If you have the money and you are interested in exploring effects (assuming you are playing electric) I suggest keeping an eye out for the HX stomp (Line 6)
It includes a basic looper (if you’re planning to get fancy it isn’t the right one) but more importantly it includes a wide-range of amps, cabs and effects of all kinds. I use Helix Native (the laptop version of the same software) most days and I find it’s fantastic for letting me experiment with different gear without ever being tempted to empty my bank account and fill my house with bits of gear!
In any event enjoy - exploring the technology is definitely part of the fun of playing guitar.
All the best,
Martin
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I have two pedals. An Ibanez mini tube screamer and a TC Electronics Ditto looper. Two very basic pedals. That’s all I need at the moment as I want to focus on basic tone and timing as I start my electric guitar journey with the Blues Immersion course.
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Now that’s a versatile setup right there! Simple yet broad tone wise and a looper to get creative!
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That’s a picture of Derek Trucks’ pedal board. The whole ball of wax. The white pedal is his tuner!
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OMG A big thank you to all of you for these suggestions! It is a rabbit hole.
Great input and this really helps me sort out what will get me up and going on my 1st pedal. The loopers wins but from what Im seeing its more of a learning aid or tool. My amp right now is the Blackstar Fly. Its a portable amp that does have a few effects.
For now its the looper!
Thank you all for making this simple as its unbelievable how many effects pedals out there.
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Hmmmm… not so sure about that -
Search YouTube for looper vids, there are a ton of demos of using the looper to create some amazing music! Justin did a couple of looper lessons, I know Paul Davids has a couple of rather advanced looper videos, I think Rhett Shull has a good one… several others including one from Danish Pete & Anderton’s. Check them out, that’s what inspired me to purchase mine!
Check out this video - there are several other demo vids of the Sheeran Looper X & the Looper +.
The Looper X is probably overkill for most people/applications but the Looper + looks like a nice bit of kit - if I replace my Boss RC-1, that’s the one I’d go for…
Really though, it’s like Lieven says:
It’s all about YOUR Journey & what music interests you…
Good Luck!!!
Tod
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yeah the question you need to ask yourself is : what is my goal with my pedal ?
do you wanna create songs ? of work on your tone ? etc etc
Do you need a looper at the moment ?
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Pedal update!
Now I know what you all mean by rabbit hole. Holly cow, its insane and the sky is the limit in regards to pricing.
I’m leaning towards a multi-effects pedal with a looper. I’m fairly new to electric guitar and dont want to spend a ton of $$$ on pedals. My problem is finding a multi-effects pedals that gives you decent loop time. The boards I’ve seen only give you more 60-90 seconds of loop time. Im taking my time as theres a ton of options out there. Im taking my time on this because there are so many pedals out there. After a few weeks of research and all the suggestions here its been a great learning curve. The search continues…
Thank you all for the great suggestions!
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This is one reason I pretty much dropped playing electric guitar! I would bury my tech geekiness in pedals and amps and never learn to actually play guitar🤦🏼♂️
That said, outside of a looper and tuner, what about an emulator? Like the Positive Grid Riff and Bias2 which can emulate a gazillion pedals. Eventually, you know what you would gravitate to and can buy the actual pedals you want.
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Just a quick reply as I’m just repeating the most popular advice, which is, yeah, get a looper! I bought a Boss RC-3 a few weeks ago and it’s the best practice aid… ever. I use it to loop simple chord progressions to play over but also download backing tracks in WAV format and use the pedal to play them. It just works, is simple to set up and use and doesn’t get in the way of the important task of learning. Just my thoughts, enjoy!
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Now, I really know what it means about being in that rabbit hole. Its unlimited insanity! Amazed and shocked at the variety of them. Yikes! I just kept it simple based on the suggestions here. I will eventually expand but for now this will do. Just received the pedal board and I’m not sure about the order they should be in? I went with the Donner tuner, Morpher, Echo Square, Verb Square and the Triple Looper. I also picked up a wireless system for the guitar and I’m running it through a Blackstar mini amp.
A very big “Thank You” for all the great advice given here. My guitar “gently weeps” as I lost my Father last week as he was 85yrs old. The guitar will really help me during this time. Cheers to all. 
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