Finding the best looper pedal to make endless rhythm tracks and guitar loops on the fly can be tough. There are tons of cheap looper pedals, but not all of them have the features you’ll need for a live show.
Before you buy any music looper, you should think about what kind of features you want in it. For instance, how much memory do you need to store your loops and how many layers do you want to play at the same time? Also, do you want mono vs stereo options? All of that is essential to find the perfect loop station. In this set of looper pedal reviews, we’ll look at the most popular loop pedals for your guitar and give you our recommendation.
Let’s review the top-rated guitar loop pedals to compare their features, settings, and sounds, so you can find the best one for your guitar setup.
Compare the Top Guitar Loop Pedals in 2020
Contents
- 1 Compare the Top Guitar Loop Pedals in 2020
- 1.1 BOSS Audio RC-3 Loop Station Pedal
- 1.2 NUX Loop Core Guitar Loop Pedal
- 1.3 TC Electronic Ditto Guitar Looper Pedal
- 1.4 Bonsai Looper Effects Pedal
- 1.5 Electro-Harmonix 720 Stereo Looper Pedal
- 1.6 Electro Harmonix Canyon Looper Delay Pedal
- 1.7 Digitech Loop Effects Pedal
- 1.8 VOX Lil’ Looper Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal
- 1.9 Digitech Jam Man Stereo Guitar Loop Pedal
- 1.10 BOSS Multi Effect Loop Processor RC-300
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here’s list of the best guitar looper pedals that you need to add to your effect pedalboard right now!
- BOSS Audio RC-3 Loop Station
- NUX Loop Core
- TC Electronic Ditto
- Bonsai Looper Effects Pedal
- Electro-Harmonix 720 Stereo Looper
- Electro Harmonix Canyon Looper Delay
- Digitech Loop Effects Pedal
- VOX Lil’ Looper
- Digitech Jam Man Stereo
- BOSS RC-300
BOSS Audio RC-3 Loop Station Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
The manufacturer of this pedal is Boss – enough said!
Although this piece doesn’t occupy much space, it can hold as many as three hours of stereo and 99 loops! Recording can start automatically or, with the Count-In mode on, after one bar of rhythm!
There are ten rhythm types with adjustable volume and tempo changed by tapping or inputting the time signature.
The USB 2.0 port enables the exchange of 1.7 GB of WAV files with PC. Sounds from an audio player can also be recorded via the AUX input!
Pros and Highlights
- Ginormous storage – Free of worries about not having enough memory – you’ll be able to create better music!
- Connectable to other devices – You can easily export recordings for safekeeping and import the ones you need!
- Rhythm guide – This feature is perfect for recording backing tracks and helps your loops always be on point!
- Compactness – Believe it or not, this fantastic versatility indeed fits into one single pedal!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Imperfect drum beats– Well, be reminded that this is still just a guitar pedal, not a drum kit! Therefore, it’s no wonder that the drum beats cannot rival the real ones!
Bottom Line
Whether you’d like just to practice or compose some new stuff – this all-around pedal is the best possible right-hand man!
NUX Loop Core Guitar Loop Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
NUX is a growing company which has already earned a good reputation!
This true-bypass pedal offers 99 user memories and is capable of housing 6 hours of mono or stereo recordings transferable to PC!
Recording starts as you begin playing and there are as many as 40 drum patterns with tap tempo to choose from! The appropriate one can be allotted after recording as well!
Transitions between phrases are smooth whereas adding and removing layers is a piece of cake! Eventually, various start and finish modes are there to brush it all up!
Pros and Highlights
- Gigantic memory and export to PC – Finally! Break loose from concerns about small storage and unleash your creativity!
- Alterable built-in drum beats – These serve as a guide for playing and a means of experimenting with your recordings!
- Easy layering – Overdubbing will give your music that texture you’ve always been pursuing!
- Affordability – Not only does this pedal offer a great deal of functionality but it is a great deal itself!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Intricate – Due to its numerous buttons, this versatile pedal might freak beginners out but with just a tad of patience, they can learn the ropes easily!
Bottom Line
Go with this pedal if you want to level up your compositions as well as performances because its special effects will knock everyone off their feet!
TC Electronic Ditto Guitar Looper Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
Ditto is a big fish in the music industry! Nothing can describe this pedal better than this brand’s name on it!
Not only does this device let you go on playing a loop for as long as five minutes but it also helps you attain the desired tune through countless overdubs, changes and eliminations!
True Bypass and Analog-Dry-Through create clean, unaltered sounds packaged in 24-bit uncompressed format!
All controls located in only one knob! A small footprint alongside sizeable internal memory! It doesn’t get more practical than this!
Pros and Highlights
- Long looping time – No restraints! Let fingers do their thing!
- Endless modifications – Perfection cannot be achieved in one go but through polishing and trial and error!
