looper pedals!

nepalnt21

nepalnt21

HamerTimeologist
wow i just got a boss loop station (rc2) and let me tell you... 15 minutes out of the box and im having more fun on guitar than ive had in awhile! if you guys dont have a loop pedal of some sort, i would HIGHLY recommend that you get to the nearest musical instrument supply store and pick one up. its really amazing.

i can see a loop pedal staying in my (currently modest) arsenal probably as long as i have fingers and a right foot.
 
Re: looper pedals!

I have the loop function on my ME-70, but I cannot get my timing down yet. I think I just need to work with it some more...
 
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I'm really happy with my Akai Headrush-2. There's less functions than your loopstation but it's all I need for my solo gigs... loopers are indeed fun!
 
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Ive been looping since I re-wired a reel to reel in the early 80s. I currently use (at different times) a Boss RC2, Line6 DL4, Line6 M13 and the king of all loopers, an Oberheim Echoplex. They are all great in their own way.
 
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I received a Boss RC-20 as a gift, yep it's fun. Now I just gotta do something that sounds musical on it instead of just scaring the neighbors cat.
 
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I was planning to get the Boss RC-2 but according to some reviews it sucks your tone a bit.
 
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Loopers drive me up the wall. I hate being locked into a static loop. Thats just me anyway. I do understand why people enjoy them tho.
 
Re: looper pedals!



I have a DigiTech JamMan --- it is pretty rad.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE several things about it:

1) It has an XLR mic input, so I can loop vocal parts as well, which I do, all the time. So fun to harmonize with yourself.

2) It has a USB in/out, so you can literally drag and drop the things you record to your computer (never have to lose a loop again!) AND you can drag and drop stuff from your computer onto it, like backing tracks you downloaded, or simply a song you like and want to play with. AWESOME.

3) Storage space: I have a 2GB card in mine, which means SIX AND A HALF HOURS OF AUDIO! It's insane, and Compact Flash is hella cheap, so if you were a solo musician, you could keep multiple CF cards around if you had a really long set (remember that 1 hour worth of music with 6 parts is 6 hours of audio)

4) It has individual gain controls for the mic signal, the guitar signal, the beat / click signal, and the overall loop level that leaves the box and goes to your amp. SUPER TWEAKABLE.

I searched high and low for the best looper in the reasonable price range (i.e. I wasn't looking at $$$ Boomerangs and the aforementioned Oberheim) and this is what I found to be the best for the buck. I love BOSS pedals and have a lot of them, but from my research, this is the looper to have!

P.S. I can run it in my effects loop, not even engaged and looping, but just as a volume control, so I can turn the volume on the JamMan way down and crank my amp's clean channel and get sa-weet clean sparkle drive --- this is an old Fender Hot Rod Deville trick!
 
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I wanna get me this one some time.

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I've been using the Line 6 Jam Looper for 6 months or so and I really dig it for practicing/jamming/noodling. If you're not playing with a drummer, you should be playing with this.
 
Re: looper pedals!

gibson175 said:
Loopers drive me up the wall. I hate being locked into a static loop. Thats just me anyway. I do understand why people enjoy them tho.
Click to expand...

Loops don't have to be static though. I think static playing makes static loops (like playing over a repeating chord progression) or using a device that can only do that like the JamMan, RC2, etc...A device like the Digital Echoplex Pro can take a loop and constantly morph it, changing the loop time, feedback rate, etc so what you end up with is way different.
 
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The RC-20XL was a bit more forgiving with keeping good time when recording loops... I had some issues at first with the RC-2. The playback quality on both were not good enough for me as far as playing live, but I guess, if I was an acoustic act or a clean guitar act or something it might work. It sounded better when one amp was used to play back the loops and jamming with the loop through a second. The on-board mixer and getting the levels right was a challenge. But if you are just using this for fun or practice none of these shortcomings should really matter. Overall I found the XL more usable then the smaller rc-2 although the rc-2 had a nice variety of drum beats to play with.
 
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My problem with loopers is this: Imagine music as a language. Now if you were having a conversation or making a speech would repeating yourself over and over again make what you have to say any more salient or expressive? Would it get your point across? Now imagine you keep repeating yourself and then have the ability to repeat something else over it, and then repeat the process. For anyone trying to listen or converse with you in a meaningful way it is pretty difficult.
Repeating yourself does not make what you play more interesting- just repetititve.

Okay im ready for the loop fanatics to tear me to shreds.
cheers!
 
Re: looper pedals!

gibson175 said:
My problem with loopers is this: Imagine music as a language. Now if you were having a conversation or making a speech would repeating yourself over and over again make what you have to say any more salient or expressive? Would it get your point across? Now imagine you keep repeating yourself and then have the ability to repeat something else over it, and then repeat the process. For anyone trying to listen or converse with you in a meaningful way it is pretty difficult.
Repeating yourself does not make what you play more interesting- just repetititve.

Okay im ready for the loop fanatics to tear me to shreds.
cheers!
Click to expand...

OK, I'll try. Uninteresting people make uninteresting music, no matter if a looper is involved or not. You don't need a looper to repeat yourself (turn on the news, or go into a guitar shop on Sat afternoon). Creative people generally us their tools in ways that they weren't set up to do. The most creative guitarists use their own vocabulary- same with the creative loopers. Blues is incredibly repetitive, and the vocabulary is basic, but the truly creative people have something to say that is different than the rest. The rest just dress the part, buy the right guitar, learn a few licks and never get past that. Generally, creative people see possibilities, not limitations. Those are the ones to talk to.
 
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Re: looper pedals!

I would never only use a looper - but as a tool for practicing rhythm parts and solos, they're invaluable. I mean, how long can you keep a drummer going while you figure out a cool solo or practice scale patterns?
 
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Absolutely, but it isn't in the tools though. There are people who loop over static chord progressions for practice (its fun) and who will loop 3 chords over and over to solo on top of at a live performance (not so fun) and people who use loops as a compositional tool live who shift and evolve them in creative ways. The current crop of loopers (the hardware, not the people) being made seem to be geared towards static progressions, which isn't as fun for me to play or listen to- I like the more evolve-y kind.
 
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Owning a looper does not automatically mean using it on every song. There are ways to use any effect to make the music more interesting, and conversely to make the music less interesting. Over use of an effect will always desensitize the listener to its impact (i.e. SRV, Zakk Wylde, the talkbox, etc.). The same holds true for choice of notes, chord progressions, time signatures, and lyrics. The bottom line is loopers are a handy tool to have in the box for when a job comes along that requires one.
 
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