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What is a good reasonably(cheap)priced looper?


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As some of you know I have a Fender Supersonic 22 combo. I've always looked as a really simple plug and play amp. Today is was watching a video demo and the guy looped the vibrolux setting in the vintage channel then looped the bassman setting over it and then played the burn channel over that. I'm discovering there is much more to this amp and I want get everything I can get out of it. So I'm ready to dive into the world of looping.
Jenny S.
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Well, this is your thread, but - Ha! I fear the looper!

Not sure why but I always feel "trapped" by loops, even if I am just listening to them.

 

I gues you need a whole bunch of them and then you are spending your time clicking switches instead of playing?

 

Anyway, I have a TC Electronics Flashback X4 which is a delay but also a looper. I have a Peavey Vypyr VIP1 and a Sanpera 1 pedal, that setup has a looper function. AND, I have a Peavey Vypyr VIP3 with Sanpera 2 pedal that has a looper and can be used as a bass amp. All of these can play loops and you can play over them - the Vypyrs will even let you switch programs so you could do a strum on the VIP 1, a bass part on the VIP 3 and then switch them into different sounds and jam over them, then feed all of that into the Flashbck and loop it and start over. :laugh:

 

So I can make a big ol' mess if I wanna. But, I don't...

 

A friend has a small Boss looper that she likes. Used Boss stuff can be a bargain, it's fairly common and usually bulletproof. If you get it for a fair price you'll always be able to sell it for more or less the same money, I like that.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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As some of you know I have a Fender Supersonic 22 combo. I've always looked as a really simple plug and play amp. Today is was watching a video demo and the guy looped the vibrolux setting in the vintage channel then looped the bassman setting over it and then played the burn channel over that. I'm discovering there is much more to this amp and I want get everything I can get out of it. So I'm ready to dive into the world of looping.

 

First off, I'd avoid the Digitech JamMan series, because Digitech is on its way out. It's a shame, they're good gear, but in a very short time, there'll be no company to support them, so . . .

 

A few things to think about before buying a Looper -

 

Do you need it to save your Loops? Most dedicated Looper pedals will save Loops, but the on-board Loopers in most MFX will not.

 

Do you need to store more than one Loop? Boss & EHX both make compact, affordable Loopers that will store more than one Loop. The EHX Nano Looper is pretty simple. EHX Nano Looper 360

 

Send me a PM, let's talk about what you want and need. Delay and Looping devices are a big part of my rig, and I've been experimenting with Looping since the 80's.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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If I decide to purchase one I'm going with EHX 720. My local music store carries it and I have a friend who works there and will teach my how to use it.

 

Those are good reasons and Electro Harmonix makes good stuffs.

Somebody who is familiar can save you time and frustration.

 

Keep us posted!!!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I have a couple of Akai Headrush looper/delay pedals that I got in the early and late 00s. They're probably "old school" by now, though I do see the later model (blue case) still for sale in lots of places. It doesn't have the time length or ability to store like the Boss pedal had, but back at the time it was the one with the highest fidelity/sound quality as opposed to the Boss and the Boomerang, that where the competition... I used them on acoustic gigs to record things on the fly and solo over, or turn on an octave pedal and make a looping bass part, or beat on the guitar and make a percussion loop.
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we also used one of the Akai Headrushes in the studio once to do a big stacked harmony vocal thing that looped through a song... we were recording on a 2" 16 track Tascam deck, and the singer wanted to do that in the background and they didn't have pro tools in the studio yet so the engineer was trying to figure out how to set up another tape deck to sum and bounce it all to, and I just said "can you use the headrush?" and he cracked up for not thinking of it. Worked great. I can't remember how many notes he stacked in the loop...
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Skimp on your choice and you will eventually regret ut by wishing the bought looper had more features.

 

I would suggest at least a Boss RC 30.

 

I had one for years but sold it and my pedals to buy a single all in one pedal unit which has a great looper feature, so you may like to see if there are any on an auction or second owner site, Boss GT 100.

Col

 

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I have the blue Headrush E2 and like it very much, but it's limited as to features - no reverse playback, no 1/2 speed/double speed switching, and no storing your loops. I had the original Boss RC-20, and eventually moved up to the RC-50, because it just did everything I wanted.

 

I suggested the EHX 720, because it's compact & relatively affordable, with some very useful features, like reverse playback, fade-out and 1/2 speed, along with multiple user slots for storing loops.

