Best Looper Pedals for Live Performances
Looper pedals have become a necessity now for any guitarist who performs live. With the amount of material guitarists have now for modern-day set, guitarists need a little help.
However, help is at hand, and loop pedals are the answer. I have put together a list of what I feel are the Best Looper Pedals for Live Performances.
Looper pedals vary in budget and performance capabilities but there should be something here for any guitarist who is already performing live or aspires to do so.
Table of Contents
Best Looper Pedals for Live Performances
I have selected 5 loop pedals than can take your live performances to the next level. They vary in spec, price, and overall performance.
BOSS RC-1 Loop Station (Best Value)
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If you are looking for one of the best looper pedals for live performances but not break the bank; the Boss Rc-1 Loop Station (SP) is the perfect entry-level option.
Boss has been releasing some amazing looping products for years now and they continue to be some of the most popular among live performers.
Even though the competition is tough, Boss always remains one of the most popular.
Key Features
- Easy To Use
- LED Loop Indicator Displays Loop Mode
- 4.5 hours of battery life
- 12 minutes of stereo recording time
- Stereo inputs and outputs
- External footswitches can be connected
- Recorded phrase is stored using internal memory even after the RC-1 is turned off
- Five-year warranty
The Boss Rc-1 Loop Station (SP Amazon Link) is designed to be a user-friendly looper that even beginner learning guitar can get to grips with quickly.
It’s so easy to record, play, and overdub this little looper. I like the new circular LED display of the Boss Rc-1 Loop Station.
Having the LED display makes it very handy for playing in darker venues. Especially if you are the type of guitarist who likes some visuals when playing.
It displays the current loop mode you are in (Rec/Overdub/Play mode) and you get recording up to 12 minutes.
All the basic looping modes are controlled with the integrated pedal switch. However, you also have the option to connect external footswitches to offer more functions for live performing.
Pros
- Excellent entry level looper for live performing
- User Friendly
- Nice LED display to know the loop mode
- External foot switches can be connected
- Cheap looper that performs well.
- Five Year Warranty
Cons
- Might be too easy or basic for some more experienced guitarists
TC Electronic Ditto X4 Looper
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The Ditto X4 Looper is part of the growing looper range that continues to innovate and improve with every product.
Unlike other companies that can overcomplicate things and in a way offer to any features, Ditto went for a different approach.
With their initial product, what they did instead was strip away all the complicated features and offer a single pedal footswitch and knob.
It worked and was extremely popular. From there they went to the X2, and now we have the Ditto X4 which is one of the best looper pedals for live performing.
The Ditto X4 (SP Amazon Link) unleashes a guitarist’s creativity.
With dual loop tracks, X7 loop effects, and the possibility to import backing tracks, the Ditto X4 is a great looper for multi-layer live performing.
Key Features
- Simple and easy to use dual-track guitar Looper
- Excellent for live performing guitarists
- Two 5-minute independent loop tracks with serial and sync modes
- 7 loop effects
- Export loops to PC or Mac to work within your DAW
- Import backing tracks
- Stereo inputs and outputs to plug in up to 2 instruments
- Optional buffered bypass
The Ditto X4 is so simple to use but offers plenty of performance power. Each loop has it’s own footswitch for easy on the fly looping.
Each loop has both a volume knob and a loop decay knob.
The adjustable loop decay knob can be used for making overdubs fade or whatever you like.
The 3rd footswitch is a dedicated stop footswitch for quick loop stopping.
The fourth footswitch controls the FX and lets you change how the loop finishes.
With the Ditto X4, you get 7 loop effects to experiment with – Tape Stop, Fade, Double, Hold, Reverse, Half, and Once.
The Ditto X4 (SP) is one of the best looper pedals for live performing.
Import your backing tracks and use the dual-track looper to create on the fly multi-layered performances.
Along with being one of the easiest loopers to use, the Ditto X4 offers amazing sound quality.
This looper is very impressive and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular.
