Looper pedals are more popular than ever, and offer big creative potential for electric and acoustic guitarists alike. With such a wide range of loop pedals for guitar available in 2023, we want to take a look at 10 of the best looper pedals currently on the market. From practicing and exploring new chord progressions at home and looping onstage as a singer/songwriter, to syncing loops with a band or even replacing the band entirely, we’ve found the the best loop pedals for a wide range of applications. Let’s review some important things to look out for when choosing a looper pedal, and then look at 10 of the best looper pedals for guitar currently available in 2023.
What to Look for in a Looper Guitar Pedal
The preponderance of looper pedals on the market in 2023 can make it a challenge to find the best looper pedal for your specific needs. The good news is that you’re more likely than ever to find a looper pedal that will help you achieve your musical goals, whether you’re performing in front of thousands or simply playing with a loop pedal at home for the sheer fun of it. Here are some things to keep in mind when comparing looper pedals for guitar:
Do you want a looper guitar pedal for your acoustic guitar?
You definitely want to choose a looper pedal that is optimized for the extended dynamics and frequency range of your acoustic. Most looper pedals for electric guitar will destroy your core acoustic tone, so choose a looper pedal specifically designed for acoustic.
Do you want to sync your guitar loops to your DAW software, drum machine, or sequencer?
There are quite a few looper guitar pedals with a MIDI input to sync to external devices, but many of them do not. Remember that no matter how tightly you recorded your loop, it will quickly drift from other devices if they’re not synced — if this is a priority for you, look for looper pedals with MIDI sync.
Do you want to sync your guitar loops to a live band?
This will narrow your search down considerably, as there aren’t many looper pedals that can achieve tempo sync with a live band instead of MIDI — but we were able to find a great solution for you anyway.
Do you want to be able to layer multiple loops?
You can’t always tell how many individual loops (not overdubs) a looper guitar pedal can play simultaneously just by looking at it. If you’d like to record multiple loops and bring them in and out of the arrangement on the fly, you need to look for a looper pedal that can play back multiple loops simultaneously.
Do you want your looper guitar pedal to remember a loop when you turn it off?
If you’re using a simple looper pedal mainly for fun and home practice, you may not care if you can save your loops, or if they disappear when you turn the pedal off. If you’d like the option to save loops for later recall, make sure to make that a prime factor in your search for a looper guitar pedal.
Do you want to be able to transfer your loops directly to a computer?
If you want to make sure you can make the most of spontaneous musical inspiration, choose a looper pedal that gives you the option to transfer recorded loops directly to your computer for further processing in your DAW software. Transferring the loop file directly saves you some editing steps if you plan to import the file into a sampler instrument or sample-based synthesizer.
Do you want a looper pedal with built-in effects?
Some looper guitar pedals offer built-in effects that you can apply to loops while leaving your core tone intact, which you normally couldn’t achieve with effects pedals in series with your looper pedal.
Do you want to use external pedals on your loops?
If you want to process your loops with external effects pedals, look for a loop pedal with an effects loop. You’ll be able to integrate other effects pedals with your looped phrases, without adding effects to your core guitar tone while you continue to play.
Would you like a rhythm section with your looper guitar pedal?
If you want a looper guitar pedal that makes solo jamming and practice sessions more fun, look for one with a built-in rhythm section. Having a range of rhythm loops to play with can make solo practice much more fun, and can enhance a jam session when playing with another guitarist, bassist, or keyboard player.
Best Looper Pedals for 2023
With the considerations mentioned above in mind, we rounded up 10 of the best looper guitar pedals for guitar that you’ll find in 2023. While these are all high-quality looper pedals that offer big creative potential, some will meet your needs much, much better than the others. Keep the above points in mind, and we’re sure you will find a looper guitar pedal that will enhance your guitar playing in a big way.
