So somewhere in my future I see a looper pedal the question is, with funds permanently and often terminally afflicted, which is the best of the lower priced pedals? I am thinking sub $250 - $300

Hi there, I have owned both Roland's RC-20 XT and RC-50, (currently I have the stereo RC-50) and they are reliable, simple to use and the quality of the sound is great.

I've been looking to move to a soft version (PC/Mac powered, like Mobius) and have not yet been able to work with it the way I want.

Withing the budget you have, I will first think what I want to do. If you want to loop just one side (bass or melody side), you will be OK with a RC-1 or RC-20. if you want to independenly loop one side or the other, you may want to check the RC-50.

Regards,

Agreed. I have a RC-50 and it can be quite fun. Though, the new Digitech JamMan looks like it's gonna be really good...

Dave

Check out the Lo Fi Loop Junky from Z.Vex. Analog 20 second loop, no sound on sound,vibrato and hi cut and dirty.

Anybody can loop with a Jam Man , Loop Station ,etc, This thing takes some skill.

I've been using the Jamman with good results so far. It uses a memory card (I have a 4 Gig card) for the 99 loops it can save. I find it especially good for practicing with a preloaded rythmn track on the presets. Most of the loops are 16 bars long with a turnaround at the end. Its very easy to try new cords out and then letting loose with improvising leads to find out what sounds good. Added new layers of the loop can also be backed out as well, but takes some practice. Some of the other loops are set up to be a verse/chorus arrangement of a song and are usually 32 bars. Most of the loops are just drums or percussion to start with, a few having a atonal spacey synth sounds in the mix.

Seems to keep me amused for hours at a time with out feeling like just practicing.

Tim

I recently upgraded to the new Jam Man Stereo, from the original Jam Man. It's got stereo in and outs, internal memory plus it takes a memory card, optional footswitch for switching modes (bring in/out last overdub, reverse loop, and you can adjust tempo while the loop is playing) in addition to the footswitchable controls that are already on the pedal (start/rec/overdub, stop, loop up/down).

Before this, I was attempting to use two of the Jam Man pedals... but they would never sync up. I've been told that many of the features this pedal has, the larger Boss looper had first. But, this is by far one of the best pedals I've ever used.

I'd suggest looking for a used EHX 2880. It requires an external controller (any midi pedal will do), but sounds much better than any boss pedal (I've tried rc-2 and owned rc-50 for a while).
Also it's quite easy to control as it has all the sliders and pots to mix the recording live instead of surfing the complex menus.

I have had lots of fun looping with the Line6 DL4 delay modeler. That would be in your price range, and you would get some very nice delays in addition. It is very intuitive to use (which cannot be said of some smaller pedals like the Boss RC-2, I hated using that), gives you up to 28 seconds of loop time, reverse playback and half/double speed. Be sure to get an expression pedal for it, it really adds another dimension to this pedal. For me it was an excellent starting point for looping.

For a detailed comparision of looping devices and looping software, have a look here: http://www.looproom.com/looperchart.php. It has been compiled by Per Boysen.

Wow! Thanks all - a whole load more stuff to look at

Per's list is fantastic and with links too.

I was playing with Sooper Looper on the Mac but could not get it to play with Garageband.

Some more research is required I think.

Very useful compilation.
I'm not into looping, but I always enjoy my good ol' DD20 from Boss to do the occasionnal loop duties.