"Donner Circle Looper - Is This the BEST Value Looper?"

[@markstuart6967]

I have had this pedal for around a year now, just upgraded to an external controller. The digitech FS3X works really well, you can switch between both sides and move up and down. It's great for changing drum beats or saved memory slots via pedal.

[@davidblainepoet]

This is the best demo video I've come across yet. Still trying to learn everything on this. I will say a beginner should set fade to zero while learning. I've seen people in videos hitting the buttons over and over because it doesn't stop until it fades out. Very frustrating. Thank you for your help!

[@paulgreig]

Thanks so much David ! using mine nearly everyday...I just dont have to overthink it with this pedal , and can focus on the music and timing. Yes I agree with set fade to zero. I have been using it as a notepad for sketching out ideas - I just export them into computer - and get another blank slate of 40 slots...very useful. Best Paul

[@christianboddum8783]

I have sampled the drummer in my band and imported the beat of a song into this looper, it's a little work but it's great! I wish there was a reggae beat, but I've made a loop in EZ drummer and imported it, that will be my MO forwards 😉

[@57RickH]

Just got this pedal and loved it right away! I’ve had loopers by Digitech and Nux and this is better than both of them, so easy to get jamming right away without the confusion and learning curve inherent in so many other loopers. The merge function simply allows you to record the drum patterns along with your loops, very simple to use. The window showing where the loop is currently is immensely helpful. (Update 2/7/24): a recent thing I've been doing with this pedal that is super fun is to record your first loop in one channel only (left or right), then record your second loop in the other channel, then route the two outputs from the pedal to two separate amps or speakers, with some distance between them to fully experience the stereo sound. 🔊🔊

[@paulgreig]

Great! Totally agree, just works out of box , no manuals, messing around. I've been using mine everyday no issues. My favourite donner pedal for sure. I like the way you can capture ideas quickly-and if anythings worth keeping transfer off to computer. Clear out banks and start again...Essential practice jamming tool for me Cheers Paul

[@robdangerfield7129]

I keep coming back to this pedal. The others have plenty that I like, this one seems to fit the bill for me. I'll probably go for this one.

[@joellebrodeur1015]

The merge button plays an important role and should be engaged with using both sides together: the merge functions syncs both the recorded loops and the drum track. If it's not engaged, the recorded loop will not playback in sync with the drum machine, so just leave it engaged.

[@paulgreig]

Good point , I must check that out there’s a few good drum loops to play with

[@titichartay7216]

Great review thanks.

[@paulgreig]

Your welcome thankyou

[@RetroPlus]

The value this pedal provides is incredible

[@saymyname3097]

I was hoping to see you produce a verse/chorus and using intro, fills and outro, as done in a live performance, or be told that it can't. Most people demonstrate the obvious. One to three chords on a loop then proceed to improvise or use the looper as a foot recorder to record an entire song on one track (backing tracks).

[@karlagazzard928]

Same here. Wonder if there's an all stop/start too.

[@meldeer6253]

YUUUUP HANDS DOWN THIS IS THE BEST VIDEO I HAVE COME ACCROSS i bought a lakato totaly useless so the first thing i did was look for a good video of a pedal i can understand and shazam you show how to use this pedal thank you so much .. i may be coming back if i get stuck .. thank you ol chap

[@paulgreig]

Thanks Mel glad it helped , mine is still going strong , must be a year old now . It’s simplicity is certainly a strength . Great notepad for writing , getting ideas together cheers Paul

[@Roscoe.Maples.2-9-73]

Thanks Paul! Excellent video!

[@paulgreig]

Thankyou Glad you liked it!

[@dbreardon]

Just ordered this looper last night. Don't really like the color scheme but not enough to not make me want to buy it or use it :) Thanks for the great review.

[@paulgreig]

I'm really enjoying the pedal, I use it everyday and it just keeps chugging away no issues... maybe they could pimp up the colours ( little flat) I wonder how they will improve on this peda in general: 2.0 . Hopefully they dont overdo it and keep clean simple functionality..Hope you get a lot out of the pedal and thanks for watching !

[@joellebrodeur1015]

Thanks for the video. Straight and to the point while explaining and demonstrating functionality.

[@paulgreig]

Glad you enjoyed Joelle , it seems to suit my needs in simplistic way, real test will be @the 2-3yrs point , Mine , so far so good touch wood , thanks for watching

[@automatonverified4484]

Best review /Demo I've seen. Thanks

[@paulgreig]

Glad it was helpful! Thankyou

[@chrisshaw6451]

Cool video, it helps explain all you need to know to get started with this looper, and in a good clear straightforward way, so thank you for that as I just bought one!

