Pedal for Looping

**iriegnome** · #1 12-02-2009, 01:44 PM

Suggestions for a Looping thing type foot pedal for practicing... I don't know anything about them.
Thanks

Danny Fox · #2 12-02-2009, 01:48 PM

I've been using the Boss RC50, I've got a couple of tracks with it on myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/bassmandannyfox

Jared Lash · #3 12-02-2009, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriegnome

Suggestions for a Looping thing type foot pedal for practicing... I don't know anything about them.
Thanks

There are quite a few. My favorite for simplicity (and it's an underrated delay as well) is the AKAI Headrush

**Mulebagger** · #4 12-02-2009, 01:50 PM

I've used the Boomerang+ for a number of years. The only bummer is that it does not have two separate loops, so if you stack and mess up, you can't fix it. I use it in live situations and I love it because the playback quality is great and all the controls are foot operated. It's built like a tank.

Here is a clip of me using it live. ( also going through a Zoom G2.1u guitar pedal for distortion)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBoZybmxHt4

Best of luck with your search.
Derrick

MaxMaps · #5 12-02-2009, 01:54 PM

well what do you want for a looper?

With all pedals I have found out, have so many different shapes and sizes and, options.

The Stereo Memory Man w/ Hazari by Electro Harmonix has 30 seconds of loop time in it plus 3 different types of echos and 3 different multi tap features (I can't remember off the top of my head).

Its a very spacey/trippy loop pedal and I love it.

or the boss loop station is a pretty straight forward looper as far as I know.

go to a store and shop around some of them are really different animals.

Oneirogenic · #6 12-02-2009, 02:12 PM

Looping can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. The simplest hardware loopers are the are delay/looper combos running you anywhere from 150-250. These can be great if you want an on the fly simple one track looper without excessive features. From there you have the boss rc20 the digitech jamman and early boomerangs that are one track looper with more features such as storage space, reverse, etc. Then the more complex beasts are the multitrack loopers that include the newer boomerangs the boss rc50 and the holy grail of hardware loopers the LP1 looperlative. I've missed several units in my examples and I haven't even touched software looping which has even more possibilites. You need to figure how much you want to spend and how much looping power you want. I started with a line 6 dl4 then moved on to on RC50. The RC50 is powereful but probably a tad complex for someone who is not super serious about looping

**iriegnome** · #7 12-02-2009, 02:16 PM

It needs to be very simple. Nothing at all fancy. Looking to lay down something like a A and then practice my A scale. That kind of thing.

**iriegnome** · #8 12-02-2009, 02:16 PM

I did find a Boss RC-2. It looks like there is just way to much there though

lijazz · #9 12-02-2009, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iriegnome

I did find a Boss RC-2. It looks like there is just way to much there though

I have an RC-2...very simple to use. I love it and highly reccomend it if simplicity is what you want.

fretlessrock · #10 12-02-2009, 03:30 PM

Loopers are almost always a tradeoff between functionality and complexity, in a way. You can have all kinds of functionality and it usually means a very complex unit. Or you can have a simple interface and not so much bell/whistle. If you want something simple then you can go with a delay that has a sound-on-sound option. The Boss DD-7 or the DD-20 for example, or the Akai Headrush, or the Line6 DL-4.... I've used all of those and the one advantage is that they are very simple and the pedal has a very good (immediate) feel and that makes loop timing easy. You could do a lot worse than a DD-7 in SOS mode. 20 seconds doesn't sound like much, but it gets the job done for simple stuff.

A dedicated looper like a RC-20, RC-20XL, RC-50, RC-2, JamMan... has more features for looping, usually more loop time, and some stuff that might not seem important but you might learn to use/enjoy/love. I was using a RC-2 with an accessory footswitch for the past year, after having used a RC-20XL, and they are very comparable. The smaller footprint of the RC-2 made it a little more "fiddly". The external switch made it very comparable to the RC-20XL. By accident I discovered that it will time a drum loop to the loop timing! That came in very handy.

Go to a shop where you can try out a few, if you can. I thought I'd love the JamMan when it came out a few years back, and the switch feel/noise killed it for me. Others love it. You might too.

I got spoiled early by owning a Gibson Echoplex Digital Pro. Everything else, short of a Looperlative, is a compromise after that. Like going from a new Mercedes to a used Honda. But sometimes all you need is cheap/relaible wheels. FWIW I am using the looper in my new Line6 M9 and it does what I need.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #11 12-02-2009, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessrock

I got spoiled early by owning a Gibson Echoplex Digital Pro. Everything else, short of a Looperlative, is a compromise after that. Like going from a new Mercedes to a used Honda. But sometimes all you need is cheap/relaible wheels. FWIW I am using the looper in my new Line6 M9 and it does what I need.

You're just an hour or two down the road from a Looperlative if you ever want to give one a try

There's actually going to be a Looperlative LP-2 coming out early next year- it's going to be a single-track pedal looper, but it's going to have some features that other single track loopers don't have (multiple undo levels for one).

fretlessrock · #12 12-02-2009, 08:04 PM

Hey Bryan, That would be a gas! I've seen a few of Bob's posts about the LP2 on Facebook and I'm very intrigued. In Amstadt we Trust.

**iriegnome** · #13 12-14-2009, 01:25 PM

What about a Danelectro Danecho DE-1?? Thoughts?

electracoyote · #14 12-14-2009, 01:29 PM

I have a Digitech Jamman. Wonderful unit.

**iriegnome** · #15 12-15-2009, 07:09 AM

So, I bought a Danelectro Danecho DE-1. Found it for $30.. It seems like it should do the trick. I can't tell how long the record function is, but I only need a couple of seconds tops. If anyone has any experience with this pedal, please let me know what you think of it.

**iriegnome** · #16 12-16-2009, 10:29 AM

No one here has used one of these? Really

**iriegnome** · #17 12-22-2009, 01:38 PM

Well, I got it. Nothing at all what I needed. This is a great delay pedal, but not a looping pedal. I love it though. It has some really great delay effects that I am most certainly going to use in our next show...
The search continues for a looping pedal... I would love some more ideas

**iriegnome** · #18 01-08-2010, 08:30 AM

The search continues! HELP!!

**iriegnome** · #19 01-08-2010, 09:03 AM

I have revisited all the pedals listed so far. What I am looking for is:
Simplisity, 2 or 3 seconds of a loop (minimum) and not that expensive.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #20 01-08-2010, 10:31 AM

You're not going to find anything that much simpler than the RC-2. You can get a delay with a simple loop function like the Boss DD7, although that's about the same price as an RC-2.