Boomerang III users lovefest

[J.Wolf]

Just curious to get some feedback from other Boomerang 3 (III) users out there. I've been using mine for many months now, previously having used a DL4, and then an Gibson Echoplex EDP. I had not found anything rivaling the power and fidelity of the EDP until i hit on the Rang III, all the others (boss, digitech, L6) that I tried fell short in terms of tone/fiedlity and versatility options.

This is a long winded way of saying that at least for me, the Rang III is the best sounding, easiest to use, most powerful looper that I have found, and I love it to pieces.

.....All that needs to happen now is for Boomerang to finish up the midi sync update they've been talking about so that I can sync my unit to another Rang III, or external clock source (from a timefactor or midi murf), and I will be happy as can be.

Side note: Hey other users, just out of curiousity, which features are you using your 4 bonus settings for? Mine are: Stack, erase, reverse (or octave), and fade.

[sunbeast]

I have a Sidecar on the way via TB clasifieds- can't wait to unlock all the bonus settings at once! I am also stoked for the MIDI update, as I really want to sync wth a drum machine for solo stuff. My bonus features at the moment are stack, erase, copy, and undo. Those are my "musts" for a looper, but it'll be great to add once and fade as well as a 4th loop. I concur about the fidelity observation- while I enjoy the overall simplicity and feature set of the Boss stuff for basic looping (as well as the price point), I found my old Boss looper to noticeably change my tone in a bad way.


I've never had the pleasure of messing with an Echoplex- how would you compare them usability-wise? I have heard that they can get fairly deep with some of their unique functions...

[J.Wolf]

The echoplex is an interesting creature. I had a love/hate relationship with mine, love always won because I didnt see any viable options until the Boomerang III came out. The sound quality was great, and if you are tech savvy (which I am not) you can wade through its 2" thick owners manual and myriad of settings to perform many different functions, which is great for a variety of applications. As someone who only uses a looper for live performance, it was always too much to wrangle live, and I am much happier with a unit that is simply and powerfully designed for live looping. Also being a rack unit with a large foot controller is kind of a pain, when compared to an medium/large sized pedal box.

I had been watching/waiting for Looperlatives LP2 pedal looper and Pigtronix's infinity Looper, which both seem really cool. Not sure on availability or ETA on either of those these days.

Just out of curiosity, what do you use "copy" for? I'm jealous about your sidecar, that would be a fun addition some day soon. I wonder if (when the midi sync update drops) you'll be able to use both a sidecar, and midi sync?

[sunbeast]

My understanding is that the Sidecar has a MIDI "thru" input built in for that very reason.

I use Copy for live copying- so I can copy all of whatever loops are playing at the time as well as whatever I am playing at the time onto a new track. It can get a little tricky depending on how you are using it because the Live Copy feature doesn't automatically sync with the other loops, so you have to be careful to stop it at the right time- that can be an advantage though because it allows you to make a loop at a length that doesn't correspond with the original Master loop, while still having the sync ability between the other loops if that makes sense. I usually just use it to bounce several parts onto a single track though (kinda like on an old 4 track to free up a track for new recording).

If the MIDI sync works as I hope, I imagine I'd mostly want to use the Rang in FREE mode, so I could make the loops in different time signatures to match up with a precomposed rythm. Honestly though, this is all far beyond my current abilities as a looper- I just have big dreams and the Boomerang is helping me get there slowly but surely!

[J.Wolf]

Nice, that seems well thought out on their part. The sidecar is on my short list, I'd like to put the rang and sidecar on a Pedaltrain PT mini for a nice little looping pedalboard that can follow my regular board...

I'll have to try that copy function, sounds pretty handy for putting together heavily layered loops. Still, 4 bonus options is just never enough..

[nostatic]

I'm close to going back to the 'rang III. I had one for awhile but had a tough time nailing the loops (playing with a full band). I've been using RC-2, and also have an RC-300 but frankly it leaves me frustrated at times. There are some cool features on the RC-300, but the factory settings are all wrong (to me), and you have to change each program individually to get it to behave. Plus I'm not using saved settings, as I prefer to loop stuff live as the tempos/feels always change in the heat of the moment. Probably will pick up one tomorrow and just commit to getting my foot in sync. I do like the drum machine on the RC-300, especially for working on odd meters but I can do that other ways.

[Eric!]

I've been using a Plus for a while. It makes me GAS HARD for a III. But I still love it and if I got a III, I'd use 'em both (the Plus especially for the reverse fun). Boomerang knows what's UP.

[T. Alan Smith]

I feel like I've barely scratched the surface with it. It replaced the Akai Headrush as my looper. I use the Bonus for overdub, undo & fadeout. I'm dying for the MIDI upgrade. I'm on the fence about acquiring a QSC K12, a laptop, & Ableton and syncing the 'RangIII to it.

[T. Alan Smith]

[tear] I didn't mean to kill the thread(lol).

[J.Wolf]

Thanks for chiming in T Alan! I'm still waiting for info/news about the midi upgrade, nothing concrete yet. I'd like to hear a bass through one of those k12's with a decent preamp, they sound great as PA cabs.

[ryansalmond]

So what would everybody do with the midi update?

[J.Wolf]

I play a couple gigs a week in a duo with a guitarist that also has a III, we take turns looping parts and playing to each others loops. If we had midi sync we could build on each others loops, which would be awesome. I also play in a group with a guy who has a midi murf, timefactor and space all synced to midi. I could live loop in sync with his effects which serve as the clock for the band in certain tunes.

[nostatic]

I ordered one, but Sandy has disrupted the supply chain. I posted another thread asking about signal routing so might as well post it here as well. With the III (and the RC-300 I have) you can route the loop to one channel and the dry signal to another. I have been just pushing everything through my bass amp, but the drummer often has a tough time hearing the loop. So I've been pondering sending the loop to a K10 for him (and for house) and just my "live" bass signal to my amp. Anyone doing similar?

[J.Wolf]

It does? I wasn't aware that the outputs were different, since I've just used it mono. This would be great, as I have the same trouble with my drummer.

[nostatic]

The signal routing is actually pretty clever:

Input & Output Jacks - 1⁄4” smart phone jacks
There are two input and two output jacks. The III will function differently depending on which jacks are used.
For basic use, plug your instrument into the left input (mono) and connect your amp to the left output (mono). If you plug into both input & both output jacks, your RangTM III will record in true stereo. The following table shows all valid connections.
NOTE – Make all connections prior to power up. “X” = a cable is plugged in. “-“ = no cable

Scheme Input Output Behavior
L R L R
1 - X X - Instrument & Loop out L
2 X - X - Instrument & Loop out L
3 X - X X Instrument & Loop out L, Loop only out R
4 - X X X Instrument only out L, Loop only out R
5 X X X - Left & right inputs summed & output with Loop on L
6 X X X X Linput&LLoopoutL, Rinput&RLoopoutR

[J.Wolf]

Thanks for posting this, I didn't know about all that. How cool

[dlenaghan]

I love mine. I use 3 loops, usually set to master sync mode and the bonus buttons set to stack/overdub, and fade/once.. The sidecar is nice as well - it really is an elegant looper that just comes with a bible fo a manual. Took me a while to realize how simple it really is.

[AJ Brown]

I've got one with a Sidecar, but I just ordered the Pigtronix Infinity yesterday. I'm really interested in how they compare sound-wise.

[T. Alan Smith]

Dang...I gotta get my manual out(lol).

[Im a sock]

I'm surprised Mike Dimin hasn't chimed in yet - I know he's a heavy Boomerang user, and an excellent bass player and teacher to boot