Loopers: Boss RC-300,Boss RC-505 , Boomerang or Pigtronix Infinity?

**kris** · 06-08-2015, 03:33 PM

What is the best looper for live guitar gigs?

**Greentone** · 06-08-2015, 03:36 PM

They are all good if you want to loop yourself...the TC Ditto too. Where they part company is when you want to USB backing tracks on there. Not my bag.

**jazzbow** · 06-08-2015, 03:41 PM

This looks cool, you could velcro it to your guitar strap....

**spiral** · 06-08-2015, 04:50 PM

Can you describe how you are looping?
Need to store loops? Stacking? Reversing? Sync to MIDI? Turn on/off different "tracks" in your loop? Rhythms or metronome?

The Boomerang offers the most flexibility: up to 4 independent tracks, creative options (reverse, octave), MIDI sync, all in stereo. It's perfect for practice or live creative looping—you can run in serial (press the next track and it plays when the first finishes) or parallel modes (turn on/off all tracks independently while playing in unison).

All of that is awesome but may be overkill if all you need to do is play some changes and have it loop, or need to have things saved inside the looper—Boomerang has no way to store loops). While everything mentioned would do the job, the RC-505 is not really geared towards guitarists—it's really a tabletop device.

**floatingpickup** · 06-09-2015, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by kris

What is the best looper for live guitar gigs?

If you are going to use it on gigs, make sure you get a two-button looper as a minimum. The single button loopers, like the ditto, are harder to stop in time. The two-button ditto X2 has an independent stop button that only requires a single tap to stop it. I have owned a boomerang and a digitech JamMan in the past and played lots of gigs with them. Currently, I have a Boss RC-300 and a ditto x2. I use the ditto for live looping in a duo, laying down a rhythm track while I am backing up a sax or vocalist, then soloing over my own changes. I use the Boss Rc-300 if I am playing a single, using a mixture of live loops and some pre-recorded loops (I only pre-record myself playing changes, so it doesn't sound like karaoke). The RC-300 does almost everything but it is quite expensive, complicated and has more features more than you will likely need. The ditto X2 is really all I need at a much lower price and is simpler to use. You can't store your loops on a ditto or a boomerang though, so you have to decide if that is important to you.
Keith

**kris** · 06-09-2015, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by floatingpickup

If you are going to use it on gigs, make sure you get a two-button looper as a minimum. The single button loopers, like the ditto, are harder to stop in time. The two-button ditto X2 has an independent stop button that only requires a single tap to stop it. I have owned a boomerang and a digitech JamMan in the past and played lots of gigs with them. Currently, I have a Boss RC-300 and a ditto x2. I use the ditto for live looping in a duo, laying down a rhythm track while I am backing up a sax or vocalist, then soloing over my own changes. I use the Boss Rc-300 if I am playing a single, using a mixture of live loops and some pre-recorded loops (I only pre-record myself playing changes, so it doesn't sound like karaoke). The RC-300 does almost everything but it is quite expensive, complicated and has more features more than you will likely need. The ditto X2 is really all I need at a much lower price and is simpler to use. You can't store your loops on a ditto or a boomerang though, so you have to decide if that is important to you. Keith

Thanks Keith, Great infos from you. Can you import/export loops/waves to Ditto X2? how many loops can you store in memory of ditto X2? RC-300 looks very heavy and complicated but really more advanced machine. Jazzingly Kris

**kris** · 06-09-2015, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by spiral

Can you describe how you are looping?
Need to store loops? Stacking? Reversing? Sync to MIDI? Turn on/off different "tracks" in your loop? Rhythms or metronome?

The Boomerang offers the most flexibility: up to 4 independent tracks, creative options (reverse, octave), MIDI sync, all in stereo. It's perfect for practice or live creative looping—you can run in serial (press the next track and it plays when the first finishes) or parallel modes (turn on/off all tracks independently while playing in unison).

All of that is awesome but may be overkill if all you need to do is play some changes and have it loop, or need to have things saved inside the looper—Boomerang has no way to store loops). While everything mentioned would do the job, the RC-505 is not really geared towards guitarists—it's really a tabletop device.

Thanks.
I've heard that RC-505 has input for external pedal controler and it is for guitarsts?
not sure...?
Best
Kris

**Encinitastubes** · 06-09-2015, 04:11 PM

Does anyone know of a good Youtube manual on the Boomerang. I have one, but find the written manual extremely difficult to understand. It could have been written better.

**Peter C** · 06-09-2015, 06:20 PM

My Boss RC-3 with an external foot switch works just fine. 99 loops, 3 hours of memory, I believe. Here's a good explanation:

**Max405** · 06-10-2015, 08:46 PM

Kris,
I used a Line6 JM4 for my coffee shop job with great success. It is sturdy. I also has a lot of amp models and useable effects onboard. You can use it to play back backing tracks while you play along. Its a great device. Here's a clip of it. I recorded the loop with the JM4 for the backing track.

