Looper Pedals

Looper pedals record your guitar while you play, playing it back to you as a loop. These loops can then be overdubbed with a second part that's added to the loop during its next cycle. It's great for layering, allowing you to apply solo parts on top of your riffs for instance.

The looper can go in a few different places. The most popular position is at the very end of your signal chain. This allows the looper to capture your exact current pedal setup in the loop. It won't react to changes made on your pedalboard either. Another option is to place it between certain effects. Having the looper embedded within your effects loop ensures you can trigger modulation, reverb etc and alter your entire sound.

Ed Sheeran used a Boss RC-30 Looping Pedal during his live shows to flesh out his sound. However, as his gigs and his sound have got bigger, he's had to shift to a custom pedalboard known as 'The Chewie Monsta'. This is used as a controller to manipulate his off-stage rig.

Some of the simplest looper pedals are made by leading brands including Boss and Electro Harmonix. Boss' RC-3 Loop Station features 3 hours of recording time and 99 built-in memories (letting you store your loops). Electro Harmonix' 360 Nano Looper boasts 6 minutes of looping time and an intuitive, user-friendly layout.