Recording a loop - something like ableton's clip view

I have a question about recording a loop. basically, i have a 4 bar loop with alot of delay that i would like to record for a few minutes as i mess with the parameters. now, i could just loop the original file but i am not sure how long i would like to record for so to avoid a possible resetting of the original looped material. is there some way i can set a loop point that the actual record time is not directly linked to? or is this a stupid question and i should duplicate the loop way beyond any necessary length to make sure i don't reach the end. my motivation for this is something like ableton's clip view record function that allows simple loops to repeat without resetting the recording loop length.

Just record multiple takes, then use explode takes in place

Explode takes in order did exactly what i wanted. Thank you Mikusan, I had no idea this feature existed.

i've used ableton for years and never found it unstable. however, i stopped upgrading when 7 came out because their annual fees were ridiculous. i know that the whole m4l thing changed the stability of the program for a lot of people, however i have a friend i jam with every week and we always use ableton as the main computer and have never had a problem - and he uses m4l. that explode takes in place was exactly what i was looking for.

is there any problem with... 

working, as above, with take after take being recorded on a track while a loop plays? Is this likely to cause a crash or file weirdness? If you had a simple instrumental loop playing, a ten-second clip say, and improvised ten minutes' worth of a vocal over the top, you'd have 60 takes. What would be the most practical way of extracting and using the bits you wanted from those takes?