Get Started With Looper Pedals For Guitar [Basic Operation, Signal Chain] - That Pedal Show
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- New to looper pedals? We talk about their basic functionality, problems with timing and rhythm, position in the signal chain and dip a toe into more creative applications.
Life too short for long UA-cam videos? Please see the ‘Interesting bits and go-to sections’ information below.
Welcome! In this episode, Dan and I take a newbie’s approach to looping. We are not experts in this, so we walk through their basic functionality and address some questions you may have surrounding timing and signal chain positioning. We also introduce the concept of adding rhythm loops via a slightly more complex pedal.
Please note this isn’t a looping masterclass, or how to create those amazing multi-layered performance pieces - we’ll get somebody in for that down the line.
A note on the signal routing for the Boss RC-10R…
The RC-10R has stereo ins and outs. You can configure the outputs in other ways too. For this show we had the guitar loop (output A) going to the guitar amps in our studio, while the rhythm pattern (output B) were sent to a full-range powered PA speaker… because they sound pretty pants into a guitar amp to be honest. To see the full signal routing options head to Boss’s site and ingest: www.boss.info/...
TheGigRig Humdinger is there because we were getting a ground loop issue with the RC10-R’s rhythm track into the EV powered PA speaker.
Enjoy the episode!
Pedals & stuff in this episode…
• TheGigRig Three2One
www.thegigrig....
• Peterson Strobo Stomp HD Tuner
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2Ozf60o
USA: imp.i114863.ne...
Australia: bit.ly/2lM39so
• ZVEX Box of Rock
www.zvex.com/g...
Australia: bit.ly/35Fg4h8
• Benson Preamp
UK & Europe: bit.ly/3mtz5Ml
Australia: bit.ly/2VVJu9l
USA: bit.ly/3x2sost
• Analogman Bi-Chorus
www.buyanalogm...
• Diamond Memory Lane Jr Delay
www.diamondpeda...
• Catalinbread Topanga Reverb
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2BYxZFg
Australia: bit.ly/2KZngfV
USA: bit.ly/3rQR4l9
• MXR M303 Clone Looper
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2sSvEbo
Australia: bit.ly/37Q18gS
USA: bit.ly/3y9jE2h
• Boss RC-10R
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2NbZNct
Australia: bit.ly/37PRtqE
USA: bit.ly/3yawDki
• TheGigRig Humdinger
www.thegigrig....
TheGigRig G2
www.thegigrig....
* Why do we have preferred retailer links? Find out here: www.thatpedalsh...
Interesting bits and go-to sections…
- Oh no! This won’t encourage anyone into looping: 00:17
- What we’re doing today: 3:25
- What do you use looping for? 6:08
- Looper pedals in general: 8:00
- MXR Clone Looper: 8:45
- How to set up a basic loop: 9:08
- Problems with rhythm? 11:10
- Make the first one simple: 12:40
- Don’t go too slow: 14:25
- What about a metronome? 15:55
- Half speed / double speed / reverse? 18:05
- Let’s make a loop: 22:30
- Ambient textures? 25:00
- Boss RC-10R with rhythm section: 26:50
- Where to put your looper in your signal chain: 35:30
- …first in line? 35:30
- …last in line? 38:09
- Using two loopers together? 40:15
Guitars in this episode:
• Fender 1965 Telecaster - no video yet
• Fender Classic Series Jazzmaster Lacquer - no video yet
Amps in this episode
• Marshall 1987x reissue with Zilla Custom 212 / Celestion Alnico Ruby speakers
UK & Europe: bit.ly/31eVWmc
USA That Pedal Shop: bit.ly/3v3Xazc
• Matchless HC-30 with Hughes & Kettner Vintage 212 / Celestion G12M Greenback
We hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to our channel.
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Should have titled this "Looper: a 45 minute explanation on how to play with yourself"
Cheers guys.
I like your funny words, Moogle Man.
I often put a looper at the start of my chain when testing another pedal.
Record some basic loop, and then I play with the knobs of the pedal I am exploring to see the effect.
We can't all have a second pair of hands to play while we fiddle with stuff!
Also helps with comparing results if the input is the same for every tweak or pedal.
Also... if you're A/B-ing pedals to test them, having a loop (= the EXACT SAME thing every time) is a god-send
I think it's probably been said by now, but I'd also recommend playing a bar or two before you start recording, especially with chords as you actually want any notes ringing to come in as you start.
55 years old now. I can only imagine how cool it would have been when I started at 9 years old and watching you guys with all those pedals.
