Loopers

PFDarkside

PFDarkside

of the Forum
I've been using a Digitech Jamman for years as a looper. I saw that TC Electronics released a "Ditto" (very simple, guitar oriented looper) and I've never tried the newer Boss offerings, Boomerang or EHx ones. I'm using it more for "creative" ambient and layering type uses (as opposed to live rhythm track plus lead, or something along those lines) It seems like loopers delight is out of date.

Any loopers here? What are you using and why?
 
Re: Loopers

I have been making music with looping devices for probably over 25 years, and have either owned or tried almost all available loopers. The Ditto will soon be eclipsed by the Jamman Express, coming out very soon. It can be powered by a battery, it is stereo, longer time, and it is cheaper.
However, you have to decide about the way you want to use a looper. Digitech and Boss are aimed at the 'jam over static backing tracks' kind of looper- you know, building up a standard verse/chorus type of song. Huge storage times, and lots of things like drum beats, etc to get your timing right.
For the ambient stuff, the best you will ever find is an older Gibson or Oberheim Echoplex Digital Pro. It is the ultimate ambient improvisational looper. The closest available today is the Boomerang (the latest one). It really is that much better than all of the other ones out there these days. For creating and manipulating loops, while mixing them together, splicing, multiplying, etc, look for either a Boomerang or an Echoplex (not the old tape delay). Check out the Looper's Delight website, and this chart.
The chart will explain some major differences of what is available out there. One thing to keep in mind is that less features doesn't mean it is a bad looper. I would take the Line6 DL4 over any Boss looper for the ergonomics of the pedal, and the fact that I can control loop volume with my foot.
 
Last edited:
Re: Loopers

I have a Boomerang III. I haven't quite mastered all the functions yet, but I'm very happy with it. If you're interested there's a couple of videos titled "One Shot, One Song" on my YouTube channel (link in sig) where I'm doing some ambient/shoegaze stuff with it.
 
Re: Loopers

i just bought the ditto looper and it's all i need in a looper. simple design, single switch and single level knob. it has all of the features of the more intricate loopers but without a memory bank. great quality sound. unlimited overdubs. 5 minutes of recording time.
 
Re: Loopers

That's where I was kind of coming from with the Ditto. I have a million banks in the Jamman and use one. I don't use the rhythm feature and I don't pre-record and cycle through patches when I'm playing.

Interesting regarding the Echoplex... I've been aware of the Boomerang, but its cost always kept me away. The Ditto seems like a nice cheap alternative that does what I need, and no more. (although the ability to evolve/fade loops might be nice)

What do you know about the new Jamman Express?
 
Re: Loopers

I use a TC Electronic Flashback for simple jamming over chord progressions. But it, like the Ditto, lacks tons of features that bigger loopers have. There is no foot control over loop volume. The Ditto isn't stereo. No foot control over loop volume. If you stop the loop, you can't re-start it. Multiply? Reverse? Half-speed? Midi sync? Insert? Nope. I do think the Ditto is fine, but to say it has all of the features of bigger loopers, is not accurate at all. It is a simple pedal for a simple purpose. Functionally, I have no idea why anyone would by a Ditto- I got my Flashback Delay for used for cheaper, it can be battery powered, and you get a killer delay pedal along with functionally the same looper.

EDIT: I know the Jamman Express will come in at $30 less than the Ditto, it is stereo, battery powered and double the time. Sounds like it kills the Ditto to me, unless they lower the price of it.
 
Re: Loopers

The EH loopers are nice. But they get expensive, and for the prices, the Boomerang is a better choice for improvising with loops. I have tried several EH loopers and it always seems they 'almost get' how looping musicians want to work, but are usually missing a few features which keep serious loopers away. Main thing for you is figure out what you want to do with the loops.
 
Re: Loopers

Diminished Triad said:
So for live gigs, what would you guys recommend as your preferred looper?
Click to expand...

One problem with many "simple" loopers is that things like delay/reverb trails get cut off when the loop restarts. One workaround is to record an empty loop first, then overdub your first loop over that, but that means you need to know how long your first loop will be and be able to tap that interval in *exactly*. That's just one of a few reasons I like the Boomerang so much, especially for live use.
 