 

One thought for anyone in the Forum who has a Loop device: remember David Torn's advice, "Always be Looping." If you're always plugged into your Looper, you're always ready to catch a cool idea or phrase, wherever you are; catch it, store it and go back to experiment with it later on.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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I still haven't made to the store try a Looper. There a second part to my decision to buy a Looper, that is to support my local music store after they have shut down for several months. I'm not in a position to spend a lot of money at the present time and I don't want anything to intimidating. The EHX appears to be a good choice for now, I may get the 360 instead of the 720 and if I find it's not for me it's only $100. If I do want continue I can always get something better after I get more comfortable with looping. After I try at the store I may decide to use the money I've budgeted on something else.
Jenny S.
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For $100 get a Zoom G1X Four.

 

It is not just a Looper it is a multi effects pedal board.

 

Thank you for this and also the Boss RC 30. My local music store doesn't carry Zoom so the EHX is my top choice now. It's more about supporting a music store my family has done business with for 50 years or more than the effect it self. My mother is a small business owner so I understand the need for us support each other.

Jenny S.
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For $100 get a Zoom G1X Four.

 

It is not just a Looper it is a multi effects pedal board.

 

Thank you for this and also the Boss RC 30. My local music store doesn't carry Zoom so the EHX is my top choice now. It's more about supporting a music store my family has done business with for 50 years or more than the effect it self. My mother is a small business owner so I understand the need for us support each other.

 

There is zero reason why your local Music Store cannot get you the Zoom, just because they have in stock an EHX is no reason to buy it.

 

It is like going in there to buy a Fender Stratocaster only to be told we have none in stock but we can sell you a PRS instead.

Col

 

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First off, I'd avoid the Digitech JamMan series, because Digitech is on its way out. It's a shame, they're good gear, but in a very short time, there'll be no company to support them, so . . .

 

 

Not wanting to disagree WP as your warning about Digitech is very justified. However (LOL!), I would still buy one while they are still available on SW MF GC, etc. True, the company will be going out of business but by the time you break down you won't care. I've had mine on every day for the last 7 or more years with no problems. As you indicated they are good gear. The middle of the road model like mine went for about $200 but they stopped making them a year or two back and put out a stereo model which is still on line for $275. The lower end that fits easily on a pedal board without all the whistles and bells goes for about $125. I'm sure it would work well for Surfer Girl, but like you, I hesitate to recommend one. It would be the same as buying any new or used pedals (i.e. you can't rely on the tons of companies making pedals to stay in business and to support them when they break down after any warranty period).

 

The more expensive pedals like mine and the top of the line one allow you to record up to 99 complete songs or about 16 hours of recording time. You could have 4-four hour gigs recorded to play back with live. You can off load to a computer and record 99 again and again and re-load. I also like having both the guitar and mic inputs so I can write songs and/or check out my covers vocals and instruments before taking them out to a live audience. Some guys/gals can toe tap fast and easy enough with practice to use them at live gigs, but my timing on the switches is not that great so I've always just used mine at home. I have also used it to play back through amps and PA to adjust settings on each of them on each channel. Anyway, I won't be buying one any time soon as mine is still working like the day I purchased it. They will be out of business by the time I will need a replacement! Just putting in a good word for Digitech and I'm sorry to see them go...not disagreeing with your advice. :thu:

Take care, Larryz
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@Larryz - Well understood, brother. FWIW, I have one of their small JamMan Express XT Loopers, and I like it very much, simple as it is. It's a nice piece of gear, well-made, easy to operate. It's also not my only Looper, so if it does go down, I'm not out of luck.

 

Honestly, I'm sad to see Digitech going away. I have a few pieces of Digitech gear that I'm very fond of, and their customer service was always above and beyond. I still use an old Studio 5000 Harmony Processor, which was the last iteration of the DHP66, and, for lack of a better description, a "poor-musician's" version of Eventide's famous Harmonizers. Still, once they're gone, parts and service become a serious issue, which is part of why no one has ever re-issued the notorious Space Station (I have one . . .) - the original parts and chips haven't been available for some time now.

