Looking to Loop

fretie

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
1,069
Reaction score
3
Location
Steveston, B.C. Canada
New territory for me, I’m interested in getting a simple looper so I can practice laying down tracks and then playing over them.
My new incoming Lone Tree tenor with have a K&K Aloha twin pickup.

What I looking for are suggestions for an amp and looper to kick off my journey into a world where uke and electronics meet.
 
I am interested in hearing what others suggest for a looper. I have the K&K Aloha twin in my Baritone and do recommend you get a pre-amp. I tried without one but found the results disappointing. It’s been great after the pre-amp purchase.
 
I am interested in hearing what others suggest for a looper. I have the K&K Aloha twin in my Baritone and do recommend you get a pre-amp. I tried without one but found the results disappointing. It’s been great after the pre-amp purchase.

What amp are you using with the baritone and why does it need pre-amping?
 
What is your budget and primary objective for your amp/looper combo?
 
951F832C-7984-41A1-B1FB-229683067909.jpg

Both my Ukes are electric.

I feed the one I am playing through a Zoom G1X Four multi effects pedal, it also has a looper feature.

From the Zoom it goes into a Boss Katana Mini amp which is small yet poweful enough for home and small venue.

So check out the Zoom it costs $100 and the Boss Katana $100.
 
What amp are you using with the baritone and why does it need pre-amping?

It’s a cheap Mugig 25. But I tried it in a Fishman Loudbox Mini and also got weak results. A passive pickup like the K&K puts out a very weak signal and has impedance matching problems with most amps w/o a pre-amp.
 
I have a TC Electric Ditto Looper plugged into a Roland MicroCube. The Ditto was fairly inexpensive (I think retail is US$99, but it can be gotten for less) and is bog simple to use. This combination is plenty good enough for practicing by myself. I use it to:
  • Lay down a chord progression and then improvise over it
  • Play multiple parts
  • Quick record and listen back to what I just played (much easier than using my phone)

Doing it again I might consider one with multiple inputs so I can loop both the ubass and the ukulele without fiddling with cords, but only if the end result was as simple.

I also have audio input to the computer and a bluetooth pedal. I can do looping and other effects with those, but it's significantly more cumbersome to set up and use than the Ditto, so I generally don't do so.
 
I'm using Nano 360 Looper by EHX. Multiple memories.
 
I have a TC Electric Ditto Looper plugged into a Roland MicroCube. The Ditto was fairly inexpensive (I think retail is US$99, but it can be gotten for less) and is bog simple to use. This combination is plenty good enough for practicing by myself. I use it to:
  • Lay down a chord progression and then improvise over it
  • Play multiple parts
  • Quick record and listen back to what I just played (much easier than using my phone)

.

Cool, this is exactly the type of application I’m thinking of using the amp and looper for. I’ve heard the Roland MicroCube used by quite a few uke players...a little more than I wanted to spend but still it may be a good choice.
I’ll check out that TC Electric Ditto Looper.
 
Heads up for the Ditto as well, although I have the slightly bigger X2 model with two tap buttons.

Think about the features you want, and the ones you don't want. Some differences between loop stations:
- battery powered, or plugged into a power supply?
- dedicated tap buttons for starting, ending and erasing a loop, or is a single tap button enough (holding it down = deleting)?
- using layers: some loopers allow you to suspend the latest layers (for a bridge, f.e.) while keep the first more rhythmic loops, and then bring it all back - some don't.
- true bypass (better sound, especially when not using the looping) or not.
- SD card, USB and/or internal memory: pre-recording backing tracks or sound effects, which technically isn't looping, but a lot of loop stations do it.
- effects or not: some have extra buttons for adding reverb, echo, delay, distortion, playing the loop track backwards, slowing it down or speeding it up.

For starters, the simpeler is the better, because it does require some training to get the timing right. Two tap buttons can help. Battery power isn't that required unless you busk. I'd keep effects and memory off the list at first, and go for a pure tone and simple ease of use, unless you want an all-in-one package for travelling around.
 
I'm very happy with my Boss RC-1 ($99.99), which has a visual indicator of where you are in the loop, two inputs and outputs (so you could have two instruments connected, or make a stereo connection), and runs on a 9v battery or a plug-it-in power supply.
 
I'm very happy with my Boss RC-1 ($99.99), which has a visual indicator of where you are in the loop, two inputs and outputs (so you could have two instruments connected, or make a stereo connection), and runs on a 9v battery or a plug-it-in power supply.

I like the looks of that Boss looper, Dave, thaks for suggesting it. What amp do you prefer to use?
 
Right now I have a Roland Micro Cube, and a Roland Mobile AC (which costs $30 less than the Micro Cube, but has fewer effects) — and a more costly Bose S1 Pro (a speaker that I sometimes feed the Micro Cube into it). Both amps have the option of battery power, and a 1/4" microphone input, which means a fairly low output. I've never had problems with various Roland products I've bought.
 
Right now I have a Roland Micro Cube, and a Roland Mobile AC (which costs $30 less than the Micro Cube, but has fewer effects) — and a more costly Bose S1 Pro (a speaker that I sometimes feed the Micro Cube into it). Both amps have the option of battery power, and a 1/4" microphone input, which means a fairly low output. I've never had problems with various Roland products I've bought.

Good to know, thanks!
 
Top Bottom