Pros
- Dedicated Loop Pedal, Stop Pedal & FX Pedal
- Simple to use
- Excellent creativity options and on the fly live performing
- Great sound quality
- 7 Loop Effects
- Dual Track Layering
- Import Backing tracking
- Connect Up to 2 Instruments
Cons
- Midi syncing can be difficult to use at first
Pigtronix Guitar Looper
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Guitar Loopers have been around now for a long time. They are brilliant for performing live on stage and being more creative with your sets.
I mentioned above the Boss Rc-1 which is a great entry-level piece of gear.
However, the Pigtronix Guitar Looper Effects Pedal takes it a bit further and is quite similar to the Ditto X4.
The Pigtronix Guitar Looper Effects Pedal offers so much flexibility to guitarists.
Using two separate loops with dedicated footswitches you can record, play, dub, undo and redo.
The third footswitch is stopping the loops from running is also used to erase the loops.
Key Features
- 2 Stereo Loops with Sync & input split.
- Loop 2 Multiplier x1, x2, x3, x4, x6
- Series or Parallel Looping Modes
- 50 presets (100 loops)
- Independent footswitch for each loop and stop footswitch.
- 24bit / 48kHz recording & Analog pass-through of clean tone
- USB access to saved loops & upload audio file
- Input Split for recording separate instruments on each loop
- Supports 256 (or more) overdubs per loop
Each loop has it’s own input for guitarists performing live on stage. Use either mono or stereo inputs to record and overdub different instruments on different loops.
Each loop also has its own volume control knob. The Sync Multi is a really nice feature and a great looper for guitarists who are live performing.
The Sync Multiplier lets the length of loop 2 be multiplied 1-6 times the length of loop 1.
These loops can be played in sync with each other or part of a series where one starts after the other stops.
The Pigtronix Looper (Check Price SP) is very to use. There’s a 52-page instruction manual that goes through everything it can do, but I would go to the website.
The instructions on the website are a little better and more detailed. The sound and tone quality of the Pigtronix is very transparent.
The analog pass-throughs in 24bit / 48kHz HD recording allows for the quality to stay the same for both live and recording sessions.
You can upload your loops and recording sessions to an external device like a laptop for mastering, mixing, or uploading online.
Pros
- Excellent sound quality
- Independent footswitches
- Loop Multiplier
- Easy to use for a more advanced foot pedal
Cons
- Expensive compared to the Boss Models
BOSS RC-3 Loop Station Pedals (My Pick)
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The Boss RC-3 Loop Station is a nice upgrade from the RC-1 mentioned above. Even though it’s a small and compact device it packs plenty of performance.
For such a small compact unit, you are getting one of the best looper pedals for live performances. The Rc-3 uses stereo rather than mono loops.
The Boss Rc-3 has a large internal memory to store up 3 hours of loop recordings in 99 memory slots.
If you are doing solo gigs, and want to improve your sets. The Boss R3 allows guitarists to increase their skills and take their performance to a higher level.
Rather than play basic enough songs, you can make the most of your solo gig with this little looper and play more difficult advanced songs.
Features
- Compact and powerful stereo looper
- Massive internal memory with up to three hours of stereo recording time
- 99 onboard memories for storing loops
- USB 2.0 port allows you to connect to a PC and import/export WAV audio
- Rhythm guide with real drums
- Runs on a single 9-volt battery or optional AC power supply
Unlike some of the loop pedals mentioned above with multiple footswitches, all the playback, recording and overdub is all done with the single foot pedal.
It’s quite easy to use. Press the footswitch to start recording the loop, press it a second time to start overdubbing, and the third time to start playback.
Hit the pedal twice to stop the loop playback. Simple as that. You can also add two extra external switches if you want.
The additional drum beats and rhythms are what make this one of the best looper pedals for live performing.
They are brilliant for anyone who’s doing a solo gig or recording at home.
The Boss RC-3 (SP) also has 10 types of rhythm.
