Getting into loopers? Help!

[Bunny64]

Originally Posted by 51 Relic

Just another thought if you have access to Apple Music type in Worship Pads and there a quite a few to choose from in all keys and can be downloaded as required . I use them on my iPad into the mic channel on my AER amp as a drone backing for fingerstyle arrangements

Ok thanks again Relic I will look into those.

[Bunny64]

Thanking everyone for your advice. I am getting a clearer picture of what I could do in my Church sessions but that might not need me to use a looper in the first instance but rather backing tracks. However for the limited outlay of a simple looper I feel it could add something to my playing and enjoyment and experimentation in the effects field.

[steve_mac]

If you are just getting into effects maybe consider a TC Helicon Playacoustic which will give you a plethora of both guitar and vocal effects plus it has a very useable looper.

[Bunny64]

Originally Posted by steve_mac

If you are just getting into effects maybe consider a TC Helicon Playacoustic which will give you a plethora of both guitar and vocal effects plus it has a very useable looper.

Ok Thanks Steve. I will have a look at that.

[Bunny64]

Ok Steve the Play Acoustic looks to be ticking lots of boxes. Much food for thought.

[Daniel Grenier]

I would strongly suggest a Digitech JamMan Stereo Looper. It looks complicated but it really is not. I suggest this one mainly because you are contemplating backing tracks. You can pre-record your own guitar or voice (or both) or you can record actual songs via USB. Loops are very easy to recall and play. You have dedicated buttons for record/play, stop, loops up and down. It has a mic input, starts recording when you actually start playing/singing, live recording, playback and overdub is fool proof and it sounds awesome to boot.

Problems to look for? Single button loopers are a pain to use IMO, many have tiny storage for loops, some have very limited loop time (i.e 30 sec), some cannot save loops at all, you cannot record voice with others, some start recording right away. Just read the features very carefully and make sure you are getting something that will indeed suit your needs.

Have fun. Cheers!

[Daniel Grenier]

Originally Posted by Bunny64

Ok Steve the Play Acoustic looks to be ticking lots of boxes. Much food for thought.

Just my 2 cents. I love my Play Acoustic, fantastic unit but the looper is (to me) useless. It is only 30 seconds long, you cannot store loops, you cannot load loops (or backing tracks), and it starts recording right away. It is not the right looper for your needs, I don't think (since you talked about backing tracks).

I have a JamMan Stereo hooked up to my Play Acoustic and it is so, so much better in every way (see my other post about it.)

[Bunny64]

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

Just my 2 cents. I love my Play Acoustic, fantastic unit but the looper is (to me) useless. It is only 30 seconds long, you cannot store loops, you cannot load loops (or backing tracks), and it starts recording right away. It is not the right looper for your needs, I don't think (since you talked about backing tracks).

I have a JamMan Stereo hooked up to my Play Acoustic and it is so, so much better in every way (see my other post about it.)

Thanks Daniel. You are actually using both the Digitech and the Play acoustic together but you think the JamMan would suit my initial needs? Cheaper option too I think. Thanks again. Starting to whittle it down now. I like the idea of both these items and you are right its about what best fits my needs>

[Bunny64]

Ok given that i am new to the FX stuff how does this sound?
The TC Helicon appeals because of the fact that I sing and play and it offers lots of options to improve the listening experience but has a limited looper Is this a step too soon for a novice in this field? Might i not be better buying a simpler pedal and cutting my teeth on it and then adding to the pedal board, see what i did there, at a later date?

[steve_mac]

The looper on the Play acoustic is a 2 minutes, how much more do you need? True it doesn't store loops .. but is that what you need?
"It records right away" - of course it does that's what loopers do
I have been using mine for gigs for nearly two years, of course there are fancier ones but sometime simple is enough. If you want to play backing tracks then put them on an MP3 player and feed it through the aux on the Playacoustic and voila.

[Bunny64]

Originally Posted by steve_mac

The looper on the Play acoustic is a 2 minutes, how much more do you need? True it doesn't store loops .. but is that what you need?
"It records right away" - of course it does that's what loopers do
I have been using mine for gigs for nearly two years, of course there are fancier ones but sometime simple is enough. If you want to play backing tracks then put them on an MP3 player and feed it through the aux on the Playacoustic and voila.

Thanks for that Steve. i am on a learning curve now and really enjoying your inputs. Spending some time looking at loopers on YT which hopefully along with advice from here will start to narrow down my choices. Its kind of a shoot out now between you and Daniel. No but seriously i think I am nearly at the point of knowing what best fulfils my needs for the moment.

[steve_mac]

No probs, just don't get carried away with features you aren't going use. I always intended to get a fancier looper and certainly the Playacoustic is the simplest available, but once I got proficient with it and saw other far more capable than me using it to great effect, I decided really this is just what the doctor ordered. Plus of course the additional effects guitar /vocal such as harmonies which can also be looped it's actually quite a bargain.
Anyway all the best with your choice.
(In mono the loop time is 1 minute, if you disable the undo it becomes 2)

[Daniel Grenier]

Originally Posted by steve_mac

The looper on the Play acoustic is a 2 minutes, how much more do you need? True it doesn't store loops .. but is that what you need?
"It records right away" - of course it does that's what loopers do
I have been using mine for gigs for nearly two years, of course there are fancier ones but sometime simple is enough. If you want to play backing tracks then put them on an MP3 player and feed it through the aux on the Playacoustic and voila.

It's actually 30 seconds for stereo loops and 1 minute for mono loops. If yours is 2 minutes then it must be a "turbo" model

How much more do *I* need? A lot more - especially for backing tracks.

It records right away all right and that is not a good thing in many cases (to me, anyway). Sometimes it's fine, sometimes not. The JamMan has an option to start only when you start playing - not just when you hit the button. Huge bonus in many cases.

Backing tracks on an MP3 is fine, of course, but I, personnaly prefer to record my guitar on the JamMan (as a backing track to my live playing).

It's all what works for you and don't forget to keep it fun and enjoyable whatever you do. Cheers!

[Bunny64]

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

It's actually 30 seconds for stereo loops and 1 minute for mono loops. If yours is 2 minutes then it must be a "turbo" model

How much more do *I* need? A lot more - especially for backing tracks.

It records right away all right and that is not a good thing in many cases (to me, anyway). Sometimes it's fine, sometimes not. The JamMan has an option to start when only when you start playing - not just when you hit the button. Huge bonus in many cases.

Backing tracks on an MP3 is fine, of course, but I, personnaly prefer to record my guitar on the JamMan (as a backing track to my live playing).

It's all what works for you and don't forget to keep it fun and enjoyable whatever you do. Cheers!

Cheers Daniel. Currently looking at some Digitech stereo loopers on Ebay.
Either the Stereo model or maybe the Solo. The Playacoustic might be for further down the line.

[fred4321]

Hi,
Thought I'd chip in re your original question.
I had a NUX Loop Core looper (Boss RC 3 clone) that I found confoundingly complicated and sold it.

Recently, the looper bug bit me and I bought a Boss RC30.

I had looked up many tutorials, and I have been learning to use it as a backing track recorder rather than a looper as it has 2 channels.
I do it mostly for my own fun, not for live performance. It is an easier machine to get into.


A few tips:
I looked up YouTube and these adjustments have made it much easier to use.

Firstly the rec-dub-play order changed to rec-play-dub.

Next the right pedal itself. It defaults to turn off recording when you release the pedal. You can change it to when you press the pedal instead-much easier.

Lastly the count in feature with the rhythm gives you space to get the loops right for timing.

Good luck!