- Clear and powerful sound – The tones coming out of this pedal are intact, raw and retain the initial strength!
- Space-efficiency and simplicity – Thanks to its compact design, you won’t even know that it’s there! Explore the world of possibilities it offers with a turn of solely one knob!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No power supply – Searching for one can be a nuisance!
- Switching – It might be challenging for beginners to get accustomed to using one dial but that is something one ambitious musician can get a grasp of in no time!
Bottom Line
If you dislike any kind of limitation on your creativeness and go for a natural sound with as less effort and real estate as possible – this pedal is meant for you!
Bonsai Looper Effects Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
This product truly represents its lesser-known company in good light!
With its 10-minute loops, whose sound is kept pure and strong with True-Bypass, saved in the form of 24-bit uncompressed audio, and innumerable possible layers and revisions, this pedal aims at flawlessness alone!
Its space-sparing and minimalistic design, as well as connectivity to PC, make it extremely practical!
Pros and Highlights
- Considerably long loops – Up to 10 minutes of looping time! You better believe it!
- Infinite perfecting – Never get enough of overhauling and learn from your mistakes!
- Top-notch audio – Anything you input will be emitted as it is! And kept in the best format possible!
- Maneuverability of the gadget and the content – Make all the necessary changes via one knob alone and transfer recordings back and forth between a PC and the pedal as easy as pie!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No power adapter – Well, you’ll need to go shopping again, that’s for sure!
- One dial for everything – It might be a bit tricky to get used to doing all the work by means of just one dial. But, come on, something had to be sacrificed for the sake of plainness!
Bottom Line
This is a must-have pedal for perfectionists who are after a combination of freedom of creative thinking and practicality!
Electro-Harmonix 720 Stereo Looper Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
This pedal is representative of the high quality of this big name’s products!
With this contrivance, you’ll be able to brag about having an impressive 12 minutes of stereo at your disposal, divided into 10 loops! Not to mention the inexhaustible overdubs, even with two instruments, the reverse and half-speed effects with the option of – wait for it – connecting a foot controller!
Last but not least – your every transition will be seamless with its noiseless switches!
Pros and Highlights
- Extraordinary long recording time – Run amok with your loops! The sky is the limit!
- Limitless alterations and special effects – Improve the density of your compositions by layering through various modes! Don’t flinch from do-overs!
- Recording two instruments – This feels like you’re always jamming with another member of the band!
- Easy-to-use and soundless – Separate switches for each function make this device user-friendly! And they are so quiet that you’ll wonder whether you’ve actually pushed them!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No USB port – Export isn’t possible but you can record on your computer if you want to save the loops!
Bottom Line
For open-minded and well-rounded guitarists who don’t shy away from experimenting with and combining different styles instead of playing safe, this pedal will be a true delight!
Electro Harmonix Canyon Looper Delay Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
This is another device that epitomizes the high-end products of this renowned guitar effect pedals manufacturer!
This is a delay, a reverb and a looper– three in one! A small-scale model with large-scale functions! It has to offer up to 10 effects and even a 62-second loop controlled by a tap tempo button. Two of the switches used to operate this pocket-size beast are multifunctional – the editing mode is turned on by holding down the Tap/Divide button!
Pros and Highlights
- Versatility – Level up your compositions with effects creating a background atmosphere that’ll just strengthen the tunes in the forefront!
- User-friendly – There’s one switch per each one of the basic functions with two knobs having alternative purposes – easy to get the hang of and remember!
- Having it all, yet small – It’s so easy to carry around and an almost invisible assistant on stage!
- A bargain – All things considered, the price is ridiculously low!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Requires a 9.6V adapter – Whilst other pedals are usually powered by 9V, this one is unique even in this aspect, which might be a bit burdening at times!
- Short loops – Bear in mind that this is primarily a delay and reverb pedal and possesses the looper as an additional feature!
Bottom Line
As Yngwie Malmsteen, the well-known guitarist, would say: “How can less be more, that’s impossible – more is more!” and so it is with this pedal! Settle for nothing less than the supreme sound it gives off leaving quite an impression!
Digitech Loop Effects Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
Digitech is one of the leading manufacturers of digital effects units – that says it all!
This pedal can record up to 10 minutes of stereo. Count on producing pristine sounds thanks to true-bypass as well as being able to remake as many times as you need to meet your standards!
The Silent Clear feature enables you to clear loops unnoticeably whereas the Jam Sync synchronizes them – all you have to do is play! The uncomplicated commands and accompanying LEDs contribute to the clarity and simplicity of this product!
Pros and Highlights
- High sound quality – This pedal preserves the sound’s original intensity and purity!
- Numberless retouches – Oh, that never-ending quest for immaculateness! Reaching it has become reality!