When I have taught this to other guitar players I find it is helpful if they do a slightly longer loop when they start. If the loop they are aiming for was too short (1 or 2 bars) I found they were panicking about pressing the button on the looper and couldn't concentrate on being in time! If they did a loop of 4 or 8 bars they could relax into what they were playing and hit the looper in time without difficulty.
Great video guys.... please never say that your videos aren't for advanced players there is always great inforrmation to be gleaned for even the most experienced, such is the quality of your content. Keep it up.
I still think someone should bring out a looper called Groundhog Day............sorry.
Mark Pritchard I’ve always thought there should be a “River City Treble Booster”.
I see a whole line of Groundhog day inspired pedals. The "Dont drive angry" fuzz. The "PHILL phill" delay for the two Phills, Connors and Punxutawney. The "Doozy" chorus, "Watch that first step." The "Ned Ryerson" noise gate as a bit of an insurance policy. The "Dont Forget Your Booties" boost. I could do this all day!
@@jonlohrenz5446, or "River City Trouble Booster." My hometown is River City (Mason City), IA.
It only plays “I Got You Babe.”
Or a delay/looper called the "Groundhog Delay"?
This so cool... I have literally been playing harmony to myself all evening on my new Boss RC10R and then I thought what's on the tube. This! Awsome.
I love using a looper as part of learning to scales and soloing. That said, laying down a chord progression in a loop is also making my rhythm playing better and I'm even noticing things that need improvement in my basic strumming technique. One tip for bedroom players - adding a pedal topper to the stomp switch makes it so much easier to hit in bare feet/socks. :-)
One utility for placing the looper at the beginning of your signal chain is for tweaking your gain stack. Create a simple loop of your clean guitar signal (playing soft -> loud), and then you can sit down and mess around with your gain stack without having to back and forth.
I normally put mine at the end but I have put a looper at the front of my pedal chain to shape my sound to a certain riff rather than playing the riff, bending down and changing some settings and then replaying the riff. Great vid guys.
I just picked up the Digitech Trio+ and I LOVE looping and playing “with the band”. I think a looper is an essential practice tool.
Eric Moore I’m on day three of ownership myself, really enjoying it so far.
Love the Trio+ myself. You have to be accurate with the timing of the initial loop though as you are establishing the timing and chord changes (which are used by the inbuilt drums and bass). I found playing simple chords with perfect timing on the first pass is the way to go, as it doesn't record your guitar on the first "loop/pass". Then on the second pass (first overdub) you play the rythm guitar you actually want.
I have this and a Boss looper as the boss doesn't require you to be accurate with timing and records your guitar on the first pass. ie. The Boss is much easier to use .. and the Trio teaches you how to play properly :)
My favorite person who does looping is KNOBs. I just picked up a CBA blooper and it is something else.
If you record a blank loop, then swell in a chord and keep the sustaining over multiple overdubs, then you won't get the glitch every time the loop resets
If you're having issues with timing, try playing with a rhythmic delay pattern to lock in your tempo...Also try to start your loop in between notes, of course you'll need to end it in the same spot
If using a two amp setup, I suggest having the looper feed only one amp. Especially if your amps don't have a lot of headroom.
I have just been a dad and this last month has been many hours on the couch feeding my son and making him sleep. In that silence of my home and those endless hours with my little one in arms TPS has been the ideal company: I have seen all the episodes and learned hell of a lot. You guys never cease to amaze me with the quality of the content you produce every week. Thanks for everything.
Tomás Marino congratulations CRD (=cool rocking daddy)! All the best to you.
You not still a dad dnt say you looped on that too ,lol
Goodluck with the fam bro mini budding jimie hendrix picking up on those sound vibes .
I play something awesome into my looper and it never seems that good when I hear it back... I may have to bin it like I did with my mirrors😅
Keep practicing with it!
I believe he was making a joke. What he is saying is that his playing is bad, and he doesn't realize it until he hears it back in the looper. (Which is most likely not true, he is probably very good). Just a little humour.
And before you know it a whole day has flown by, and you've somehow finished your first post-rock album!
My helpful trick for looping is lay down a clean part with delay pedal first. use the repeats of the delay as a sort of musical metronome to get your timing together for the overdubs
Oh man, now I need a looper, and it'll have to have a reverse function. I could spend hours with that thing, especially with my Neunaber Immerse. The way you used it as a creative tool to create soundscapes was inspirational. Having previously used Cubase to "flip" a guitar line to get that reverse sound but this makes it possible ahead of the recording process. Great show as always guys, but this really connected with me as a creative idea.
