Best Looper Pedal Selection 2024

Best Looper Pedal Selection 2024









Alexander







March 14, 2024







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Looper pedals are in a league of their own. They’re one of those gears that aren’t exclusively tied to tone shaping but pure artistry. This means that choosing the best looper pedal will largely depend on your style and how you use loops.









Best Simple Looper





Boss RC-1The Boss RC-1 is a reliable looper pedal that gets the job done with its simplicity and practical features.








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Best Compact Looper





Boss RC-5The Boss RC-5 takes basic looping a notch higher with extra features, more control, and better display.








Sweetwater










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Best for Beginners





TC Electronic Ditto LooperThe Ditto Looper from TC Electronic is the ultimate minimalist looper. Compact, reliable, and super easy to use.








Sweetwater










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Best 2-Track Looper





Sheeran LooperDeveloped in collaboration with Headrush, the Sheeran Looper + is a feature-rich looper with a user-friendly interface.








Sweetwater










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Best Gigging Looper





Boss RC-500 Loop StationThe Boss RC-500 is a powerful looping solution from Boss, with a guitarist friendly interface and feature set.








Sweetwater










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Artists like Ed Sheeran or Kimbra have used looper pedals to layer up their sound on the spot. Each added layer progresses a singer/songwriter setup into a one-man band.With so many different brands and options, choosing the best looper pedal can be daunting. After all, each genre and person has a unique looping style. Here, we’ll help make this selection easy for you, specifically catering to the needs of guitarists.In this 2024 edition, newer and more powerful loop pedals have superseded our previous recommendations. Here, we feature the current best looper pedal options in the market.Many of the very best looper pedals are still from big-name brands like Boss and TC-Electronic. But some wildcards from Boomerang and the new Sheeran Guitars line deserve closer inspection.



























Table of Contents












Best Looper Pedal Selection 2024













Boss RC-1







Boss RC-5







TC Electronic Ditto Looper







Sheeran Looper +







Boss RC-500 Loop







Boomerang III Looper Pedal













Things to consider when buying the best looper pedal
















Boss RC-1



Best Simple Looper

















Boss RC-1



Guitarsite Expert Opinion







The Boss RC-1 is a straightforward looper pedal appreciated for its simplicity and practical features, including a volume knob and LED display for easy control.





















0

out of 100








Manufacturer: Boss








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This looper makes live looping much easier because of the LED step sequencer. It gives you all you need to time your loops correctly.Boss products have dominated the market due to their reliability and good build quality.The RC-1 is the most basic of all Boss’ Looper lineups. It doesn’t have flashy onboard effects. Instead, where it shines is ease of use and simplicity. It has enough looping capacity to layer up to 12 minutes worth of stereo loops.At the front of the pedal, you have a big volume knob for easy level control over your loops. You also have an LED display with 24 steps to provide a visual cue. It allows you to see where you are in the loop.What mode is selected in the pedal switch is also conveniently reflected in the LED display from recording your first loop to your overdubs. You could also connect an external foot switch to the RC-1 as well.This looper pedal is also capable of both mono and stereo inputs and stereo outputs. You can connect 2 mono instruments for looping in multi-instrumentalist setups.There’s always a pedal for musicians who prefer to go basic or zen with their rigs. However, it could also aid you in collaborative setups. Undeniably, the Boss RC-1 is a great starter pedal for beginners and professionals alike.







Pros:







24 Step LCD Display that works well




12 minute recording time, enough for basic looping use




Resilient, Boss-grade build quality








Cons:







No power supply included




Lacks onboard effects



















Specifications:
Total Loop Time: 12 MinutesLoop Memory Slot: InternalAudio Quality: Not SpecifiedInput: 2 x 1/4″ (Stereo)Output: 2 x 1/4″ (Stereo)Power: DC Adapter (Optional) or 9V BatteryExtra Feature: 24 Segment Loop Indicator, Stereo In/OutDimensions: 2.375″ x 5.125″ x 2.875″Weight: 1 lb.















Boss RC-5



Best Compact Looper
















Boss RC-5



Guitarsite Expert Opinion:







The Boss RC-5 offers streamlined looping with robust features, ideal for solo performers and songwriters. Its tank-like build ensures durability, while 13 hours of stereo recording capacity gives you the assurance that you have more than enough to generate musical ideas.





















