Which looper pedal?

[neutron619]

Hello Chaps,

I've been messing around with the looper on my Helix for the past few weeks and having a lot of fun (with both bass and guitar).

Although the Helix is a great piece of tech which I'll never be without, the looper models on there aren't quite as fully-featured as I'd like and using them works against the way I want to use the Helix somewhat. It's not unbearable - just mildly annoying.


Still. All this has put me in mind to look at various dedicated looper Pedals to see whether relying on something that isn't the Helix would work better.

I probably have 3 criteria: connection to a PC to upload beats/backing tracks; loop quantization and ideally, some kind of inbuilt drums/metronome to help stay in time when other resources aren't available. These are essentially what the Helix is "missing".

On that basis I've looked at the TC Ditto+ and the BOSS RC-5 but there's one thing that's nagging me about both and that's the undo/redo function, limited to only the last overdub (or so imply the manuals).

What I'd really like is a looper where you can lay down recording A, overdub B and overdub C, and then, by undoing twice, return to A.

Does anyone know if such a pedal - ideally meeting my other criteria above - exists?

Thanks,

Adam.

 

[57pbass]

I don’t know much about this topic but always remember this brand.

Boomerang 3 – livelooping

www.livelooping.org

 

[JonathanPDX]

I don’t know much about this topic but always remember this brand.

Boomerang 3 – livelooping

www.livelooping.org

I love my Boomerang but it's very much designed for live looping with max control at your feet. It doesn't have a drum machine, a memory bank for past songs, etc. It's a live performance tool. For keeping time, the ability to have master/slave loops is fantastic for playing live, but it's not going to keep time for you, it allows you to make loops that keep time with your other loops.

The Boss loopers may be a better fit, I believe they have some type of memory as well as drum machine options.

As for the Undo feature, usually if you need to go backwards to erase multiple layers you are better off just starting a fresh loop from scratch. The Boomerang DOES have this feature in a way, because of the setup of it's master/slave options, you can create Loop #3, which synchs Loops #1 and #2 to it and can play simultaneously with them, then you can record, erase, and re-record Loops #1 and #2 (and as many overdubs as you want) while Loop #3 continues to play and keep time.

If I wanted a practice tool for home I'd look at the Boss and other models, and if I was planning to do live performance as a looper I'd use the Boomerang.

 

[antfarm]

Here is a new looper pedal that has your required features plus a couple more including headphone output: https://shop.valeton.net/products/vlp-200-multi-track-sampler

 

[Cartentoya]

I think you are describing this one, with the dual switch to make changes, drum/metronome, usb to pc,... I love it, I prefer it over the boss, its simple, built like a tank, no reverse or another experimental functions, but great pedal overall.

 

[neutron619]

Thank you all for the replies - I have some more research to do.

If I pull the trigger on anything, it's going to be more a practice tool than a performance tool I think, so I appreciate the direction / advice regarding the Boomerang / others.

The Nux pedal isn't one I've spotted before (maybe my local place doesn't stock them). I saw another Nux one that was yellow-ish (and not nearly as pretty as the above) - again, more research will be undertaken imminently.

Many thanks,

Adam.

 

[AK Bass Guy]

Thinking outside the box a little.

I have the app, it’s amazing and better than any pedal I have used.

 

[dune]

I got a great deal on a Ditto X2 looper from the TB classifieds. Very happy with it.

 

[Bob_Ross]

What I'd really like is a looper where you can lay down recording A, overdub B and overdub C, and then, by undoing twice, return to A.

The Chase Bliss Audio Blooper will do ^^^that trivially (and not just A, B, & C, but all the way out to D, E, F, and I think G, then back again) ...but unfortunately it won't do any of the other things you're looking for!

 

[Snaxster]

The Chase Bliss Audio Blooper will do ^^^that trivially (and not just A, B, & C, but all the way out to D, E, F, and I think G, then back again) ...but unfortunately it won't do any of the other things you're looking for!

You beat me to it.

But I would say that blooper can do at least some of it via MIDI; maybe all of it. Consider the reference attached to this post.