The intro to this video was basically a 2 man version of my first hour with my new looper acquired at christmas, including the obligatory reverse guitar solo. I actually stumbled into playing a surprisingly good melody just by playing through the loop on reverse overdub and was basically counter harmonizing with myself and then in reverse sounds like 2 guitars stacked like I'm some kind of melodic genius ghost writing for Frusciante's solo albums. Accidents are the best musical ideas ever! Loopers make for fun if unreproducible accidents.
Best way I’ve found to get your loop timing spot on is to use a drum beat on your phone while you lay down the first loop, works every time.
Or use the inbuilt drums on the looper (if it has that feature) then take them out (if it has that feature).
Thanks! Great idea
What do you do live? I guess you could find a way you putting your phone through your in ears
graham kelly I don’t use a looper live, just for practice and learning at home.
@@grahamkelly8299 a lot of bands now have a click in the drummers in-ear monitors.
One tip for beginners - if you place your looper after delay/reverb, play the loop through before hitting record, so that the delay/reverb tails record on the first beat. Otherwise, the loop will chop at the repeat point when it’s playing back.
Also, if your looper can do *record-overdub-playback* (default mode in Boss loopers), you can instantly record delay/reverb licks with confidence, by using the overdub mode in order to record the delay/reverb tails. It's not as widely common as the former tip, but it also works! ✌
Been looking forward to this episode! I'm in the early stages of my looping journey, with the Boss RC-30, and the thing I've been having trouble with is, if you're doing it as part of a song, how to make it not sound like the bottom's dropped out of the song when you stop the looper... I'm considering getting a TC HOF 2 to put next to it on the board (after it in the signal chain) so I can cover the transition from loopy bit to non-loopy bit with some MASH footswitch action...
Also, other thing you can do with two loopers: one-person performance of Steve Reich's 'Clapping Music'! Get a loop going of the pattern on the first looper, then start the second looper on the beat and end it one eighth note shy of the end of the pattern, then leave it to work its way back round into sync :D
(Although slightly more seriously, 'Piano Phase' is probably a better candidate, since you don't need to be as incredibly precise with the timing of the second looper...)
'Frame by frame' by King Crimson is another song where 2 guitars play the same pattern and 1 guitar (Fripp) skips a note. I'm gonna try that.
I've had a DigiTech Trio+ for a while now and have been frustrated with the inability to maintain a clean rhythm backing loop after stomping on OD pedals for lead tones to play over the top. I cannot believe I never thought of putting the damn thing at the END of the chain! So simple and yet learned so much. Thanks guys!
To be fair, the Trio+ input jack says "Guitar In." Must... plug... guitar... in... here....
Cris, 1st off thanks for the laugh. Second I had the same trouble with my 1st pedal. I was sure it was broke
You guys should REAAALLLY get Nick Reinhart in from Tera Melos or the YT channel Pedals&Effects.
He is like a looping wizard in his own totally unique way.
You guys have to check out the band 'Minus the Bear' (particularly the album: Planet of Ice).
Looper/DL4 mastery
(And/or if you want to see it in action; check out the 'rig rundown' from 6 years ago where Dave Knudson shows off his board and technique)
Dave is the looping master. That rig run down is epic
My girlfriend just bought me the Boss rc 300 loop station....because she saw a person doing a performance with it....and i'm like holy sh*t, you just made me head of my own band...i'm still learning about all the neat stuff it can do...yes please, by all means, have one of those pro loop performers you mentioned please...i think that would make for a great show! thanks guys, great stuff...happy new year!
raj lippy sounds like she’s your soon to be wife 😆😂
@@Revitandgo better than a wife my friend. we have now been happily unmarried for 37 years! no need to rush things ;)
Great show guys! I have to disagree with your advice about not playing the first note of the next bar when finishing a loop. I find that if you know you are about to stop playing, your brain naturally inserts space at the end of what you are playing and there will always be that tiny space at the end of your loop throwing the timing off the whole thing. the method that works best for me is to play a bar, hit the loop button the second time around to record letting your foot come down in unison with your pick hand on the first note, play the loop, then hit the loop button again as you play the first note of the next bar to punch out letting your foot come down in unison with your hand on the first note of the next bar again. I get perfectly timed loops this way. maybe not for everybody but worth a try. Thanks as always for all you do!!
