Looking for a simple looper pedal.

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

I'm looking for a nice and simple looper pedal. No bells and whistles. It only needs to be able to play back what I was playing. Once I disengage it, then it can erase.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[JoeDAndrea]

I have the Boss RC-20XL. It's the middle one. I think they have a newer model now, but I like it a lot. I like that it has a separate pedal for recording and stopping. It also has 11 "phrases" if you want to keep some for later or something. I like it a lot. I'm sure the smaller stomp box style one isn't bad either though.

Here's mine: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Boss-RC-20X ... 2017173.gc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[iblastoff]

akai headrush e2 is as simple as it gets. depends on how much looping time you need though.

[the_blue_bomber]

I use an AKAI Headrush e2. It's got two footswitches. One switch works as a "record" switch, and the other one's like a "play/stop" switch (plays the recorded sound, which can be stopped and restarted by just tapping it more times.) I don't know of any decent loopers that aren't at least as complicated as that.

[Jabberwocky]

+1 on the akai headrush 2. Very good basic looper that will not break the bank, but wish they had slapped just a little more memory in it. On extended loop you will get about 20 seconds. Excellent for layering though. I often start with a bass layer, then swap to 6 string and lay down a rhythm layer then noodle to my heart's content along with the bass & rhythm. That unit was made famous by KT Tuntall on Black Horse and the Cherry Tree and others. Very solid construction. Totally useless user manual, but it is so intuitive you will be up and running in under 5 minutes.
Recommend it, but if you want long loops look elsewhere.

[Surgeon]

Another vote for the Akai here.

[mr_william]

i picked up the headrush.. after the 1st time it was mentioned here, with the kt tunstall bbh&act

its good, also serves as a digital delay and tape delay...

i dont use it often these days, but it does serve as a nice practice tool for jamming over chords, or developing parts by playing a section, then elaborating over it...

loopers in general can be pretty cool!

[BaBaBooey]

I use the Boss RC-30 and it's niiiiiiice. It's easy to erase the loop and go to another, as well as having to stereo tracks/loops to switch between. Phantom Power is a plus.

[Neiloler]

Boss RC-2/RC-3 are great pedals.

You could build something like this: http://madbeanpedals.com/projects/Loophole/Loophole.pdf

[brianr0131]

My DD7 Boss has a looper function. It's actually not too bad. The delays are great too

[Neiloler]

My DD7 Boss has a looper function. It's actually not too bad. The delays are great too

That's a great idea too. 40 seconds of loop time, if I'm not mistaken.

[johnsna]

+1 on the Boss RC-20xl. I've been playing one of those since Phil Keaggy blew my mind with one at a show in high school, and its the only piece of gear I own that actually made me better because it just compels you to practice soloing and your theory .

I haven't played the one the other guys are talking about here, but Boss just released the RC-30 and that thing is siiiick. The processing power in that thing just wipes the floor with the RC-20 (like 11 vs 100 presents and an easier interface) and I know that isn't what you're looking for, but I've seen about a 20 dollar price difference between the two and at that point, why not? Also, the guys at my local shop told me Boss is phasing out the RC20, so it might be your only option if you do go this route.

There are a lot of other loop pedals that I've heard good things about (I pile of poop you not, I've heard good things about the Digitech ones. But I am not vouching for it), but I really value the double pedal thing the RC-20 has going as mentioned above. I've played with DD7's and my Dad has an RC-2 that I am very familiar with, and I can't overstate how much I appreciate the dual pedal design when I use my loop station. Everything is much smoother and faster, and this lets you focus on the actual music instead of the constant 'hold the pedal for two seconds, play, tap, hold again, answer a riddle and say the magic words' that the one pedal loopers require. What looks like simplicity ends up being much more complex than a pedal that, at first, looks like more than you need.

I can't recommend picking a loop station up strongly enough, whatever you decide on. Most valuable piece of gear I own.

[Ddjembe Mutombo]

I used to have a DD-6, but sold it recently. In that pedal it seemed like the loops were mapped to a grid. It was very hard to get loops to sound natural on the dd-6 because of that. They were always out of time (repeat started too soon or too late for some reason) no matter how well I timed it. I'll definitely give the DD-7 a try.

I wish someone just made an inexpensive simple loop pedal. 1 minute of time and it only stored the most recently played loop. It would probably only cost $100. Bummer.

Boss RC-2/RC-3 are great pedals.

You could build something like this: http://madbeanpedals.com/projects/Loophole/Loophole.pdf

I looked at the design. I haven't done circuits in 2 years so I'd imagine I would make a total mess. Thanks for the link. Definitely something to consider.

[bclaire]

I have the Akai, too, but I wouldn't call it simple. The manual was wrong about its operation... lovely.

And again, I bought it, used it a few times, back on the shelf with the ebow, Strobotuner, and the Echoplex.

[Thinline_slim]

I also have the Boss RC-20XL and I've gotten along great with it. It's mainly an operator error if something doesn't come out right. I never used the presets since I have no idea what tempo I'll running on whatever song I'm playing that I'd like a loop. Cool idea though.

Maybe I just wasn't build to think in layers. More of a linear thinker.

Totally useless user manual

There are some great companies making great products with useless user manuals. Now let's see, I bought my TT in 2006.... Now where did I put that manual?......