I want to learn about loopers.

bluecat

Is it worth my while buying a cheapo,basic model just to check them out? I have seen a lot online and some are really expensive. I am not looking to spend a fortune.

elstoof

A used Ditto will be perfect for under 50 quid. The more expensive ones mainly just let you save loops permanently, build up layers of loops etc 

Yorkie

With loopers, as with many other things, buying cheap means buying twice. There's a certain degree of stress involved in handling a looper, and more expensive loopers do make your life easier. 

Instead of buying cheapo, why don't you try recording your guitar using your phone's microphone and then playing over it acoustically. There are apps out there that will loop your sample. Then you might be able to better judge how much you really want a looper, and if you do want it, go for the most featureful one you can afford :-)

digitalscream

Moved to FX.

english_bob

As with most effects stuff, it depends on what you want to be able to do.

A simple, basic looper will allow you to record a simple loop, add layers to it, stop and start it and then delete it. If you just want a practice tool, or a way to dip a toe in the waters of looping, that might be all you need.

As you start to spend more, you get more features- the ability to remove looped layers (or more complex undo/redo functions), or to save loops, or to record longer loops. Some loopers have a built in drum machine, or can sync to MIDI. Some loopers are in effect several loopers in parallel- you can do all of this stuff to multiple loops simultaneously.

If you're in the market for a new digital delay, lots of them come with a very basic looper on board, so you could try one out and not feel like you've wasted your money if you don't like it.

Roland

elstoof said:

A used Ditto will be perfect for under 50 quid.

This for dipping your foot in the water. You can always move it on at little or no loss if you decide it’s not for you. 

BillDL

That's an excellent observation and suggestion by @Yorkie. I had the TC Electronic "Ditto" looper pedal for quite a while.  A small pedal with a volume knob, an LED that changes colour to indicate what function is currently engaged, and a single footswitch that you press once, press twice quickly, or press and hold to perform the functions of record, end record, playback, delete last overdub, or delete the whole loop.  Once you get the hang of pressing the footswitch right on the beat to end the recorded loop and then again to overdub more instrumentation, it becomes easier but takes practice to perfect.  It also shows up your playing and timing quite dramatically and can help you improve that part of your playing.

There are a few things to consider with loopers, and particularly with a one-button one like the very popular "Ditto":

1. You need to have the pedal after all your other pedals so that it's recording the affected signal but not affecting the recorded signal after it leaves the pedal for the amp.
2. You really need the amp on a clean setting. The pedal obviously isn't going to capture the way the amp is set to alter the signal (eg. distortion channel and reverb), and having the amp altering the signal that's been recorded by the looper is undesirable. If the amp is set to distort the signal it's going to distort ALL the instrumentation recorded by the looper.
3. If you like reverb use a reverb pedal before the looper.  If you have the amp adding reverb to the guitar sound it may be OK, but it will also add the same level reverb to a loop comprising as many overdubs as you have recorded and it can end up being a cacophany of sound.
4. On a simple one-button looper like the Ditto you need to rely on counting the bars to know when the loop is coming to an end and you need to press the button at exactly the right time to start and stop one "track" and then again to start and end the recording of your overdubs.  It does not have a progress indicator to let you know where you are in the loop as it's playing back waiting for you to punch in another dub.  It shows you by the colour of LED if you are in playback or record mode, but no progress indicator to count down.
5. The double-click of the single footswitch for certain functions can be annoying to some people, whereas having two separate buttons for start and stop is much easier to learn and control.
6. You can't store more than one loop.  It SHOULD store your last state to its memory even if powered off, but that's all it can store.
7. Recording loops is a bit more "mechanical" than you would have been used to previously playing along with other musicians where the timings of live playing make it feel more alive.

