True Bypass Loopers ... educate me

[PeaElAre]

I'm in the (slow) process of selling off old pedals and acquiring new/different ones...basically overhauling my setup. In the midst of my research/shopping I've been seeing a lot of setups with bypass loopers which seems like a cool idea, but I must admit I'm having a little difficulty fully understanding exactly how they work, and if it's worth the investment as I consider what goes on my board.

For those of you that use loopers, how do you use them?

Thanks.

 

[talanzdad]

Here's the lowdown, say you have 8 pedals on your board, between or during songs you are reaching all over the board to change tones through your pedals. A true-bypass looper puts all the switches at the bottom of the board (as long as it's set up this way.) For instance, when I get to a lead part in a song and I want to change dirt settings, add boost, and reverb that usually would require me to tap around the board, with a looper they are all in a row and easy to get to.

Another great feature with true bypass loopers is the ability to have pedals that aren't true bypass bypassed. For instance if you have an old germanium fuzz that you love the sound of when it's on but it sucks tone when it's off you can put that in a true bypass loop when it's off and you never have to worry about the tone loss as long as the toggle switch for that loop is off.

I have a friend that has a Clyde deluxe Wah and he has a 1 loop pedal for it. He uses the pedal to turn the signal off and on going to his wah. He doesn't like sweeping up to press the switch when he's done with the part that he's playing. So he set up the looper to be the on/off switch if you will.

Many people have different needs and that's why you can get a way pedal in pretty much any configuration. There are some great builders out there, and on TGP. Loop-Master builds quality stuff but you have to wait a few months to get it. T1M (This1smyne) builds great stuff and can be ordered painted (something most other builders to my knowledge don't offer). There are also some smaller builders that build great stuff too.

If I didn't answer exactly what you were looking for just PM me and I'll answer any other questions you might have.

Blessings

 

[Bufferz]

one use is to have your pedals individually always on but when the loop they are in ids off they are not active - this eliminates tone degradation associated with some bypass pedals.

another use is to put 2 or more pedals in a loop and have them individually on, when the loop is clicked active you can then turn on multiple effects with one stomp simultaneously.

Hope this helps. Also, I recommend loop-master. I have a looper from loop-master and do not experiance any issues with popping that some people have experianced with other builders.

 

[JRC4558Dude]

I have a Loop Master on my board that has 3 loops, a tuner out, and a master bypass switch.

Loop 1 has my OD and distortion pedals
Loop 2 has my fuzz pedals
Loop 3 has my compressor (which I use only for clean sounds, never with fuzz or distortion)

I can toggle between OD or fuzz by clicking one footswitch (that switches between loops 1 and 2) or then click another footswitch that "overrides" both of those loops and selects my compressor. If I click that switch again, I return to whatever loop (OD or fuzz) was previously activated.

I can also bypass the whole thing and just go straight into my amp, or select my tuner pedal. The whole setup makes it easier to swtich quickly between clean, dirty and fuzzy tones, and puts pedals that I'm not using at the moment out of my signal path.

 

[mrbangus]

I've got a Loop-Master strip with 4 bypass loops, an a/b and a+b for my amps, an a/b for my guitars a master bypass and a tuner out. Brian from Loop-Master builds these things to last a lifetime. I've owned several Loop-Master pedals and they all have been exceptional! I've never had a problem with any of them. The thing is, I get one and realize that I need something else on it, so I order more, lol. This last time I just had him custom build me one with everything on it

If your serious about your tone... You need one of these pedals!!! His website is www.loop-master.com. Check out his website and tell him that Bangus sent you!

 

[justonwo]

Yep, I put multiple pedals in each loop, but my initial reason for getting one was to pull pedals out of my signal chain that weren't being used. I've found the elimination of tap dancing to be a big plus. You can also get a looper with a mute/tuner out that adds even more to the functionality. I would highly recommend having one.

 

[semi-hollowbody]

I have 2 road rage 5 channel loopers on my boards...they are great and reasonably priced

I noticed a HUGE difference when I connected these, I was able to remove a ton of pedals from my chain (unless I wanted to use one) and it cleaned up my signal

I use them to keep unused pedals out of the chain, until i want to use it

 

[yerbluesrob]

I use mine (10CH T1M) to eliminate tap dancing, but also to cut the length of cables that my signal was going through. Because my board is pretty large it helps with the clarity of the signal to have whatever pedals I'm not using (and the associated cabling) out of my signal. I also have a couple pedals that suck tone, and one (Digitech Expression Factory) that is extremely hard to turn on and off in a live situation, so since it's in a loop I just turn the loop on and off when I want that pedal. Although it's a bit of an investment, I feel it's worth it for the ease of use and to help keep my signal as pure as I can.

 

[Structo]

Also if you are handy and can solder, these aren't that hard to make for yourself.
The most expensive component being the high quality footswitches. 3PDT

 

[FeloniousBishop]

Does anyone make a loop switch where for each stomp switch you can program in which loops are selected.

Say if you have effects A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H.

Switch 1: Effects B and F

Switch 2: Effects B, D and H

Switch 3: Effect C

etc.

Anyone make something like that? More like a poor man's effects Bradshaw.

 

[tdk8709]

Yes, the Carl Martin Octa Switch does this. The Cusack Tamer my do it as well.

 

[FeloniousBishop]

Yes, the Carl Martin Octa Switch does this. The Cusack Tamer my do it as well.

Thanks. Looks like the Tamer does do it too.