Why I built Looper Studio
By George
I've been playing with loop pedals since 2018: guitar, a little keys, and live shows here in Cyprus. I love what a looper does. You start with nothing, and a few minutes later a whole song is coming out of one instrument.
But every pedal I've used had the same limits. Three tracks, maybe. And the song lives in your head: track two is the bass, the chorus layer comes in after eight bars, this switch stops that loop. In the middle of a set, that is a lot to carry. Press the wrong switch at the wrong moment and the wrong track goes silent — in front of everyone.
Then there are the effects. On a pedalboard, every change is your foot: reverb on for the lead, off for the rhythm part, delay on for the bridge, and back again. You end up dancing on switches when you should be playing.
Get the song out of your head
Looper Studio is my answer to all of that. Before the gig, you lay the song out on a timeline, section by section — intro, verse, chorus, bridge. On each track you place where it records and where it loops. On stage, you look at the screen and play. The plan keeps track of the song, so you can keep your attention on the music.
Need the room to decide how long a section lasts? Mark it as a Loop Region and it repeats for as long as you like. When you're ready, advance and the song moves on.
Every track comes in already mixed
This is the part that still feels a bit crazy to me. In Looper Studio, every track has its own effects, set up ahead of time. Up to eight effects and an instrument per track, from 32 built-in effects or your own Audio Unit and VST3 plugins.
So when the next record clip comes in, its sound is already in place: the reverb on the lead, the compression on the bass, the delay on the backing vocal. You set the gain staging for each track before the show, so every part records at the right level and sits well in the mix from the first note. Automation can change things during the song for you, such as a filter that opens into the chorus. No tap-dancing, no forgetting to switch something off. You play, and what comes out is a properly mixed song — live.
Travel light
Think about what you carry to a gig today: the looper, a board full of effect pedals, the power supply, the cables, and the case to hold it all. With Looper Studio, you bring your laptop or your iPad, your instrument and an audio interface. Every effect and every loop is inside the app, already set up for each song. You arrive, plug in and play.
When a take goes wrong
Everyone fluffs a take sometimes. On a pedal, you either live with it or start again. In Looper Studio, you record a backup take of a part before the show. If the live take goes wrong, one stomp on your Panic footswitch swaps it for the backup, and the song carries on. The audience never knows.
And nothing is thrown away: every pass you record is kept as its own take, so you can pick the best one later.
A whole set, not just a song
Put your songs in a setlist for the night. When you reach the end of a song, one press takes you to the next one, ready to play. No menus between songs, no silence while you search for a file.
Hands on the instrument
Drive the transport, your Loop Regions and your setlist from a footswitch or any MIDI controller, and keep your hands where they belong. Looper Studio also sends MIDI clock, so drum machines and other gear stay in time with you.
Not only for looping
You can also use Looper Studio to record a live performance, or to play over a backing track. Build the backing in Looper Studio ahead of time, keep those tracks as playback, and loop live on top.
After the show, export the whole mix, the separate stems, or single clips as WAV, AIFF or FLAC.
On whatever you bring to the stage
Looper Studio runs on macOS, Windows, Linux and iPad. One licence covers all four. With Cloud Sync, your songs and setlists follow you from the computer you prepare on to the iPad you play from.
If you know the feeling of carrying a whole song in your head with your foot over the wrong switch, download Looper Studio and try it free for 7 days. I'd love to hear what you make with it.
— George