Looper/Drum machine pedal review : Donner, Strich, Flamma

[Raman]

Hi,

I searched and also posted questions about these pedals, but got no return.
So, seeing as I have 2 of them presently at home, I thought I should write the 1st review.

I'm talking about different cheap Chinese pedals that pop up on Amazon and that are more or less exact copies of each other.
They are the Flamma FS21, the Strich Looper&Drum, the Donner Circle Looper, as well as 2 or 3 other models.

They all have the same basic features:
-100 drum loops organized in 10 different genres (pop, rock, funk, latin...)
-40 x 4min slots to record and overdub tracks
-stereo input and output
-external footswitch jack entry.

Around here and now, they go for CAD110$-130$ on Canadian Amazon.

I'd been toying with the idea of getting some kind of super easy drum machine pedal on my effects chain, or an independent unit to plug in my sound board. When I saw the Flamma FS21 on sale on Amazon, I bought it on a whim.
I have no prior experience with a pedal that does drums (I do have a looper pedal: a JamMan Express).

I believe that there are much better pedals, like maybe Boss, to do this kind of job. This said, the Flamma is pretty excellent at what it claims to do. The drum loops are nicely recorded, and the controls to record loops from my bass are super intuitive. The sound quality is overall excellent. When you learn how to synch the recorded loops with the drum patterns, it becomes a super tool.
This said, I don't take it too seriously. It's especially a fun toy to get your creative juices going.

The built quality is overall very good. I have no doubt that the paint will look horrible in 15 years. But, at that price, it's more than ok.

In the end, I asked for a refund because the option to download/upload the recorded loops on the PC via USB doesn't work. It's a known issue with Flamma, who don't seem interested in solving it.

Instead, I ordered the Strich model which, again, is a different Chinese pedal that does exactly the same. I received the new pedal today.
This time, I could plug the pedal to the PC, although I had to dig in an arcane Chinese language website to find the needed software...
(I guess they make those pedals in a dark warehouse in Chenzhen and don't really mind the after service as they struggle to survive.)

Here are my biggest gripes (I haven't tried better/pricier drum/looper pedals, so I don't know what I should expect) :

-With either the Flamma or the Strich pedal, I can't switch smoothly between patches.
If I start a drum on patch 01, then record a bass loop, then move to patch 02, change the drum and record a second loop, I cannot then alternate smoothly between playing patches 01 and 02. It cuts for a micro-second when I press the footswitch.
I would have imagined that possible.

-Another gripe is I can't re-order the drums, so as to place them and switch easily. Again, I don't know if that would be a feature on a more expensive pedal.

In the end, I'll keep the Strich and return the Flamma. I actually like the latter's built, but the former at least connects to the PC.
They are fun toys. I can see investing in something better in the long run. But, at this price range, it'll do for now,

 

[Raman]

Alright, so it's not much, but here's my very 1st bass loop recorded with this pedal. Just to show how easy it is to record something decent when you have a creative impulsion.

 

[el murdoque]

I have the little brother of the Flamma, same paint job, I believe the same drum machine, but a single foot switch, that can be confusing at times.
I've worked with the loopers in the Headrush pedals before and the Headrush looper board (which is the best thing there is for looping, if you ask me), and several of the Digitech Jammans.
What I particularly like about the Flamma is that you can choose a drum pattern to nail down your first loop, and then dial it back if you don't want drums in the loop. I've always had a tough time making a loop sound seamless AND on beat - but with the beat on, I can do that easily and then dial down and continue my work. It's an inexpensive pedal that I would not use for live looping performances, but it's good enough for home shenanigans.

I actually bought it to toy around with pedal chains. It's a bit easier to record a quick lick into the pedal and loop that, so you have both hands free setting knobs when cascading gain pedals and/or preamps - and for that it's also good.

 

[frustum]

I bought the Flamma a couple months ago with the hope that it would get me to be more creative (mostly I've simply been learning transcriptions verbatim for a cover band I was in). I've never used a looper pedal before, but after a couple hours of getting frustrated I put it to the side and haven't gotten back to it. I have watched demos where people easily make nice loops, but somehow I'm doing something wrong and I get bad transitions that aren't useful. I'm sure it is operator error and not a problem with the unit.

The flamma does seem sturdy enough for casual use, and at that price it is hard to argue against it.

 

[Raman]

Toying with the pedal...
I chained my Digitech JamMan Express, recorded a drum loop from the Strich, then played a new prerecorded drum loop over it.
Just having fun.

 

[Raman]

Same kind of shenanigan. I play a drum loop on the Strich, record and loop it on the JamMan, then I synch a new drum loop from the Strich, and dub it on the JamMan...
There's fun to be had !

 

[Raman]

Really having fun dubbing the Strich and JamMan pedals in a string !

 

[stonevibe]

I recently had the Strich Looper sent, and we reviewed it on the site.

Might be useful for anyone considering getting one.

REVIEW: STRICH Stereo Looper With Built-in Drum Machine - Affordable Stereo Looping? - Guitar Bomb