[@paulgreig]

Glad it was helpful Chris ... Im really happy with mine

[@CmdrMic]

Best review on YT for this Looper. ❤🙏👍🐸👍🙏

[@paulgreig]

thanks for watching glad you enjoyed it

[@daveinDc]

I like the Donner pedal, it is the same as the Flamma FS21, the Lekato Blue and the Kmise offerings. I made a shootout video covering the minor differences here on YT. The winner was the Kmise which I bought from Amazon for $69, Sept23 pricing. The Donner waS around $100, so $30 more. The Kmise and Lekato were built in 2023, whereas the Donner is circa 2018. I preferred the cheaper & newer pedal with USB-C vs micro USB.

[@sundaynightdrunk]

The Kmise is $90 now, and the Donner is $107, so I got the Donner because someone mentioned the knobs and switches seemed better quality. Seems pricing has gone up on all these similar loopers.

[@craigsweeney8248]

Great video. I know what you mean about tc ditto x4. Was a nightmare of a pedal for me as well. This looks like a good looper for the price.

[@paulgreig]

Thanks Craig , I been using it quite a bit and cant really fault it , its so easy to use. I don't think I will buy anything from TC electronics again , their support was a real let down , sort of put me off them ..

[@bretttrommler756]

Hearing a lot of very good things about this device. I believe I'm gonna have to own one.

[@paulgreig]

Mine is still going strong if that’s any indication. Been using regularly since making this video

[@bretttrommler756]

@@paulgreig Okay, I got mine and figured out real quick that I can upload MP3 tracks to it from my PC. Great. I've done that and it works, although I need to figure out how to lower the level of the thing so it doesn't distort. Anyway, All I need to know now is... how can I rename the files when they are on the looper? Even though the MP3 files have a name when I upload them, all the thing says is MEM.1, MEM.2 MEM.3, etc. Is there a way for the looper to display the actual track name?

[@bennyhill3505]

Did you find there's a delay when you restart a drum synced loop. Eg ...Sync drum and looper. Record a 4 bar loop. Stop the loop. Then when you hit start there's a very slight delay to start.

[@sparkyguitar0058]

This is my 2nd looper. 1st is a Boss RC-1. Still use it with my board. But this came as a lifesaver. Joined a worship band and couldn't get much practice together. All I would get would be key and bpm. This pedal kept me on top of a least beat. Now I just use it in its own separate amp and throw a quick beat to play to. Faster than the keyboard setup I have.

[@paulgreig]

I use mine quite a bit and had no issues so far....

[@Patrick-857]

Running more than one looper is where things get fun if you like doing sound on sound stuff. Free running asynchronous loops. Having two separate loops of different completely random lengths with volume swells makes for a very interesting bed to put other things on top of.

[@BAND-MAID-USA]

Great video. Thank you

[@paulgreig]

Thanks for watching

[@lloydlandersz5153]

I love your demo

[@paulgreig]

Thankyou Loyd glad you enjoyed it

[@jerrylamont972]

Great review and nice playing. Was wondering if youve ever tried a vocal mic like a shure sm58 to do backup vocal loops

[@paulgreig]

Thanks Jerry , no I have never tried anything like that. A pedal like this is not really geared for that type of thing however with the right leads / connectors you might be able to pull something off. I believe there’s looping pedals out there that give you scope for multi instruments and a mic connection etc hope that’s answered your question? cheers Paul

[@patrickslack-smith3329]

Thanks for sharing this, I play solo and want to get into looping,what sort of power supply do i need? love your style of playing.

[@paulgreig]

Thanks Pat, just a standard DC9Volt power supply will do the job , Donner have a brick power supply for multiple pedals but that might be overkill depending on how many pedals you have. But like the circle looper you can get 15% off anything in cart. Hope that helps

[@sparkyguitar0058]

You need 300mV . Be careful to have this or more.

[@carlosgca]

Thanks for the video, Paul. I have some questions for you. The first one is about the guitar sound. Do you think that pedal change it a little bit? Second one is I normally play with different kind of guitars for gigs, including nylon. Did you you try it with different guitars than electric? Been honest, I just need something easy to use. To play small gigs with singer, to improvise a little bit. I used to have Ditto X2 but it just stop working. Thanks a lot!

[@paulgreig]

Hey Carlos , pretty frustrating with TC electronics … can’t say I really noticed a difference in sound quality but I think it wouldn’t be perfect, I do the same thing work with singer at gigs , I use a Godin Nylon string direct into PA through pedal. For me it’s about getting the volume playback of loop at right level to play over and of course you have to play steady time - if you speed up it’s a bit of a drag when you engage loop. I have had mine for about a year now it’s still going , hopefully it stays that way :) though someone commented there’s was dead on arrival however they replaced it …hope that helps Carlos

[@carlosgca]

@@paulgreig thanks for your answer. I'm just right now opening the box. I guess it will be good enough for that kind of gigs. I also have a Godin, and 5 more guitars 😅. I week ago I bought a Lekato looper, an small one, very good price, but I think isn't a good idea to have to do double click to stop the loop. I already tried in a gig and it was just complicated hehehe. Hello from Barcelona 😉

[@matthewfernance2044]

Just what I was after! Thanks for explaining all the functions of the pedal, really helps to know exactly what I'm buying. Is it easy to get the loops onto a computer via the USB cable? Would like to hear you play more slide guitar stuff!