When I was in the market for an acoustic amplifier I recorded a few soundbites of my J-45/LR Baggs Lyric combination into the small ditto looper and just took the looper to the guitar store. I then just plugged the looper into those amps I was interested in to hear exactly my guitar through a variety of amplifiers.
Honestly I think this type of video is good for us experienced "looper users" because sometimes a refresher is a good thing. Over time I sometimes forget things & maybe there is a chance I could have missed something. As always I appreciate your work in bringing us the pedal videos we need.
Agreed my friend
I bought a Boss RC-300 a while ago, and it's the best pedal I've bought so far for helping me improve my playing and rhythm. It has a basic drum machine built in, so it really helps with my timing. Plus the ability to record things on the fly, build up tracks and then actually listen to myself playing, has helped my guitar playing so much. If someone was to ask me "what should my first guitar pedal be?", I'd strongly advise consider buying a looper. It's such a great tool.
P.S. I can also download backing tracks to it, from Boss or other sources, which are great to jam along to and practice lead. :)
We take it for granted, but tapping/stomping foot while playing is really important to embed time in your playing - I really began to focus on this when I took myself back to school after 30+ years via Paul Gilbert’s Artistworks course (he makes a BIG deal about it). One of the side benefits of that is it also tightens up the stomp point of looping. Now that many more players are sitting playing at home, the tap/stomp has become less “automatic”.
22:00 to 23:25 is probably my favorite spontaneous moment of music I've seen on the show. Sounded like the bridge of an epic Pink Floyd jam.
I always practice with my Boss RC-3 looper. I set a drum beat on it (my metronome), bass line with guitar in neck position, rhythm guitar part play along, ambient noises added then go off with lead over it all. With a little practice It doesn't take long at all to get the timing down. It's the only way to practice.
For ambient looping (like at 25:00), record a silent loop for 8-10 seconds first. Then it eliminates that “record skipping” harshness when the loop restarts.
One of the funniest comments I’ve seen on UA-cam was in a thread where people were talking about the worst pedals they’ve ever heard. A guy said that a looper was the worst because it kept playing back the crap he played over and over. Same here, man. Same here.
Same here, man.
I finally got reunited with my pedals after everything being in storage for 7 months.
Moving into my new place I got my music stuff in a little at a time.
Brilliant timing for your Looper show.
Got me motivated. That and some tips from Marty Music.
Had to relearn the RC-3 operations; been so long I'd forgotten.
Stuck a little 4 bar funk groove in it (2 parts) and Meant to jam lead all over it.
Instead I stumbled upon a load of double stop stuff and sliding broken chords that I'd not put together before.
Okay AND a bit of mindless lead too …
As a lifelong bass player I'm really enjoying my discoveries in the realm of the thin string guitar.
Looping is So immediate in giving you something to play against whether writing, practising or just noodling.
How did we ever manage before without them ?
Oh! I remember. Lot's of scratched records from fumbling to get the needle back at the right place in the track ….
Thanks guys
When I started back in the Neolithic Period, my first metronome was a little wind-up mechanical one and I wore it out. Then I moved on to the electrical ones, with an electric motor inside that controlled some sort of beater (looked like the ball end of a bass guitar string) that hit against the inside of the plastic box to make the sound. I burned out the motor on more than one of those. Next I moved onto one of the small, battery-operated digital metronomes. I had one for probably 6-8 years and, yes, I wore that out, too. All of which is to say: one can be born with some innate skill at time-keeping, but regardless how much or how little innate skill one has, it takes thousands of hours to be able to play confidently and expressively in time. Some of my favorite musician friends have something that we call "perfect tick", except this is learned, not innate. Basically, if I tell them to give me a tempo--let's say 144 bpm--they can give it to me, and I can check it with a metronome and it'll be pretty much spot on. I can do this with a few of the more commonly used analog metronome markings. Good time is essential to all pop and jazz musics, and this becomes no more apparent than when a guitar player buys a looper pedal and begins experimenting with it. It is the modern, digital equivalent of the old axiom "The tape never lies."
yes! KT Tunstall on the show please!!
also, I have frustrated myself with a looper numerous times, because I wanted to have a chord change to play over, but then got stuck using the thing to record the loop because I kept messing it up.
I guess only Wayne Krantz can record a loop and have it sounding in the pocket af XD
Yip
And she can explain the wee bastard pedal,
Akai headrush
Going to see her on 18th Jan!
The main reason I bought my Alter Ego was to have a looper without wasting limited space on my pedal board. I love using it for practice but I always wind up playing the same type of thing. Thanks for the tips guys, and as always, great show.