Acoustic Loop1 — Single-knob Simplicity and a Helpful Loop Guide
If you’re looking for the utmost simplicity in a looper guitar pedal, the Acoustic Loop1 could be your best value. There are a fair number of single-knob loop pedals at this price point, and the Acoustic Loop1 stands out among them in a big way with its Loop Progress indicators. Four LED lights are always counting down to the next loop cycle, making it easy to experiment with ambient, airy guitar arrangements that may not have a strong rhythmic guide. It’s a small thing that can make a huge impact when you’re in the creative zone, and it makes the Acoustic Loop1 a top choice for a simple, affordable, no-nonsense looper guitar pedal.
Acoustic Loop1 Looper Pedal Notable Features:
- Loop Progress indicators help you know where you are in the loop
- Up to 30 minutes of total recording time, with unlimited overdubs
- Simple one-knob operation
- Start, Stop, Record, Overdub, Undo and Redo functions
- Saves your most recent loop when powered off
Fishman AFX Broken Record — A Looper Pedal Designed for Acoustic Guitar
The Fishman AFX Broken Record stands out as a looper guitar pedal designed specifically for acoustic guitar. Most looper pedals are made for electric guitar and will degrade your core acoustic tone, limiting your acoustic guitar’s frequency response and dynamic range. The AFX Broken Record features a premium analog signal path, and circuitry that’s optimized for the extended response and dynamic range of your acoustic. If you want a looper guitar pedal that plays well with your acoustic, your options are rather limited, but the Fishman AFX Broken Record is a zero-compromise solution for acoustic guitar looping.
Fishman AFX Broken Record Acoustic Looper Pedal Notable Features:
- Optimized for the extended frequency response and dynamic range of acoustic guitar
- Maintains all the nuance of your acoustic tone whether the pedal is on or off
- Up to 6 minutes of looping with high-quality 24-bit/44.1kHz loop recording
- Can loop a recording, or play one-shot samples
- Simple one-knob operation
- Easy file transfer to computer via USB
TC Electronic Ditto Jam X2 — Sync Your Loops to a Live Band
With the ability to sync to a live band jamming in real time, the TC Electronic Ditto Jam X2 is a unique looper guitar pedal. A pair of built-in mics track your rhythm section and syncs your loops accordingly, and the Ditto Jam X2 even includes a clip-on microphone you can attach directly to percussion instruments for even greater sync accuracy. If you want to bring the creative potential of live looping to a traditional band environment, the TC Electronic Ditto Jam X2 may be your best solution.
TC Electronic Ditto Jam X2 Looper Pedal Notable Features:
- Built-in microphones allow you to sync your loops to a live band
- Included clip-on mic attaches to percussion instruments for even greater sync precision
- Beat Sense technology automatically adjusts loops to the beat
- Separate footswitches for loop recording and stop for easier control over loop endings
Singular Sound Aeros Looper Studio — Sync Your Loops to MIDI
If you want to capture guitar loops on the fly and sync them with your electronic music rig, you need a looper guitar pedal that can sync to MIDI like the Singular Sound Aeros Looper Studio. Much more than just a looper pedal, Aeros Looper Studio is a comprehensive looping workstation that lets you create up to 36 loops per song, with up to a staggering 48 hours of total recording time when using an SD card for storage. A large scroll wheel allows you to fade loops in and out DJ-style with your foot, and simultaneous parallel and sequential loop tracks open up big creative potential for creating flowing arrangements. If you make music with an electronic MIDI-based rig, and want to integrate your guitar while staying locked to the BPM, you’ll love the Singular Sound Aeros Looper Studio pedal.
