Best Looper Pedal

Boss’s Loop Station pedal has become so ubiquitous and iconic among musicians that loop tracks, there was even a well-known band out of San Francisco for years named after the device.

The pedal has a lot of features which may not be necessary for someone just wanting to get their feet in the world of looping.

For features, price, sound quality, and durability–it would be hard to find a better looper pedal.

The Boss RC-3 takes everything great about the RC-1 (except the nifty circular LEDs) and adds the best features of almost all the other pedals on this list. You get ten types of rhythms, two-volume controls (for the rhythm and the loop), the ability to import/export your loops to a computer, and takes recording time to an astounding level at a whopping 3 hours.

An exciting feature of the pedal that really sets it apart is that you can store your loops in the pedal with 99 presets, so that you can recall loops on the fly–eliminating the need to build layers from the ground up every time.

The Donner Tiny Looper is just one pedal in a full line of mini pedals offered by Donner that also includes a phaser, delay, and wah. Each pedal retails for around $50 or under.

Simplicity in controls, ease of use and affordability could make this a fun starter pedal for looping.

First off, Donner’s pedals are tiny and we do mean tiny. This new little buddy of yours would take up very little room on your pedalboard. It also couldn’t be simpler with its controls–just an in/out, one knob for level, one toggle-switch (to decide on the loop being in reverse, at half-speed, or normal), and one footswitch.

A USB and MicroUSB output gives you the ability to upload your loops to your computer which is a nice touch. You would be hard-pressed to find a better looper for the price and its simple controls make it an ideal pick for someone that wants to add looping to their arsenal, but don’t need all the bells & whistles of the more expensive pedals.

While the manufacturer does advertise the looping rate at being at 24-bit, there does appear to be some sound quality variance from pedal to pedal. There have also been reviews of consumers having their pedals stop working after a short amount of time. Another potential drawback is that the software runs on PC or Mac, but only using the Windows operating system.

In one demonstration video, the sound quality of the loop sounded a bit lo-fi, so there may be some sound quality inconsistency pedal to pedal.

NUX has been at it with looper pedals for a while with their 16-bit-quality Loop Core pedal. The Loop Core Deluxe is the company’s first foray into the 24-bit-quality realm.

The A/B footswitch expander is small and easily lost in a gigbag.

Being able to not only create loops but have adjustable drum machine rhythms play along with you makes this unit not only fun but potentially a really useful practice tool.

If you are on the look-out for a looping pedal that also can give you rhythm options to work out your parts with, all in an affordable package, this looper is a rock-solid choice.

The pedal offers the pristine 24-bit sound quality of your loops along with 40 different drum patterns with a range of genres from rock to jazz. A thoughtful touch is that it has two volume knobs so that you can alter the relationship between your loops and the drum machine rhythms. Another hip feature is that the rhythms adjust to your playing. Smart.

There is also a Finish Mode, so that you can incorporate a fade-out at the end of your performance. An included A/B footswitch adds even more control and versatility.

TTONE is the manufacturer of this pedal. They are a small company that focuses primarily on DIY homebuild effects kits.

This is not a loop pedal and is not what you are looking for (presuming that you are reading this because you are looking for a pedal that you can make loops with) It is more of an A/B switch, if that is helpful for you.

TTONE is a company worth checking out and their analog tremolo, delay, and fuzz pedals look like fun projects to take on. They also make a triple foot-switch version of this pedal, so an A/B/C switch.

It turns out that this pedal is not actually a looper at all, but an A/B switch. If you are here to find a looping device, this is not it.

Along with BOSS, Digitech has been one of the most trusted names in the pedal business for many years now.

The pedal lacks the features one might look for in a dedicated looper, since that is not the true focus of the unit.

The pedal is an excellent choice for someone that can benefit from a band-in-a-box unit with the added benefit of some looping capability.

If this round-up were naming the best overall pedal of the bunch (looping aside), this one might take the cake. With Digitech’s Trio+, you have the ability to loop a guitar part and then the pedal will assign drum and bass parts for you, playing along with you in perfect time. Once things get going, you can assign the style of the drum and bass parts, even make different sections of a song for a seamless performance. You even have the option of intricate bass parts or simplified ones (just riding the root note, for example). It is a truly remarkable little box. However, the looping amount of time that is available to you (a total of 230 seconds) prevents one from recommending it as the best overall looping pedal.

BOSS compact pedals have been around and immensely popular now for over 40 years.

As great as the RC-1 is, you may eventually feel the need to upgrade to its big brother, the RC-3.

At around $100 dollars for a powerful pedal from a trusted company, this pedal will be a great choice for most diving into looping.

BOSS is arguably the gold-standard in road-proof pedal construction and this pedal is no different.

It is sturdy enough that it is sure to give you years of worry-free playtime. Its color is appealing as well as the organization of its LEDs assures that you can see it easily on stage in a dark club. The RC-1 keeps things as simple as possible to get you going.

One level knob and a circular LED display to know where you are with the length of your loop. It also has some basic instructions on the pedal itself (Stop: Press Twice, Clear: Press & Hold > 2 secs) if you forget what to do during a gig. It is also a true stereo pedal with dual in/outs.

You also are unlikely to find a looping pedal in this price range that offers this amount of stereo recording time for your loops–a whopping 12 minutes! The bundle comes with additional goodies like a polishing cloth, some picks, a patch cable, and an instrument cable.

Mooer has an extensive line of pedals, including dedicated loopers like the Groove Loop.

While an incredible unit, the Mooer Ocean Machine is not the way to go if you are looking for a dedicated looper pedal.

If you are looking for a device that can give you all manner of otherworldly sounds from many reverb/delay options and how to combine them (along with some looping capability added to the mix), look no further.

This pedal was developed over years by Mooer along with Devin Townsend, solo artist and former front-person for extreme-metal band Strapping Young Lad. It is, in essence, three or four pedals in one.

It has an extensive reverb unit, two independent delays, and the looping section. There are nine different types of reverb, from standard varieties like Hall & Room for much more esoteric options.

Topping that in the delays, you have 15 types of delay to choose from and with two actings independently, you can make quite the whirlwind of sound.

A neat function of the unit is that you can step on the foot-switch when the effect is activated and freeze the effect so that reverb and/or delay sustain, allowing you to play some phrases over it. It really is a remarkable unit for reverb and delay.

That all being said, this probably isn’t the ideal choice for someone that is looking for a dedicated loop pedal. The looping section of this unit is sort of just icing on the cake, not really its focus. This is confirmed by its rather low looping time for a unit in this price range (44 seconds).