loop pedals

im going through school so im too busy to be in a band. lately, my playing is becoming a little stagnant seeing as its just me in a room with my guitar . im thinking that a loop pedal will help me broaden my playing . im kinda looking at the boss rc20, digitech jamman and the boomerang. what do you guys think? any opinions or recommendations would be appreciated

I have the Boss RC-2 & its great, except I have to use an FS-6 dual-switch for convenience. If you get the RC-20XL, you'll have the extra footswitch but none of the percussion patches.

Electroharmonix makes a doozy but its not cheap. the 2880 Super Multi-track looper. Check out the video at EH.

If you can wait for the Boss DD-7 Digital Delay due out anywhere between Aug-Dec 2008, its a little powerhouse that includes a 40-second looper which is more than enough for most.

i've owned the digitech jamman but sold it because it took up too much room on my board. i love my boss rc-2 - compact and has a lot of the same features as the jamman. i also have the boss dd-20 which has a "sound-on-sound" function but only use the pedal for its delays.

you can check a video of me using the jamman here: Home - live solo acoustic performance (check out the 1st and last minutes to see the looping effect).

depends on a couple of factors. ask yourself these questions about what you want (or may want soon)...

how long do you want/need loops to be?

Do you want to be able to save loops?

ability to have loop decay? Adjustable decay rates?

Do you want to be able to erase a layer that you don't like without erasing the first four that you did (undo function)?

real estate (size) the pedal takes up...

internal midi clock (allows for perfect synching to other midi synchable devices)

Boss RC-2 - If you are just going to practice in your room, then this is is a great starting place for looping. It has a long record time (about 3 minutes depending on available memory) for one track, so you can practice over changes, or a whole song. Also has auto reverse and the ability to store loops (a rarity for the price). one shot feature (repeats single phrase once every time you hit it). Not too expensive.

But it does have some major draw backs- no undo, i.e. mess up, start over, not very gig friendly. the actual tracking isn't great IMO. My DL4 (what I use now) is spot on in comparison. this won't matter when you are playing by yourself (you won't even notice because it is slight) but I found it impossible to use live with a drummer/or drum machine in real time. If you adjust the tempo of a stored loop it shifts the tone bigtime.

Line6 DL4- You can instantly reverse and also drop an octave (half time). This feature is REAL fun if you like to experiment. i.e. loop a drone tone, then put into half time mode, record a simple high register motif, then take it out of half time. result = the original looped texture is normal register/octave/speed while the motif is played double time (and higher octave). go back and forth like this a couple times, maybe reverse the whole thing and voila! it sounds like something you could only coax out of a laptop! You can also add a bit of echo and or modulation on the signal that is being looped.

It also has the ablity to slowly decay when left in overdub mode, which is nice for certain applications. One shot feature on this as well.

big additonal plus- it comes chalked full of all kinds of modeled delays w/tap tempo (tape, 24bit, modulated, etc...) also cool reverse lead, auto volume swell mode (very cool) and more. Note, when in loop mode, you cannot access all of these sounds (only the modulated echo). I wish I had two because of this!

Downsides, short loop time (30 secs or so). Doesn't bother me cause i use it for shorter rhythmic loops and textures. can't store anything, power down and its gone. no undo function. It is supposedly "true bypass" but some folks still find it sucks some tone. Put it in your effects loop if you have one.

Still for the price and creative inspiration, when using live, I found it far superior to the Boss, which i have and never use anymore.

Boomerang- if you have the space and cash, I would go for this. Multiple levels of undo. multiple decay rates. Long record time. auto- reverse, drop, octave, ability to adjust playback volume with foot (huge plus for live playing). the new one due soon is supposed to be even better (better sound quality, more features, daisy chain multiple units, etc..) yet it has a smaller footprint. Mike neilson says it will drop any minute. This is my next gear purchase.

Down sides- no saving loops. Larger foot print. still no midi clock (only available in top tier devices). also $100 more than those mentioned above.

haven't tried the EH 2880, but hear good things.

Premium tier- Gibson/Oberheim echo-plex digital pro, Electrix repeater (discontinuted but one of the best ever). Too many features to list. check the websites. not cheap.

The mac daddy- Looperlative

Whatever you get, I am sure that it will spur some fresh ideas, so take the plunge!

two cool links for lots more info:

http://www.loopers-delight.com/loop.html - for all the info

http://livelooping.tribe.net/ - online community of looper enthusiasts

Good luck!

hahaha...

I just re-read my post. Its official. I'm a loop geek :lol: ...

i've used the Boss RC-20 and it was cool, but I tried and settled for the Line6 DL4 and really like it. It is more versatile than just a looper, having various delay modes and patches. The reverse playback is kinda cool too. It takes a little practice to use the loop function proficiently. I lucked out and got the DL4 off my local craigslist for only $75.

will a jamman or something work in the effects loop or does it need to be before the preamp?

definitely put it in the effects loop if you have one, and it should be the last thing in your signal chain as well.

IF you insert it before the preamp, your loop tone will change DRAMATICALLY every time you switch channels (which generally is not what you want, the loop should stay how you set it).

By inserting it after the preamp (in the loop), you avoid most (but not all) of the tone change. You will still hear some volume change depending on how you have your individual channels set up. Also, at louder volumes you will get power tube saturation which will also begin to affect the original loop tone when you switch channels, but not near as dramatically as preamp distortion in a MESA.

Of course it all depends on your needs. I am sure there is someone out there likes the idea of having there loop do random things when they change their tone/effects, I just prefer for it to stay the way I set it, so its at the end my chain...

You may want to try using your PC and the Vanbasco MIDI player found at the link below. It's free, there are thousands of songs that can be had for free, and you can mute any instrument you want with the player. Far better than a loop.

http://www.vanbasco.com/