Mooer Groove Loop

GUITAR INTERACTIVE STAR RATING:⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

MSRP (UK) £99 (US) $TBC

PROS

An invaluable tool that every guitarist should own.

Small size.

Simple operation.

CONS

Not much.

SPECS

Power requirements: 9V DC

Dimensions: 93.5mm(D) x 42mm(W) x 52mm(H)

Weight:157g

The Mooer Groove Loop brings together both the Micro Looper and Micro Drummer into one micro pedal, for the ultimate in a portable jamming companion. Here's Nick Jennison to tell us more.

The looper pedal is the latest effect to join the pantheon of guitar effects. They're invaluable practice tools, great for songwriters and clinicians, and many bold musicians build entire songs in real time using loops. There are huge, feature-laden models that are as big as most people's pedal-boards, and they are tiny mini pedal models that sit unassumingly at the end of your chain.

The Mooer Groove Loop falls in the latter category. It's a mini pedal with 20 minutes of total recording time and overdub functionality. What separates it from similar pedals is that it's also a drum machine.

Firstly, this is invaluable as a practice tool. If you're not practising to some kind of timing reference already, you really should be, and drum machines are a LOT more fun than metronomes. It also makes looping so much easier, because the beginning and end of your loop will snap to the tempo set by the drum machine.

The Groove Loop has three modes of operation: "LOOP", "DRUM" and "L+D" (looper and drum machine). The latter two make use of the onboard drum machine, which has a whole range of grooves from standard rock, funk and blues beats through to reggae, metal and even fusion - in odd time, no less! The patterns are a lot of fun sound pretty good, although the natural high fre-quency roll off inherent to guitar speakers isn't ideal for replicating crisp hi-hats and cracky snares.

Beyond the single rotary control to select the drum groove you want to work with, there's a tap tempo button and volume controls for the looper and the drums, and that's it! The footswitch handles arming the looper (complete with count-in when in "L+D" mode), playback, overdub, undo and stop functions. As with all loopers, it takes a little practice, but once you have the hang of things, it couldn't be easier to operate.

The Mooer Groove Loop is an amazing tool for practice, teaching and live performance - particularly as a solo performer. It's small, affordable, simple to operate and makes your life easier. What's not to love?