 

My main Looper is the big RC-50, which also allows me to back up my Loops on my Mac. I've been tempted by the RC-300, but not enough to spend the $$$. The EHX 720 has all the features you might want in a compact Looper, for well under $200. If I were looking for a backup right now, I'd probably get one of them.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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+1 Brother Winston, My only Digitech pedal experience has been with my looper. It has to be one of the most well made quality pedals I have ever owned. I would put It right up there with Boss pedals for roadworthy heavy duty reliability. Neither may be the greatest when compared to high dollar equipment, but they are well built products for the price. I bought the Boss Compressor CP-1X this past year for a clean boost pedal (not so much for compression) and it works great for both acoustic and electric guitars. These are the only two pedals I'm still using. If my Digitech breaks down after the company is gone, I will be looking for a used one. If I don't find one, I'll be checking back with you for recommendations as you're the man when it comes to pedals! :thu:
Take care, Larryz
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My only Digitech pedal experience has been with my looper. It has to be one of the most well made quality pedals I have ever owned. I would put It right up there with Boss pedals for roadworthy heavy duty reliability. If my Digitech breaks down after the company is gone, I will be looking for a used one. If I don't find one, I'll be checking back with you for recommendations as you're the man when it comes to pedals! :thu:

 

I have several Digiitech Pedals, two Digievrb pedals, a multi amp modeler called a GNX 2 https://www.zzounds.com/item--DGTGNX2 and a Digitech RP 155 muti efx pedal https://www.digitech.com/discontinued-products/RP155.html all of them excellent I no longer use the GNX 2 or the RP 155 and haven't for years but they are still up there in my climate controlled shed/studio. I ought to send the GNX 2 back to Digitech for a new memory battery, or, Google how to do that meeself

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DBM, I wonder if Digitech would take it and change the battery and get it back to you, before they close up shop? (If they haven't already). Might be worth call to see if there is still time for them to do it for you... :cool:
Take care, Larryz
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@DBM, first up, I have to ask what the problem seems to be with the GNX2? If it's not powering up at all, I'd check the PS, and the jack where it plugs in, to make sure the unit is getting power.

 

As far as memory issues, a quick web search led me to one user who couldn't get the unit to save any of his programs. It seems that the GNX2 uses internal flash memory, no battery(?), and that the first step should be to try a factory reset? If the GNX2 is working at all, keep in mind that a factory reset will wipe out all of your stored User programs. If you think a full reset might help, here's a link to a page with the info -

 

GNX2 Reset . . .

 

 

FWIW, swapping out the battery on anything that uses one for memory backup, generally requires a full reset, as well. I've swapped out enough batteries on old Synths to be used to it. Good luck! Let us know if this helps.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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@Winston, There is no need to do anything yet with the GNX2, I discontinued using it a long time ago. I simply kept it because it was relatively worthless money wise when I was done with it. Same with the RP 155 I don't use either one of them anymore. I do however have the presets saved on computer and DVD as well as the editor program so I could wipe it and reinstall the presets although I only had 2 that I used, a harmony patch and a clean patch, and I could reprogram them from scratch anyways. Thanks for your advice. I am pretty much into no effects, except reverb and overdrive pedals, into an all tube amp.

 

At one time I had 30 synthesizers and samplers many of them hooked up to my Guitar To MIDI (4 at a time) and others connected to my recording efforts. Now I do all of that with software for effects on recordings.

 

I could edit and re-edit all of my synths back in the day. I took to all of that effortlessly when I was interested in recording. All of the editing and learning synth programming as well as my multi efx units came super easy to me. I understood it almost immediately using a Mac II and a lot of editing software. Nowadays I use Windows computers so all of my old Mac software went into the trash a long time ago, as did the Macs. The GNX 2 and the RP 155 came after I starting using Windows so I have all of that stuff saved up on DVD

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@DBM - No doubt you'd recognize a lot of my Synths; Proteus 2000, D5, TX81Z, Wavestation SR, CZ1, more along those lines. I have four different Roland Guitar Synths, which double as MIDI converters, 4 Boss/Roland pedalboard-style MFX, 3 MIDI Patchbays and a couple of MIDI Splitter boxes. I still keep an old Mac Powerbook around to run SoundDiver, still my favorite Editor/Librarian, and it still addresses a lot of my old gear.

 

FWIW, MIDI Quest seems to be the current favorite Editor/Librarian for anyone running a Windows machine; I hear mixed reviews of it in the Mac world, however, which is why I've never made the investment.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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@Winston I had a YamahaTX 81Z at one time as well as a full TX816 Rack (see photo below) (8 Yamaha DX7's synths in rack-mount) and a TX 802 & about 8 different Roland synth modules (all rack mount) A Kurzweil Piano module,and some more things I can't recall at the moment, early MIDI stuff pre 1985 or so, an Oberheim Matrix 6R, and others. Plus about 24 rack spaces of hardware effects units all run in concert with my Otari MX70 a 16 track deck and a Tac Scorpion Board 24X16 linked together with SMPTE time code through a Mac computer (several of them) from Mac Plus to Mac SE to a Mac II then a Mac II VX all of the Macs at different times as they got more powerful (I still have a Mac Classic up on a shelf in my shed, The last little Mac like a Mac Plus with the little black and white screen) It was a neat setup, I sold most of it peace-meal at a Flea Market in St Augustine Fl. except the 2 Otari Decks and the Tac Scorpion board which I sold through Tekcom in Philly.

