Upgrade your guitar-playing skills and have fun with our top 5 loop pedal picks.
Hey there, fellow guitar enthusiasts! Ever tried jamming with a loop pedal? Trust us; it’s an absolute blast.
Whether you’re a seasoned player or just picking up the guitar, these nifty gadgets can take your skills to a whole new level.
We’ve got the lowdown on the top 5 loopers that’ll have you strumming and looping in no time.
Good to Know
Using a loop pedal effectively requires skill both in arranging and performing. To help you avoid a poor sound, we've compiled our top five tips for using a loop pedal correctly. After that, we'll share our recommended loop pedals.
Q. How do I use a loop pedal properly?
If you’re new to using a looper pedal, these tips will make it easier for you.
- Prepare -It can be hard to get your head around the technique of playing with a loop pedal at first. Beginners should evolve to using a looper after first playing with a metronome. Next, try using a jam track, as getting impressive-sounding results from a loop pedal relies on your tight rhythm playing & tight timing.
- Timing – If you can’t play in time when you try to layer and then loop your guitar parts, your loop won’t match at the end and beginning points. It won’t sound pretty, my friend. To ensure your loop points are bang on, count the measures of the bar as you play. Always count yourself in: 1,2,3,4 1= press loop pedal + begin playing.
- Plan – It’s no good playing a low bass line melody and then following it with another two low bass parts. Everything will sound awfully muddy very quickly. Think of complimenting frequencies. Think: a clean end single note riff layered with bright shimmery chorus effect chords, followed by crunchy distortion pedal treated melody lines. Gorgeous.
- Practice – Creating beautiful masterpieces on a loop pedal won’t happen overnight. You have to practice honing your timing and playing skills to become a looper maestro. Ultimately, it comes down to this – have fun and go experiment.
The Best Looper Pedals for Practice, Live Shows and Jamming
Version 2: If you want a loop pedal that sounds great and has some fun options, you should check out the Ditto X2 loop pedal1. It’s a popular choice among guitar legends such as Paul Gilbert, who love its sound quality and features.
You can spice up your loops by playing them in reverse, half-speed, or blending them together. You can create some stunning soundscapes with this looper.
The Ditto X2 is also the most user-friendly looper on our list. You have access to all the functions – record, start, stop, overdub, and fx – with two reliable footswitches.
The pedal is not only durable but also has 24-bit audio quality that will please any audiophile. It also has true bypass and analogue dry through, which make your loops (and guitar playing) sound fantastic.
Best Bits:
- Record time – 5 minutes with unlimited overdubbing
- Memory Presets – n/a
- Power – 9V Batteries or AC power supply (sold separately)
- USB Connection – Yes
- 24-bit audio sound quality
- Internal dip switch lets you swap looping switch functionality from loop/play/overdub to loop/overdub/play
- Half-speed and reverse effects
- FX control switch can also be set as a dedicated stop switch
- Backing track library from JamTrackCentral included
You’ll love: TC Electronic are proud of the optimized headroom and True Bypass. What does this mean to you? Your loops will sound amazing, with optimal tonal integrity and no loss of tone.
You might not dig: It’s juicy on the old 9V batteries, meaning you’re best off getting an AC power supply if you’re not using a multi-supply on your pedalboard.
The RC-5 is a compact and powerful looper pedal that offers high-quality sound and a range of features. You can record up to a whopping 13 hours of loops in 99 memory slots and use up to 7 effects at the same time.
You can also control any parameter with the volume pedal and play along with 57 rhythm patterns and 7 kits.
The RC-5 has a clear LCD screen that shows you the loop status and settings and a visual representation of your loop progress.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced guitarist, the RC-5 is a great industry-standard loop pedal that’ll help you improve your playing skills while exploring your creativity.
Best Bits
- Record time – 13 hours
- Memory Presets – 99
- Power – Batteries or AC power supply (sold separately)
- USB Connection – Yes
- 1/4″ A and B input jacks, 1/8″ mini auxiliary input jack
- USB 2.0 port lets you import/export WAV audio
- Rhythm guide with 57 patterns
- Perfect for guitarists and bassists
You’ll love: The MIDI jacks are mini TRS type, so you need an adaptor cable to connect to standard MIDI devices.
