Affordable, well-made loop pedals?

your best bet is probably the TC Electronics Ditto. Very small, one switch and one knob. They go for about $130 new

 

TC Electronics' Ditto looper seems like what you're looking for. It's quite possibly the cheapest looper on the market at around 129.99 new and its definitely the simplest in terms of operation. It also offers 5 mins worth of looping time.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/productDetail/productDetail.jsp?source=3WWRWXGP&entSkuId=H92539000000000&gclid=CIy4rdjju7gCFepFMgod2QcAkg&kwid=productads-plaid^50866673162-sku^[email protected]^PLA-device^c-adid^22583918042

 

+1 for the Ditto

 

Another for the Ditto. TC is a clever company and their products give a lot of bang for the buck.

 

+1 I use Ditto too, awesome, simple, small, easy to use.
A mini version of Jamman is also coming up and it will be even cheaper but it's slightly bigger (and ugly). It will have 10 minutes of loop (Ditto has 5 and I can't imagine ever using that much).
I'd go for Ditto.

 

The ditto is a great and simple pedal. BUT, for the same amount of money, you can find some delay pedals that also have loop features in them. Such as the Hardwire series DL8 Delay/Looper. I have both the DL8 and the Ditto and I use the DL8 more often. It cant hold as long of a loop as the ditto can, which can record up to 5 min, but it is a good looper none the less.

 

That's true is you don't need to loop and use delay at the same time. I have a TC flashback and I need my delay so I never loop with it. I love using delay on top of the loop so that's a no go for me.

 

if you're new to live looping, in a band, with a live drummer, you might be in for a big surprise.
to make a 1 or 2 minute loop and have it line up properly in perfect time is reeeeeeaaaaallllly difficult.
unless you play to a click (yuk).
I loop live and only do short phrases, even then you have to on top of your game, bigtime.
I use a Boss DD-7 that is capable of up to 40 seconds of loop time, which is plenty for me.
I use to use the Boss RC-2 and absolutely couldn't stand it, I love the DD-7 though, for it's simplicity.

 

The Digitech Jamman Express XT is cheaper and better than the Ditto, IMO. I say it's better because, yes, it's ever so slightly larger, but those 3 indicator lights make it worthy of the space. Only $100 new!

 

As mentioned above, seriously consider the logistics of synching up a loop of any length with the drummer's tempo. It can turn into a trainwreck very quickly, I know all too well. You AND the drummer would have to monitor a click, or he would have to have really good ears to follow the tempo of your loop, either through headphones or a really good monitor. There are some looper models with MIDI in, so you could use some sort of MIDI clock to regulate tempo. Does your drummer incorporate any drum machines, sequencers, or other electronic percussion? If so, that would be the way to go.

 

Ditto on the Ditto.

 

I make my living looping. My weapon of choice is the Boomerang 3. I just picked up the ditto as a cheap, simple alternative. I am finding, however, that the sound quality is not nearly up to par with the rang. I'll have to look into the sampling rate of the ditto

 

still back and forth about ditto vs jamman XT, any review from TB'ers yet?

 

Don't hate the click! It's a useful tool, and kind of necessary if you're looping live

I use a ditto it covers my personal looping needs, I love it

The boss rc series loopers are SICK though!

 

Both the JamMan and Ditto have 24-bit, 44.1kHz sample rates. I'm still waiting to find a head to head review before I decide on one or the other.