JAMMAN EXPRESS

JAMMAN EXPRESS

Mincer said:
I have been making music with looping devices for probably over 25 years, and have either owned or tried almost all available loopers. The Ditto will soon be eclipsed by the Jamman Express, coming out very soon. It can be powered by a battery, it is stereo, longer time, and it is cheaper.

Do you know when the Jamman Express will be released and how well it will work for live gigs?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
Re: Loopers

I bought a used RC-2 a few weeks ago and just couldn't get the hang of it. I couldn't easily get it to do exactly what I wanted to, either. Having said that, I wouldn't be surprised to find that it does everything I need it to very well...it just seemed like too much of a hassle to figure out. I guess all loopers may be like that & I just have put more time into learning them.

I was looking at a used JamMan that has 2 pedals on it that looked more "intuitive" to me. I may check that on out again. Being in a 4 piece cover band, I'd really like to find a way to use a looper to help fill out some songs we do.
 
Re: JAMMAN EXPRESS

Re: JAMMAN EXPRESS

For live gigs, it would probably be fine, except:
1. Don't expect anyone to sync up to your loops (in other words, you play solo).
2. You have an elegant way of stopping your loops- stopping a very dense loop sounds pretty jarring, and there isn't a way to fade it out.

I think the Boss, the Jammen, and the DItto are great loopers for practice, but live, they would never work for me. In a band context, my loops consist of only non-rhythmic material, so there is nothing to sync up. The lack of either feedback control, or no ability to fade the loop out is a deal breaker for the way I need them to work.
 
Last edited:
Re: Loopers

Fretfire and Mincer, it seems you both have experience with the Boomerang. Can you describe a little bit how you might use it for one of your compositions/performances? (I have a feeling you're both using it like I would)

Fretfire do you have a link to your YouTube channel?

I got a really good deal on a used Stereo Memory Man over the weekend. My initial impressions are that immediately I'm able to get my loop timing much more accurate than the Jamman. Also, I really like being able to reverse the loop, and continually vary the speed up to double and down to half. Also. It allows for gradual fade of the loop, so by layering more loops on top, the overall loop can "evolve". Also, the filter can be creative. Negatives are that it's a single, 30 second loop, also engaging and disengaging it seems to change my tone. I do have it in my effects loop, so I may need adjust signal levels.
 
Re: Loopers

Well, while I have played with the Boomerang, I don't own one, although I'd like to get one. One way I'd use it that you can't get with limple loopers is like this:
1. Record a long, swooshy ambient non-rhythmic loop on Loop 1.
2. Overdub little squeaks and chirps, faded in notes, ebow, etc over the top.
3. Resample Loop 1 to Loop 2, playing something highly rhythmic, like a guitar synth bass line.
4. Add rhythmic stuff to the new loop.
5. Play solo over the top.
6. Let Loop fade, while playing something new, in in an entirely different key over the top. Don't start recording until the first loop fades.

Step 3 is something I call 'unrounded multiply'. It allows a non-synced multiple of the original Loop 1 to have a chunk cut out of it, and used as the basis of a new loop. This may not make sense, but here:

Loop 1: |********|********|
Loop 2: |************|

The vertical lines are the loop boundaries. Loop 2 is just a chunk cut out of Loop 1.
 
Re: Loopers

I understand. Do you currently use multiple loopers to "down sample" your current loop into a new loop with additional content or does your current looper allow for this behavior?
 
Re: Loopers

The Echoplex Digital Pro can do this unlimited times. The free software looper Mobius can do this too. The Boomerang can, too. I think the Vox looper can do this in a limited way.
 
Re: Loopers

Mincer said:
how do you like the Memory Man?
Click to expand...
Stereo Memory Man is decent, like I mentioned it's a lot easier for me to obtain accurate loops compared to the Jamman. The silent switch compared to the long throw of the Jamman is helping, plus having "release" be the end of the loop rather than "tap" helps as well for me.

Keep in mind that while I've had the Jamman for years, I did a little looping then just kind of let it set (along with the rest of my guitar stuff) for quite a while.

I do like that it has more creative options available like continuously varying the loop speed, reverse direction playback, highpass and lowpass filtering and overdub attenuation. I'm still getting used to having to "arm" the looper, rather than having it always ready (you have to take it out of bypass to record) as well as the tone change when the pedal is activated.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

El Dunco
What goes into producing a song?
Replies
7
Views
2K
El Dunco
El Dunco
Back
Top