Loopers..Opinions?

200man

Power User
Usage is for rehearsing and creating rhthms.
Not interested in computer loopers, I have Logic which I’ve created loops with, but something easier and faster.
I’ve narrowed it down to the RC-505mkII and The Aeros:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RC505Mk2--boss-rc-505-mk2-loop-station-tabletop-looper

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...r-sound-aeros-loop-studio-stereo-looper-pedal

The 505 mkII is integrated with drum patterns, but there is a learning curve.
The Aeros IS intuitive, at least to me but it wants the beat buddy for rhythms.
 
The Aeros looks really cool and I've been tempted to get one, but the Boomerang III does it all. They sell new for $400 or you could get one used. I also use the Beat Buddy.
 
It's been awhile since I did the analysis on whether to jump to Aeros, but I do remember there is some functionality which the Boomerang has that the Aeros doesn't. Two things that come immediately to mind are the Boomerang has Reverse and Octave capability (Octave is really useful for creating your own bass line). There was something else related to the Aeros 6x6 mode which I didn't like; the 2x2 mode has increased functionality, but fewer tracks. Sorry, it's been awhile since I was considering it.

The Beat Buddy can do any genre. You just need to provide the input. You'll get a free start up library of rhythms and drum kits on purchase and then you can add stuff on. They come out with sales a few times each year and that's when I'll go looking. You can also write your own, but I'd rather just pay for it.

https://www.singularsound.com/pages/premium-library
 
One of the real beauties of the Beat Buddy and the Aeros is that they MIDI sync together very well and you can set if up for one to control the other in terms of start, stop, and keeping proper time sync. SS also makes a product called MIDI Maestro which adds even more control over drum parts and loops on the fly via additional foot switching in different modes. So doing drums, bass, and guitar looping is a blast and can be as simple or as complicated as you want.

Lots of good videos out there but check out Steve Stine's series to get the basic idea...



Myself, I also tie that all in with Ableton Live looping (with the necessary MIDI routing) where the sky is really the limit!
 
One of the real beauties of the Beat Buddy and the Aeros is that they MIDI sync together very well and you can set if up for one to control the other in terms of start, stop, and keeping proper time sync. SS also makes a product called MIDI Maestro which adds even more control over drum parts and loops on the fly via additional foot switching in different modes. So doing drums, bass, and guitar looping is a blast and can be as simple or as complicated as you want.

Lots of good videos out there but check out Steve Stine's series to get the basic idea...



Myself, I also tie that all in with Ableton Live looping (with the necessary MIDI routing) where the sky is really the limit!

It's been awhile since I did the analysis on whether to jump to Aeros, but I do remember there is some functionality which the Boomerang has that the Aeros doesn't. Two things that come immediately to mind are the Boomerang has Reverse and Octave capability (Octave is really useful for creating your own bass line). There was something else related to the Aeros 6x6 mode which I didn't like; the 2x2 mode has increased functionality, but fewer tracks. Sorry, it's been awhile since I was considering it.

The Beat Buddy can do any genre. You just need to provide the input. You'll get a free start up library of rhythms and drum kits on purchase and then you can add stuff on. They come out with sales a few times each year and that's when I'll go looking. You can also write your own, but I'd rather just pay for it.

https://www.singularsound.com/pages/premium-library
Thank you kindly for the responses!
Can the Beatbuddy synchronize with the Boss unit similar to the Aeros?
 
Thank you kindly for the responses!
Can the Beatbuddy synchronize with the Boss unit similar to the Aeros?
That is a good question. I actually started out this journey by messing with the Beat Buddy first before the Aeros existed. I also wanted to connect it to some looper at the time. What I found was that some loopers dealt with MIDI timing options just fine and some didn't. I can't speak for the 505-II, but I found that the older Boss loopers did not play very well with external MIDI connections and had certain restrictions. So I was very happy to find out that SS was going to do the Aeros making sure that the whole MIDI thing worked properly together. So I waited for the Aeros and I was glad that I did. But if you do a search you can find quite a bit of information on which loopers work well with the Beat Buddy and which don't. For Example...

https://forum.singularsound.com/t/loopers-compatible-with-the-beatbuddy/6241
 
Thank you kindly for the responses!
Can the Beatbuddy synchronize with the Boss unit similar to the Aeros?
I've only synched it to my Boomerang. I had a Boss looper before Rang, but I quickly outgrew it.

There are plenty of good videos for both units. So just do your due diligence. I do recall one thing I definitely prefer the Boomerang for is that you have a dedicated switch for each track, so there's no toggling a switch perhaps multiple times to get back to the track you want to overdub over.
 
I suggest reading the user reviews, especially the ones towards the end of the list. I personally have not had good luck with Singular Sound products. YMMV.
 
That is a good question. I actually started out this journey by messing with the Beat Buddy first before the Aeros existed. I also wanted to connect it to some looper at the time. What I found was that some loopers dealt with MIDI timing options just fine and some didn't. I can't speak for the 505-II, but I found that the older Boss loopers did not play very well with external MIDI connections and had certain restrictions. So I was very happy to find out that SS was going to do the Aeros making sure that the whole MIDI thing worked properly together. So I waited for the Aeros and I was glad that I did. But if you do a search you can find quite a bit of information on which loopers work well with the Beat Buddy and which don't. For Example...

https://forum.singularsound.com/t/loopers-compatible-with-the-beatbuddy/6241
If I'm not mistaken, the Beatbuddy can sync with our Fractal products as well (I'm going to give it a try with the AX8 tomorrow).
Beatbuddy can send MIDI clock, and Fractal units can receive it. If you use the Quantize function in the Looper Block, I believe it would sync to the Beatbuddy.
 
If I'm not mistaken, the Beatbuddy can sync with our Fractal products as well (I'm going to give it a try with the AX8 tomorrow).
Beatbuddy can send MIDI clock, and Fractal units can receive it. If you use the Quantize function in the Looper Block, I believe it would sync to the Beatbuddy.
Yes, it can.
 
Giving the devil his due:
I have my audio interface tied to the current Mac Pro laptop.
What are the options for looping here?
 
I use the Volante.

However there is a new version of the "Ditto+" with a small color screen on it. Its basic mode will let you play something, then once you hit the button to overdub, it will automatically keep looping the first layer, until you finish the second layer. For instance you can make a drum beat, or play some chords, for like 10 seconds, then it will loop for 10 minutes if thats how long you play the second layer over it. Wasnt insterested in that feature when I bought it, but it is very useful. It also "stores" 100 loops, etc. nice little $100 toy
 
Im sure people know about the DL4Mk2 that was just released....

Lot of features there.

There are also the Pigtronix loopers which are good, and small size.
 
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