Looper pedals?

[Justaguyin_nc]

truthfully..I can't imagine..but I am gonna learn...

[Justaguyin_nc]

Well she made me open it... We finished wrapping all the other presents.. except it and MUCH wood for her project (I hope I get to it now.. )

Boss RC-20XL
First impressions: Ok after a hug and a kiss..umm to her.. I "glanced" at the docs and proceeded to hook it up.. ofcourse the lil pedal board has no more room but I squeezed it on there and removed a few with a promise to return them when needed. Plugging it up was like any other pedal, power and in and out 1/4 inch.. Note: no power on or off.. it's always on... Ok so I remember from the first glance at the book left pedal starts this thing and right stops it.. click on the left and there goes the little red light flashing away and me strumming away... cool.. ok hit right pedal to stop it.. hit left again to start it playing.. cool.. Now, I am looking down at this thing and thru my ignorance... I am thinking, now wait if I want to add something to this I have to turn that little knob there called phrase select to 2... My ignorance is telling me this is gonna be a pain! bending to do that each time... than it dawns on me... after seeing videos etc of people using this thing... just dub it now dude... clicking the left foot control once again there is a cute lil yellow light blinking.. cool... I start a lil notey thing over the strums... press the right pedal to stop it.. press left again to play it... cool.. they are together... now that was sweet..and easy once ignorance gets out of the way... Ok, so now I see how to lay it all together.. lets do another.. I select phrase select and put it to 2... repeated most of the above and hit play again.. coool... but was it as cool as the first one... I know I will go back to 1 and see... click to 1... what the... Ignorance forgot to have me write that little loop to 1.. ahh well... I got it now... save/write if you dont want to lose it.. than you can store up to 11 of those bad boys..if the 16 minutes doe not run out...

Ok, now a few things that kinda bug me while I am figuring this pedal/looper out.. First.. if you use tap tempo.. there is a very faint clicking in the back even with tap tempo turned down to off (I assumed it was for the sound as the light always flashes) .. so in your mix you have the click too.. but if you do not use tap tempo..no clicking is heard.. Also.. Quantize only works with tap tempo...(clicking again)... If you just start playing and then end.. without this feature..it kinda lines up anyways..so I am still lost here as to whats going on... I can see I may finally learn to keep rhythm..seeing there are so many idiot lights that pull me in..

There is also a cd included with 45 loops..some pretty darn nice ones..
This setup is a learning tool.. I can see that now.. it can't make me play or sound any better than I am.. but its a stepping stone to be there.. and although I mentioned earlier in a post that there is a software program that does this with midi foot control.. it's not the same or same feel.. this is pretty darn neat as a first impression that is... If I was creative.. I might use this for a long time to come... Hope I do...

It records out pretty good to.. as easy as it gets.. its just there with your signal... below is my very first loopy..You guys know I have no shame... so just cause I wanted to.. I did the fade in and out.. its not the pedal there.. although there suppose to be a fadeout function but I have yet to get that far...

Oh and its built like a tank.. hope it last like one..

[Robert****]

Congrats Justa! It's a great tool to have. I find it works great for practicing rhythm playing and timing. You can tell right away if your timing is off.

I still haven't learned all my JamMan can do either, I guess I should print out the manual (it didn't come with one since I got it used.).

[tot_Ou_tard]

Yeah a looper is spectacular for getting your timing down. Perfect for a newbie like me.

[oldguy]

Nice, Justa!
I think you will like it. I used the RP 50 into the Jamman when I recorded that "Surfabilly" clip. Used the RP's built in drummer with the tap tempo turned off to lay down the rhythm guitar and then played the lead over it.
Loopers are great to lay down chord progressions to play with later, then you can try out different leads and chart your progress as you go.

[Justaguyin_nc]

I can already tell in the charting progress oldguy.. I have tried metronome programs on the computer.. but have always wandered away from them... although the sounds you can change to on the boss rc-20xl are not many for the tempo.. you can adjust the volume and they do pretty good... tap tempo backings.. in the short week.. this tempo stuff has gotten me to see how much I really really needed one.. such a poor beginner.. I speed up...slow down and never realize it... till I listen later... what a great learning tool this will be to help me slow down and try to stay in time... and one more feature I have already grown fond of on the boss.. the fade out feature... pretty neat.. I tried the reverse feature... i keep getting flashbacks when I use it.. but I assume there must be a use for it...

[Justaguyin_nc]

I found a triple button Boss fsu type footswitch on E-Bay for the Boss RC-20xl and thought for the price (under $50.00 including the shipping) I would give it a shot although the size may be to small to hit it properly.. From what I noticed in the little time playing with this looper, A footswitch for phrase switching would - should really add to the flexability of the looper.will let all know how well it was made once it gets here. below is the description and a picture.



