Using a looper with pedal steel

[Rob Morrison]

I've done some looping with my pedal steel using various looper pedals (TC Electronic Ditto, EHX 1440), but I'm curious to hear what others are using. Looper pedal functionality seems tricky with pedal steel due to the real estate issue of it all (not enough feet to control floor pedals + volume pedal + engaging a looper pedal footswitch simultaneously). I've had a degree of success with keeping my looper on an elevated pedal board and activating it with my right hand, but then I can't pick on the "downbeat" of engaging the pedal. For ambient stuff, this is sort of okay because I cover that gap at the beginning with subsequent overdubs of pads/etc, but it's not a versatile solution. Any other options I should be looking at?

[Dave Grafe]

I tried to make it work but couldn't sort the ergonomics as all available hands and feet are too busy to start and stop loops with any precision. Seems like cool stuff could be done but I never figured out how.

[Stew Crookes]

I do a bit of ambient looping in two projects, and also usually record a loop at sound check so I can walk out front and hear my steel sound in the PA - in both cases I play those things without pedals to keep the record button engaged (necessary on my EHX looping delay) with my left foot.
That’s the only way I’ve been able to integrate a looper successfully…

[Richard Sinkler]

You could place the looper to the left of you first PSG pedal and hit it with your left foot. Of course, if what you will play will require you to have your left foot on the PSG pedals, that could be a problem.

[Dave Sneed]

Daniel Lanois used a small switch attached to the back of his steel to trigger some kind of effect. Possibly a Freeze or Looper. Here’s link that might help:
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... w.2254410/

[Nick Levine]

Yeah there's just too much going on to give your foot another task without limiting your playing in some way. The way I've been able to make it work is to set the loop length first (i.e. record a blank take for whatever amount of time), then let the looper run on 'overdub' and start playing from there. If you're trying to keep time, the Boss loopers and I'm sure others have a built in metronome that will slice up any length of loop into beats and then you can record along to that.

[Lee Baucum]

Several decades ago, I met a "Winter Texan" steel guitarist who had a "touch switch" mounted in front of his right hand. It worked like the lamps that could be turned on or off by simply touching them. His device had the head of a bolt sticking up out of it. A quick touch would turn on his chorus and another quick touch would turn off the chorus. I don't know if it was actually turning the chorus unit off and on or if it was simply switching it out of the loop. The "touch switch" was about an inch from the pinky on his right hand.

We have some pretty smart electronic techs on here. Maybe they could offer some thoughts.

~Lee

[C. D. Maclean]

I have a joystick mounted next to the pickup that controls my looper (amongst other things). A flick to the right starts and stops recording, pull back to engage fade or twice for stop. Forwards is undo and left does loop one when I flick a switch to turn the right action into loop 2. I use a pigtronics infinity looper which is a joy to use. Easy enough to wire up with most makes though as the foot switches are usually just shorting to ground. The wrist flick is easy enough to get in time though you can use the Infinity with midi clock to get it bang on.

[Mathew Peluso]

Very cool. Did you make that joystick controller or is there something like that available for sale? Can you assign parameters to use with other pedals or a midi controller as well?

[C. D. Maclean]

Hi Mathew
I made it and it’s very simple, just wires leading to the foot switches on the looper pedal and one ground wire as common. The first toggle switch selects the right lever movement to be loop 1 or 2. Then the second switch overrides it and connects to a rotary switch that links to some of my other pedals, eg delay feedback, rotary speed etc. No power required and the pedals can easily be returned to normal by removing the wires.

[Rob Morrison]

I have a joystick mounted next to the pickup that controls my looper (amongst other things). A flick to the right starts and stops recording, pull back to engage fade or twice for stop. Forwards is undo and left does loop one when I flick a switch to turn the right action into loop 2. I use a pigtronics infinity looper which is a joy to use. Easy enough to wire up with most makes though as the foot switches are usually just shorting to ground. The wrist flick is easy enough to get in time though you can use the Infinity with midi clock to get it bang on.

Dang, C.D., that's a nice toggle switch! Very cool solution.