How To Use A Looper Pedal - Guitar Lesson Tutorial - JustinGuitar [QA-004] 

That jazz jam on 15:00 is awsome. Justin, you have to make more jazz lessons.

I got my first looper years ago and was immediately discouraged because my timing on stepping on the button wasn't good and the beginning and end of my loops didn't flow together. This was enough to stop me for years! I'm finally getting started again, and it really is just something that takes a little bit of practice. Don't give up like I did! Practice your click timing by making one bar loops over and over for 5 minutes a day and you'll have it mastered in short order. If at any point you feel frustrated, stop for the day and promise yourself you'll give it another shot tomorrow.

when you were editing this you should've made the video repeat a couple of times. it'd be funny

Great teacher/player.....and very humble. 🕶

I have to say, Justin. I've seen a lot of your videos. You do a great job. No pretense, just showing the love for the music and giving out some great info. Really, you have a great way of including us all in to the wonder of music. Always a pleasure. Thanks very much.

You're a tremendous inspiration. Your ability to just lay down a "soundscape" like you did there is mind-blowing. Makes me want to practice. Thanks!

slow hand clap for the 7 people who voted this down. Brilliant video.

It’s funny, I was the Manager of the Learning Center at Berklee College of Music for seven years, where I would teach people who often had never even used a typewriter how to use a music sequencer and also basic general computer stuff, would typically encounter anxiety by first timers who thought they might type something into the computer or click on the wrong thing, and it would burst into flames. So total first timers with computer and synth technology-I’m originally a sax player by the way-first thing I would have them do is play a game, just to get them used to moving the cursor and such, but also reduce their nervousness about technology. Here I am, years later, born again musician on guitar, just got my first effects pedal-a multi effects pedal which includes a looper-and I’m having that same hesitance to even try it out beyond the preset functions. I bought a multi effects pedal because I wasn’t sure which sort of pedal I wanted first-reverb, delay, looper, distortion-and this gave me the most bang for my buck and more; in fact it even provides a major upgrade to the iRig I was originally using. So here I am, now the nervous student, shutting up, not twiddling with my instrument, listening, and I have to say this is the perfect lesson. Thanks so much. I’m going to try a basic Blues groove and riff over it, and I predict that will give me the confidence to try more complex music on it. I haven’t played live in front of an audience on guitar yet, so maybe after I get the hang of this thing I’ll try putting a hat out and doing the busker thing as a learning experience. You really covered all the basics. One of the benefits of the unit I bought, it includes drum tracks, but the drum tracks don’t get recorded in the loop, so that consistency of tempo isn’t a huge obstacle. On the other hand, my particular unit only has a 30 second loop.

The last thing you played was just amazing.. Was it improvised ? Is it a creation of yours or something we can find on the internet ?

Excellent - Now I will get me a Looper. I like from 16:00 best.

Thanks for this Justin, you really helped me get some use out of my loop pedal. I've been wanting to use it for ages but really struggled to get anywhere with it. These tips really helped me have fun and make some music.

10:52 Amazed himself while thinking ,Sounds f***ing amazing!" Indeed.

Inspirational vibe going on here Justin. Marvelous.

"Be cool with the idea that it's going to take time to get it together" Super advice, J.

I would give this five thumbs up if that were an option. Good job!

Justin i just wanna thank you for the lessons. i was almost gonna give up guitar because i wasn't getting any better and i practiced all the time but am now following ur lesson packs... thank u so much

5:40 Just call it prog and all of a sudden its not a mistake, but a cool time signature

I have seen several videos demonstrating how to properly use a looper...but Justin you really nailed it. simplified it . really great video.

After playing guitar for 6 months following Justin’s course, I’m not afraid of anything on guitar. I’ve learned that everything can be done if you practice enough. Knowing that adds a whole level of comfort and excitement to the guitar journey.

WORKS!! I had a looper collecting dust for about a year cause I could never get it right! But thanks to your instructions the loops are nice and smooth!

O my goodness. What an amazing lesson. This lesson proves to me that learning can be so much fun. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience.

The hype is true: you're a good teacher. This vid covered all my questions and then some. Off to use my new looper! Thanks again.

