The Song setting lets each track length work independently, and Band mode is a hybrid of Sync and Song. The final mode, Free, leaves all four tracks unsynced, which is fun if you’re inclined to crank up a ton of effects and drift into space with layered soundscapes rather than structured normie music.
Three main views are available to help you keep track of your looping: Track, Wave, and Mixer. Your preferred view can function as your home screen. Track displays the level of each track’s loop and input in a vertical bar that changes colors based on its state. Wave is what I’d deem the most useful of the three views, showing a horizontal waveform and a scrolling indicator that follows each loop’s progress in real time. The Mixer view is similar to Track, with buttons for “mute,” “solo,” and “FX” available for each track, as well as a vertical volume-trim slider for each. The mute and solo buttons both display a clickable symbol to add a backing track from the internal library, which you can fill up via file transfer using the USB-A connector and your computer or the SD card slot.
Akai offers a free file converter app that offers drag-and-drop functionality to make sure your loops and backing tracks fit the device’s required 16-bit 44.1 kHz WAV file specs. Anyone who’s spent hours tearing their hair out while praying their Roland looper or sampler accepts a given sample will appreciate this nice little bonus.
The customizable Mode is the most notable function, helping you navigate the device and tailor it to your exact needs, whether that includes the reverse feature, built-in tuner, the loop-multiply button, or otherwise. Using it, you can specify what the eight buttons do when you press the Mode pedal. The settings are saved per loop rather than globally, meaning each loop can have its own customized Mode with just one foot press.
Is the Looper X Worth It?
Photograph: Pete Cottell
Considering its size and cost, I expected the Looper X to have a raft of onboard effects in place of the various stompboxes I’d use in a more piecemeal looping arrangement. Each track can include its own “rack” of effects, with a variety of prebuilt racks for drums, vocals, guitars, and the like. A given rack has a series of virtual pedals laid out in a specific, unmovable order. Unfortunately, all the effects proved rudimentary, and I wouldn’t recommend relying on them, save for the occasional compressor or reverb unit on vocals or drums. You’re much better off with an outdated Line 6 Floor Pod you can find at any nearby Music Go Round or pawn shop for $100 or so. You’re looking at a minimum of $1,500 for the Looper X, plus whatever you need to get your rig gig-ready.