| A|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| E|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| B (the 2nd) D (the 4th) — one fret, whole mood shiftsTARGET · 5 minutes of orbit, no other chords, just the pendulum · what happens at minute 3?
Em → D → C → D. The progression doesn't belong to any single key — it drifts between E minor, G major, and C Lydian depending on which chord your ear calls home. That ambiguity is the sound of The Edge, Radiohead, Sigur Rós. Three shapes, all first-week chords, but the order makes them strange. The open low E drones through all four bars whether you want it to or not — let it.
| Over | Play | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Whole loop | E minor pentatonic works everywhere | Safe and effective — the open strings in the scale match the open strings in the chords |
| The C bar | Try E Phrygian: E F G A B C D | The F natural over the C chord is the moment the loop goes cinematic — it's the note that makes it sound like a soundtrack rather than a song. One fret, one second, total mood shift. |
Hit the open low E on beat 1 of every bar regardless of the chord. Let it ring underneath. Over Em it's the root. Over D it's the 9th underneath. Over C it's the major 3rd underneath. Same note, three different harmonic functions, zero effort. The Broadcast's transformer makes the low E bloom and the chords above it float — the bass is warm and the treble is clear because the germanium compresses the low end harder than the highs.
(open low E on beat 1 of every bar, let ring) Em D C D e|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~| B|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--3~~~~~~~~~~~~~| G|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~| D|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~| A|--2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| |--3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | E|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~| root = 9th of D = 3rd of C = 9th of DTARGET · low E never stops across all four chords — the drone is the architecture
Broadcast gain trim from noon to 2 o'clock. These loops want the Broadcast pushed — the germanium breaking up, the transformer saturating, the low strings getting woolly. Low-cut at 1 o'clock minimum to keep the mud out. The dry Badger carries the crunch; the wet Mesa can be slapback, short room, or just off entirely. Some sounds don't need atmosphere. They need volume.
A → D → A → E. Three chords. Keef territory. The open A string is the root of the universe and everything else orbits around it. This loop has powered more songs than any other progression in rock and roll and it still works because the groove is the song, not the chords. Strum it open, strum it muted, hit it with the Broadcast at noon, and it's Saturday night in a room that's too loud.
| Over | Play | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Whole loop | A minor pentatonic over major chords | The C♮ against the A major's C♯ is the entire blues-rock vocabulary — minor scale over major chords, the rub IS the sound |
| E chord | Hammer-on 0h2 on A string | The open A hammered to B under the E chord — Keef's signature move, costs nothing |
Don't just strum. Hammer into each chord from the open strings: open to fretted, one string at a time, bottom to top. The chord builds itself from the open strings up. The Broadcast makes each hammer-on pop — the germanium clips the transient of the hammer harder than the sustain, so every note has a percussive front edge. Through the dry Badger this sounds like a rhythm section. Through the slapback it doubles.
A (hammered from open strings) e|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| B|--0h2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| G|--0h2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| D|--0h2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| A|--0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| ← already A, no hammer needed E|--x | bottom to top, fast, let ring — the chord assembles itselfTARGET · all three hammers land within one beat · the chord arrives as one sound, not three events
D → Cadd9 → G → G. Open D country. Two bars of G at the end give it a long porch-sitting exhale. The open D string drones under the D chord and rings sympathetically under everything else. Townes Van Zandt, Gillian Welch, Tyler Childers — this progression belongs to people who play one guitar in a room and don't need anything else. The Broadcast's console warmth is what makes this sound like a record rather than a bedroom.
| Over | Play | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Whole loop | G major pentatonic: G A B D E | Same five notes as E minor pent — you already know this box from Session 02 |
| D chord | Let the open D ring as a bass pedal | The open D grounds the whole loop — it's the root of D and the 5th of G, so it belongs everywhere |
Thumb alternates between the two lowest available strings. Index and middle fingers pick the top two strings in a steady pattern. Same skill as Session 02's monotonic thumb but gentler — the country version. The Broadcast at low-to-mid gain makes the thumb warm and the fingers bright because the germanium saturates the bass harder. Natural EQ from the circuit, not from a knob.
D (thumb alternates D and A strings, fingers pick B and E)
T f T f T f T f
e|------2-------2-------2-------2---|
B|--3-------3-------3-------3-------|
G|-----------------------------------|
D|--0-------0-------0-------0-------| ← thumb
A|------0-------0-------0-------0--| ← thumb
E|-----------------------------------|
T = thumb (alternating D/A) f = fingers (B/E pattern)
TARGET · full loop Travis-picked, thumb never drops · the wet side should sound like a second guitar
E5 → G5 → A5 → A5. Power chords. Two fingers each. Open E string on every downbeat. This is the Broadcast on high gain mode — right footswitch, blue LED, the woolly spitting broken-console territory. No BigSky, no TimeLine, no effects at all on the wet side — or turn the wet amp off entirely and run the Badger dry. Some sounds don't want atmosphere. They want a wall.
| Over | Play | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| Whole loop | E minor pentatonic — Session 02 box | Everything from Mississippi Mud works here but LOUD. The same riffs, the same scale, more Broadcast. |
| A5 bars | Lean on the open low E under the A5 | The E under A5 is the 5th — it rumbles underneath and the Broadcast's high gain mode makes it growl. This is where the Broadcast earns the £185. |
Play the loop twice. First pass: low gain mode. Second pass: stomp the right footswitch and go to high gain on the repeat. Same chords, same dynamics, different Broadcast voice. Record both passes and compare. The low gain should sound like a cranked amp; the high gain should sound like a cranked amp that's forgotten its manners. If the two modes sound the same, the gain trim is set wrong — the trim should be different for each mode.
Pass 1 (low gain — left LED) Pass 2 (high gain — blue LED) E5 G5 A5 A5 E5 G5 A5 A5 ├────┼────┼────┤ ├────┼────┼────┤ clean crunch, controlled woolly, spitting, broken → stomp right footswitch between passes → the CHARACTER changes, not just the volumeTARGET · the two modes sound like two different amps, not two different volume settings
Twelve loops across Volumes I and II. Every one of them uses chords learned in the first month of playing guitar. The complexity is in the order, the rhythm, the dynamics, and the rig — not the shapes. A two-finger Em7 through a Broadcast into a wet/dry split with a BigSky on shimmer is a more interesting sound than a seven-note jazz voicing through a clean amp. The shapes are free. The sound is in the signal path.
Loops 1–3 (Jazz, Vol I): 9 o'clock. Warmth, not grit.
Loops 4–6 (Greasy, Vol I): Noon. Grit, cleans up with volume knob.
Loops 7–9 (Dark, Vol II): 9 o'clock. Same as jazz but with darker chords — the Broadcast setting doesn't change, the mood does.
Loops 10–11 (Country/Rock, Vol II): Noon. Same as greasy Vol I.
Loop 12 (Bad Attitude): High gain mode. The only loop that uses the right footswitch. The Broadcast earns its rent here.