Using Multiple Instruments with a Looper - Updated

The musical looper permits recording a chunk of music and immediately looping it back so it repeats indefinitely.  All kinds of interesting music comes from this but it's limited to a single instrument.  A better-quality looper will have multiple input types (i.e. 1/4-inch, mini-DIN, XLR).  Example:  Boss RC-50 or RC-300

The mini-DIN might be used for an iPad or similar.  XLR for a mike and 1/4-inch for your instrument.  Typically, most instruments for electric performance use 1/4-inch plugs for the cables except microphones which use XLR plugs.

The most flexible way to connect multiple instruments to the looper is to use an intermediate mixer.  First connect the instruments to the mixer and then connect the output from the mixer to the input on the looper.  In this way, any of the instruments can be played for a loop and they can be layered on top of each other as you wish.  Serious magic can come from this.

But it's a pain in the ass.  It's not too expensive as you can get a four-channel mixer for $100 US and they're tough to break.  The problem is it's more complication than you need.  All that's necessary is a gang switch with a volume pot and a mute switch for each one.  The object is to ensure the sound of the instrument is the same going into it as it will be coming back out again.  That can easily get muddled with a mixer but this unit must be transparent.

You could make something like that for peanuts and possibly sell it for $50 - $60.  There are gang valve type devices available but they're just splitters.  This device doesn't need much intelligence but it does need some.  For example, it needs the mute switch because you don't want to be plugging instruments when you've got live speakers.  The volume for each one is required because they won't all be sending at the same level.  These two functions should be all you really need.

Maybe you think why not spend the extra $40 or so to get a full-capability mixer and the reason is this device is for the specific purpose of reducing mixer complexity.  The output from the looper will go to yet another mixer so eliminating the intermediate mixer which feeds the looper is a desirable thing.

So, yeah, someone build these things.  If anyone builds such a device now, I've not seen it.


As always, the principle stands:  the more complicated the system the easier it is to wreck it.


Update from my friend, Doug Kovach, on Facebook (not everyone talks about what they eat):

Okay Alan Fraser, I have read your article and I somewhat agree.  

I am certain you are familiar with KT Tunstall who used this to great effect on her song "Black Horse And A Cherry Tree". 

The way she did it was to use a looper made by Akai called the "Head Rush E2" which also doubles as a 5 output echo/delay device.  She has her electric acoustic guitar running through a Boss Tuner pedal with the Mute mode selected and then runs this through a mixer with a pair of high impedance microphones which also use 1/4" cords.  She uses one for her voice and the other on the floor for stomps and a foot operated tamborine.  Part of the signal from her mixer then goes to the house PA and the rest goes to her personal monitor system.  All she does is simply plays her guitar parts and loops them over one another and then mutes the guitar with the tuner.  The microphones are always live.  When she goes to do harmony parts she leaves the tuner muted while she strums the chord to get the key for her voice and then sings the part and does it again and lays down the harmony over it. Then she unmutes the tuner and proceeds to play guitar and sing over the loops.

I have used the DigiTech Jam Man Solo and while it worked fairly well and offered a lot of options including a drum beat with mixer etc onboard the pedal I noticed that the loops were diminished in quality.  The boss pedals are not so intuitive to learn in my opinion.  The Akai Headrush E2 is very simple to learn however and I can layer several layers etc.  As far as I know the larger Boss pedals do have onboard multiple inputs and onboard mixers.  The larger DigiTech Jam Mans also have multiple inputs and an onboard mixer.  But the Akai is one of the more simple ones to use.  There is also another brand thats new that has a decent easy to use looper called Hotone.  I am certain there are others out there but this is what I know about them.

As to your device idea,  yes,  a simple mixer with preamps and volumes on each channel and a stomp switch to mute channels would be a great idea.  By the way , I have a 6 channel Alto Professional mixer without USB that I got for 69 bux from Guitar Center a few years ago.  It does have 2 XLR inputs on it and a gang of stereo inputs as well as 2 aux sends per channel and a 3 band EQ section for fine tuning.  Radio Shack still sells those 4 channel 1/4 inch/RCA stereo/Mono mixing boards for 40 bux.

Does this info help?

Alan Fraser I do have a small Yamaha I use now but I'm not getting a good signal.  It may be the looper is just dying.  It is old and has been massively-abused.  The same signal from the guitar when it bypasses the intermediate and the looper is significantly better.  There is zero money so I have to be positive I'm solving the right problem.  The looper is obviously shaky in other areas and it may be more dead than it seems.  It's a complex gadget so some stuff works and some doesn't.

Your information does help as it tells me no-one has to invent anything since the solution may well exist already.  It's a sad note on Radio Shack, tho, as Fort Worth is the home city for them and they're dying off fast.  That really, really sucks.

Here's a shot of the device mentioned above for KT Tunstall (link is to her Facebook page):

You can find this sexy little number on eBay.