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>>>continuing from the general guide for looper pedals
Finding the right guitar pedal in between the huge (and I really mean HUGE) variety of effects stompboxes can be challenging, and that is true even for a more niche effect like the loop pedal.
In this article we’ll talk about a particular type, the one with an integrated drum machine, that can greatly help you in the rhythm section of your songs and in your own songwriting.
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THE BEST LOOPERS WITH INTEGRATED DRUM MACHINE
1. BOSS RC-10R
>>>>> CHECK OUT THE CURRENT PRICE ON AMAZON CLICKING HERE NOW
The RC-10R from BOSS is one of the most versatile loop stations, combining the looping feature with a huge library of rhythmic patterns, giving you an extended flexibility for your live sessions and songwriting.
It has more than 280 rhythm patterns pre-loaded, divided into two different sections: one for the initial/final fills and one for the transitions/bridges/parts in between of the songs made with 16 different drum kits.
Beyond the memorized patterns that you can already find as soon as you turn it on, though, you can also make your own fills and patterns, and you can save up to 50 different rhythms inside of the internal storage.
For the looping part you have 6 hours of recording, as well as 99 storage slots for your loops, that you can play and select thanks to the intuitive interface and the LCD display.
This pedal also supports external foot switches, expression pedals and also MIDI , and it has a dedicated software (both for Windows and Mac) that lets you import loops in Wav format and rhythms in SMF format.
FEATURES OF THE BOSS RC-10R
LOOP FEATURES 🎶
- 6 hours of recording time;
- 99 storage slots for your tracks;
- it supports external foot switches, expression pedals and even MIDI;
- Dedicated Windows and also Mac software for importing WAV format’s recordings as well
DRUMS FEATURES 🥁
- 280 pre-loaded rhythm drum patterns;
- you can save 50 additional rhythms in the internal storage;
- Subdivided into initial/final fills and transitions/bridges parts;
- 16 different drum kits;
- you can import new audio files in SMF format
2. DONNER CIRCLE LOOPER
The Donner Circle Looper is a looper with a display that shows the duration of the currently playing record and the mode (Rec/Overdub/Play), as well as a high-quality sound (44.1kHz 24bit) and a lot of different drum patterns to choose (100 different drum grooves, made with 10 different styles as well, and also 10 different metronome settings).
FEATURES OF THE DONNER CIRCLE LOOPER
LOOPING FEATURES 🎶
- high quality sound (44.1kHz 24bit);
- display with duration of the recording cycle and the selected mode (Rec/Overdub/Play);
- unlimited dub tracks;
- 160 minutes max of recording time, with 40 preset slots available and a maximum of 4 minutes for each recorded track;
- 2 MONO audio input jack (that will allow to connect both for a STEREO setting) and a EXT CTRL jack for plugging in an external expression pedal;
- You can control the pedal with a dedicated software (that you can download from the Donner’s website)
DRUMS FEATURES 🥁
- 100 different grooves;
- 10 different music styles that can become quite useful in your playing sessions;
- 10 types of metronome settings
>>>>> CHECK CURRENT PRICE AND FULL LIST OF THE DONNER CIRCLE LOOPER HERE
3. MOOER GROOVE LOOP X2
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The MOOER Groove Loop X2 has 14 save slots for your guitar recordings and 121 different drum patterns, divided into 11 music styles, all built withing a robust and durable metal housing.
This stompbox has some nice features that make it stand out from the crowd: it has a justify function (that let you synchronise the recording of your guitar playing and the drum machine’s groove) and also a Time Stretch function (that allows to change the playback speed of the recording without altering the pitch).
We can say that this is quite well-packed with interesting stuff, but let’s see all the different opportunities of this MOOER product.
