Loop pedal suggestions? Loop songs tab? Looper for multi track songs?

[duganderson]

I'm super interested in messing around with a looper......

1. What are suggestions for a good basic looper?

2. What's the least expensive looper that works well for creating 2 or more tracks for sections of the songs with different chord progressions?

3. Good tab books/sites/etc that have tab for multiple parts of songs that are good for looping. For example, looking for songs with same chord progression and that have tab for bass, rhythym, lead, etc?

Any other tips, resources, sites, etc. appreciated. Thank you, Doug!

[Rudy4]

You might enjoy, and possibly pick up some ideas, from my "How do YOU use a looper?" topic.

There are a few specific forums that I've seen in the past dedicated to looper users, so you might want to do a Google search.

The "two part" idea sounds like it should be easy to do with a looper, but there are technical reasons why you don't hear of too many looper users who do it. What I've generally heard said is that multiple part loops just are a whole lot more difficult than single part loops and aren't worth the trouble.

If you organize your song structure it's fairly easy to loop the entire portion of your song, complete with key and/or tempo changes as part of the loop.

I sometimes use my looper simply to record entire songs start to finish for backing track type practice.

If you want to dip your toe in the water I'd suggest the Boss RC-1, particularly if you add the second switch as I detail in the topic referenced above. If you decide you enjoy looping then the RC-1 will hold it's resale value well and you can go to a multi-slot looper with or without the ability to toggle sections within the same loop.

[dnf777]

For starting out, definitely recommend a SIMPLE one button looper, like the RC-1, to learn the basics. (Simple, but takes a little practice). The RC-1 has the same button function as the TCE Ditto (another nice, simple looper)

I prefer the Boss only for the visual indicators, which I found helpful in the learning phase.

[nostatic]

For simple, I like the TC Ditto+ - it is hard to beat. One button, but it will save loops and you can do some faux multitrack - you can record a one bar percussion thing then do a longer section over the top of that. That feature I find a bit tricky but it does work. Being able to save is critical if you use the looper for writing or practicing regular things.

More complex ones and/or for using live, there are different schools of thought an approaches. On one end is the Boomerang - can't save to it, but you can do three different loops as well as combine. On another end is the Aeros which is essentially a DAW disguised as a looper pedal. You can do ridiculous things with that but it takes practice if you're going to use it live. And yet another end is something like the Boss RC-600 which does a lot and also has drum tracks.

In between are various pedals - RC-500, Pigtronix Infinity, various EHX, etc. All have some variation in their logic so worth watching various YouTube videos and note how the players use them, then figure out if that works for the way you think about things.

[DrunkUncles]

I have the Boss RC-1. I think it was around $150 when I bought it, but I've recently seen it for ~$100.

While I'm still not very good with, it is a ton of fun to play with. I can get lost hours just looping track over track.

I still have not found the upper limit of its record time, but I know what it saying the manual.

Just go grab one, play with it a bit. You can really layer some fun musical landscapes together.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by DrunkUncles

I have the Boss RC-1. I think it was around $150 when I bought it, but I've recently seen it for ~$100.

While I'm still not very good with, it is a ton of fun to play with. I can get lost hours just looping track over track.

I still have not found the upper limit of its record time, but I know what it saying the manual.

Just go grab one, play with it a bit. You can really layer some fun musical landscapes together.

The RC-1 is a great little looper. Since it only stores the single loop currently in memory you would need to record something 12 minutes long to hit its memory limit. Overdubs and loops do not increase memory use, they are simply added to the already recorded loop.

[PaperMoon]

I like and use the Ditto x2. Having a separate stop button is really useful and I prefer it to the 'double-tap' you have to do with single-button loopers. With that said, overdub length is determined by the first loop you put down and I'm not crazy about that. I'd like to get the Ditto x4 so that I could lay down a body/percussion loop and a chordal loop separate, but I'm not crazy about the form factor of the x4. So there are compromises to consider and make.

Here's a clip of me using the x2 around 1:47 in: https://youtu.be/uZw0Ta5x6d0?si=xdvEfhd71UpKqyW0

(I go XLR out from my Session DI to one channel of the board and send a 1/4" from the 'through' output to the x2, and then another 1/4" out from the x2 to a Hi-Z input on the board; this way I can EQ the loop and get some more separation from the guitar.)

[jricc]

Very nice! Great tone and nice playing/singing. Enjoyed it PaperMoon

[Turp]

The most basic looper I can think of that will do what you asked is a TC Ditto x4. Based on your desire to loop different chord progressions and possibly lengths, you need to make sure it allows un-synced loops.

I now use a Pigtronix Infinity3 Looper because of the functionality, but my loop ability evolved to the place I needed it.

Regardless
I either buy 2 button loopers or those that allow adding a dedicated stop/clear button. The 2tap stop is a whole another skill and awkwardness I avoid for live performance with other options out there. My current looper has 2 loops with functions for most looping situations including a programable fade out.