Whilst looper pedals aren’t often on the top of a guitarist’s wish list they are an invaluable tool that can be used for any style of playing. This pedal will essentially record a section of your riff or chord progression, then play it back to you. This frees you up to play a second riff, a third and so on, all of which will be layered on top of the original.
These pedals can add a tremendous amount of depth to one’s live set, as well as giving you a ‘second’ guitar player when you’re practising at home. The difficulty lies in finding the right one. In this article we go over footswitches, loop length and much more to help make your decision that much easier. With options to suit new players finding their feet and ones for seasoned pros, we've ranked the top 10 best in the UK on Amazon and Gear4Music!
When it comes to finding the right pedal, you need to ask yourself some serious questions. What's your experiences using equipment like this? How much are you willing to spend? And how many loops do you need? If you have answers to these, then let’s crack on.
The first thing to consider is the number of footswitches the pedal has. The footswitch is the primary part of the pedal and is essentially the control panel. The number of switches is often a good indicator of how technical the looper will be.
If you choose pedal with only one footswitch, all the controls will be right there. For example, you could press once to start, two steps to stop, and hold for erasing. However, the issue is, there are only so many features and functions that can be equipped to one switch. Pedals with multiple switches will have the features distributed amongst them, and therefore will be able to hold far more.
Pedals can have anywhere from 1 to 12 different footswitches. While many switches may seem preferable due to their capabilities, they can often be confusing and offer many features that you don’t necessarily want or need.
Our advice would be to identify what exactly it is you want or need from the pedal, and then find one that does that in the most simple and straightforward way. This way you’ll save a couple of quid and never get overwhelmed by the pedal.
The next factor to consider is the length of the loop, as this will determine how long you can noodle for. Generally speaking, the longer the loop length, the more experimenting, exploring and creative you can be.
Nowadays, most loopers have a long enough time to be useful, and models can range from five or ten minutes to multiple hours. So you’ll never have to worry about squeezing the whole chord progression on there again.
Even if you opt for a more retro model, then something with at least 30 seconds should allow for around 12 bars, depending on the tempo and BPM (beats per minute). Of course, those with longer loop lengths often have higher price tags.
If you play as part of a band, then this feature may not be as important due to the fact you have other players to help create more complex musical structures. However, if you play as a solo performer, then having different inputs available could be priceless.
These additional inputs will allow an artist to add multiple instruments to the loop - like a bass, tambourine or even a stompbox. These will give you the option of making more interesting, sophisticated and intricate compositions.
Another feature that's useful if you are picking up a loop pedal as a solo performer, is choosing one that can sync-up with other tempo-based gear. This feature will allow to link your pedal to laptops or drum machines to ensure that your loops and the drum loop are both perfectly in-time.
Of course, if you don’t use that sort of equipment, or don't have any yet, then it maybe isn't going to be your top priority. But, if you are planning on creating this kind of set-up, it may be worth looking ahead as it will save you having to re-buy further down the line.
When it comes to loop pedals, they often feature other effects that can be placed on top of the track you have recorded without affecting your regular playing tone. Some players will find these inspiring and creative, others not so much, but we’d say they’re always worth keeping an eye out for.
Some of the most popular options are half-speed, reverb, delay and lo-fi. Of these, reverb is probably the least sought after as it’s likely already on your amp. As for the others, it's generally a matter of which suits your playing style the best.
It’s important not to get too bogged down in the different effects on offer.We would recommend sticking to the core looping functions, after all, this is what you’re paying for.
Now that we’ve covered the main factors, let’s take a look at the ranking of the top 10 best looper pedals available on the market today. From small devices perfect for those wanting to experiment, to large pedals that can send you round the bend, in the best way, we have something for everyone’s pedalboard and everyone's budget!
£221.50
Footswitches | 4 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 14 seconds |
Inputs | 2 |
MIDI Compatible | No |
Effects | ½ speed, reverse |
£730.00
Footswitches | 12 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | Endless |
Inputs | 4 |
MIDI Compatible | Yes |
Effects | Lo-Fi, reverb, delay (and many more) |
£69.99
Footswitches | 1 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 30 minutes |
Inputs | 1 |
MIDI Compatible | No |
Effects | - |
£139.41
Footswitches | 2 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 6 minutes |
Inputs | 1 |
MIDI Compatible | No |
Effects | ½ speed, reverse |
£80.90
Footswitches | 1 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 12 minutes |
Inputs | 2 |
MIDI Compatible | No |
Effects | - |
£229.00
Footswitches | 2 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 5 minutes |
Inputs | 2 |
MIDI Compatible | No |
Effects | - |
£129.00
Footswitches | 2 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 12 minutes |
Inputs | 2 |
MIDI Compatible | No |
Effects | ½ speed, reverse |
£376.00
Footswitches | 8 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 3 hours |
Inputs | 6 |
MIDI Compatible | Yes |
Effects | Lo-fi, delay (and many more) |
£70.99
Footswitches | 1 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 5 minutes |
Inputs | 1 |
MIDI Compatible | No |
Effects | - |
£238.00
Footswitches | 2 |
---|---|
Max Length of Loop | 6 hours |
Inputs | 2 |
MIDI Compatible | Yes |
Effects | Reverb (and many more) |
Image | 1 ![]() Boss | 2 ![]() TC | 3 ![]() Boss | 4 ![]() Electro HArmonix | 5 ![]() Pigtronix | 6 ![]() Boss | 7 ![]() MXR | 8 ![]() Hotone | 9 ![]() Headrush | 10 ![]() Line 6 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | RC-10R Looper | Electronic Ditto Looper | RC-300 Loop Station | 720 Stereo Looper | Infinity 2 Looper Pedal | RC-1 Loop Station | Clone Looper | Wally Plus Looper | Looperboard | DL4 Stompbox Modeler Delay Effects Pedal |
Features | One Hell of a Creative Pedal | Nothing but Looping | A Favourite for Many Professional Artists | A Looper That Evolves With Additional Footswitches | The Ideal Loop Pedal for Practising | Perfect for Those Finding Their Feet | A Pedal That Will Help You Nail the Correct Timing | Possibly the World's Smallest Loop Pedal | As Pro as You Can Go | Where It All Started |
Price | £238.00 | £70.99 | £376.00 | £129.00 | £229.00 | £80.90 | £139.41 | £69.99 | £730.00 | £221.50 |
Footswitches | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 4 |
Max Length of Loop | 6 hours | 5 minutes | 3 hours | 12 minutes | 5 minutes | 12 minutes | 6 minutes | 30 minutes | Endless | 14 seconds |
Inputs | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
MIDI Compatible | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Effects | Reverb (and many more) | - | Lo-fi, delay (and many more) | ½ speed, reverse | - | - | ½ speed, reverse | - | Lo-Fi, reverb, delay (and many more) | ½ speed, reverse |
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Whether you're playing live, in a recording studio, or just in your bedroom, having the right gear is just as essential for aspiring musicians as it is for the pros. Check out the links below for more of our handpicked articles on the best kit for all genres, abilities and styles!
Whether you're looking for a pedal to help you write, or something to bolster your live performances, we hope you have found our recommendations useful. We believe that if you follow the buying guide, you'll no doubt find a new digital band member that you'll never fall out with. Here's to hours noodling away!
Author: Lewis Clark
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