FEATURES OF THE MOOER GROOVE LOOP X2
LOOPING FEATURES 🎶
- 14 save slots;
- 10 minutes max of recording for each slot (for a total of 140 minutes);
- synchronise recording and drums with the justify function;
- change the speed of the track with the Time Stretch function;
- It has an Auto-Record function that will start recording as soon as it detects an input signal when you play;
- the loop and the drum grooves can be split into 2 different channels;
- Support for free editing software for importing/exporting external audio files;
- Rec/Play/Dub footswitch;
- Stop/Tap footswitch
DRUMS FEATURES 🥁
- 121 drum grooves;
- 11 different styles of drumming;
- Genre selector built into the effect pedal;
- It can be synchronised with the Justify function with the tracks of the guitar playing
4. DIGITECH TRIO+ – BAND CREATOR + LOOPER
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The Digitech Trio + Band Creator Looper has an unique approach and claims to be a band-like tool in your pedalboard: it can listen to you while you play and automatically generate bass and drums that can fit into your song and in your own playing session.
Simply pressing the “Band” footswitch in this pedal will start the “listening session“, and after this phase and after some chords and notes of your playing you can press the “Band” footswitch again and the pedal will start playing as well with you (well, kind of).
You can also choose how much drums or bass to add with the dedicated “Bass” and “Drums” knobs for a perfect mix as well.
FEATURES OF THE DIGITECH TRIO + BAND CREATOR + LOOPER
LOOP FEATURES 🎶
- it can work both as an independent looper, even without the Drums and Bass features;
- Can store up to 12 songs, even dividing them in parts (you can record a single part as well, choosing between “Intro”, “Verse”, “Chorus”, “Bridge” or “Outro”) and these songs can be recalled on the fly or with pre-programmed presets;
- It has 12 pre-programmed styles and genres, each one with its own built-in guitar effects;
- You can control the loop level and also connect an additional Digitech FS3X Footswitch for more hand-free control and with 3 additional Modes of Operations.
- You can add another SD card and record more songs (you will receive an SD card within the pedal’s packaging as well).
- You can edit recorded songs and loops with a free software available for Windows and Mac.
DRUMS AND BASS FEATURES 🥁
- You can choose the level and how much presence for each of the simulated instruments with the “Bass” and “Drums” knobs;
- 12 styles available (including including Blues, R&B, Rock, Alternative Rock, Metal, Pop, Electronic Pop, Hip-Hop, Country, Folk, Latin, and Jazz;
- You can choose between 3/4 or 4/4 time signatures;
5. NUX JTC DRUM&LOOP PRO
The NUX JTC Drum&Loop Pro (available here on Amazon), despite its lower price, is a great recording machine that can store a wildly big amount of tracks with its 256 loop slots, and a total recording time of 6 hours (each single slot can store a shorter recording compared to other models, but this can be useful if you mainly use it for riff writing and for short tracks).
The loop and the rhythms sections can be used together or separately using the 2 separated footswitches and the control buttons available in the stompbox (you have controls for “Memory Select”, “Loop Level”, “Rhythm Level” and “Rhy./Tempo Select”) and also push buttons for managing the tracks (you can use the “Save/Delete”, “Tempo/Time Sig.” and “Stop Modes” buttons).
FEATURES OF THE NUX JTC DRUM&LOOP PRO
LOOP FEATURES 🎶
- Separated footswitch dedicated to recordings;
- 126 track slots;
- 6 hour of recordings;
- Controls: Memory Select, Loop Level, Rhythm Level, Rhy./Tempo Select
- Push buttons: Save / Delete, Tempo / Time sig., Stop modes
- LED light indicating whether the looper section is ON or OFF;
DRUMS FEATURES 🥁
- Separated footswitch dedicated to drum grooves;
- 40 drum patterns and fills in different music styles, including Pop, Rock, Metal, Blues and many more;
- beats in 3/3 and 4/4
Beyond those features it also has a bypass mode, activated when the pedal is OFF.
CONCLUSION: THE BEST RECORDINGS&RHYTMS OPTIONS
Having a looper with a drum machine built inside can be useful if you want to focus on your songwriting, improve your rhythmic game or also play alone live with more layers of sound even without a band (especially with the Digitech Trio that can add both bass and drums, but even a “simple” recorded loop can be a great gamechanger element).
Plus, even if you’re a total beginner you can still improvise with this tool and get a lot of value, improving in the meanwhile your timing and your musical skills as a whole.