[@paulgreig]

Thanks Matt glad it helped...., Yes its straight forward just plugi it It's a handy way to collect ideas/ jams spontaneous stuff ... like a note pad. Check out my channel for more slide stuff, Cheers

[@davidblainepoet]

You need to download and install the software from Donner to use this on your computer but yes, once it's installed you can export the loops to your computer, or import loops (up to four minutes) from your computer.

[@blueeyedsoulman]

Can you change memory slots while a loop is on? Do the drums follow into the new memory track?

[@christinamuller7608]

Hi, sorry my Englisch is not good. I have a question, can i connect my headphones to the looper?

[@hybrydsanity5857]

doed this Pedal have any reverse playback or modes ?

[@paulgreig]

No but it’s got a fade out feature

[@bobmeister4495]

I'm a pedal newbie and what does this have to be plugged into for recording and on amplifying. Do you need other cords (USB or other) to have the recording go to a laptop. Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm an old guy learning /,and would love to be able to create and play with my own backing tracks but as I said I'm a techno weenie.

[@paulgreig]

You need a guitar amplifier and 2 leads - a usb cable to store your files on computer if you want to save any loops / ideas

[@fenderman7596]

Always wonder why these pedals do not have a 'Country' style?

[@czechduck]

Pretty good looper if all you want to do is jam along with some drum beats or record some rhythm loops to play over. However, be warned that if you want to transfer loops to or from your computer, the software from Donner doesn't work on mac. This was a deal breaker for me as I wanted to transfer my own beats to the looper to practice with. Not possible, so it was returned. It's a shame, because I really liked jamming along with the drum beats and recording loops. I watched another reviewer who compared four of these Chinese loopers and the Lekato looks promising with a usb-c connection. But, then again, I'm leery of buying yet another Chinese pedal that may not work as advertised. I'm currently looking at an rc-5, which, unfortunately, is double the price and way more complicated.

[@bradydyson65]

No punk beats! But absolutely great vid. I feel like I could use this pedal with some confidence now (it hasn’t arrived yet… 😏 ).

[@paulgreig]

Thank you glad you got something from it , mine is still going strong I use it to practice mainly - pretty basic stuff but does the job for me

[@kpc8749]

Can I use the circle looper with my bass? Cheers friend.

[@mikepeace2112]

Absolutely! I use one input/output for guitar and one for bass to dub tracks for both.

[@paulgreig]

As Mike said yes ... has 2 inputs so no issue

[@blueeyedsoulman]

Does the drum machine part do "fills"?

[@paulgreig]

No

[@jamesandrews3583]

Is it better than a Joy-O OMB?

[@paulgreig]

Without the 2nd button: start /stop - The Joy-O OMB didnt suit me ....depends what your trying to achieve I guess..I been using the Circle Looper everyday, jamming idea and started using on a gigs, hasnt let me down yet...

[@jamesandrews3583]

@@paulgreig thank you

[@paulgreig]

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[@novueaumonde]

I don't recommend this until they get their quality assurance sorted. Mine came bricked and stuck on 'input clipping', even when nothing is plugged in. I can't even get it to be recognized by my PC when I plug it in via USB. Shame.

[@paulgreig]

have you tried contacting them sending it back ?

[@novueaumonde]

@@paulgreig They were happy to send me a new one for no extra cost. Great service, fingers crossed this ones all good

[@ludwinhooi6982]

Hi

[@kevmac1230]

I need denmo starting right from nothin. Like I've just dropped onto earth and know absolutely nothing.Maybe it doesn't exist or iv yet to fing it.

[@hollowbodymusic]

I wouldn’t get this pedal for live performances. If you record a loop, stop it, and then attempt to start it again, there is a delay that throws off the timing badly. For home use it’s fine.

[@paulgreig]

Oh ok , I've done a few cafe / wedding gigs and had a good time with it.... didnt experience any delay/activating switches I tend to record loop verse 1 & chorus 1 - > stomp play button - get on with rest of tune ,then stop at end of last chorus - play an ending --> song over ..pretty simple pedal in my mind , focus on the groove and try play solid as possible...like any looper if I'm not on the pulse .. its an awkward moment ;)

[@wmdbassplayer]

The button in the center is for syncing to avoid that. I busk with it and it's great!

[@ianmorris608]

I know what you mean.I use a looper for acoustic nights, pre record the rhythm where the solo is. Then.while playing a song got it then do the solo. There is a slight delay,don't suppose the audience notice but I do!