Singular Sound Aeros Looper Studio Notable Features:
- Loop workstation pedal with MIDI for syncing to a drum machine, sequencer, or DAW software
- Creative song-based operation allows up to 36 loops per song, with a total of 48 hours of loop recording (with SD card)
- Simultaneous parallel and sequential loop tracks offer big creative potential for building arrangements on the fly
- Large scroll wheel makes it easy to fade loops in and out with your foot while you play
- Save your loops to SD card, or directly to your computer via USB
Headrush Looperboard — Your Complete Live Looping Performance Workstation
It may sound trite, but the Headrush Looperboard Looper Effects Processor pedal truly takes pedal-based guitar looping to a whole new level. If looping is the core of your performance style, the Headrush Looperboard gives you all the tools you need — plus a bunch of that you didn’t even know you wanted. Intelligent time stretching and onboard effects deliver huge sound design potential. Four inputs allow you to capture up to four mono or stereo loops from multiple sources simultaneously, with over eight hours of recording capacity using internal storage. An XLR input means you can loop vocals along with instruments. The footswitches can be customized to adapt to your musical workflow, and the large 7″ color touchscreen makes navigating your songs simple.
There’s no way we could cover everything the Headrush Looperboard empowers you to do in this article. If you’re looking for the most comprehensive live-looping pedal available, you’ll be impressed with the Headrush Looperboard.
Headrush Looperboard Looper Effects Processor Notable Features:
- Comprehensive live looping workstation for instruments and vocals
- Record up to 4 stereo or mono loops simultaneously, with no maximum length limits
- Up to eight hours of loop recording capacity with internal storage
- Built-in effects engine, with premium vocal effects including vocal harmony and tuning
- MIDI I/O for syncing with external devices like drum machines, sequencers, and DAW software
- Tap Tempo with intelligent time stretching adjusts loop timing without changing pitch
Pigtronix Infinity Looper 2 — Dual Independent Loops in a Compact Pedal
Packed into a simple compact stompbox, the Pigtronix Infinity Looper 2 is a deceptively powerful looper guitar pedal for guitar and line-level instruments like synthesizers. There’s a lot going on under the hood here, but the important things to know about the Infinity Looper 2 are that it lets you create two independent loops, and it gives you some creative ways to create verse/chorus-style arrangements on the fly with them. Onboard playback effects like stutter and octave shift empower you to mix up your arrangement and keep things interesting. If you’re a solo musician that wants more flexibility than single-loop pedals offer, but don’t want the complexity of a larger looping workstation, the Pigtronix Infinity Looper 2 fits that niche extremely well.
Pigtronix Infinity Looper 2 Loop Pedal Notable Features:
- Dual stereo looper pedal for instrument- and line-level sources
- Independent loops allows you to build up verse/chorus song structures on the fly
- Decay knob allows you to make loops fade away gradually for dynamic, evolving arrangements
- Performance effects like stutter and octave shift to keep things interesting
- All operations take place at the loop boundary, which means your footswitch timing doesn’t need to be spot-on perfect
DigiTech Trio+ Band Creator — A Backing Band That’s Always Ready to Rock
Imagine if you had a drummer and bass player ready to play along with any loop you create — that’s what makes the DigiTech trio+ Band Creator looper guitar pedal so much fun to play with. Intelligent time and pitch detection means your on-demand rhythm section adapts to your timing and musical key. SD card storage means you can transfer your loops to your computer for further production in your DAW software. And a headphone output means you can have a private jam session with your backing band anytime. If you’re looking for a looper pedal mainly to have fun and enhance your practice sessions, there’s a lot to love about the DigiTech Trio+ Band Creator pedal.
DigiTech Trio+ Band Creator and Looper Pedal Notable Features:
- Guitar looper pedal with built-in backing band
- Detects the tempo and musical key of your loops and syncs the band accordingly
- Independent volume controls for drums and bass, with a footswitch to toggle the band on/off
- Presets for Metal, Pop, Jazz, Blues, and many other musical styles
- SD card storage allows you to transfer loops to your computer for further production
- Effects loop for adding external effects pedals
BOSS RC-1 Loop Station — Modern Incarnation of a Legendary Looper
BOSS was at the forefront of live looping in the ‘90s, and their Loop Station series of looper guitar pedals have empowered countless guitarists to explore this mode of creative expression. Fast forward to 2023 and BOSS continues to equip guitarists with a range of looping tools, including the RC-1 Loop Station pedal With up to 12 minutes of stereo loop recording, and mono/stereo connectivity, the RC-1 Loop Station is a simple and straightforward looping solution for guitars and synthesizers alike. And your last recorded phrase is saved in the pedal’s memory when you turn it off, allowing you to pick up on a song idea the next day. If you’re looking for a simple looper guitar pedal that sounds good, is built to last, and is simple to operate, the BOSS RC-1 Loop Station definitely fits the bill.