0

out of 100








Manufacturer: Boss








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The best looper pedals out there have a streamlined looping process and a blend of simplicity and extra features.For a small form factor, the Boss RC-5 takes the design of a simple looper, turning your performances into a solo orchestra. This loop pedal enables you to do your loops and overdubs in pristine, 32-bit audio.At the back of our minds, we do have the fear of running out of loop overdubs. With this looper, you’ll also not run out of loop capacity, enabling you to record a whopping 13 hours of stereo recording. That’s more than enough time for you to get creative.Throw in an external footswitch or an expression pedal, and you have a whole powerhouse of functions for its built-in parameters.Thanks to the boss stereo looper engine, the RC-5 provides 7 different drum kits and 57 preset rhythms. You can save your presets in the box using one of its 99 memory patches.You could also add your custom-made beats as well. Hook it to a USB port and drag the file over RC-5’s storage.The LCD gives you a visual representation of where you are in the beat. The top gives you a four-bar count and a continuous time duration at the bottom.My only minor issue is it only has reverb as an effect. It would also be great if there’s a built-in basic compressor to tame the transients of the drum loops.Overall, both beginners and seasoned professionals will benefit from Boss RC-5. To be specific, however, its features are a great fit for singers/songwriters who make custom beats on the side.










Pros:







Tank-like signature boss enclosure




13-Hour Loop Storage. Good for storing riffs and ideas




USB-ready, extendable memory of up to 99 phrase presets




Can double as a percussion auto-accompaniment tool with 114 Drum patterns








Cons:







Features feel a bit cramped using a single footswitch control




Lacks a simple compressor for taming beats













Specifications:
Total Loop Time: 13 Minutes StereoLoop Tracks: 1Loop Memory Slot: Internal with USB SupportAudio Quality: 32-bit/44.1kHzInput: 2 x 1/4″ (A/mono,B)Output: 2 x 1/4″ (A/mono,B)Power: 9V Battery, 9V DC power Supply (Sold Separately)Extra Feature: LCD Display, Built-in Drum Patterns, Stereo In/OutDimensions: 2.375″ x 5.125″ x 2.875″Weight: 1 lb.USB-Ready: Yes



















TC Electronic Ditto Looper



Best for Beginners
















TC Electronic Ditto Looper



Guitarsite Expert Opinion:







This straightforward looper pedal prioritizes top-notch audio quality and recording capacity over complex features. With simple controls for recording, overdubbing, and playback, it offers up to 5 minutes of recording time, ideal for songwriting and practice sessions. While lacking advanced features, its true bypass circuitry ensures transparent sound.





















0

out of 100








Manufacturer: TC Electronic








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Instead of battling the many complex loopers on the market, the TC Electronic Ditto Looper sticks with the simple route. Sporting a compact looper pedal design with just one switch that’s smaller than regular guitar pedals. Its simple one-footswitch design allows for basic looping functions in a compact stompbox form factor.This is credited for starting the compact looper craze; other manufacturers eventually joined. Govan, Gilbert, and other guitarists have used this pedal well, boosting its popularity.Instead of complicating matters with more controls and features, this simple looper pedal focuses on providing the best possible audio quality and recording capacity.It won’t let you tweak deep settings, but for a single footswitch pedal, it enables you to trigger recording, overdubs, play, and stop, and it even allows for undo and redo via different ways of stepping on the switch.As for memory, this small footprint stompbox gives you up to 5 minutes of recording, more than enough for a complete song with multiple loops, be it for practice or performance.True bypass circuitry and analog-dry-through circuitry ensure good transparency, making this an ideal discrete addition to any pedalboard or rig.But given its size and price, it’s just a looper pedal; don’t expect extra features. A more advanced version called the Ditto+ is also available, and it features TC-Electronic’s groundbreaking extended Loop Mode that lets you do longer and more complex recordings and overdubs.My only concern for this pedal is that it requires more time to get used to the single footswitch interface, but it is still one of the best looper pedal deals if you are looking for a compact looper.










Pros:







Unparalleled simplicity




Transparent-sounding audio quality




Construction and look are solid








Cons:







No tempo sync




Mono looping only













Specifications:
Total Loop Time: 300 SecondsLoop Tracks: 1Loop Memory Slot: 1Audio Quality: 24-bit A/D/AInput: 1 x 1/4″Output: 1 x 1/4″Power: DC AdapterDimensions: 1.9″ x 1.9″ x 3.7”Weight: Less than 1 lb.



















Sheeran Looper +



Best Dual-Track Looper