Looperman V3 Is Here

It's been a long time coming but we're pleased to finally announce a new batch of updates to looperman.com that should make the whole experience much better. There is, as always, a never ending list of things we would like to implement and we'll endeavour to add more features once we're comfortable that everything is working as it should be following this update.

Here's a run down of the main items that have been improved and updated.

Dark mode

Looperman has gone to the dark side !! For all you late night producers or just for those that prefer the lights down low you can now switch between dark or light mode. In fact we like it so much we decided to make it the default. You can switch modes using the icon on the top right of the page.

A full visual update

We rebuilt the whole site with bootstrap which gave us a much cleaner and consistent look and feel. All the forms and menus should now work beautifully and look good on any device. We curated our own set of icons and went for a much simpler color scheme. You'll find modal windows, popovers and offcanvas menus to help declutter the pages and make whole experience much more intuitive.

Mobile & tablet friendly

Another great advantage of using bootstrap to restyle everything is that now the site should work even better on mobile or tablets. For those with smaller screen or those on the go you'll find a much better experience.

Faster page load times

As a result of refactoring the code behind looperman and reducing the dependencies on external code you should see much improved page load times. There is still work to do here so expect further improvements moving forward.

Favourites for acapellas, loops and tracks

Where you could once set the tracks that you loved as favourites you can now do the same with loops and acapellas. The big advantage of this is that if you are, for example of your phone and don't want to download files you can simply add them to your favourites and go straight back to them when you get to your computer.

Time signatures for loops and acapellas

For now we went with a basic set of time signatures but we can expand on those if the feature gets used. We did a quick search and where it was possible automatically assigned the time signatures to previous uploads but you should update any of your own content to get them included too.

Quick or advanced search

Each section now has (on bigger screens) a quick or advanced search facility. The quick search is a great way to find your favourites, your previous downloads or anything that's been uploaded in the last few days for example.

The advanced search has all the old options as well as a number of brand new ones including more options to adjust the order or search results as well as the option to search by time signature and include or remove adult / NSFW content.

Improved keyword search

When performing a keyword search you can now prefix your keywords with either + or - to include or exclude those terms from the results. We also strip out certain stop words that were never any use as far as searches go. The big difference in the keyword search is that the results are now listed in order of relevance rather than simply by the date uploaded. Where results achieve the same "search rating" we then order them by date uploaded as before. You can however adjust the order in the advanced search to refine the results to your preference.

Here are some example keyword searches and the expected results

• +abba : This would find files that use the term "abba"
• -rubbish : This would exclude any files that use the term "rubbish"
• +abba-motorhead : This would find files that use the term "abba" but exclude files that use the term "motorhead"
• +abba+disco : This keyword search would find files that use the term "abba" AND "disco". It would not though gives results where only one of those terms is used
• +abba+loop+acapella : This would find files that include the term "abba" but as "loop" & "acapella" are classed as stop words we automatically remove them from the mix so they may as well have not been used.

We'll work more on this in future. For those of you that upload you should ensure you describe your files well in order to be found in future.

Keyboard controls on acapellas, loops & tracks

We added an option to use your keyboard to play or move forwards and backwards when viewing lists of acapellas, loops or tracks. Here is a breakdown of the controls available at the moment.

• SHIFT + space : Play or pause the current item
• CTRL or CMD + SHIFT + space : Restart the current item
• SHIFT + right arrow : Skip to and play next item
• SHIFT + left arrow : Skip to and play previous item

User info & links on hover

Where ever you see a username link you can hover over it to reveal a popover that gives you the basic info for that user along with a number of useful links. You'll need to be logged in for the links to show up but you should see their info regardless.

Modals for lyrics & favourites

When you view files either in lists or on their own page you can now see the lyrics or favourites for that item. It used to be that you could only do this by visiting the detail page. We'll do the same for other useful content soon.

Added basic stats to profile page

This is something that many people have been requesting for a while. You can now see basic stats on profile pages. We included totals for your uploads, downloads, comments, track plays, favourites and who you are blocking, following or ignoring etc. These stats are not real time but do get updated as and when things change.

Add links on your profile page

You can now add links to your other sites or networks to appear on your profile page. See the My Networks link on your profile settings area. You can get to your settings by clicking the user icon on the top right of the site to activate the new profile menu.