I think Loopers are the ultimate tool for the "bedroom guitarist". It is the one pedal that gives you back exactly what you give it. I know this video is old but I was surprised at how much I liked the MXR. Kinda wish you showed more of the R-1 or Ditto, but after this I actually think the one to get is the the RC-10R if you are really going to make the looper a part of your playing. They are kind of instruments in of themselves, especially using two like they did at the end.
I've never had a looper but am seriously considering getting one #1 I'm in a creative slump #2 will help me play more #3 good for writing #4 Why the heck not and all the above lol 😁 Now to choose which one Thanks guys Perfect timing for this episode
My first looper was the DOD DFX94. It blew my mind back in the early 90s as it had 4 seconds of loop time. How far we've come. X
Some years ago I knew a duo where the woman sang and the guy played guitar. He would set up loops with something he had and then solo over them. They wanted to do a larger gig so I agreed to go and play drums for them. He had the looper level fairly low so he could play solos at his normal level. Problem was he wasn't very good stopping and starting the loops. It didn't bother him blowing over them by himself, but trying to play a beat over something buried under his soloing that had glitches every 2 or 4 bars was brutal. I only did the one gig needless to say. ;-)
After watching Danish Pete and Mark Lettieri I got a Ditto Mini. Great fun for practicing and fooling around.
Sold me on the RC10R as a practice device. Planned on starting with the Ditto, but the RC10 with drums seems like so much more fun at home.
You could also place your looper in the middle and place pedals that you don't want affecting the sound before the looper and place pedals that you would like the looper to be affected by after it.
Thanks so much for this episode. There are many others I'd rather watch (like vintage guitars.. ), but this one made me get up and go use my neglected ditto for nearly 3 hours. This makes the episode a top ten for me.
I use a mooer drummer pedal into a digitec jamman solo, record 12 bars of drums them jam over putting bass and guitar parts down, great for practice.
Hi guys, Bill Ruppert shows some other excellent tricks with the electro harmonix looper, one that I now use, similar to an ambient thing; create a loop about a second long, but don’t play anything, then engage overdub and fade in chords to create a big pad sound. Great for scale practice and hearing differences in modal scales.
I have an RC3. I like to use the built in drum tracks for the base loop and use the tap tempo, then it's all in time when I start putting the guitar over the top.
Dan & Mick get stoned and do what we all do when we first get a looper.
Ive never looped before. But after watching this, i know exactly what you mean.
truth
I always have my looper at the end of the effects loop, unless I’m demoing pedals, in which case I move it to the beginning and just let it run while I toggle pedals on/off
Man, I used to use a looper when I was doing solo acoustic gigs as an artist on the AliveNetwork agent roster to flesh out the sound, provide a backing for soloing, and with an additional mic to record percussion too. I got pretty darned sick of the gigs and was sooo very happy to ditch them altogether a few years ago. I'm sure Dan can sympathise ;)
One tip I have for ppl who have trouble hitting the button on time- like me, play long loops. The truth is, I'm not trying to become a looper that performs live using a loop pedal- I'm just practicing and trying to develop ideas. So- if need be, I'll play the whole song and then go back dub a lead line over it. You don't have to get a bar to loop perfectly- it's a good exercise for improving timing and it's fun but, it's not necessary if you're just practicing or trying to develop an idea into a song. I would recommend getting a looper with some beats stored in it and the ability to change the tempo and all- that really helps. Having a drum beat to keep you honest makes your timing much better and improves your playing tremendously. Without it, you may think you're in time and consistent- but chances are, you're wrong.
Yay the jazzmater is back!!
Love the RC10R!!, was my Christmas present for myself 😄you are actually the first who explains the right sequence of using the pedal with drums 👍
I bought a Jam Man Solo, which proved to be way too complicated for my simple brain and simple needs for practice and trying out ideas. Shoulda got a Ditto and saved my cash. Struggled a bit about where to place it in a wet/dry set up. After experimenting I decided I like it best at the end of the dry section, just before the wet split.
Thanks so much guys. I have the small Ditto and have determined that my start stop timing sucks. Start at the beginning end at the beginning was an ah ha moment. I bought the RC 10 as a machine to play along with predominantly and clearly need to spend more time with the full demo, the manual and several hours to start building my own practice tracks to play over. I still have a lot of work to do but this episode illuminated a lot of former questions.
I like to load a drum beat onto my phone and then play it into the pickups on my guitar so that it's in the looper :) Then i can have a beat to layer some rhythm parts over. Fun for practice/noodling times!
