Boomerang Phrase Sampler

Yes it is easy to use

I have an older rang upgraded to the newest version.
If I use it during day time it sounds oke, but if I use it in the evening a high pitch tone appears in my loop.
I think it has to do with radio signals.
Other musicians I have talked to who uses the boomerang as well, have the same problem as I.

yes

I own now a Echoplex digital pro plus.
Because I was seaching for looping device that could loop in sync with a sequencer.
And I think that the Boomerang is a simple version of the Echoplex digital pro.
If you want a good looping device, buy the Echoplex!(it's expensive but it's working well)(without high pitch sounds)

First of all let me ask this: NO ONE ELSE HAS REVIEWED THIS PRODUCT? I can't understand this, how can this be?

OK, forward.....

Very easy to use, however, the timing is important to set the loop point. Once you have this figured out you are in for a great practice tool or live tool. But there is more to it than just simple looping. For example, you can stack other parts onto the original loop, or 1/2 speed (drop an octave) the entire loop. At any rate, once you master the loop start point issue, you have mastered the pedal. .....Well, of course if you perform with it, there are so many things to use it for. This may take some time and effort to make it a smooth performance tool - but it is do-able.

It has a bypass switch on it, and a very neat 'foot-rolling' volume control, easily mastered both, BTW. The volume knob is needed to control the output level of the Boomerang. At first you will think this isn't needed, just keep it at a constant 0db gain level. But as you actually use the pedal it all becomes clear why this is necessary. And very smart, you will use this feature often.

Lastly, there is an input level switch and a volume pot control - with a clip LED. This will help you record a cleaner signal, and works very well.

I run two different pedal boards. The 'looper' pedal board had to be built in such a manner as to get the Boomerang about two inches above the pedalboard surface. YMMV, but this was the solution to shortening up the length of the entire board. ...So, I go into a Diaz Texas Ranger> a Roland BeeBaa> the Boomerang> EB volume pedal> amp. I use true bypass switches by Pedalracks.com to bypass the Boomerang and the TRanger. Yes, the Boomerang is not true bypass and it is a tone sucker in this pedal combination. I needed the switch for the TRanger - which IS true bypass - again, for space saving reasons - because it is hidden beneath the Boomerang and I cannot get to it's switch. BTW, I rigged a piano hinge on the back edge of the Boomerang so I can easily lift up it's front edge to plug in my cables and adjust the TRanger when needed. A pic would show this but it is very sano, trust me. The front edge of the Boomerang, which is 2" above the board surface, rests on the back top edge of the BeeBaa, which is flat on the board surface. Understood?

(I hate to waste time talking about the pedalboard setup, but someone may benefit from my solution. Frankly, the footprint of the pedalboard is very important to me - and - the Boomerang is BIG!)

Anyway, with this rig, I can lay down a clean loop and come back with a fuzzy solo tone if I like. Or not. The TRanger is very cool in front of the BeeBaa, bringing another edge or tone to it. It can be a lot of fun and creative, ...or not, depending on my abilities that day. :}

I can also run a bass gtr into the looper and have a great practice tool - something to consider if you can't scare up a jamming buddy. When I do this, I record the loop, put the bass gtr in a stand, and walk over to my gtr rig that it ready to go. Oh, also when I run it for bass, I just plug into a bass amp rig. It performs incredibly well in this capacity, and is, again, a great tool.

As to the sound quality, let me add that there is an option from the factory to upgrade the 'chip'. This is supposed to improve the bit level from 8 bit to 16 bit - I think. This would be identified as the newer Boomerang, labeled the 'Boomerang+'. By all means, I suppose, get the newer one for the bit rate increase. However, as I was about to do this - get the upgrade - I considered instead replacing every electrolytic cap on the circuit board with polyester instead. Trust me, there are maybe 10 1uf caps onboard the PCB that can be replaced with amazing sonic results! After replacing these I plugged the Boomerang in and realized that this was a very smart thing to do. The sound quality improved greatly - to the point that I honestly couldn't imagine things getting any better. Yeah, I know, seems unlikely, but that's my story - I'm sticking to it. I figure if I ever do get the newer chip set things will only improve.

IMPORTANT: I am rating the current sound of the pedal a 9, but that is with the poly caps. To compare this with the original sound, I would have to say that it was a 6 or a 7. There was a surface 'glaze' to the original pedal, a noticable 'blanket/hiss' tossed over the mix with the stock electrolytics. I realize this may not be the right thing to do - rate it this way, since I have modded mine - but I think this is a manufacturing limit, not a design limit. The design totally rocks, this is a great pedal.