The more expensive "Ditto Plus" or "Ditto+" offers quite a lot of additional features, and of particular value are the circular visual progress indicator and function screen (that is quite easy to read despite its small size), and the fact that you can store 99 loops in numbered banks and go back to them any time again.  It still has just the one footswitch and needs the quick double-click for some functions, but in my opinion it is well worth missing the Ditto and going straight to the Ditto+  I very much prefer using the Ditto+ to my Ditto.

There are quite a few brands (common and uncommon) that make what are essentially clones of the old original Ditto, and sell them for considerably less.  Just one example is the in-house brand of GuitarGuitar and Andertons - Landlord FX Happy Hour Looper for £49:

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/181102334395008--landlord-fx-happy-hour-looper-mini-pedal

https://www.andertons.co.uk/landlord-fx-happy-hour/

I have one of these (actually, I think I may have given it to a friend that was learning) and in functionality and performance it is indistinguishable from the Ditto.

Other brands like Mooer, Joyo, Donner, etc make loopers of various levels of complexity and cost and you have the ubiquitous Boss "RC" range of loopers with their soft touch non-clicky footswitches that cost a good bit more.

In many cases of music and equipment I would often suggest starting simple with a basic version, but when it comes to loopers I would suggest skipping the most basic version and buying a more expensive one up to whatever you want to justify to give you more versatility and better ease of use.  The example I have used is skipping the Ditto (or other Ditto clone) and buying the Ditto+ (or equivalent other brand), or looking for a 2nd-hand Boss one.  It's about the same learning curve on a simple one with less useful progress indicators as it is on one with more functionality but better progress indication. 

Yorkie

Where can you find a 50 quid Ditto? Cheaper ones I can see go for like £70? 

guitargeek62

I like the Boss RC-1 and it's visual indicator for loop length, it's stereo too and can be had for about the same as a Ditto:




I also prefer the bigger footswitch area on loopers too - not something that you want a mis-step on!

personalnadir

The Ditto is a great place to start. As they get more complex they can become more like instruments. These days I want a looper which can multiply, reverse and control feedback. Andre LaFosse has a whole load of videos looking at some of the more complex loopers:

Wazmeister

Check out John Paul Music on YT.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrjEsGkAnqLa7bNF1ZMvDw

LionAquaLooper

If you play Overdriven guitar and rely on your amp for dirt then you'll need to change your setup with a looper. With my setup my looper is plugged into only a clean amp exclusively and therefore can't use the OD channel because that will distort the loops as well. So my pedal chain has to include my Joyo American Sound to simulate a fender amp, and one or two dirt pedals for OD/Dist. Just something to bear in mind. 

If you play acoustic, clean electric, or bass then ignore the above. 

CaseOfAce

guitargeek62 said:

I like the Boss RC-1 and it's visual indicator for loop length, it's stereo too and can be had for about the same as a Ditto:




I also prefer the bigger footswitch area on loopers too - not something that you want a mis-step on!

This is the one I have at home. I use it to practice solo-ing over simple chord progressions and for songs the band does.

It only gets occasional use - for me it's not worth it for me to go down the KT Tunstall / Sheeran high tech looper thing / £££ - although I did once see a Jack Johnson video where he was building up a track which looked cool.

As always with any musical gear it depends what you want it for - and you usually don't know if it will take / need it until you actually start using it.

Crazed_Fandango

I bought a Boss RC30 about 5 years ago and barely used it, so I'd suggest trying the cheaper Ditto 1st as it may be all you need.

Failing that, I have an RC30 going spare if you want something more complex.

chickenbonejohn

Another vote for the Boss RC-1 and keeping it simple. I've got one and I'm just beginning to dare use it for the odd number as part of my live set. I had a DigiTec JamMan, but for me it was way too complicated to get to easily grips with, far too many features for me to really use,  and eventually it stopped working. The great thing about the Boss is the circular visual indicator - it is very intuitive and helps a lot to remind where you are in the loop at a glance. As with a lot of loopers, needing to double tap to stop can be a pain, so I added a Boss FS-5U switch which allows you to stop with a single tap.