Loop pedal/station (1 Viewer)

[cozy]

Any one use one? any recommendations in terms of value for money, effects etc?

 

[Vinnie]

Parkes uses the Line 6 Looping pedal and he seems very happy with it

 

[the departed]

i think theres a bunch of threads about em.
ive used most of em except the line 6 one.

what do you want to do exactly?

boss 20XL is the most popular.
pros:
-you can store 12 or so loops.
-is cheap enough second hand(150ish)
-easy to use
-its boss so if it breaks you can get another one easily
-long phrase recordings.
-reverse function

cons:
-awful physical pedal. the pedals on these things are really inaccurate(at least for more precise looping)
-no midi clock sync
-you are stuck in the length of phrase in the first sample

the you have the akai headrush e2:

pros:
-simple, well built, easy to use
-nice responsive buttons
-also is a GREAT tape echo/delay unit
-great sound quality.

cons:
-very cheap(90 quid on ebay new)
-short phrase recording.
-cant use delays and loops at the same time.
-no midi clock sync
-you are stuck in the length of phrase in the first sample
-cant save loops

then my main looper is the gibson echoplex:

pros:
-MIDI CLOCK SYNC!
-can do different length phrases in the same loop.
-rugged.
-reverse effects and half speed
-best sound quality
-rack mounted with a really decent pedal board

cons:
-expensive, hard to find.
-heavy
-cant save loops.

lastly, and the one i have least experience with:

line 6 DL4:

pros:
-simple to use
-tonnes of delay FX
-you can use delays and loops at the same time

cons:
-short phrase recording
-cant save loops

 

[cozy]

Parkes uses the Line 6 Looping pedal and he seems very happy with it

Yeah i've asked aboot a bit and is well spoken of

 

[worthit]

i have a Boss RC-50. It's good because you can store a load of loops on it directly from your computer and for each patch you have separate control over three loops at any one time and these can be faded out and reversed individually and you can add to any one of them on the fly. It's a bit bulky though.

http://www.roland.com/products/en/RC-50/index.html

 

[cozy]

i have a Boss RC-50. It's good because you can store a load of loops on it directly from your computer and for each patch you have separate control over three loops at any one time and these can be faded out and reversed individually and you can add to any one of them on the fly. It's a bit bulky though.

http://www.roland.com/products/en/RC-50/index.html

Yeah a mate uses that. I tried it once and seems fairly straightforward, the size wouldnt bother me but its about 350-400 quid. Worth the price?

 

[worthit]

Yeah It's a lot more useful than any of the other pedals because of its 3 different loop banks. I suppose if you just want to build songs around one single loop then go for one of the cheaper ones but if you can see yourself using the extra features on the rc-50 then spend the extra money. I was storing beats and synth samples in it and triggering them which was cool.

 

[ernesto]

Digitech Jamman all the way. no midi sync though. more or less same as boss 20xl but more storgae loopwise, USB and way more sturdy

 

[Unicron]

cons:
-awful physical pedal. the pedals on these things are really inaccurate(at least for more precise looping)

You sure about that? I was working on recording a loop and getting it to sync with the tempo of an SP-404 pattern on my lunch break and I was getting them to match pretty well.

 

[the departed]

You sure about that? I was working on recording a loop and getting it to sync with the tempo of an SP-404 pattern on my lunch break and I was getting them to match pretty well.

yeah. had nightmares about that button. you REALLY notice it when you use the echoplex.

 

[BC]

boss 20XL is the most popular.
cons...

it's only got a mono output.

i once linked two RC-20XLs together (mic -> RC-20 -> RC-20 -> mixer) and the amount of distortion and hiss was shocking.

 

[snap-apple]

Did you have the RC-20's on the same AC Adapter? I've found problems like this when hooking up Boss pedals. Put 'em on separate power sources and they behave much better.

 

[BC]

no, seperate power supplies... i've never encountered it with any other boss pedals

 

[Alan Remorse]

If you're looking purely for a loop station, don't buy a DL4. They have great effects but are really limited when it comes to use as a loop station.

RC20 is alright but G-stereo is right about the problems with syncing, especially if you've used a better loop station. Also the quality of the playback on loops is pretty bad.

RC50 is better but yeah, pricey and bulky.

Echoplex is by far the best.

 

[pitchinvasion]

I've got the Boss, been fairly happy with it although I've not used it in a gig situation yet (kind of defies the point I suppose). The reverse function's a lot of fun, and I like the auto sync, if you slow something you've recorded right down to half speed or speed it up to double speed you can get some pretty interesting stuff.