Looper - Can we change profiles for different passes?

  • Hi, and sorry for the noob question. I am curious if it's possible to change profiles while using the looper. For example, first pass with a clean tone, second pass with an octave effect for bass, third pass with a solo tone, etc.

    Husband, Father, Pajama Enthusiast

  • Yes. You have to start the loop and then exit loop mode while it's running, so that the remote has its normal operation. Then, after changing rigs, you can re-enter loop mode to stop it. At least that's what I remember. It's been ages since I used it ...

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

  • As Zappledan said, yes it can be done however, it is a bit of faff for live performance because of the jumping back and forth between Looper and Performance modes. There is plenty of room for mistakes and wild unexpected outcomes. I do it all the time for just trying ideas out at home though. Play a snipit of a chord sequence then switch to a solo sound and practice navigating the chords.

  • I use the looper in live situations. Wheresthedug is right about the faffing about with clicking in and out of Looper mode. The issue is that the looper controls are the same as the rig select buttons on the remote, so it’s impossible to use both at the same time.
    I think you can still use a separate dual footswitch and assign basic looper functions such as start/stop and trigger etc. to it.
    I borrowed a friend’s Boss FS6 to try this out a while ago. It worked quite well but obviously you don’t have all the controls available at once. if you has more than one of these , you could assign more controls. Had to give the switch back and so haven’t done that since.
    I have found that when using the looper with an electric guitar, it is relatively easy to set up a clean rig and add effects to the four FX buttons to aid the changing of sounds between loops. This is the next best thing to using different rigs and saves the tap in tap out of looper mode dance. You have four buttons so lots of flexibility there. FX, multiple FX scenes etc.
    As you can assign lots of FX to each button and use morphing (with a dedicated expression pedal) you can get some pretty complex and interesting sound textures going.
    You can do this with acoustic guitars too, but obviously if using overdrives and fuzz etc you have to be super careful not to get massive feedback. Not really managed this with great success yet. Modulation, delays and reverbs are great though.
    I have used morph to control the Panorama feature so I can loop across the stereo field. This can sound huge and can effectively give you lots of overdubs that separate more across the sound field. Less muddy and more interesting to listen to. Great for guitar duelling , separating parts and creating harmonies. If Panorama could also be a post rig FX slot then I could have four different stereo positions saved to the Fx buttons. That would be cool. Must put a feature request in for that.

    In some songs, I find using a pure boost helps when recording a loop you will need to trigger throughout the song. This helps other musicians to keep in time sync with the loop as once it’s recorded it’s timing can’t be altered (except for going half/double speed).
    I use this trick to record the main guitar riff for Stayin Alive by the Bee Gees. It works much better since I’ve been boosting.
    I then trigger that part when required while playing the rhythm part and sing BV’s.
    Timing is still tricky but it works well enough.
    When using the Cirrus reverb I find that the KPA will only allow one layer of looping and no overdubs. But I have not tried this in enough Rigs to be sure it’s not just the rig I’ve tried it on already.
    Live looping with the KPA is very possible. It does require a bit of pre-setting and planning to get the most out it. Most of all you need to practice recording in time, setting up the loop length, overdubbing in time and triggering in time. There’s no quantising or overdub adjustment just an undo/redo for the last overdub you have recorded.
    You can use this undo/redo to drop a part in and out of the loop but this also requires accurate feet and lots of practice.
    Good luck!

    Pre-Amp

  • That's a good idea to use morphing to adjust the panorama! I've got a performance with clean/ bass / lead slots all panned a bit for separation but have to tap dance to use that.

  • Yes, it works quite well as I said in my previous post. With an expression pedal you can use panorama to move the signal right across the stereo field but it’s tricky to be really accurate about where exactly you end up. This is quite organic but somewhat haphazard. I’d love to be able to set exactly how far to the left/right the panorama shifts without having to change Rigs to do so. Hence it would be great if Panorama could be a post amp section Fx.
    I’ve not yet used it to separate bass lines.
    That’s an interesting idea too!

    Pre-Amp

  • Another great use for the looper (or a separate looper pedal works really well) or auditioning tones is to get a Looper Pedal (the Kemper looper should work). I record some basic Open Chords and/or riffs, depending what type of sound I am going for and then loop those tones and audition the various Rigs. Mix, stir or season to taste. It works well. Hope that helps somebody. I am sure others are already doing something similar.

  • Another great use for the looper (or a separate looper pedal works really well) or auditioning tones is to get a Looper Pedal (the Kemper looper should work). I record some basic Open Chords and/or riffs, depending what type of sound I am going for and then loop those tones and audition the various Rigs. Mix, stir or season to taste. It works well. Hope that helps somebody. I am sure others are already doing something similar.

    My favorite use of this feature.