Very helpful. I've been playing guitar for 15 years and just gotta looper. This thing is really making me relieze how much better I need to get and how much more I still need to practice

Just got my first looper, the TC Ditto. This lesson is just what I needed to get the loops synced from beginning to end. Thanks.

You do a great job teaching Justin, but this was the best video I think you made. Thank you for explaining how to use a loop. Take care

A looper is basically a backing guitarist for doing chord progressions if you've no mates

"Start playing first." Very good advice.

He looks like a young Norm Macdonald 😮

The overdub part where he messes up on purpose actually sounded really good in the loop lol

Dude! thank you!! will not longer keep asking my band to bring another guitarist! haha I've had to much problems with timing trying to figure this stuff my self. Thanks so much for this.

Justin you are a modest Man who is an excellent musician. I absolutely love the the uncomplicated way you get your message across. I'm sure you have had a great influence on many budding musicians. I follow you as you seem to have simple solutions to what can appear to be complicated musical problems. Thank you

I just bought DITTO X4, thankyou for this tutorial. It is not easy to start without a clue with the looping. Now I am at the thrashold of my looping door. ;)

This is one approach to go from record to overdub/play mode when making loops. The other one is the concept of using beat quantize when recording loops which is another approach. Beat quantize means that if you tap too early when you want to go from record to overdub/play mode, it will quantize the number of recorded beats according to the tempo (aka BPM). The advantage of this is that you always get perfect timed loops. The disadvantage is that you have to use a metronome / drumbeat when recording loops otherwise it won't work. The Boss RC-3, RC-30, RC-300, RC505 and Ableton Live use this concept. When playing live, you can send the metronome / drumbeat to your in-ear monitor but not to the audience. The Boss RC pedals use a default beat quantization of 4 beats (1 bar) when playing in 4/4. In Ableton Live you can change this parameter in the global quantization dropdown list.

Love the lesson! Can you please tell me how did you play the loop at 16:00 min (loads of delay). What are the cords and figuring pattern?

What's amazing and i never really thought about is when I was playing more often and in a band my timing was precise... I haven't played for a while and as often, so when I looped a long piece, and then I played it back, (like you said) my timing was pretty far off, so I had to use my metronome to get my timing back. It's funny the things you take for granted. I mean, I didn't think twice about my timing until I heard it played back and couldn't believe I was that far off. A while playing with a metronome and jamming it came back. It's also funny how I would always speed up rather than slow down... So using a metronome is so important to get precise timing. Thank's Justin!

Thanks for this Justin. Had decided to buy this very looper and now you have taught me how to use it. Great video!

2-5-1. Love the 14:31 jazz lick. I bought a EHX 720 because of all the quality control issues with TC Electronics. Couldn't be happier with 10 memory banks to store my licks and practice over them anytime. Great video and inspirational as well!

If you are struggling with your timing Justin, try practicing with drums when you play mate 👍

Every time I have a guitar question, I ask the internet and Justin has the answer. What a teacher.

I got talked into buying the Boss Looper Station (the RC-300). It's a whole pedal board in itself. It has so many functions that it's overwhelming. But then I really got serious about it and found a few sites that have loops that can be downloaded (drums, keys, etc) and now I am a one man band. I play every Thursday night for 2 hours at the Stacked Pickle (for free) and it's just me, my rig, and guitar. All I do is sing and play. So much fun, and it helps when you are in front of people. You would be surprised how that pressure makes you focus and play so much better. All due to the looper.

Thanks for this Justin. I have a looper and was having a bit of trouble getting the timing right. This helped quite a bit. Cheers!

It's odd when you realize just how many loopers you have in even a modest collection of gear. After this video I thought of breaking out my old RC-20 for a bit, then thought, "...wait, I can just use my TimeLine". Then "...wait, I can just use the POD". Then "...wait, I can just use the EHX". Then ... etc., etc. So if you don't have a pedal specific to looping, check some of your other gear - you may have forgotten some old stuff you haven't used in a while.

