Looper recommendation

A

AndyPaquet

Blues Newbie
I'm considering a looper to help me practice and "fool around" playing against chords, songs, etc. It has been suggested I use a looper. I'd like one that allows the tempo to be adjusted without changing the pitch/key. Any suggestions for a relative novice to pedals? Please explain why your recommendation. Many thanks.
Andy
 
PapaBear

PapaBear

Guit Fiddlier
the Ditto is about as simple as it gets, and many DAW's allow you to loop and change tempo without changing pitch
 
CaptainMoto

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
I'll have to agree with @PapaBear on the Ditto if you just want a basic easy to use looper.

Having said that, there are just so many out there it's hard to say it's better then whatever the latest is.

There are some very interesting functions on some of the new loopers out there, I'd suggest you need to decide how you want to use it before you buy one.
Having said that, I believe one feature that you should ponder is, whether you want to be able to save and store loops and jam tracks on it.

Personally, I currently own two loopers, neither of which saves loops, I just don't need that function.
Others like that function and you might be disappointed if you're doesn't have that feature.

If you just want to practice your timing and have fun laying down your own rhythm loops to jam over, then something simple and relatively inexpensive like the Ditto will serve you well.
I have one and it's a great tool.
 
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PapaBear

PapaBear

Guit Fiddlier
CaptainMoto said:
I'll have to agree with @PapaBear on the Ditto if you just want a basic easy to use looper.

Having said that, there are just so many out there it's hard to say it's better then whatever the latest is.

There are some very interesting functions on some of the new loopers out there, I'd suggest you need to decide how you want to use it before you buy one.
Having said that, I believe one feature that you should ponder is, whether you want to be able to save and store loops and jam tracks on it.

Personally, I currently own two loopers, neither of which saves loops, I just don't need that function.
Others like that function and you might be disappointed if you're doesn't have that feature.

If you just want to practice your timing and have fun laying down your own rhythm loops to jam over, then something simple and realistically inexpensive like the Ditto will serve you well.
Click to expand...
He could always record his loops into a DAW to save them
 
Crossroads

Crossroads

Thump the Bottom
I've had a Digitech Jamman Stereo which allows you to adjust tempo with tap tempo during playback. You do have to stop the loop temporarily to adjust it during playback.

It holds 35 hours of recording with an SD card, 188 memory slots so you can step through parts of a song with a foot stomp and hooks to your PC so you can load jam tracks ad unload loops.

It has a reverse and quantize feature an XLR input for a mic or mixing board, and some other neat features.

That said I purchased it 10 years ago and it does what I need, but I imagine the functionality of loopers has expanded in the last 10 years, so you can probably do better.

https://www.guitarlessons.org/gear/pedals/best-looper-pedals/#Digitech JamMan Stereo Looper
 
Iheartbacon

Iheartbacon

Blues Junior
I would say a simpler smaller version of the jamman perhaps the solo XT.

Saving tracks into a DAW so you can store them or change tempo is possible but so time consuming you won’t want to do it much. The jamman loopers do it right on the pedal.
 
CapnDenny1

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
Look at the Digitech Trio and the Trio Plus.

The Trio allows you to play a cord sequence and a rhythm, and then it makes a loop of a bass and drum track. The Trio Plus does that and it has a built in looper so you can seamlessly add your own rhythm guitar track.

It’s a whole band in a box, and they never get disgusted because my playing isn’t good enough. They are also much tighter than I am so I get disgusted with my playing.
 
Elio

Elio

Student Of The Blues
Iheartbacon said:
I would say a simpler smaller version of the jamman perhaps the solo XT.

Saving tracks into a DAW so you can store them or change tempo is possible but so time consuming you won’t want to do it much. The jamman loopers do it right on the pedal.
Click to expand...

The XT is the one that I have and it works out very well. I think you can layer up to 4 tracks over one another with it.
 
Crossroads

Crossroads

Thump the Bottom
They are both fine units.

The downside to the JM stereo is it eats a little more real estate, is more expensive, and you have to use a wall wart. I think the XT runs on 9v.

But to get some important functionality by foot switch, like loop up and loop down (which to me is critical), and tap tempo you would need to add an FX3 foot switch to the XT.

At that price you would spend less on a used JM stereo, it's built like a tank, and has more functionality.

But I would encourage you to do some research and find what works best for you.
 
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Iheartbacon

Iheartbacon

Blues Junior
I much prefer the solo to the stereo because of the reasons crossroads mentioned.

The solo is smaller, runs off my 9v supply, and does everything I need it to and more. For a few dollars, I bought the parts to make a footswitch for it, but I never assembled it because the way I use a looper (not for performances) I really don’t need to quickly change loops up and down with my foot.

For a dead simple looper, it is hard to beat the ditto, but even semi advanced features like track storage and tempo change are not built in.

The Trio is an interesting suggestion. I have the original paired with my jamman. It isn’t really a looper but it is a fun practice tool.
 
Elio

Elio

Student Of The Blues
Iheartbacon said:
I much prefer the solo to the stereo because of the reasons crossroads mentioned.

The solo is smaller, runs off my 9v supply, and does everything I need it to and more. For a few dollars, I bought the parts to make a footswitch for it, but I never assembled it because the way I use a looper (not for performances) I really don’t need to quickly change loops up and down with my foot.

For a dead simple looper, it is hard to beat the ditto, but even semi advanced features like track storage and tempo change are not built in.

The Trio is an interesting suggestion. I have the original paired with my jamman. It isn’t really a looper but it is a fun practice tool.
Click to expand...

I am also using an Original Trio with the JamMan xt. With a little coordination I can create the drum and bass track, loop it, then add guitar rhythm for a quick and easy jam track. That is about the most complex thing I do with them, so the XT meets my needs pretty nicely.
 
A

AndyPaquet

Blues Newbie
You all have been very informative and helpful. Since I am a novice, I intend to keep things as simple as possible. Also, as a retired researcher, I now need to try some models since the basic research is sufficient. I will try the Ditto, the Boss R-3 and the JamMan Solo XT. These seem to address the interests I have and a little experimenting is in order! Thank you all very much. I'll come back after I've played with some loopers and purchased one.
 
Elio

Elio

Student Of The Blues
AndyPaquet said:
You all have been very informative and helpful. Since I am a novice, I intend to keep things as simple as possible. Also, as a retired researcher, I now need to try some models since the basic research is sufficient. I will try the Ditto, the Boss R-3 and the JamMan Solo XT. These seem to address the interests I have and a little experimenting is in order! Thank you all very much. I'll come back after I've played with some loopers and purchased one.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you will have some fun. Definitely let us know what you learn!

Since this showed up in another thread, you could just go with whatever she is using in this video :sneaky::
 
TwoNotesSolo

TwoNotesSolo

Student Of The Blues
The one button Loopers like the ditto can take a little getting used to because there is so much functionality in one button.
Being a cheapskate and not a brand fanatic, I think the Donner loooer mini is a great alternative to the Ditto for less that half the price (I have a ditto but wanted a loooer to practice on bass so I got a Donner too and I think I paid $45 for mine). The half speed playback can be a good tool for practice. It's even smaller than the Ditto which might be an issue for some.
 
D. R. Miller

D. R. Miller

Good News Blues
Ditto X2 looper here and I love it. For tempo changes just play it at the different tempos. If you want to keep something you've already played then I'd go with a DAW like garage band in the Mac's or one of the free DAW's like audacity for Windows.
 
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