- Easy-to-use – Since the LEDs literally shed some light on your status, never again will you have to beat your brains out trying to figure out what is going on!
- Modest in both price and size – Although it’s packed with powerful characteristics, that doesn’t affect the price tag or dimensions!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Hard-to-reach battery – Have a screwdriver always on you!
- Double tap to stop loop – This might be a bit troublesome until you pick the technique up!
Bottom Line
If you’re a fan of unprocessed sound and fastidious about your music but you still want to enjoy your performances as opposed to being preoccupied about your gear – this pedal is the obvious choice!
VOX Lil’ Looper Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
The manufacturer of Jimi Hendrix’s wah-wah pedal and guitar amplifiers used by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen and the like gave birth to this pedal!
This looper’s dual pedal and twelve effects for guitar or mic will empower you to contrive some mind-blowing multilayered tunes in 90 seconds on two independent loops! Unlimited overdubs and changes let you put everything you come up with to the test!
The existence of the mic input permits adding vocals for the full experience! And the Loop Quantize option ensures precision when playing loops and matches them with the tempo!
Pros and Highlights
- Dual pedal – This allows producing two separate loops and making a myriad of combinations afterward!
- Twelve effects – Adorn your sound for a jaw-dropping experience of your audience!
- Has both an instrument and a microphone input – It’s like having the whole band in a piece of equipment!
- Synchronization – All your loops and overdubs will always be timed correctly!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No adapter – Yeah, you’ll need to purchase it separately but with the 7-hour battery life, you’ll hardly even need it!
Bottom Line
If you want to avoid any delay when looping or overdubbing but would like the eponymous effect along with vocal layers to top it all off – opt for this pedal!
Digitech Jam Man Stereo Guitar Loop Pedal
Specs, features and benefits
This capacious pedal boasts 35 minutes of stereo in 99 CD quality loops on internal memory that can be paired with more than 16 hours of audio in 99 memories on an SDHC card! Moreover, it can be connected to PC via USB where all the content can be neatly classified thanks to the JamManager Loop Librarian software!
It is equipped with four sturdy metal footswitches and nearly a dozen other buttons and knobs for easy handling! Not to speak of the handy mic input and other helpful characteristics such as stereo looping and reverse playback!
Pros and Highlights
- A storage space behemoth – The abnormally large memory will surely entice you to fill it up!
- Great for backing tracks – Play loops in reverse and tack some vocals onto them to raise your songs to a whole new level!
- USB connectivity – Need more backup?
- A loop organizer – Arrange your loops in lists to manage them more easily!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Lacks a tempo speed dial – Some users might find this inconvenient but there is a tap button to compensate for that!
- A bit bulky – This piece takes up more space than others but, considering its generous functions, it’s understandable!
Bottom Line
This pedal will give you free rein with creating, recording and organizing your music! So do yourself a favor and pick it up!
BOSS Multi Effect Loop Processor RC-300
Specs, features and benefits
Another pedal of this respectable manufacturer with awe-inspiring characteristics!
It features three stereo tracks separately controllable by way of dedicated switches, three hours of recording time, 99 memories and export via USB!
The wide pedalboard’s switches are large and clearly arranged and the Expression pedal representing an extended arm facilitates the adjustment of 16 effects applicable to both single tracks and mixes. A mic input is there to expand possibilities!
The recording can start when you do or after one bar of rhythm, depending on the mode. For timely loops, pick one of the scores of rhythm patterns with the option of regulating the volume and the tempo! Finally, the preloaded audio is truly icing on the cake!
Pros and Highlights
- Three independent stereo tracks – This leaves so much room for creation and experimentation!
- Voluminous memory – There’re no pretexts anymore not to let your inspiration loose!
- Expression pedal – Manipulate a multitude of effects effortlessly!
- Rhythm guide and preloaded backing tracks – This pedal serves as both your personal conductor and another band member! You’re ready to rock!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- The signal goes to all outputs – When playing multiple instruments, the signals aren’t routed individually to separate outputs. Nevertheless, you can take advantage of the pre-recorded loops!
Bottom Line
This is one heck of a pedal, especially in terms of controllability! Don’t leave anything to luck! If you go with this pedal, you’ll be provided with both music-related and storage-related backup!
What We Recommend and Why
Out of these shortlisted pedals, Electro Harmonix Canyon Delay and Looper is our pedal of choice!
Design-wise, this pocketable pedal is very conspicuous against a dark background because of its color whereas the switches are so orderly laid out – there is no mistaking the controls!
It’s also great value for money considering its protean functions – ten effects and quite a few subdivisions manageable via the onboard tap tempo and the existing switches’ secondary functions – yes, they’re there, just tucked away!
If you decide to go for this pedal, be in for unbelievable embellishments that’ll throw you for a loop!