I have had this thing apart more than once, checking it out for what chip set was installed, replacing the caps I mentioned above, etc., stomping on it often. It performs flawlessly. I bought this used with very low miles about three years ago, use it weekly if not more.

I have gigged with it only a few times It's real home is the practice room where it shines. Honestly, it has never let me down.

I did check out the website a few times, as I considered doing the upgrade. I emailed three times, eventually received 1 email back, the person seemed unclear what I was inquiring about. ?? Yeah, odd. I am just not sure about what is up with this company. My impression at the time was that it is a second business for somebody but I can't be sure. I am sure that the Boomerang Co. is NOT like the Line6 Co. - but there's a lot of room in there for improvement.

I will rate them low here because of my past experience, but I will contact them afterward, just to see if anything has changed. I suggest you try your own contact methods to see what you think. If I have misreprented them here I will be back with an update.

I have covered this above I think. As a practice tool it is incredible. Were I in a different band situation, I might be bold enough to incorporate it into a live use thing. It is up to the task, I may not be. :}

Pretty much all its functions are well designed and easy to use. Manual is cool and was easy to grab off their website. Its built for live use and achieves that easily. Very well thought out.

On occasion it can be a little noisy. Dont quite understand why it peaks so easy and why when turning the trim knob down it raises the hiss. However it does depend on your setup and with tweaking can be minimised.

I cant see this thing breaking. Its pretty rock solid. Had to get one of the buttons replaced cos it was playing up. However I did get is second hand on ebay and I reckon it might have been given some rough treatment before I got my hands on it

N/A

Im into bluesy folky original type stuff. Had it about two years. If it were stolen I would get another....however no one seems to sell them in Australia?? I love its simple design and no hands all foot features. I wish there was a feature to fade out loops smoothly. Doing it with my foot on the roller is a little hard to control esp if standing. Dont think much else really compares to it.

The rig is designed for live use and it caters for that exceptionally. The delays sounds you can get from it get the big thumbs up especially the reverse delay. You can get this awesome sound from setting the delay at the tempo you play at and have it reversed. I have also had alot of fun stacking sound on sound. It can deliver fine ambient sounds too.

You can come up with memorable loops. I sometimes hook it up to my pc if its a real good one and capture it. Once powered down what was disappears. I mostly use it for guitar but also plugging a mic into brings another element into it. You can build wonderful voice melodies with it too.......there really is hours and hours of fun on this thing. Sometimes you get these stacked/layered loops happening that come about partly through fluke and you know you will never be able to achieve it again. Once again you gotta record them or just let it play all night till your girlfriend starts going crazy and chases you out for the house with it!

Perhaps it would be nice to have a function where you could save loops on it without compromising the design layout.

It's easy... manual tells you all you need to know, but you've gotta read it to figure out the secondary functions like sample rate, slow speed, etc.. - these aren't intuitive.

First off... TO THOSE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING NOISE, CLICKS, HISSING, ETC, you do not have the unit dialed in correctly. The Boomerang clips very easily. It needs a low input signal to avoid clipping and light trim work to function properly. I almost sent mine back as defective until I started to really tweak it - I now enjoy great s/n ratio!

I run (1) a Martin DC16-GTE >Yamaha AG Stomp, (2) a modified Fender Mustang >Dunlop Wah >TS-9 >Guyatone Compressor >Digitech RP-5 (for delay, reverb, chorus) >Ernie Ball Volume. The guitars have one lead running directly to their amps - a Crate CA60D and a Roland JC-120 respectively - and a lead running into a Yamaha MG10/2 Mixer. Then I run what amounts to an effects loop out of the mixer to the Boomerang - this way I can maximize my Rang and loop both of my guitars and my vocals without swapping the input. (I also run a line out to active PA speaks, so my loops are running through the PA and my JC-120.)

Once I got it dialed in it wasn't noisy. It does clip very easily.

I am very happy with the 24kHz sample rate. I do lose some brightness and presence with my Martin, but this is negligible when stacked as a rhythm track. With my electric, there is minor noticeable degradation.

