How would you set up looping to...

ryansalmond · #1 03-19-2011, 02:11 PM

If you wanted to use looping to play 4 instruments in a one-man band, how would you go about setting up the looping? what looper would you buy?

More details: bass + effects, guitar + effects, electronic drums, and vocals, all going into a 4 track mixer pedal, which sends all 4 signals to one power amp + speaker.

I guess my real question is, is there any looper out there which will let me loop 4 different signals independantly? Or even 3.

cheapbasslovin · #2 03-19-2011, 02:31 PM

I don't know what else is available, but your post immediately made me think of the EHX 2880.

**lowendfriend** · #3 03-19-2011, 02:42 PM

Sony has a software platform for looping called ACID.

vincenzomauer88 · #4 03-19-2011, 08:49 PM

Do you want to layer on top looping or use loops and fade them in and out in any order. The EHX 2880 is good for the later. The former, I am a big fan of the Akai E2 Headrush. It's a no frills easy to use looper, great for layering, and stacking parts. I will play two part harmonies or counter melodies on the bass live. Or I can hit a harmonic with some effects on just to add some air and evoke certain emotions underneath a bassline.

Dirk Diggler · #5 03-19-2011, 10:10 PM

Mobius looper.
Circular Labs
And best it's free.
Dirk

ryansalmond · #6 03-20-2011, 12:21 AM

Good suggestions, thanks guys!

Eric! · #7 03-20-2011, 12:24 AM

I would suggest any looper (EHX SMMH, Boomerang, etc) and an input selector (ABY, for example). Or signal combiners. What instruments are you playing?

sunbeast · #8 03-20-2011, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric!

I would suggest any looper (EHX SMMH, Boomerang, etc) and an input selector (ABY, for example). Or signal combiners. What instruments are you playing?

This:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryansalmond

More details: bass + effects, guitar + effects, electronic drums, and vocals, all going into a 4 track mixer pedal, which sends all 4 signals to one power amp + speaker.

Eric! · #9 03-20-2011, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunbeast

This:

Oh, derp.

sunbeast · #10 03-20-2011, 02:21 AM

As far as having independant control of looping each instrument, that is where you will run into limitations. While most loopers have a form of overdubbing available, only certain ones allow you to start and stop multiple loops independantly. The main pedal format loopers that I am aware of that can do this are the EHX 2880, the Boss RC-50, and the Boomerang III, though there may be others I'm not aware of with this capability at this point.

Of those three pedals, I have tried the 2880 and currently own and love the Boomerang. The RC-50 looks to have the most features of the bunch, but is also significantly larger, and I was not impressed by the sound quality of its predecessor the RC-20 that I owned for a short time. One big plus for the Boss is that it can save multiple loop tracks on removable media (the EHX can as well, but apparently only one track per disk, which seems ridiculous to me!), the Boomerang cannot save tracks at all (it is definitely intended primarily as a live looping device).

As Eric mentioned above, an AB or ABC switcher or a mixer before the looper and other effects is a good way to choose between multiple sources and still be able to use the same effects on each. A mixer would be ideal so that you can balance the volumes of the different sources before they hit the looper (though you could use a volume pedal in the chain as well and just adjust on the fly which is what I have been doing- also good for adjusting volumes to compensate for the volume rises and falls due to different effects).

If you are handy with a laptop and have a relatively fast one, it seems to me that software loopers really are the easiest choice though these days!

ryansalmond · #11 03-20-2011, 11:49 AM

Very informative!