Finally....a decent looper tutorial! Most of the ones i've seen are more demo's for specific pedals rather than how to use and what to play on them. Have recently got a Boss RC-1 which is fairly basic but as you point out how to use them for beginners can be a bit of a mystery. Thanks for explaining. I think for some, even more basic exercises might be warranted ie what to lay down first in more detail and then what to overlay (perhaps not to the level of actual tabs) - I felt you skimmed over this a bit but it doesn't detract.

I’m looking for a pedal that’s wireless so I can use it on my normal acoustic guitar.. Is there one like that, that’s also very simple to use? I’m very new to this type of musical devise and have no idea what I am looking for haha.

If he was making these melodies as he goes along, even if he came up with them himself before. Wow! They are so nice!

I leant my boss rc-2 to a friend many years ago, and I never saw him (or the pedal) again. Then I just went on with my life, ignoring the loop-shaped hole in my life. Then I saw the thumbnail for this video on the side of my screen in youtube and it just convinced me to go out and get a new one.

I really enjoyed your lesson here. What kind of pedal did you use to obtain that lead guitar at the end? It had a delay but there was a nice tonality to the guitar at the higher end ! Joe Satriani comes to my mind ! Just wondering what type of pedal he used the most to obtain those wonderful licks ? It seems similar to yours! Being an acoustic finger picker, you make me want to venture out of my comfort zone and get a little more electrified! Thanks again, wonderful lesson! One of the most inspirational I've seen, especially for those that want to go to new paths from acoustic guitar to electric guitar ! I also really liked the jazz guitar riff and adding the bass line at the same time etc! Very impressed by that ! You have a great bag of tricks !

Justin is such a nice guy, a great guitar player and teacher! Stating the bloomin' obvious really :)

Justin, thanks so much....what you taught here was EXACTLY what I needed to hear....now my looper is getting used!

How did he play that on 16:00?

The last thing he played was a Pink Floydish beautiful story

great looper lesson, i've had my looper for the longest time but well you know! any ways this is a very detailed lesson thanks again😄😁

Thanks Justin. Great lesson! Does the looper that you were using also work well with acoustic-electric guitars? Was keen to get some overdub action going with my acoustic practice.

Loved the info in the video, but I have to say that I could have listened to your jazz performance and the last one (atmosphere?) all day long. You've a great talent, Justin!

Thank You this was Perfect. The last bit is what is attracting me to get this device. Nice sounds. Lost in nice Sound Scapes 😊

Justin.... wow! just followed up looking at your site justinguitar.com, G R E A T site... as expertly designed as this Tutorial. I'll be joining Jan, and contribute to your work, excellent! Happy New Year, from Fla.

I've messed around with my friend's looper ,but never really got the hang out of, now I Know why , Thanks for the advice ....

Man, am I happy I came across your site. Going to go check out your lessons and bring my abilities up. you're a good presenter and teacher.

is there a way to save a loop and come back to it later?

I have exactly the same looper,really like it for its simplicity I might add another one to my RV namely Boss RC300

I'v been noodeling on and off for decades and learned nothing but repeating the same pentatonic licks. A looper + drum machine brought me to the next level. It teached me to stay in tempo and to listen to the other instruments carefully before playing my licks, otherwise you can't call it music. Now I can't stop improvising and searching for new triads on the fretboard. Once you'v discovered them, you won't even need to memorize it. Just keep playing and try to make the guitar to behave like a voice (play less notes and make it more meaningful). It's so addictive, I'm running home after work time just to feel like being the new Gary Moore LoL You only learn to walk by walking.

Hahaha, your mic is picking up pretty heavy bass response from your foot taps, and my bass boost headphones are making it sound like thunder.

Thank you for the awesome lesson! The part at the end was really awesome to listen to. :) I'll better go back to music theory to learn on what to layer above each other, so that it still sounds nice.

So basically I need this! Getting one!!!

16:00 the Last of Us part.... soo amazing!! I would love to learn how to achieve this, but don't know where to start :(

great jazz play !!.. how do you did that chord changing stuff?

Thanks Justin, i have just obtained a JamMan, didnt have clue .. thanks

definitely can heard that foot rumble over my bass speaker, I thought it was my neighbour

Norm McDonald looped himself so he could keep his regular gig and have McJustin here teach a little guitar on the side.