I love the reverse function. The delays are nice. I don't use the SLOW function much. The foot controlled volume is great - though I'm not sure why it doesn't cut the sound completely. The mute button comes in handy quite often. And the adjustable decay rate is awesome.

I get great sounds out of it - it doesn't enhance your sound/tone but show me a looper that does.

I love setting up a loop with percussive beats from muted strings and stacking rhythms and wah licks onto it. This can get muddy if you're not careful. Timing is key. The Boomerang also works well for looping vocals. Every seen Keller Williams live? (<= This guy is AMAZING!) He uses a Lexicon Jamman, but same principles.

Uh... yeah.

Gave them a phone call when I first started having the noise issues. They never called me back. I did some reading and worked it out myself. Some folks here have had great support - maybe they had just finished their 5,000 unit run and were on hiatus...

I play solo jam/funk/rock, and the Boomerang is essential and a great match for this. I also play in a jazz-fusion-rock band where it gets used alot. It's perfect for this type of music, particularly the solo gig stuff. I also play in an alternative Christian band where it's mainly used for delay. (Nice for pure delay too;)

I've been playing for 10 yrs - this is my first looper. I did alot of research before I bought it. Compared it to the Boss RC20XL, the Line 6 DL-4, and the Gibson Echoplex. I had to go with the Rang for several reasons 1) it's entirely foot-controlled + foot-roller volume (a must for live applic.) 2) it has a high sample rate (24kHz) and 3) it has looooong recording times (1:30 @ 24kHz.) If I was rich I'd have the Echoplex... oh and about 2 or 3 more Boomerangs.

If it were stolen or lost I would piss on myself, tear my clothes, bury the gig bag, then buy a new one. I love my Boomerang!

I love the quality, the durability, the A/B independent loops, the reverse, and all the delay elements.

I wish it had a "C" loop. I wish you could remove the last stack you put on the loop (if you mess up a stack, you've goofed your entire loop.) It would be nice to have the option of saving a loop. And ideally, I would like to see multiple inputs and stereo outs. It's also really big - which is great because the buttons are easy to hit, but not so good when you have 10 other pedals. OH YEAH - put it last in your rig ;)

THE BEST PART ABOUT THE BOOMERANG: I know it's been said before, but I think it needs to be said again - the Boomerang really does make you a better player/performer. It's alot like looking into a mirror, you get to see how good (or bad) you really are. It is an impeccable teaching/practice tool; and I guarantee it will make you practice more often with a higher regard for timing and quality playing. It also pushes creativity - it seems so simple when you first play with one but there is so much you can do with this big honkin' awesome looper.

Very simple...not much else to say...it's great

I run a PRS Custom 22 through a Boss V-wah, DOD Gonkulator, Boss Super Phaser, Digitech Whammy, Marshall JCM 2000 DSL50, effects loop, Boss ME-30, then finally, the Boomerang.

The Boomerang is great, you should be sure to put it last in your rig if you want things to turn out right. I notice there is some hiss when the unit volume is turned up, but that can be easily fixed with some fine tuning.

I have never experienced clicks or anything like that with the boomerang. Everything is pretty much seamless.

Fun trick, if you have a whammy or a pitch shifter, you can bring yourself down an octave and bingo! You can put those funky bass parts onto your loops.

I've never had any sort of trouble. I would completely trust this without backup. (BTW, I am using the Boomerang +)

Never ever dealt with them. I mean, come one, they mass produce like 5,000 then they go out of business untill they have enough money to make more.

I have recently taken this OUT of my loop because, the thing is huge, only drawback. Other than that, this unit is ASTOUNDING and makes for long hours of fun. If I lost this or it got stolen, I would cry for hours and then buy a new one. I WISH it had a third loop (it would be nice to be able to make a bridge section of a song.

Very easy to use!! Love the fact that hands are not needed what so ever. Perfect for live performance. The manual describes the functions very well. I wouldn't change that. I bought the 2nd version so I didn't need to upgrade.

I usually use a Les Paul Raw Power through a Fender 4X10 Hot Rod Deville. My rig is starting to surround me now. I use two different delays, a crybaby, a rotovibe, a digitech whammy, a volume pedal and finally the rang. The unit is only noisy if you don't set the s/n ratio properly. The unit sounds great!! Two of my favorite artists are John Scofield and Trey Anestasio. I am totally able to copy what each of these players has been using this unit for. Scofield sometimes plays a like and when he finishes, right in time, the same lick plays back in reverse. I was always blown away by this, but it's very simple to do with the rang. Tre always does those dive bombs that show up spiratically in the music. Now those ambient additions are all within my reach!!!

