I’ve been using pedals in my guitar rig since back in the Dark Ages, when they were steam powered. (Keeping the fire stoked with logs under the pedalboard to keep up the steam was a real hassle during gigs…) I’ve always dreamed of having a flexible pedal routing system that allowed for super-clean signal flow, that kept everything neat and tidy, and that reduced the dreaded “pedal dance,” where you’re trying to turn two pedals off and another pedal on all at the same time. In the ’80s, rack systems became popular and addressed many of these issues with MIDI controllers and switchers, and that’s still a viable option. But what I’m talking about here are solutions that fit on a pedalboard, keeping everything right under your feet. Fortunately, today’s pedalboard-mountable loop switchers do the job!
A loop switcher basically consists of a bunch of little effects loops that you can switch on and off with footswitches. You put a pedal into each loop and the looper’s switch brings it in and out of the signal path. When you’re not using the pedal, it’s gone from the chain completely; signal only routes through it when you’re using it.
Some loop switchers offer extended features as well, such as preset memories for turning multiple loops on and off simultaneously, dedicated tuner outputs — or even built-in tuners — MIDI control, expression pedal and tap tempo switch routing, and more.
Having a loop switcher on your ‘board streamlines everything — if you’ve got more than a couple of pedals on your pedalboard, consider adding a loop switcher. You’ll gain so much control over your tones, as well as the flexibility to create new tones and effects combinations quickly and easily both onstage and in the studio. With a loop switcher you’ll likely find that you’ve noticeably cleaned up your signal. Plus, a loop switcher will dramatically cut down — or even eliminate — the pedalboard dance!
Loop switchers can range from compact pedals that can switch one loop on and off, pedals that will handle two loops, and larger systems with four, eight, or even 10 loops — and you can often chain them together for more loops, so you can handle even a huge pedalboard.
I’ve tried out a lot of pedalboard loop switchers; here are six that do the job for me:
1 – Voodoo Lab Pedal Switcher
For a straight-ahead pedalboard — but with room to grow — the Voodoo Lab Pedal Switcher is perfect. It offers four pedal loops as well as MIDI in and out. You have a choice of a buffered or an unbuffered input. It’s compatible with the Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro and GCX, so you can add preset control, rack gear, and more Pedal Switchers for more loops as your system grows. Voodoo Lab also makes several other loop switchers with different combinations of features and numbers of loops.
2 – Boss ES-8
The Boss ES-8 is one of the “big dogs” in this category, offering eight loops and endless possibilities for routing and managing your pedals, amps, and other gear. One of the outstanding features for me is that you can actually change the order of your pedals for each patch without unplugging/plugging a single cable!
In addition to eight loops (six mono, two stereo), the ES-8 offers a tuner out, a volume pedal loop, dual amp outs (stereo or switch between two amps), dual inputs (connect two guitars at once and switch between them), six control outs, two expression pedal outs, four control inputs/dual expression inputs, tempo programming per patch, 800(!) presets, full MIDI programmability, internal mixers for parallel effects routing, super-easy front-panel programming, and an incredible list of additional features.
3 – Boss ES-5
If you don’t need quite as much juice as the ES-8 offers or you need a more compact solution, consider the Boss ES-5; it’s a downsized sibling to the ES-8, with five loops and 200 presets, but still offers all the same programming, routing, and control power of its big brother. This is the one I have my eye on for my personal board.
4 – One Control Xenagama Tail Loop Mk-II
Certainly the winner of the “Most Unusual Loop Switcher Name” category, the Xenagama Tail Loop Mk-II from One Control is a compact unit that provides three loops and nice extras, such as DC power distribution to power your pedals and a tuner output that doubles as a mute switch. One Control makes an array of affordable loop switchers and other handy boxes for managing signal flow on your pedalboard.
5 – RJM Music Mastermind PBC
If you’re looking for the ultimate in programmability and versatility, RJM Music has something you should check out: the Mastermind PBC. With 10 loops, you can handle even a massive pedalboard, and there are tons of extra features such as stereo loops, dual amp outputs (for stereo or switching between two amps), function switches for controlling your amp or other effects, an internal mixer for parallel effects routing, endless programmable MIDI control features, an expression pedal input, Mac/PC editor software, built-in tuner, loads of presets, and much, much more.
6 – Radial BigShot EFX
Two loops in an affordable, compact pedal format. For a long time I used a Radial BigShot EFX on my board to bring in a couple of pedals for a particular tone I wanted — one loop had an overdrive and a delay for my lead tone, and the other had a compressor and a chorus for a chiming rhythm. It always worked perfectly! You have the option to use loop 2 for a tuner with signal mute for silent tuning, and you can lift the ground on either or both loops to prevent hum problems.
Once you install a loop switcher on your pedalboard, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it. Take charge of your effects today, and stop doing the pedal dance!