You can lay down a "click track" by muting strings and strumming your beat out. Adds another layer too.
Pretty sure a "Clear Your Loops, People" shirt would sell.
Been looping since the '80's so happy that you touched on the loose and random kickback of using these pedals in an open creative way great primer!
Great introduction to looping for beginners. Thanks for doing what you do. It’s very gracious of you both to share your knowledge and expertise. Much appreciated!
I recently sold my Boss RC-5 and bought a simple ditto looper. I play with headphones on most of the time and I just didn’t like what the Boss at the end did to my tone. Dynamics and pick attack were not the same. Now I use the ditto and it’s true bypass doesn’t change my tone. I’m not saying Boss pedals are bad but I definitely feel the difference. I run a fuzz and wah first then I use a buffer with low output impedance at 100 ohm, then I have 6 all true bypass pedals going into the amp. Just a home player but still a tone chaser and to my ears it’s the best setup for me at this time. The buffer pedal with 1m ohm input impedance and 100 ohm output impedance was a game changer in my setup. Only using a 10ft cable from guitar to first pedal and 6ft cable from last pedal to amp so 1 buffer is perfect. If you have more than 50 feet of cable another buffer before the amp would drive a nice clean signal back to the amp. Just my 2 cents. YMMV
Whatever you do just try to have fun while your learning.
Take care folks
Just a note here one of the things I like about you guys is the fact you don't get too heady, just Mick and Dan. Experimentation and learning a main stream. Tonal quality a driven factor, making this a go to stream for anyone at any level. Mick stay comfortable with yourself no expectations, stay away from politics both political and business, I think it weighs heavy on you. Stay as honest as you can with yourselves it resonates in your shows. Wishing you guys the best for the new year. :)
Thanks Coree. Business and politics weighs heavy on everybody I hope, because it’s what causes the most pain against where decent human aspiration sits. Comrades together for the same purpose, instead of enemies pitched against one another. Business and politics needs the latter. Hey ho.
@@ThatPedalShow :)
Nice introductory episode, but I'm now looking forward to seeing who you can get in and what you can do for a more advanced episode! Maybe there's a tie-in with the new Chase Bliss thing?
I do live looping. I'm not good, not even close to pro, it's my hobby.
The thing I'd like to see more of is more people trying to write structured music with them. Not necessarily verse, bridge, chorus, but stuff that has some kind of structure to them that drives an emotional arc, if that makes sense.
Loopers are fantastic at ambient music. And to be clear: if that's your jam more power to you. But I'm more interested in music that builds, changes, and sometimes surprises. Loopers are pretty bad for that.
I've been experimenting with camouflaging loops as I lay them down so that when they get played on their own it seems novel despite having been heard before.
In my latest the main section is an ambiguous progression, it alternates between an augmented chord and one built on stacked fifths. The ending's in a bog standard Am, and hopefully gives some sense of closure and relief after the weird churn of the beginning.
To load the Am parts I first create a short melodic loop, a disposable one, that has an Eflat prominently in it. That aharmonic tone obscures the tonality of the rest of those loops and continues the restlessness of first section.
I can't say it's perfectly successful, but to my ear the Am part heard for the first time unobscured has more impact than if you'd heard it being loaded naked. It's just a little surprising despite having been heard previously.
All that said, I love live looping. I love the puzzlebox nature of trying to make good music with one. It suits my way of thinking right down to the ground.
This sounds great - love your concept of emotional arc. All good music has that IMHO. Mick here. Nice!
Dan's first overdub made the loop at the beginning of the vid sound incredible!! Seemed to impress the room. Could have gone in a traditional direction from there and not made the idea a throw away. Sounded like a keeper to me.
I accompany my wife's Yoga classes with loopers, iPads, acoustic guitars and TELECASTERS! Still, I'm sure there is value for me in this video.
Looper pedals are great
Looper pedals are great
Looper pedals are great
Looper pedals are great
...
taerg era sladep repooL
taerg era sladep repooL
taerg era sladep repooL
taerg era sladep repooL
I hate loopers
I hate looper
I hate loope
I hate loop
@@davidk.8608 I ate (fruit) loops
Ha
Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha...........
Ah!
Ahh!!
Ahhh!!
Ahhhh!!!!
Ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!
@@fishypaw man it's called FL Studio!!
A simple way to get a basic drumtrack is recording a few bars of a drum pattern from a drumloop app on your mobile phone. Just use a plain audio cable with a mini jack from the headphone output into an extra jackplug (from mini to normal size) into the input of your looper.
