LOOPERS 🔁

[James Freeman]

Anyone into loopers and looping?

I've been searching for a looper that has a built in metronome and/or a drum machine so I can can practice or just enjoy playing melodies to a rhythm with a drum track, and without creating a DAW project or composing drum beats with a VST.

I just want to whip a quick 8 bar rhythm track to a beat and shred over it and maybe continue the next day without re-recording.
The BOSS RC-5 seems to be right up my alley.

Show me your crazy looping rig and tell me how you use your looper!

PS.
This is NOT an Angine de Poitrine thread, I wish everyone good health, they are pretty good with it but so do Russian Circles.

 

[Chocol8]

I have a cheap Mooer GL100 for this type of thing. It has a bunch of drum rhythms, plus basic looper functionality that is almost easy enough for me to remember how to use it. I would consider it a practice tool though, definitely not a live looping device.

 

[dbagchee]

I have the Digitech Trio and it is still I think a pretty one of a kind device. They have the plus version that has an integrated looper as well. Being able to play in several chord progressions and quickly have some drums and bass follow is perfect for some jamming/practice. The sounds are fine though you aren’t going to conjure up any Lamb of God backing tracks. For general rock/blues though it does great.

 

[paisleywookiee]

My shop is a BOSS dealer, so naturally got the most experience with those. I've got the simple RC-1 now, but the RC-10R (if I can shoe horn it on there) will be going on my new board.

 

[fetishfrog]

I have 4 Gibson Echoplex Digital pros. Why? Who knows.

Actually I like looping with them and they do things that, sadly, not many other loopers really do. I wish more newer loopers incorporated some of the features of the EDPs as they are old and fragile.

For the stuff you say you want to do, they are overkill to the max. But if you can find one and want to put the time it, they are pretty nuts.

 

[ABe©eDarian]

I used to use a Boomerang, but that kept no memory after power down.

All the Boss loopers are legit. The biggest one, the Boss RC-600 I have is a worthy investment. Has a bit of a learning curve to it and it's settings, but once you got it set up the way you like and know how to do with it what you want it's nice to have the larger spread out controls, tracks, memory slots, and not only stored power down memory but also USB to harddrives. So a total of 13 hours of stereo recording time across its 99 memory slots, with each memory storing 6 stereo tracks at 6.5 hours of recording per track, (with each 'track' including overdubbing as well.) I have mine paired up with a Boss FS-7 Dual Footswitch which eliminates a remaining reason to do anything not with your feet while jammin, (scrolling through the 99 memory slots). It is 3x the amount of $ as the RC-5 but it's worth it to me as a major part of my music projects. The big unit has some advantage over all the functions of the RC-5 having to be so compact on a small pedal. USB to and from the unit quickly turns the total of 13 hours of recording time on 99 6-track memory slots into unlimited. It does have metronome and rhythm drum kits. I feel like the smaller Boss loopers can be awesome too but with the settings and functions having to be so compact and tightly spaced with such few buttons and knobs it adds to the complications of using it.

 

[paisleywookiee]

I used to use a Boomerang, but that kept no memory after power down.

All the Boss loopers are legit. The biggest one, the Boss RC-600 I have is a worthy investment. Has a bit of a learning curve to it and it's settings, but once you got it set up the way you like and know how to do with it what you want it's nice to have the larger spread out controls, tracks, memory slots, and not only stored power down memory but also USB to harddrives. So a total of 13 hours of stereo recording time across its 99 memory slots, with each memory storing 6 stereo tracks at 6.5 hours of recording per track, (with each 'track' including overdubbing as well.) I have mine paired up with a Boss FS-7 Dual Footswitch. It is 3x the amount of $ as the RC-5 but it's worth it to me as a major part of my music projects. The big unit has some advantage over all the functions of the RC-5 having to be so compact on a small pedal. USB to and from the unit quickly turns the total of 13 hours of recording time on 99 6-track memory slots into unlimited. It does have metronome and rhythm drum kits. I feel like the smaller Boss loopers can be awesome too but with the settings and functions having to be so compact and tightly spaced with such few buttons and knobs it adds to the complications of using it.

Are you the guy in Angine de Portraine?

 

[ABe©eDarian]

Are you the guy in Angine de Portraine?

Looked into a summary of who that is
and it looks like that's a little more of an advanced complexity of RC-600 usage than what I got going on currently.

 

[2112]

I have 4 Gibson Echoplex Digital pros. Why? Who knows.

Actually I like looping with them and they do things that, sadly, not many other loopers really do. I wish more newer loopers incorporated some of the features of the EDPs as they are old and fragile.

For the stuff you say you want to do, they are overkill to the max. But if you can find one and want to put the time it, they are pretty nuts.

The EDP style loopers are a whole universe unto themselves. Poly based the Beebo looper on the EDP, and I'm pretty sure NDSP had a Beebo around the launch of the QC which might explain why the QC Looper has so many similarities.

Did you ever have the Electrix Repeater? I've been trying to find one just to mess with the looper.

 

[2112]

Regarding the OP, pretty cool RC500 based live looping rig here.



I've used this a bunch of times filling in for Troy and it's pretty idiot (aka Leon) proof.

 

[ABe©eDarian]

I think I'm now a big Angine de Portraine fan.

 

[fetishfrog]

The EDP style loopers are a whole universe unto themselves. Poly based the Beebo looper on the EDP, and I'm pretty sure NDSP had a Beebo around the launch of the QC which might explain why the QC Looper has so many similarities.

Did you ever have the Electrix Repeater? I've been trying to find one just to mess with the looper.

A Repeater would be nice to have. I've never seen one in person though.

I was following the Beebo looper for a bit. It seemed to have some latency issues and bugs though. If those issues have been fixed, I may grab one. I haven't checked in for a while.

I keep peeking at the Chase Bliss Blooper. You can do some cool stuff with it if you have a decent midi controller. I keep hoping they do a Gen 2 version that goes even deeper.

4 EDPs routed through Out/In 3 and 4 on an Axe FX3 scratches the itch quite a bit, especially with the grid routing of the Fractal. EDPs are fincky for gain staging, and the AXE handles it oh so well. I just need something like that in a pedal, with minimal latency and access to deep midi functionality so I can play it with my tube amps. Come on folks! Make stuff for me!