If you have a Boss Loop station RC-20XL Phrase Recorder, this Custom made triple unlatching Footswitch is a MUST-HAVE! it can be used with the RC-20XL both to change loops (it goes in numerical order in conjunction with the minus and plus switches -ie... tap "UP arrow" 3 times, it jumps to 3 stored loops away...tap "down arrow" 2 times, it jumps to 2 loops before the one your on) and the third-front footswitch to toggle between forward and reverse loop playback. With this pedal, you have FAR more operation of the RC-20XL completely hands free. Best thing about this switch? It's much smaller than the size of 3 Boss FS-5U pedals....and far more cost effective.........it measures 4 inches by 2 inches by 1 1/8 inches (height).. .way more practical as far as pedalboard space goes! ..2 1/4" inch
jacks(one stereo) on the back you simply plug into the unit with (EASY!) .. Brand new, used only to test, and works perfectly......This auction DOES NOT include any patch cables. You will need one STEREO cable 1/4" and one regular mono patch cable 1/4" - STEREO cable is NECESSARY to shift loops in
both directions. any music store or even radio shack has them.!)...we are only making a few at a time, once in a while, so there are only a few available - don't wait if you need one!...

[Justaguyin_nc]

will let all know how well it was made once it gets here.

The 3 way switch for the 20xl got here and it works. I did think without actually asking, that it would be metal and about the size of the MXR pedals. Well, its all plastic including the switches (how long can one step on plastic?) and about 3/4 the size of a mxr pedal. I never go out any place to play, so for home use it will be fine and does enhance the use of the looper.. I had to velcro it down or its to light to stay in one spot once the cables are connected. Also, the switches should have been mounted the other way in my opinion as you have to run the cables past under your feet. Although I saved about 50 to 75 bucks going this route I would not suggest it for someone that actually plays out and has a heavy foot... but for us clowns in the comic relief section its a good savings and does the job...

[Spudman***]

That's good to know. I saw those too and almost sprang for one. Plastic will hold up pretty well unless you stand on it. Still, the buttons being so close together would present a problem while standing and gigging I'll bet.

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, I have a RC20 XL coming. After consulting with Sr. Spud and my own gut, I decided getting something to practice with myself and canned loops/rythyms was more important than getting a second electric guitar right now. Found it used and pretty cheap online. I am excited to try it, record a couple things I have been playing around with and just goof around. Also, want to use the drum/metronome aspects for disciplined practice as Jimi75 suggests. Robert, I have not noticed that you have posted a review of the JamMan. How has that been going for you? Well, here's to getting loopy!

[Robert****]

I posted a short review at http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_...igitech_jamman

It's fun, fun! I plug in some drum loops in it and jam away. I make up some cool grooves on the fly. Great practice tool.

[sunvalleylaw]

I posted a short review at http://www.dolphinstreet.com/guitar_...igitech_jamman

It's fun, fun! I plug in some drum loops in it and jam away. I make up some cool grooves on the fly. Great practice tool.

Thanks Robert. Missed that one. Excited to try out my RC-20 XL! Probably be a week or so before it gets here though.

[Justaguyin_nc]

I was leary about getting one..
But now that I got the rc-20xl, it's always on! (well it does not turn off anyways)
Does not seem to add anything to the tone.. works!
I think-hope it's improving my timing... makes for great practice!
You will enjoy it!!

[Spudman***]

Check out KT Tunstall's Wee Bastard looper pedal demonstration.
Can't play an instrument? No problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqGTphvsSsk

[Spudman***]

Here is a great performance by Phil Keaggy where he uses a looper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcFBBimDUpE

[just strum]

I'll throw one more in of Phil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T89MV...eature=related

[just strum]

I thought I would jump over to this thread since it is more "on topic" of what I've been posting. I finally took the time to read the entire thread and it's a good thing I did as it opened my eyes to the options.

I downloaded the page Justaguyin recommended to give looping a try and had a little fun with it this morning. (http://evenfall.com/ambiloop/index.html).

Just going to have to keep an eye on e-bay. I wish the people bidding would stop getting into their bidding wars days before the close (I know, I've complained about this before, but I'm getting prepared for the "Airing of Grievances"). There is a used RC2 that has a bidding war and the price is up to ten dollars less than it costs for a new one and still has a little over a day to go - geez, it just ______ me off.

[Spudman***]

Just going to have to keep an eye on e-bay. I wish the people bidding would stop getting into their bidding wars days before the close (I know, I've complained about this before, but I'm getting prepared for the "Airing of Grievances"). There is a used RC2 that has a bidding war and the price is up to ten dollars less than it costs for a new one and still has a little over a day to go - geez, it just ______ me off.

Patience Gasshopper.

[hubberjub***]

Somebody has probably mentioned Keller Williams already but I thought I'd throw in a link anyway. This is probably his best known song but it's a good quality video. He doesn't start using the looper until about 2:20. He then uses it more at the end of the tune (4:45). He's just a great performer who very naturally incorporates the looper into his sound.

Keller clip