If you need a quick click track for practice you can just put your phone playing the drumbeat close to your guitar pickup and record/loop it like that.
Thanks for this.
There are a few things that you did not mention which might be useful for those new to loopers to know:
1. Some loopers have an auto record setting, which means that you do not have to depress a footswitch in order to start the first loop
2. It might be good to talk about how loopers deal with the less common time signatures (e.g., 7 beats to the bar); some loopers have settings for these less common time signatures
3. The second-hand market can be a good way to find relatively sophisticated loopers at affordable prices
4. Storage - instead of having to clear one's loops/overdubs, some loopers have huge memories which can literally accommodate h;ours of recordings, and they also have the ability to name and/or number tracks
How can I use my dirty channel on my amp while using my looper pedal on the clean channel?
Watching the end of this video about Australia's problems at the beginning of 2020 has such dramatic irony now. Great show!
Tash Sultana is another incredible looper.
Shane Gochenouer yeah man, she’s fantastic
Used a Boss RC1 for years but now switched to the MXR clone Looper. I absolutely love it. The sound quality is superb and another level compared to the Boss. I gave the Boss to my buddy and now we are looping together. It is so difficult to get both in time :D Anyone any suggestions for keeping two guitars and maybe a drum machine in sync ?
Yes - get the Ditto X2 Jam - it listens to the beat and adjusts the loop in real time to stay with the drummer / drum machine.
Learning to keep rhythm is a so overlooked skill for guitarists or any musician for that matter. When you play guitar by yourself you can be lazy about rhythm but as soon as you start playing with a machine timing becomes important. If your rhythm skill is so poor that you can't punch in the looper on the "1" and punch out on the "4" then you need a metronome stat. Get one from the Playstore. Something simple. Program it for 4/4 time 4 beats per measure and a comfortable bpm (beats per minute) say 70 bpm. I have the metronome loaded on my phone and I turn that on first. Start playing a simple chord progression or better yet just one chord for 4 or 8 beats (one or two measures). Then count out 1,2,3,4 as you play the chord. For someone who has never worked with a drummer or other musicians just knowing how to count out measures is important. First learn to come in exactly on the one and then count to four to know precisely when to stop the loop. This basic set of skills is probably beyond the ability of most beginner guitarists because they were taught chords but not the first thing about tempo and counting. So, the first thing a looper will do for you is show you how bad your timing skills are. But that having been said it will quickly whip your timing skills into shape. And once you learn to lay down basic rhythm loops in time then those loops become the metronome so to speak because a machine will never vary in playing back a loop that was laid down properly unlike playing with another musician who might vary in playing, speeding up or slowing down in tempo. In fact, I like to think of a looper as kind of like another musician who will play rhythm in time endlessly and never complain or ask you to play rhythm while they play "lead". And you don't have to pay them or anything!
I put the looper at the beginning of the signal chain when I want to put a pedal through its paces... say I've added a new overdrive and I want to see what it can do, how it affects my other pedals, and decide how I like it set. Running a loop into the rest of the effects leaves my hands free to adjust the settings on the fly and get instant feedback as to how that affects the sound. If I want to play over the loop, my Ditto goes at the end of the chain.
This is the best use of a Looper. Adjusting your Sound. Play a loop and then Tweak your Amp, Pedals ... anything you need.
Best for a New Amp.
No more Play, Stop, Turn a knob -Play, Stop, Turn a knob -Play, Stop, Turn a knob.
Back up, Listen. Go Change Settings, back up and Listen again.
It's Life Changing for Learning New Gear.
Somebody's most probably posted this, but if one begins play the initial part first and then when it turns around for the 2nd time through, you hit the switch on that "1" beat. i think that's an easier intro than coming on to to looper and the initial "1" beat at the exact same instant. It's worked here anyway hope i was clear in the description of the technique.
Having neglected TPS for a few episodes I'm really loving the sound of that Jazzmaster!
Joseph Arthur is coming to the UK soon and is a massive user of Loopers. He's been doing at least as long, if not before KT Tunstell.
Hi D&M! If you talk about looping you NEED to talk to Bernhoft (Jarle Bernhoft). He is just one of the best!❤️
I think I might really want that Boss RC-10R, but it's pricey. I finally got a Ditto a few months ago, but I haven't been practicing so much. Now that my company's annual conference (which I organise) and the holidays are over, I need to rededicate myself to practice.
In answer to "where in the effects chain"? Try putting the pedals in the front and the looper in the effects loop.