You might not dig: The LCD screen that shows you the loop status and settings.
Don’t have any jamming buddys on hand? No problem. The versatile Digitech TRIO+ Band Creator is a looper pedal with all the bells and whistles. It produces bass and drum accompaniment, so you can layer and loop guitar chords, melodies, lead harmonies…whatever tickles your fancy.
With presents that cover 12 music genres including Rock, Pop, Country, Blues, Latin, and Jazz (each with 12 song styles) the TRIO+ looper pedal can even learn up to five different song parts.
If you’re after a decent looper the TRIO+ goes the extra mile and, when used properly, will help you sculpt your overall musicianship skills – not just your guitar playing.
This looper and rhythm machine will make practice and trying out new ideas so much more fun!
Best Bits
- Memory Presets – record up to 12 songs
- Power – DC power supply (included)
- USB Connection – Yes; Mini-USB
- Audio Input: 1/4″ instrument, FX return, stereo jack for footswitch
- Adjustable tempo with Audiolastic time stretching
- Audio Output: Line Out (Monaural, 1/4″), Headphone (Stereo, 1/8″)
You’ll love: The ultimate band-in-a-box experience.
You might not dig: Sime users felt the onboard bass guitar sounds could be more powerful.
The Boss RC-600 Loop Station is a great choice for musicians who want a powerful and versatile loop pedal. It has six tracks with dedicated controls so you can create complex and layered loops.
The RC-600 also has a built-in drum machine with over 200 different patterns. This feature means you can easily create complete backing tracks for your loops.
You have the option to connect the looper to your FX send/return in your amp, or if you’re not using a modelling amp, the footswitches can be plugged into the standard input channel also.
There is no noticeable latency when switching between adjacent loops, so you can layer as much as you want.
You can save a loop while the looper is still in playback, and your sounds are saved as high-quality 32-bit .wav files.
The RC-600 is an ideal option for musicians who frequently perform live on stage or in the studio. Its versatility and durability also make it an excellent choice for tech-savvy home players.
Best Bits
- Record time – Unlimited with SD card Memory Presets
- Memory Presets – 99 internal + 99
- Power – AC power supply (included)
- USB Connection – Yes
- 32-bit AD/DA and 32-bit floating-point processing
- Over 200 onboard rhythm patterns and 16 drum kits
- Two XLR mic inputs with phantom power, two stereo line input pairs, and three stereo assignable line output pairs
- Six simultaneous stereo phrase tracks
You’ll love: The massive onboard effects selection with 49 Input FX and 53 Track FX types and the ability to use four at once in each section.
You might not dig: The learning curve to master all the features and functions of the RC-600.
With quality sounding drum machine loops and 256 memory slots you’ll love the clear sound of your guitar loops through the NUX JTC looper pedal.
It has a 6-hour recording capability and 256 loop track memories, so you can record and store as many loops as you want.
The sound quality is superb, with 24-bit and 44.1 kHz sample rates, and you can easily transfer your loops to your computer via USB
Tap the left foot switch to control recording and overdubs, whilst the auto-recording function lets you tap the foot switch and won’t start recording till you play your instrument.
Best Bits
- Record time – 6 hours
- Memory Presets – 10
- Power – 9V DC power supply (not included)
- USB Connection – Yes; Micro-B
- Loop & rhythm engines can be used together or individually
- 24-bit audio quality
You’ll love: The robust build and sound quality.
You might not dig: Can be a bit of a learning curve for looper novices.
Summing it Up
You’ve read about 5 looper pedals
That can make your loops sound incredible
From simple to complex, from cheap to expensive
There’s a pedal for every preference
Looping is more than just repeating sounds
It’s a way to explore your musical bounds
With these pedals, you can create layers and textures
And impress your listeners with your loop adventures
So don’t hesitate, don’t delay
Pick your favorite pedal today
And unleash your inner loop artist
With these 5 looper pedals that are the best!
