Unique Ways to Use a Looper Pedal

Most musicians, especially guitarists, have used a looper at one point or another. I was exposed to looping as soon as I purchased my first guitar pedal, a Zoom G1Xon multi-effects processor I saw in a pawn shop. From there, my looping obsession was born. At first, I practiced playing lead by jamming over basic chord progressions. Later, I began to create full loop-based songs with guitar and vocals. Even now, a BOSS RC-30 lives on my pedalboard as part of the looping setup in my home studio. If you’re anything like me, then jamming along to a chord progression isn’t enough to satisfy your creative impulse. So, here are some new and interesting ways to use a looper pedal live, in the studio, and in your local music showroom.

Play Solo and Lead Onstage with One Guitar

Imagine that you’re the only guitar player in a band. When the group cuts a new single, you can play the rhythm and lead lines on separate tracks. But, unless you’re capable of playing two guitars at once, translating that song to the stage will be a challenge. Playing rhythm onstage by yourself sounds excellent, but, when it comes time for you to play a solo or lead line, the rhythm guitar disappears, leaving an audible gap in the mix. To achieve a studio sound onstage, your group has three options: pay a touring guitarist, program backing tracks, or use a looper. Any looper can work in this situation, especially the handy TC Electronic Ditto or the BOSS RC-1.

Let’s say that the solo lasts for eight bars, and the rhythm guitar plays the same 4-bar chord progression twice during that time. Hit record on your looper before the lead solo starts and record a 4-bar loop that will work in the solo slot. Then, simply kick on the recorded rhythm part as you begin soloing. I find that this helps to keep the mix filled out, leading to a more complete sound and a happy audience.

Test Pedals Before You Buy

Sweetwater’s Product Research team does a great job helping our customers understand how an effects pedal works and sounds. But what do you do if you prefer to hear your gear with your own ears before taking it home? This is a situation where I reach for a compact looper with onboard storage, like the TC Electronic Ditto+.

Instead of dragging your whole rig into a showroom, simply record a dry loop of one of your instruments and store it on your looper. Once you get to your demo location, assemble a selection of pedals and plug them into an amp that’s similar to what you usually use. Place your looper first in the signal chain and let it play. From there, tweak knobs and try different combinations of effects to find the sound in your head. You’ll spend less time coping with an unfamiliar instrument and more time judging how well you like the effects.

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Create Quick Demos

Here’s something that regularly happens to me: I’ll be playing guitar or keyboard when a flash of creativity blooms unexpectedly. But, before I can boot up my Mac Studio and set up a new session in Digital Performer, the idea slips through my grasp and vanishes into the ether. However, keeping a looper on hand prevents you from missing a moment of creativity and makes it easy to cut a rough demo.

The next time the creative bug bites you, kick on your looper and record your idea. Add lead or rhythm parts, plug in a bass guitar, and record the low end and anything else you think of. Once you’re done, load up your DAW and record the loop as many times as necessary. Once you record a scratch vocal, you’ll have a quick and dirty demo to share with anyone who needs to hear it. Using your looper to track a demo won’t just save you the time and effort of nailing multiple takes; the looper always keeps you from losing an idea in the chaos.

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Store Backing Vocals

Harmonies and layered vocals can impact your sound, but you may not have that luxury every time you perform. If your looper has onboard storage and a mic input, then you can store backing vocals before performing or layer parts and harmonies on the fly.

I recently learned to play Lorde’s “Perfect Places” with my 2-channel BOSS RC-30 looper. I chose a new preset slot and recorded the drum loops onto Track 1. I recorded the backing vocals for the bridge and outro onto Track 2, layering them into three-part harmony. Now, whenever I play “Perfect Places,” I’ve always got impactful vocals for the song’s finale. And, since the drums are saved in the preset slot, my backing vocals are always in time.

I recommend choosing a looper with a microphone input and onboard storage, like the BOSS RC-500. However, if you’re just looking to loop vocals onstage, the purpose-built Ditto Mic is an outstanding choice. Additionally, vocal processors such as the BOSS VE-20 and TC-Helicon VoiceLive 3 offer great vocal effects and looping.

Become a 1-piece Ensemble

High-end looping stations afford performers multiple tracks, extensive I/O, and flexible routing to bolster creativity. Depending on your setup and workflow, you can loop guitars, bass, keys, drum machines, and vocals with one unit! With enough practice, you’ll create lush, full-band arrangements in mere minutes — something that may take much longer going track by track in a DAW. Best of all, most multitrack loopers allow you to mute and solo individual tracks as needed, allowing you to diversify your sound. Here are some ultra-flexible loopers that can handle any production workflow!

BOSS RC-505 Mk2BOSS RC-600 Loop StationHeadrush Looperboard

Electro-Harmonix 95000Singular Sound Aeros Loop StudioPigtronix Infinity 3

Of course, you don’t need a fancy looper to play multiple instruments onstage! If you’re rocking a standard Ditto or a similar 1-channel looping pedal, then place an A/B footswitch or another instrument switcher in the signal chain directly in front of your looper. When you’re looping, simply toggle the switch to whatever instrument you want to loop and kick it off when you’re ready to switch back. If you choose to go the A/B route, then ensure that your A/B switch can function with two inputs and a single output like the Whirlwind Selector Active A/B switch box or the JHS Mini A/B box. Need more than two inputs? Check out the Lehle 3at1 SGoS instrument switcher.

Today’s Loop Masters

Tash Sultana

Tash Sultana rocketed to worldwide stardom in 2016 after they released a live looping version of their song “Jungle.” In the video, they use a BOSS RC-30 to handle both verse and chorus loops. More recently, Sultana has upgraded their setup with a BOSS RC-505 loop station to better incorporate brass and woodwind instruments.

Reggie Watts

Reggie Watts is well known for using Electro-Harmonix 95000 and 45000 loopers onstage. In this video, he experiments with syncopated loops and rhythms that truly boggle the mind.

FKJ

A.k.a. French Kiwi Juice, FKJ’s trance-inducing, loop-based sets feature any number of instruments, including his signature sax. His live set at La Fée Electricité in Paris is just one of his unforgettable performances. This video shows him using an Ableton Push 2 to control his loops in Ableton Live.

Elise Trouw

Another performer who uses Ableton Live for looping, Elise Trouw triggers her loops using Live’s internal IAC MIDI driver. In the clip below, you can see Elise performing a live looping version of her song “How to Get What You Want.”

Andrew Bird

Known for looping his violin through a pair of Line 6 DL4 modeling pedals, Andrew Bird crafts lush and mind-meltingly intricate songs. Here, he’s performing “Plasticities” for From the Basement.

Unleash Your Creativity

A looper deserves a spot in everyone’s musical tool kit, whether you’re a new musician honing your skills or a lifelong player searching for new sounds. This deceptively simple piece of gear presents an open musical foundation upon which a musician can build amazing sonic architecture of any style and size. If you’re ready to take the plunge and add a looper pedal to your setup, then call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700 to get started.

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