You can adjust the volume of the rhythm using a dedicated knob, set the numerical tempo and tap out tempo you want for the track.
There’s plenty of rhythm types to suit every type of musician preferred genre, like Pop, Rock, R&B, and more.
The Boss Rc-3 comes with a USB connectivity making it very easy to upload your loops onto external devices like a mac/pc.
You can also upload any type of auto file directly to your looper.
Pros
- Compact design
- Excellent sound quality
- USB connectivity to upload audio files
- 3 hours storage capacity for recording loops
- 99 memory slots for storing loops
- 10 Rhythm types and drum beats
- External footswitches can be connected
Cons
- No separate stop foot switch compared to other models mention in this post
Digitech Jam Man Stereo Looper Delay Pedal
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Digitech have been producing some of the best guitar looper pedals for live performing with over 20 years now.
Each time with every release Digitech raised the bar. The same goes for their latest guitar looper, the Jam Man (SP).
I just have to say right off the bat, I love the name.
The Jam Man, it both funny and catchy. It doesn’t have all these stupid models names like the brand name followed by endless numbers that looks more like a postcode if anything.
So why is the Jam Man one of the best looper pedals for live performances?
I will go into more detail below, but the Jam Man is Digitech’s current flagship model.
It has a high-quality metal build, high storage capabilities, stereo loops, mic inputs and has 4 heavy-duty footswitches.
The Jam Man (Amazon Link) design has singers and guitarists in mind.
Their focus is on a quality device for live performing, rather than endless amounts of unnecessary effects.
The latter is becoming more and more common in this space recently.
Key Features
- Excellent Build Quality with 4 heavy-duty footswitches
- Record 35 Mins of Cd Quality Loops in 99 internal locations
- Record up to 16 Hours of CD-quality loops using an SD Card in 99 additional slots
- Reverse playback button & 3 Stop Modes (Stop, Finish, Fade)
- Jam Manager software to organize and archive loops
- Aux inputs
- USB connectivity
The four footswitch design and the inputs available make the Jam Man one of the best looper pedals for live performances you can buy.
You get stereo inputs/outputs and also the option to connect a mic via an XLR input.
The Jam Man has some serious storage capabilities.
You can store 35 minutes of CD-quality loops in 99 slot locations.
If you invest in an SD card, this can increase to over 16 hours.
Perfect for any guitarist with a large loop archive.
You can use Jam Man’s dedicated software to manage your loop library.
This software is specifically designed by Digitech.
It’s compatible with both MAC/PC.
You can upload/download your loops to ignite your live performances.
You can also slow down or increase the speed of loops using the Time Stretch.
This is very useful if you play in a band.
If the band is not playing at the same speed as the backing track, you can slow down or speed up the backing track without changing the pitch.
There are a few features on the Jam Man (SP) that make it one of the best looper pedals for live performing.
The Rhythm Output is another one of those features, again specifically for people playing in a band.
It’s very useful for a drummer who wants to hear the band, but also wants to hear the loop to stay in time.
Pros
- Excellent sound quality
- Heavy-duty metal design is great for busy musicians and can handle the travel.
- 4 footswitches offer better control compared to a single footswitch.
- Huge storage space using an SD card
Cons
- Newer models seem to be a bit more advanced compared to the Jam Man
- Cheaper models available
Which One Would I Pick?
Of I had to choose one I would likely go with the Boss RC-3.
For such a small compact unit, it offers impressive features and has a large internal memory to store up 3 hours of loop recordings in 99 memory slots.
If you are looking for a live performance looper pedal that doesn’t break that bank but has some premium quality features, the RC-3 might be the one for you.
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Best Looper Pedals for Live Performances
I hope you found this post useful and it helps find the best guitar looper for you and the type of gigs you play.
This post to help live performing guitarists but even if you are not performing live yet, you might do in the future so keep that in mind buying your next guitar looper pedal.
Disclaimer
Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases to fund this website so we can continue to create amazing reviews for our readers. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.
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