I have a "swap" pedal that will swap the order of two pedal chains. So... If you put some effects and a looper in one link, and a second looper in the other, you can record a loop, swap, effect the loop and rerecord it, swap, etc... A great method for degrading loops, especially with a looper that has speed/direction options.
Never mind the conductor, the bassist, the drummer or your own sense of rhythm....the dude that REALLY knows where the one is....is the looper!
Great show!
I like splitting the signal path with one path to amp A with pedals, and one path with looper (effects after) to amp B. Then I can create a loop and add effects as needed, and switch to the other path to play leads or add texture. Great fun!
The only thing I would add, as a benefit of the looper being at the end of the signal chain, and perhaps this goes without saying for some, is the ability to lay down a loop thats not necessarily clean, but uses SOME effects, and then playing over top of it with DIFFERENT effects. I like slow arpeggiated chords swimming in delay and reverb as my base, and then considerably less of those, but more crunch or hair (from the D&M drive) played over top.
Just the episode I was waiting for. Building a pedalboard to use with a 4 cable method into an amp head and was wondering how to be able to play loop rhythm and fills and lead with different tones, and my instinct was right, the looper needs to go in the fx loop at the end of the chain before returning to the head. Now I just have to do all the cabling and power supply setup. And then start tweaking pedals (17, of which 4 are MIDI, the amp head is as well...) and programming patches and the controller. Oh yes, my first time ever dealing with MIDI. Augh my head hurts already, St Mick pray for me, you know in your flesh what I'm about to experience...
Looking forward to this. Right now I only use my looper to develop solo's.
Some time ago you made me know the Looper and I really appreciate it.
I'm now addict to the Looper. I can no longer live without my Ditto!!!
Fantastic inspiration, on the same day my pre-order Boss RC-10R show up. It was Danish Pete looping convinced me it was time run down this rabbit hole,
Good primer - just as I was looking at the MXR.................. I know I'm always late to the party; I just tripped over a new favorite overdrive (actually two) the MXR "Sugar Drive" and the Keeley "Sweet Spot" for low gain applications. Very good! Best, Pete.
Also good for getting/discovering different tones from your guitar. Neck pickup tone down etc Plus subtle use of volume.
I need a Blooper pedal to press when I play a bum note.
Jonathan Duffett Dragons den idea right there mate! You could make a fortune!
you could call it the "D!ck Finger"
The Boss RC3 is my current looper. Having a save function is a godsend, great as a notepad, so no more riffs lost to the ether.
I learned the hard way that manually looping to a separate drum machine pattern is near impossible to time without getting drift.
Fortunately the drum machine I got was Digitech and they can sync to a looper that has the same feature using a simple double ended 3.5mm stereo lead to trigger the looper.
It required selling the basic Boss looper I had to get the equivalent Digitech one.
So if you want to do what the integrated solution Boss pedal was doing, but would prefer a more modular approach, look for the sync cable feature on what you get.
(could not tell you though if other brands have this or if there would be compatibility between brands if they did.)
The Boss is like the Digitech Trio+. Had one, sold it, steep learning curve - i'm learning guitar, not looper pedals! TC Ditto all the way! I try to do a muted drum pattern on the first take then play chords etc after that. Great show, btw.
I use my Ditto Looper almost every time i play guitar at home. It made me a better player. At the beginning i used a metronome to get the beat bang on but after a week i ditched the metronome and got the feel of the thing.
Kids + Candy Store... Exactly what did we think would happen...?
Looping is fantastic for practice and creativity. I got an "extra" Boss RC3 specifically for my Roland electric cajon. Think about it. Was great on its own but combining with the additional RC3 stationed beside guitar pedal board, things got out of synch pretty rapidly. Still, it was worth a try. Also, can just loop a 12 bar blues rhythm in different keys to practice solos over your own rhythm. Mick: RC30 has XLR for vocal mic; vocal harmonies are fantastic fun. (e.g. The Weight) Can also layer maracas, tambourine, shakers... Additional benefit, looping is much like recording by yourself into a DAW at home. Right, Dan? Left brain + right brain exercise. Engineer meets artist, right in your own little brain. Finally, as practical matter, Boss pedals with Boss's large pedal actuators are easier to hit. Especially when you suddenly need to break out of a trance! RC10 with conventional actuators looks odd to me. So to everyone out there in the community, shop around for what's best for you. Massive kudos to both of you for playing while sitting down. And Mick! Taunting us all with perfect timing using your heel extended all the way to MXR! Cheers, guys.