Thanks, I have been cowardly at trying to use mine. It pertrifies me to even look at the thing.

Very helpful. I have the basic ditto. Great practice tool! I have to see if the one switch does the erase. I always ended up doing a redo!

Thanks Justin. That cleared up a few important things that I was getting wrong!

Every time I hit a little hitch in my practise you seem to make the video to fix my problem about 2 weeks later. Have some internet love mate. Cheers.

Thank you very much for the tips; greatly appreciated. You are a fine musician too.

Great Video Justin, Thanks for taking the time...very informative!

Thank you for explaining the timing... I am having issues with my EH720 getting the loops smooth

Brilliant, Justin. So happy to have found your channel, and this video is one of many reasons why. Subscribed!

I have 5 or 6 pedals. Just picked up the Ditto. It should have been my first pedal. Should be everybody's first pedal if you are learning guitar. Great fun. Great video. With this video, I picked up the "how to" immediately. As always, thanks Justin.

I'm really loving all the help Justin is putting out. I find myself hitting the like button before I watch the videos.

I have a question for everybody: Do you know of a looper with 4 different outputs? I have RC3 and an old AC 30 and a new tweed. I can loop one guitar on each amp. Sounds great. Now I want to be able to do the same with the bass on the bass amp and a drum on a separate amp. Any idea?

I gotta say, Justin. Your talents and skills continue to amaze me. Keep up the awesome lessons!

Oh and for those looking for looper pedal inspiration, check out Mike Love - Permanent Holiday, and (I forget her name) doing Gangster Paradise. Search Gangster Paradise looper.

17:46 Dude... Fuunk yes! That loop/jam got me in the goosebumps. ... Meanwhile, on the darkside of the wall where the grass was greener, the Pink Floyd gods took notice. They smiled down as they ate their meat, beyond the horizon... All was well.

Great tutorial. I'm going to try those overdubs with my Ditto. Thanks for posting.

Great tutorial Justin. I found what I was looking for, Thank you mate. Subscribed

This is the best practical advice on the looper that I have seen...I'm gonna try again. Thanks Justin!

I bought a Ditto years ago on Justin's recommendation. It's been sitting in my box of guitar odds and and ends ever since. This week I finally built a little pedal board with scrap lumber and re-watched this demo. With a little practice, I'll get the hang of this pedal. Who knew that throwing down some blues licks over a one chord vamp could be so fun!

I've got my first loop pedal coming tomorrow. I'm so excited. Thanks for this awesome tutorial :)

WOW! IT'S ALL REALLY AWESOME! JUSTINGUITAR. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LESSONS. :)

Thank you so much. That was incredibly helpful - cheers!

Thanks for the great tips, I was ready to return this little red box (RC-1) until you clued me in on how to not have the gap in the loop! playing before you hit the button helped tremendously!! Kudos !!

Absolutely Fabulous Justin, Thank You So Much! God Bless! Jeff

Hey Justin, would you be up to a part two, this time with the idea of how to do it with rock and roll type of music. Everyone and their dog, cat, parrot, horse do jazz or blues type music, but no one seems to know how to do rock and roll with looper peddles. Please and thank you.

10:52. When you realize that you're a god...

The looper is one of my favorite pedals. I play an open jam night at the Stacked Pickle and the looper gives me so much more depth and options. I invested in the DigiTech JML2 JamMan which has an SD card that will store 16 hours of sound in 99 slots, which is way more than you will ever use. But having stereo quality backing tracks and the ability to call them up at will is brilliant. Even for practicing, you will have so much more fun when playing to a song than just noodling around.

Justin, I always learn something new whenever I watch your videos. thanks for being so rad!

Wow you're awesome Justin !!! Thanks ! Love the way you explain, crystal clear and speaks to all levels ! Keep it up ! :-)

Loved just watching you play! Thanks for the tips!

Thank you, Justin. Great lesson, and you play wonderfully besides.

Absolutely brilliant tutorial. Been on the lookout for one and this advice is really good. Now I know what type to look for and what not to. Thank you