Get Started With Looper Pedals For Guitar [Basic Operation, Signal Chain] - That Pedal Show
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 січ 2020
- 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/uk/products/rc-...
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.com/three2one
• Peterson Strobo Stomp HD Tuner
UK & Europe: bit.ly/2Ozf60o
USA: imp.i114863.net/jdY3M
Australia: bit.ly/2lM39so
• ZVEX Box of Rock
www.zvex.com/guitar-pedals/bo...
Australia: bit.ly/35Fg4h8
• Benson Preamp
UK & Europe: bit.ly/3mtz5Ml
Australia: bit.ly/2VVJu9l
USA: bit.ly/3x2sost
• Analogman Bi-Chorus
www.buyanalogman.com/Analog_M...
• Diamond Memory Lane Jr Delay
www.diamondpedals.com/products...
• 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.com/humdinger
TheGigRig G2
www.thegigrig.com/g2
* Why do we have preferred retailer links? Find out here: www.thatpedalshow.com/partners
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.
You can buy TPS merch to support our efforts www.thatpedalshowstore.com
We are on Patreon - crowdfunding for creatives
/ thatpedalshow
Please visit our preferred retailers!
UK & Europe: Andertons Music bit.ly/2cRvIvt
Australia: Pedal Empire bit.ly/2mWmJQf
USA: That Pedal Shop www.thatpedalshop.com/
Should have titled this "Looper: a 45 minute explanation on how to play with yourself"
Cheers guys.
I like your funny words, Moogle Man.
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"?
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.
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 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. :-)
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.
And before you know it a whole day has flown by, and you've somehow finished your first post-rock album!
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.
My favorite person who does looping is KNOBs. I just picked up a CBA blooper and it is something else.
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 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 .
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 👍
Thanks as always guys. You guys inspire me to keep my channel growing and also helping me improve it all the time!
the dynamic duo of tone
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!
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 :)
Thanks for the show guys. Amazing as always.
Would love to see a show on your musical influences/favorite albums and your approach on how to recreate these sounds !
Great timing with this episode..... Received my first looper for Christmas and been having a lot of fun
Just got a Boss RC3 for my birthday, perfect timing as always chaps!
This is the best looper instructional video ever? Thanks guys 🎸
Yay the jazzmater is back!!
I’ve got the Ditto x2, and I’m excited to go practice using it again. Thanks for the inspiration guys!
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 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
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.
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
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
You guys have a great show...very detailed and fun. I've learned a lot about the right way to use pedals from you guys.
Keep up the great work. Much respect.
Thank you Peter!
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.
This will be a fun one to watch. Thanks guys
Thank you Gents and Lady. Happy New year. The content remains vibrant, hugely enjoyable and vital; hopefully sufficiently viral to garner you a few quid to boot.
Keep doing good shows, OK?
Thanks for doing an episode I requested ages ago :)
Just about to start watching it.
Edit: I just realized that having your looper at the beginning of your chain is an amazing way to learn how your other pedals work together and react when you change settings... COOL!
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.
Nice vid. Really enjoyed it. Was following along nicely, and then that Tele kicked. Wow. It sounds amazing. Good luck. Thanks guys!
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.
Great video Mick and Dan. Appreciate your efforts.
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,
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.
Time to break my looper out again. Very inspiring episode guys. Thank you!
Looking forward to this. Right now I only use my looper to develop solo's.
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! ✌
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.
LOL!! It's nice to know I'm not the only player who is looper challenged. It looked like you guys were having a lot of fun. Thanks for the vid!
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.
Perfect timing, I was looking to buy a new looper pedal. You guys are great!
I really like the idea of the looper at the start of the chain, freeing you to turn effects on and off to dial in a new sound quite easily. Hadn’t thought of that yet. Cheers! Love the show here in Canada btw!
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.
Ooh! New MXR looper does the octave up Nels Cline thing??!! Well they just stole the looper market! Thanks for another amazing show. All the best wishes for the new year you fine gents.
Great job guys. Good episode.
Thank you! I’ve been looking at the mxr looper and ditto pedal.
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!
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 ;)
Intro was great!
Watching the end of this video about Australia's problems at the beginning of 2020 has such dramatic irony now. Great show!
Pretty sure a "Clear Your Loops, People" shirt would sell.
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!
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
Having neglected TPS for a few episodes I'm really loving the sound of that Jazzmaster!
Thank's I been wondering in the front of chain or rear
It was cool you made a show
Great one, guys!
Cheers
Maybe not the most educational, but surely the most enjoyable. Good job lads. ;-)
Your first pedal purchase should be a looper! It's a great practise tool and lots of fun!
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?
1st!!! just what i need. been having problems with my looper. thanks D&M.
Perfect timing as Santa (my wife) brought me a Boss looper pedal!!!
Thanks guys!!!
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.
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
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
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.
Nice timing, I just bought a looper the other day.
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
Epic sounds guys! Syd Barret would have loved this!!
Sees Dan's and Nick's face around 2:50 and realises this is going to be a good one!!!
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.
Tash Sultana is another incredible looper.
Shane Gochenouer yeah man, she’s fantastic
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 played for years in a band that used drum machines. That really sharpens up your timing.
There's that Jazzmaster again! 😆 I love that color. ✌️🙏
Great topic, thanks for doing the video. Lots of twiddling and fussing about.
very entertalining lads -- I have a looper in a draw somewhere which I'm going to pull out and have another go with ... it's a journey
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.
Looper between delay and reverb is my personal favourite.
Also good for getting/discovering different tones from your guitar. Neck pickup tone down etc Plus subtle use of volume.
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.
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 :)
Hi guys !Really intresting subject as always, I really love Dan's playing/impro around 20 min in the video (it reminds me a lot of the Pink Floyd "the wall" album guitar tone).Your vintage Tele sounds really good.Kindest regards from France
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
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.
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.
I got a Ditto X4 awhile back and it has really helped with practicing, you can go nuts with it and create all sorts of goodies (verses, chorus, backing tracks, etc) and it helps if you're writing stuff too! And to add to your discussion on timing, diligently practicing with a looper (and a metronome if you like) will help your timing, which if you're ever going to play with others in a band scenario is a most important skill to have :-)
Now that's what I call keeping it Simple 😤😤
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 love LOVE when I don’t clear the looper at shows and when I miss the double tap to stop.
You are coming to Larvik in March!!!! So looking forward to that :)
Fun stuff guys, and MAN that Memory Lane Jr sounds AMAZING!
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.