Block, follow or ignore users

Where previously you could block users you now also have the option to either ignore or follow users.

• Block User : Prevents the user from contacting you or posting comments on your content.
• Follow User : Allows you to only include their content in searches.
• Ignore User : Allows you to remove their content from searches.

Forms that validate before submit

All the forms should now validate your information before they allow you to submit anything. A big problem in the past was that if you were uploading a file and made a mistake on the form it waited till the file had uploaded before deciding to tell you there had been a problem. Now 90% of those errors should be caught beforehand. You should plenty of tips as you try and fill form to make life easier all round.

No page refresh on comments

Comments and replies should now happen in the same page without the need to refresh and potentially stop the track you are listening to playing.

Modal player for external links

We added a modal player that takes the links you post in the comments area and turns them into an embedded player. No need to leave the site and go to youtube to listen to someone's track. We also added a function that strips bulk tracking variables from link urls to make the comments cleaner.

Report button

We'll roll this feature out fully as we move along and as we do you'll start to see the report (flag) icon appearing. You'll be able to use this to let us know about things like spam comments or content that should not have been uploaded.

Moved to a turbo charged server

While we were at it we took the time to upgrade all the server hardware and software. Were now running the most powerful setup we have ever had that should see us right for years to come.

Archiving inactive accounts and content

This is something we used to do every now and again but not something we have done for a while. The idea is to ensure consistency and an attempt to streamline the database and free up space on the server. As this latest update went live we updated accounts that have not logged in and set them as archived. These accounts and their content will not be shown in searches and their content will not be available for download. Eventually these accounts will be removed permanently. We don't have a set timeline for this just yet but will make a decision once the dust settles and we have everyone moved into the new system. Where an account is set as archived, once that user logs in, it will come back to life and everything will become available again. Initially this will result in a reduced number of loops, acapellas & tracks available but we expect this to ramp back up as previous users reactivate their accounts.

Apart from reducing the load on the server and reducing the bloat in the database which should speed things up we expect that those users who are active should start to see better exposure for their content.

Simple way to apply for upload access

By default we restrict the ability to upload loops and acapellas to try and ensure a reasonable quality in uploaded content. In the past we asked users to contact us and request access which often resulted in rejection. To try and improve on this we created a more streamlined process for requesting access. We added pages that provide a clear set of upload guidelines for each section that you must read first to prevent your request being denied or your uploads being rejected if you are granted upload access. See the guidelines link in the main menu for either acapellas, loops or tracks.

While we've been working on these latest set of updates we stopped taking on any new uploaders so expect to see a whole load of new faces now that the doors are open again. If you requested access previously but not heard anything back consider that application as closed. Follow the link on the loops or acapella pages and make a new application. Make sure to follow the guides carefully and read everything we ask you to before applying.

Copyright info

Every loop, acapella or track now has a copyright icon that gives you a quick reference to how those files can be used.

Updated help area and terms pages

We spent some time updating the help area to try and provide some advice on the most frequently asked questions as well as some general tips on how to best use the site. We also had the legal bods go over the terms and conditions, privacy policy and cookies policy. Hopefully these should all be a lot more thorough.

More updates to come

There is plenty more to come so for now just let us know how you are getting on with the recent updates and if you run into any problems get in touch and let us know what's wrong.

Let us know what you think

We hope you enjoy the updates and don't forget to leave a comment and let us know what you think of the new features.

Update : 2024-05-25

Thanks so much to everyone for your feedback, both bad and good. Rolling out an update is never a simple task and there will always be issues.

Its impossible to test things and get it right for everyone first time. Everyone is using different devices, in different locations and all using the site in their own way, with their own priorities.

We will always try and make the site work as well as possible for everyone. With that said, if you do have feedback make sure its constructive feedback. Simply saying something is broken or you dont like something does not give us much to go on. Rather than posting a complaint here, email support and give us as much info as possible. We have already fixed a number of things that have been bought to our attention and will work though anything else you report.

Finally, just to let you know that we have had an influx of users applying to upload and we will work through those as soon as we can. The priority at the moment is to get everything running smoothly so please bear with us.