Loopers

[ped]

Hi folks

I’m looking for a looper pedal. It doesn’t have to be super complicated, all I’ll really want is something to record a groove and play over with a few synth lines and remove and redo. 

My main concern is making a clean ‘take’ so that the loop keeps good time. I’ve tried a few devices that have looping but getting the ‘press’ right can be a bit fiddly. However I tried a Boss one a while back that just seemed to ‘know’ what I wanted and seemed very easy to use. 

Bonus points if:

Battery power option

Built in beats

True bypass

Priced up to about £150

Cheers

ped

[TheGreek]

Shall we ask the Mods to move this to the "Wanted" thread?? 😉😉

[ped]

I’m looking for ideas and experiences! The Digitech Jamman looks pretty good.

[thodrik]

I use a Ditto X2. I mainly bought it for the separate 'stop' and 'go' switches as I have flat feet and I am rubbish at the double clicking single footswitching (I really struggled with the Boss RC3). Apparently the new Ditto x2 Jam has a new program that runs an algorithm that manages to keep the loops in time with one another. Never tried that though. Also disappointed that the feature was not call Algo-rhythm for crap pun purposes. 

Very easy to use, but you need additional effects like delay, reverb etc to really bring the unit to life. 

The Boss RC30 is a far more flexible piece of kit I think but again is fairly 'old hat' compared to some of the more modern releases.  

Edited August 25, 2020 by thodrik

[ped]

6 minutes ago, thodrik said:

I use a Ditto X2. I mainly bought it for the separate 'stop' and 'go' switches as I have flat feet and I am rubbish at the double clicking single footswitching (I really struggled with the Boss RC3). Apparently the new Ditto x2 Jam has a new program that runs an algorithm that manages to keep the loops in time with one another. Never tried that though. Also disappointed that the feature was not call Algo-rhythm for crap pun purposes. 

Very easy to use, but you need additional effects like delay, reverb etc to really bring the unit to life. 

The Boss RC30 is a far more flexible piece of kit I think but again is fairly 'old hat' compared to some of the more modern releases.  

Thanks yes the X2 looks great. I like the idea of not having to double tap a switch. 

[thodrik]

1 hour ago, ped said:

Thanks yes the X2 looks great. I like the idea of not having to double tap a switch. 

It takes up a lot of real estate on a pedal board for what it does, however at gigs and rehearsals I really appreciate having a designated 'play' and 'stop' button. The wide footprint also means that there is no danger of pressing the wrong switch, which would actually be a problem for me if the pedal was any smaller.  

It maybe has a very limited looping function, however the Line 6 DL4 is a really lovely bit of kit as well. It is more of a delay/soundscape creating device though that works great with post-rock stuff.  
 

[ped]

11 minutes ago, thodrik said:

It takes up a lot of real estate on a pedal board for what it does, however at gigs and rehearsals I really appreciate having a designated 'play' and 'stop' button. The wide footprint also means that there is no danger of pressing the wrong switch, which would actually be a problem for me if the pedal was any smaller.  

It maybe has a very limited looping function, however the Line 6 DL4 is a really lovely bit of kit as well. It is more of a delay/soundscape creating device though that works great with post-rock stuff.  
 

Yeah I used to have a DL4. I think the ditto ticks all the boxes. What’s the battery life like, and does it drain when the unit is bypassed? 

[thodrik]

3 minutes ago, ped said:

Yeah I used to have a DL4. I think the ditto ticks all the boxes. What’s the battery life like, and does it drain when the unit is bypassed? 

I have always used the Ditto with a DC brick so can't comment on battery life I'm afraid. 

There are two 9v battery slots. I think you can run it off a single battery though. 

Ah, here is the manual confirming it: 

https://toneprints.com/media/3400664/tc_ditto_x2_looper_manual_english.pdf

[skidder652003]

4 hours ago, ped said:

I’m looking for ideas and experiences! The Digitech Jamman looks pretty good.

I've got the Jamman stereo, no battery option. With an SD card stores 19 hours of loops or sounds. I use it for background sounds, ie organs, synths, sirens etc so I can't comment on its ability as an actual looper but I can say it's built like a tank.

[itu]

I had the RC-2, but did not like it. Complicated use. Ditto x 2 was quite good, but sold it. Now I have this red Valeton and I try to learn to play and push the footswitch at the same time. Very hard for a bassist like me... but the response/feedback from the unit is very helpful.

[ped]

I just bought a Ditto X2 so look forward to playing with it!