BOSS RC-1 Loop Station Pedal Notable Features:
- Continues the legendary heritage of BOSS live-looping tools
- Simple single-footswitch operation, with external footswitch connection available to expand your control options
- Mono/stereo signal path, suitable for guitars and synthesizers alike
- Record up to 12 minutes in a single loop
- Saves most recently recorded loop when powered off
MXR M303 Clone Looper — Rugged, Road-ready, No-nonsense Guitar Looping
At its core, the MXR M303 Clone Looper is a simple guitar looper with unlimited loop layers, record/overdub and start/stop controls, and one-shot playback capability. That already makes it a great solution for guitarists looking for a no-nonsense looper, and the M303 Clone Looper stands out with some creative time-stretching capabilities. The Volume control is also a switch which you can press to pitch shift your loop up or down an octave, which opens up some interesting opportunities to create pseudo-bass and synth parts. You can also connect an external expression pedal to control pitch and time, opening up even more performance potential. With the ability to manipulate pitch and time on the fly, the MXR M303 Clone Looper is a simple and straightforward looper pedal that offers some extra creative potential for performance.
MXR M303 Clone Looper Pedal Notable Features:
- Rugged looper pedal for guitar with record, overdub, play, stop, and reverse
- Allows you to record unlimited loop layers, up to six minutes total
- Adjustable loop speed (0.5x-2x) allows pitch-shifting of loop layers to create pseudo bass and synth parts
- Expression pedal input for creative control over loop speed
- Undo function makes it easy to overwrite your most recent loop layer
- Most recent loop is stored in memory when the pedal is powered off
Electro-Harmonix Nano Looper 360 — Store up to 11 Loops for Later Recall
While you can see by now that there are plenty of affordable single-footswitch looper pedals for guitar, the Electro-Harmonix Nano Looper 360 stands out with its innovative loop storage. You can save up to 11 individual loops and access them anytime via rotary dial, making the Nano Looper 360 pedal as much of a musical sketchpad as it is a guitar looper pedal. Its simple control set makes it perfect for practice and fun at home, and the ability to save an inspired loop may ultimately determine whether a new song idea comes to fruition or not. If you’ve been searching through the vast range of compact, affordable, single-footswitch looper pedals for guitar and looking for one that gives you some extra value, you definitely should check out the EHX Nano Looper 360.
Electro-Harmonix Nano Looper 360 Looper Pedal Notable Features:
- Saves up to 11 loops for later recall
- Simple, rugged, and affordable
- Perfect for enhancing practice and songwriting sessions
Find the Right Looper Pedal to Unlock Your Creativity
When you take stock of what your musical goals are, you can find a guitar looper pedal that will give you the creative capabilities that you need. While we’ve barely scratched the surface of what some of these looper pedals are capable of, we hope that you’ve gained some valuable insights on some of the best looper pedals in 2023, and that we’ve helped you narrow your search for the best looper pedal for your pedalboard. Choose wisely and you’ll be rewarded with the fun and musical freedom only a looper pedal can offer, and it will likely be the genesis of many new songs to come.
Here is a great article that will inspire you:
https://homestudiohub.com/make-music-that-moves-with-modulation-pedals/
Want to learn more about the Fishman AFX acoustic guitar pedals? Check this great article:
https://homestudiohub.com/are-there-effects-pedals-for-acoustic-guitar-meet-the-fishman-afx-acoustic-guitar-pedals/
How about this blog about pedal board amps?
https://homestudiohub.com/enhancing-your-guitar-rig-with-a-pedalboard-amp/