Good Luck.
Joe D

**pingu** · 06-11-2015, 02:43 AM

Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco

Kris,
I used a Line6 JM4 for my coffee shop job with great success. It is sturdy. I also has a lot of amp models and useable effects onboard. You can use it to play back backing tracks while you play along. Its a great device. Here's a clip of it. I recorded the loop with the JM4 for the backing track.

Good Luck.
Joe D

great , if that had a decent octave down
fx it would be everything in one pedal

is it heavy ?

**Max405** · 06-11-2015, 06:34 AM

I think it does. The only thing it doesn't have is USB.
thanks, Joe D
Is it Heavy?
No, it only weighes about 18lbs. Just kidding. Maybe about 1 pound tops. Its sturdy though. You could probably kill some body with it. Works off Batteries and the supplied transformer. The wire on the transformer is thin and flimsy. It is reliable, takes some getting used to, but intuitive.

**floatingpickup** · 06-11-2015, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by kris

Thanks Keith, Great infos from you. Can you import/export loops/waves to Ditto X2? how many loops can you store in memory of ditto X2? RC-300 looks very heavy and complicated but really more advanced machine. Jazzingly Kris

Kris:
The ditto x-2 keeps the current loop in memory, even after you disconnect the power. You can connect it to a computer via USB to transfer loops between the ditto and the computer. I have never done this, but apparently you can store a second loop on the ditto this way, in a section of its memory called "backing track". So I guess you can have two loops on it at a time, but the regular loop is lost whenever you create a new loop (unless you dump them to your computer). The bottom line is, the ditto x-2 is not the looper to buy if you are looking for memory/storage. It is mainly a real-time looper that is very simple to use in a performance setting. The various Boss loopers and others have storage for your loops. That's why I have both. One for simple live looping and one for more complex looping with the ability to save my loops.
Keith

**ronjazz** · 06-11-2015, 09:24 AM

Jam Man Solo allows the installation of a memory chip for saving loops and/or pre-recorded tracks. The one-button design means two taps to turn a loop off, but that's really not so difficult if you tap in time on the last two beats or last two 1/8 notes of the final measure. It also allows you to play back a loop at a faster or slower speed without changing the pitch, which could be useful if you were to record a nice rhythm sound such as tapping on the guitar or strumming the muted strings to create a "drum". The extra FX3B pedal allows hands-free operation for most functions.

**kris** · 06-11-2015, 01:41 PM

I think the problem of Ditto loopers and some of Boss is how to stop the loop.I mean stop modes.
Jam Man Stereo has 3 Stop modes (Stop, Finish, and Fade).
that is quite interesting...
Boss RC-300 has more possibilities... I think.

**kris** · 06-12-2015, 06:21 AM

Pigtronix Infinity Looper looks interesting. Welcome to Infinity.

**floatingpickup** · 06-12-2015, 06:45 AM

Originally Posted by floatingpickup

Kris:
The ditto x-2 keeps the current loop in memory, even after you disconnect the power. You can connect it to a computer via USB to transfer loops between the ditto and the computer. I have never done this, but apparently you can store a second loop on the ditto this way, in a section of its memory called "backing track". So I guess you can have two loops on it at a time, but the regular loop is lost whenever you create a new loop (unless you dump them to your computer). The bottom line is, the ditto x-2 is not the looper to buy if you are looking for memory/storage. It is mainly a real-time looper that is very simple to use in a performance setting. The various Boss loopers and others have storage for your loops. That's why I have both. One for simple live looping and one for more complex looping with the ability to save my loops.
Keith

Correction to my earlier post: I just tried storing a loop to the "backing track" folder on my ditto x-2. I realize now that it is not a space for a second loop at all. It is just a backing track that you can record loops over top of. In other words, the backing track always plays. So, other than that, the ditto x-2 doesn't really have the ability to save any loops. It does, however, keep the current loop in its memory if you shut it off.
Keith

**floatingpickup** · 06-12-2015, 06:47 AM

Originally Posted by kris

I think the problem of Ditto loopers and some of Boss is how to stop the loop.I mean stop modes.
Jam Man Stereo has 3 Stop modes (Stop, Finish, and Fade).
that is quite interesting...
Boss RC-300 has more possibilities... I think.

Yes, those stop modes on the jam man are nice. The Boss RC-300 allows you to set those same stop modes for each saved loop too.
Keith

**kris** · 06-12-2015, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by floatingpickup

Correction to my earlier post: I just tried storing a loop to the "backing track" folder on my ditto x-2. I realize now that it is not a space for a second loop at all. It is just a backing track that you can record loops over top of. In other words, the backing track always plays. So, other than that, the ditto x-2 doesn't really have the ability to save any loops. It does, however, keep the current loop in its memory if you shut it off. Keith

Thanks Keith, Best Kris