So far I would say that I can definitely rely on it. I haven't had it for too long though, so that could change.

I bought one and found that it was a lemon. The company fedex'd me a new one several days later at no additional charge. I would say that the service is good, but I haven't really needed it yet.

I play highly improvisational music that spans many genres. The rang comes in handy when setting up ambient background loops or building certain sections of songs up for breaks, etc. It's also great for writing. I always get great multi-layered ideas while I'm chillin and previously was unable to get them out of my head. Last night I recorded a version of The Almond Brothers' "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed". I added several harmony parts and it sounds GREAT!! The ability to record loops in reverse so that each will play backward when the rest is playing forward is another killer function.
If it were stolen or lost, I'd probably buy a used one if I could afford it. If I had to, I'd get a new one. I think that now the rang has become part of my sound and I will definitely need it for a long time... or until version 3 comes out, he he he.
There are two things that I wish this unit offered. One is a way to save a loop when the unit is turned off. That is the only thing that the boss unit has on the rang. The second thing would be to have loops A and B separate so B wouldn't be deleted with each new A recording. It would also be nice to have a setting for BA1 and not just AB1. I'm sure that all of these things have been discussed.
All in all, it's a great piece of gear and within a year or so, you'll probably find me touring the US using mine!!!

If you've ever used the Jamman, Loop Station, Line 6 Delay Modeler, Headrush, etc. then the Boomerang is a breeze. I'm reviewing a new Boomerang + (made probably in 2004) with the 4 MBs and 2 independent loops (which, by the way, is the best feature). Setting the unit to NOT clip requires some patience but is do-able and the size is both a plus and a hindrance: the pedals are a good distance apart so you aren't likely to inadvertantly step on the wrong one but it does take up quite a bit of floor space.

I really wanted this to be better than my Loop Station (it's nowhere close the Jamman), but alas 'tis not to be. Even on the highest quality, there is more high end loss and the biggest hassle is: after I have a loop playing or stored, the unit makes a fairly loud electronic popping sound when the play(stop) button is engaged. It is is bad enough to show up in a recording and I have yet to play it in a gig where the volume is louder to hear how distracting it would be (I'm sure I'd be bummed out of my trance) and I don't plan on using it live either because of this. By the way, this is the second unit I've had (fortunately my dealer had a second one in stock when I brought my first one back) and BOTH units have done this. I've moved my other gear in and out of my signal chain and even played direct to the Boomerang and out to my amp and PA and the unit (both) does this annoying pop all the time. I've used it with my Takamine acoustic-electric and my Parker Nitefly with the same annoying result. I also have an old Jamman and there is no comparison sound-wise. One of the reasons I decided to get a Boomerang + was because I'm not sure how long my trusty Jamman will hang on (the longer loop time didn't hurt either). I'm planning on returning it ASAP as I don't feel very confident in the Boomerang +.

Depend on it? Not really. I used to have the 1 MB version about 4 years ago (which I traded ) and it didn't display this problem. I'm sure it's durable, but I'm not convinced the electronics are of the same quality. Physically this seems to of good quality. Electronically ... ? I'm not satisfied.

I've sent two e-mails with NO response. How would you feel?

Given the popping sound, I think a 5 is generous. I don't want to blow this out of the water 'cause it does cool things and has great features (the reverse is the best of all the looper/delay pedals that do this), but I expect a new piece of gear to be flawless and this isn't. I play mainly acoustic jam-based, folkadelic stuff and if there wasn't this problem I would be a happy camper. It would be perfect for me. As it is, I'll go back to my trusty Loop Station for playing around (and keep my Jamman safely at home thank you very much to ensure it's longevity). Sorry. I wanted this to be able to replace the Loop Station. Unfortunately, it won't.

Pretty basic. The manual is only a few, large print pages for a reason. Hell, it's made in Texas!.

