Best Looper Pedal?

FleadomFighter · #1 05-28-2012, 09:54 AM

I've made quite a lot of bass 'loop' videos but up till now have just used multitracking to get the effect of looping. Now I'm thinking of investing in a loop pedal. I know the Boss pedals are popular but are there any other options and what are the pros and cons of them?

Thanks!

los100malditos · #2 05-28-2012, 10:32 AM

Get the Boss DD7.. ITS A HELL OF A DELAY ANd ALSO HAS 40 SEC LOOPER....

warwick.hoy · #3 05-28-2012, 11:06 AM

If money is no object;...

Boomerang III

Seb Peters · #4 05-28-2012, 11:13 AM

Boss RC-3 - I love mine and with three hours of recording time, it's just like woooaaahhh.

Seriously. Dude. RC-3.

FleadomFighter · #5 05-28-2012, 11:57 AM

Thanks for the advice, having looked at the price of a boomerang III I have concluded that money is definitely an object

I think I'll stick to the Boss pedals then, cheers!

Grrface · #6 05-28-2012, 12:02 PM

You can also look into the Akai Headrush E2, which can often be found for pretty cheap used. The Line6 DL4 gets a lot of love for its looping capabilities.

warwick.hoy · #7 05-28-2012, 12:29 PM

Word FF,...the Boomerang is not for the faint of wallet. I still want one pretty badly.

I need to get on top of learning the DL4's looping function. My only gripe is it's either a looper or a delay,...not both at the same time.

bassicsax · #8 05-28-2012, 02:56 PM

tc electronic flashback has a pretty good but basic loop function built in...

TussinBot. · #9 05-28-2012, 03:35 PM

Most of the delays that also do looping that are being recommended do only very basic looping, record and delete. If you want it for writing you will want something a little more in depth with atleast the ability to delete the last phrase without deleting everything id imagine. Dont know how much record time you need but theres lots available now. The delays that do looping max out around 40 seconds I think, for live use thats generally plenty (unless youre a one man band) but not for me practicing/writing at home. I like to add layers on top of layers . I havent found a looper yet since I got rid of my memory man with hazarai (great delay by the way, might get another one in the future) but Ill probably go with the digitech jam man

RickenBoogie · #10 05-28-2012, 03:37 PM

+1 if it's primarily a looper you want, then forget the delay's that have a looper function. A used Boss RC 20XL will be full featured, and less costly than the newer models.

chinjazz · #11 05-28-2012, 05:18 PM

I've been back in the research mode on a looper myself. On the Boss front there seems to be an odd disconnect between certain models with the ability to switch from phrases without a noticeable gap. RC-20 and 20XL I hear are good, RC-3 not sure, but RC30 you hear drops in audio. This is only an issue if you want to use it live and go from A section to B or C of your arrangement. Obvious non issue if you don't intend on gigging with it in this way. RC-50 looks great but with a price to go with it. All depends on what you want it for. Like one of the last posters, a used 20XL seems cool for practice and sketching ideas down especially if you're on a budget.

cloudyorchestra · #12 05-28-2012, 11:40 PM

I'll second the Boss RC20 XL. Got a used one for 140 bucks. And the review on it are wayyyy better than any of the others.

chinjazz · #13 05-31-2012, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cloudyorchestra

I'll second the Boss RC20 XL. Got a used one for 140 bucks. And the review on it are wayyyy better than any of the others.

Does anyone know if the RC-50 is also suffering from the phrase changing latency issue? One of these came up locally for sale, and it sparked my interest but I saw that in a review it had this issue (surprising really at that retail cost price point).

????

metaball · #14 05-31-2012, 05:56 PM

another happy Headrush user checking in.
that RC-3 looks tempting though. i have a catalog of loops & sampled beats i like to play along with & that thing could be real handy.

Tristan · #15 05-31-2012, 09:15 PM

I really like my Digitech Jamman (the older one, not stereo)

nomeX · #16 06-01-2012, 10:05 AM

I like my RC-300. 3 hours of loop time, I can hook up my bass, two synths, and a mic into it at the same time by being clever with the inputs (bass in R, one synth in L, one synth into Aux). It's got three tracks and you can use the usb to load samples. Then only downside is that it's pretty big and you can't "slave" the unit to another midi clock. Oh, and you can add up to 4 other footswitches to countrol pretty much any parameter you want. I'd suggest checking out all the product manuals you can and see if you like the features of any looper you have in mind.

BaronVonHavok · #17 06-01-2012, 10:14 AM

My Line6 M9 is awesome. Does everything I could want a looper to do.

Oneirogenic · #18 06-01-2012, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinjazz

Does anyone know if the RC-50 is also suffering from the phrase changing latency issue? One of these came up locally for sale, and it sparked my interest but I saw that in a review it had this issue (surprising really at that retail cost price point).

????

I used to have an RC-50 and if you wanted to switch between 3 different phrases the transition is seemless. Patch switching during performance is the issue. Each patch has three phrases to work with and you can do a lot of cool things to enhance your performance. One useful thing is setting your phrase switching so you push the button to switch to do a different phrase early and when the current phrase you are on ends it automically switches to the next phrase you selected. Very handy for one man performance.

chinjazz · #19 06-01-2012, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oneirogenic

I used to have an RC-50 and if you wanted to switch between 3 different phrases the transition is seemless. Patch switching during performance is the issue. Each patch has three phrases to work with and you can do a lot of cool things to enhance your performance. One useful thing is setting your phrase switching so you push the button to switch to do a different phrase early and when the current phrase you are on ends it automically switches to the next phrase you selected. Very handy for one man performance.

Interesting! Sounds like I have to get my terminology straight between a phrase and a patch. I can see that clicking the pedal a few bars before hand as not bad. I'm about to either pick up a local RC-20XL or wait a bit to get the 50 or some other if this work around is viable on all the units. Do you know if this is the case, like the RC3 or 30?
These other units do have pretty appealing options above the 20XL.

rossiman · #20 01-29-2013, 06:34 PM

the RC-3 is a really good pedal. Small, lots of storage (3 hrs i think, 100 slots), and a 10 drum beats.
Whenever I come up with riff ill record it into my looper and store it. I'll either save it for a project where Ill add drums and guitar or ill just play around and keep layering bass tracks

It really helps for spontaneous creative sessions..Heres all the Loops I came up with the first two days of owning it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1hqyeaYIFw