1243.jpg.b5b5972a1b6f6c55a68ac7078301c576.jpg

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I'm going shopping. The EHX 720, a Boss tuner pedal and I might check out a few other things while I'm there. I just flipped 1 of 2 high end surfboards I bought from someone who was being transferred and just wanted to get rid of them. I made a nice profit and the person bought it got a great board for a good price. Now I can spend a little more than I had planned without touching my savings. I'm thinking some kinda EHX fuzz, not sure. They have a few in my price range. I have about $150. left to spend.
Jenny S.
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I'm going shopping. The EHX 720, a Boss tuner pedal and I might check out a few other things while I'm there. I just flipped 1 of 2 high end surfboards I bought from someone who was being transferred and just wanted to get rid of them. I made a nice profit and the person bought it got a great board for a good price. Now I can spend a little more than I had planned without touching my savings. I'm thinking some kinda EHX fuzz, not sure. They have a few in my price range. I have about $150. left to spend.

 

 

Fun!!! I flip stuffs to buy other stuffs too, it's a good way.

Let us know what you get and how you like it.

 

I'm not recommending or saying stay away but I used to have a lot of fun with a Big Muff. It got that Randy California (Spirit) sound.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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@KuruPrionz - Ah, you had to go and mention one of my heroes, Randy California! That screaming lead Guitar in Aren't You Glad helped set me on the quest for Infinite Sustain! BTW, the rumor I've heard is that he originally got his sound by plugging a Jordan Bosstone Fuzztone into his Guitar, plugging that into a classic Ampeq (IDK which model?), and cranking everything.

 

@surfergirl - If you already have an EHX Satisfaction Fuzz, you might want to look into something else? A Phaser or Flanger would round out your Modulation FX, and give you a very different sound than your Tremolo pedal. You might also want to try some different flavors of OD/Distortion. The Ibanez Tube Screamer is a classic sound, one of the most widely copied pedals other than the Big Muff; it's hard to find an OD or Fuzz that isn't related to one of those two. Mojo Hand FX has almost as many variations on the Big Muff as EHX does.

 

The Boss Blues Driver is probably my favorite Boss OD, and the original DS-1 Distortion in the bright orange box is hard to beat for right around $50US.

 

One thing that no one has suggested yet is a Volume Pedal. I know, they don't seem very exciting, and they're not always cheap, but a Volume Pedal is a very useful, even essential tool. You can use it as a special effect, by pulling back on the pedal, hitting a note or a chord, and then pushing down on the pedal to create a sort of "Swell" or Slow Gear-style effect. Takes practice, but it's a very cool sound. You can use it as a simple Volume control, without having to change the settings on your Guitar, or stop playing, and it can serve as an emergency SHUT UP! control, in the event of runaway feedback. With a Looper, you can use a Volume Pedal between the Looper and your Amp, to fade your Loops in and out.

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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@KuruPrionz - Ah, you had to go and mention one of my heroes, Randy California! That screaming lead Guitar in Aren't You Glad helped set me on the quest for Infinite Sustain! BTW, the rumor I've heard is that he originally got his sound by plugging a Jordan Bosstone Fuzztone into his Guitar, plugging that into a classic Ampeq (IDK which model?), and cranking everything.

 

 

Long ago and far away, I saw Spirit in concert. They were amazing. We had all of their albums up to and including "The 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus" - Mr. Skin remains a favorite.

They were the best West Coast band at the time but got overlooked in favor of the San Francisco acid rock scene. Credit where credit is due, Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis on vocals was also amazing so at least they had stiff competition.

 

So yeah - Surfergirl - get a Big Muff!!!!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I decided not to go to the store, they do free local deliveries on orders over $25. I'm trying to avoid going to Honolulu if possible, so I ordered the EHX 720. I did a little to help my local music store, now I'm going bargain hunting with the $250. I have left. I just started looking on the GC used site. A volume pedal has been on my list for awhile and can get a Ernie Ball MVP Jr and a Boss TU3 tuner for the cost of one new. I will probably order those now and then take my time searching. That will have to wait, today is preparing for storm threat.
Jenny S.
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