[thodrik]

10 hours ago, ped said:

I just bought a Ditto X2 so look forward to playing with it!

Good choice, please let us know what your thoughts once it arrives!

[rmcki]

There is also the new Ditto+, I bought one, very easy to use and it does everything the original post mentions. 

[Hobbayne]

I just picked up one of these. A lot cheaper but great for the price.

 

[miles'tone]

On 27/08/2020 at 22:51, ped said:

I just bought a Ditto X2 so look forward to playing with it!

How are you finding the Ditto X2 @ped? I'm thinking of getting one and I don't want anything complicated. Would be nice to have someone to jam with, even if it's me 😄

Pros and cons?

[ped]

Yes it’s great and quite easy to use and time the presses to produce a clean take. It might just be the power supply I’m using but it refuses to accept one of them and the other two seem quite noisy. I’ll try it with batteries and see if that’s better. I could probably use a decent multi power bank tbh 

[Al Krow]

On 19/09/2020 at 17:24, Hobbayne said:

I just picked up one of these. A lot cheaper but great for the price.

+1 for the Lekato - been happily sitting on my compact board for a while and takes up very little space.

Really tempted by the recently released Boss RC-500, appreciate it's out of budget in terms what ped is looking for, but it looks great and a nice step up over the Boss RC-10R for just £30 more.

[Al Krow]

On 27/08/2020 at 22:51, ped said:

I just bought a Ditto X2 so look forward to playing with it!

Boss expands its Loop Station family with new RC-5 and RC-500 flagships | Guitar World

I think these came out very shortly after you got your Ditto X2, which hopefully is doing everything you need from it?

My little Lekato has done me proud - fantastic value, and very happy to recommend but as I mentioned in the post above I've been tempted by these two recent Boss offerings, which seem to be very well featured at their price points and the RC-5 seemed to be worth the £extra over e.g. the Nux Core Deluxe which was also on my shortlist e.g. the RC-5 gives 13 hours stereo at 32 bit recording and 99 loops vs Nux Core Delux 9 hrs / 24 bit / 99 loops and the drum options on the RC-5 also seem to be best in class for a loop pedal this size.

I was initially leaning to the RC-500, but in the end went for the more compact RC-5 which is missing a few of the bells and whistles of the RC-500, but I suspect I probably wouldn't be putting these additional features (e.g. multiple drum kits) to a lot of use. The key thing that I did want from the RC-500 was the extra stomp switches - a single press to stop recording rather than double press is just something that feels more precise and comfortable for me, but I wasn't keen on the additional PB real estate that it would take up!

The workaround has been to use a budget Mosky (momentary not latching) switch and connect via a TRS patch cable to the RC-5. Then the RC-5 switch and two additional stomps can each be very easily configured to do any one of multiple menu options. Just as a fyi, I've got mine set for (i) Record/Overdub/Play (ii) Stop Rec and (iii) Drums Start/Stop.

All-in the cost was pretty close to the initial £150 budget in your OP for the RC-5, Mosky and TRS patch cable and I think it gets all your bonus points, too, in terms of battery power option, built in beats and true bypass 😊

On 25/08/2020 at 08:29, ped said:

However I tried a Boss one a while back that just seemed to ‘know’ what I wanted and seemed very easy to use. 

Seems like you've had good experience with Boss loopers before, and the RC-5 is a refresh of their older RC-1 and RC-3 models.

Edited May 13, 2021 by Al Krow

[stewblack]

I am a very slow learner with tech. But the simplicity of the looper on the B1on makes it a joy to use. Anyone looking for battery operated looper with a drum machine could do a lot worse. 

[Al Krow]

14 hours ago, stewblack said:

I am a very slow learner with tech. But the simplicity of the looper on the B1on makes it a joy to use. Anyone looking for battery operated looper with a drum machine could do a lot worse. 

Are you telling porkies about your tech savviness Stew - I've heard rumours you've been casually messing with the 35 parameters underneath the Spectracomp's hood....😁

I've got the same looper on the Zoom B1-4 (and no secret I'm a huge fan of that multifx). The three key restrictions for me (as with the Helix loopers) are:

• just having one loop patch available, so I need to download to PC / over-write every time I want to record something fresh;
• limited overdubs; and
• 30s stereo / 60s mono recording time

Obviously, if those limitations aren't an issue and you can do what you're wanting, then no point paying extra for a dedicated looper pedal!

Edited May 13, 2021 by Al Krow

[stewblack]

10 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

if those limitations aren't an issue 

They're among the reasons I like it so much.