Sounds fine. It advertises infinite loops, but we all know that each loop takes up more random memory. If you really know how to dial in loops, layer polyrhyms and tonal textures it's great. The only issue I have a problem with is that sometimes it just doesn't seem to sync up. Maybe I'm just not used to the switches, but I swear I hit it right on tempo and it is still just a hair of a beat off tempo. Not a problem when using it as a delay (which I do most of the time), but when trying to layer sequences it can be quite annoying. This brings me to the point of this whole review ; I can't find the actual Boomerang website! I've had this unit for a few years and thought that I read the newer versions being midi implementable. That option would be great because then I could quantisize the tempo through the TC Electronic delay unit I'm going to be using. Does anyone have any updated info about this? I bought my Boomerang in 2000, but have recently upgraded my FX rig in a serious manner. Much appreciation to any replies.

trubador@mac.com

Hasn't screwed me yet. Many gigs under this unit's belt! (200-2004!)

Haven't had to deal with them. If they're based out of Texas, I would imagine they're fairly easy to deal with; smaller, companies like retaining customer loyalty.

I play Jam based music. Grew up on Floyd, Hendrix, Clapton and Zeppelin and fell in love with Trey in 1996. He was my inspiration for grabbing the Boomerang. I've had other units recommended (to get away from the the floor based control), but like the boomerang's up-front control features. Simple and to the point is what I like. Midi programming only comes into play when I know exactly what I want at any given moment (which is rare in the improv world). But, there are time when it is very useful. The Boomerang is very easy to use on-the-fly. I use it as a delay and as a sampler, and works great for both applications. Very controllable (on its own) and very nice sound reproduction.

the sound quality ids ok however the unit tends to clip... and the only way to get rid of it is to trad the cliping with an undesirable hiss from the trim nob

well if you sudenly lose power on stage your loops are all gone

well I think that the product is good however I am a bit discontent with the size of the unit. I found it to be big and bulky, also the jacks in the back are not placed in the same universal configuration found on traditional floor units (line in on right, line out on left)
this makes it dificult to place in a florr board in a convenient formation withought the use of abnormal length cords making it imposible for the unit to be and look uniform on stage also, I think that the unit is a bit costly for what you are getting.
the unit tends to clip an awful lot, and although there is a trim nob conviniently placed in the rear of the unit (as not to disturb anything in the ajusting of it) the unit tends to give an undisirable hissing sound the more u adjust it...
I think the unit is a great idea but would love to see it use a tap deley worked in to it aswell

Very easy to use, at least for the basic operations. I didn't even refer to the manual yet, but I'll need to for the more advanced features. I love the fact that everything can be operated with your feet, leaving hands free to keep playing.

As other reviewers said, be sure to fine tune your input level with the dial on the back of the unit. The 24K sampling rate is one reason why I went with the 'rang over the Boss RC-20, which I believe is 16K, not sure though. I haven't had a chance to compare the rang with an older JamMan or the new Gibson Echoplex, but the stats on those units are definitely better for sampling rate. The Gibson is also double the price, so you get what you pay for.

As stated before, this thing is built like a tank. I've only had it a few days, but it seems very solid through and through.

Haven't dealt with them, no need to yet. I do like their website and have read nothing but positive comments from others.

Comparing this to the Boss RC-20 Loop Station consumed a lot of online reading time for me. In the end I went with the 'rang despite it costing and extra $100.00 The reasons were: ease of use, I can operate the unit entirely with my feet, especially the volume level of the looped part - no need to stop playing and bend down to adjust a dial as on the Boss. Also, I believe that the 'rang has a higher sampling rate than the Boss, which helps my acoustic parts sound better (more high end). Now the Boss does save loops even with the power off, but I didn't really need that feature.

The other reason I didn't mind paying for the 'rang is the amount of use it's getting already, and I've only had it a few days. I teach guitar to 10 students a week and the 'rang is an incredible teaching tool. Students can learn to solo by playing over my looped rhythm parts - parts that can be any chord, tempo, or volume level I choose. That is HUGE for their learning because they can practice IN TIME to the backing loop. This frees me up to teach them licks in context as the loop carries the rhythm. Of course, I'm benefiting as well because my practice time just got a whole lot more interesting and productive. It's also a great tool for writing, as you can solo and/or layer parts without having to drag out a digital recorder and play the whole part for 2 minutes. Looping is an amazing tool and the 'rang gets the job done for me. Now if I was into it seriously, or had the extra $$, I'm sure I'd go with the Gibson Echoplex for superior sound quality and more features. Really, though, once you "clone" yourself and are able to play over your own rhythm parts, the reaction is - "Where have you been all my life!!" - at least for me. I'll never be without it, it's a bit pricy, but the best effect - if you can call it that - that I've ever used!