Summary
• Pros: The Lekato looper is compact, has a built-in tuner, cool loop indicator, and it’s cheap!
• Cons: Can have noise issues, poor quality control in manufacturing, little to no customer support, does not include 9v power supply.
• Overall: An inexpensive white label looper/tuner sold under various “brands.” You get a ton of bang for the buck here. Even if you get a lemon, you can buy a few of these and still spend less than if you bought a brand name.
Compare Prices on Various “Brands” Offering the Same Looper
• Amazon: Lekato Looper Pedal
• Amazon: Ai Tone Looper Pedal
• Amazon: MeloAudio Looper Pedal
Lekato Looper Review
The Lekato Looper pedal is a white label (generic) looper pedal that Amazon sellers can buy in bulk from China, rebrand, and resell as their own. Below, you can see it being sold under various different brand names. I’ve also included a screen shot from Alibaba.com, which is a web site where manufacturers from China can list items that can be bought in bulk and resold in the US and elsewhere.
We’ll talk about some of the negative aspects of the Lekato looper pedal down below. But, first, let’s explore its features and how to use it.
How to Loop with the Lekato Looper Pedal
The looper works pretty much as expected. Press the single footswitch once to start recording and then start playing your first loop phrase. Once you are ready, press the footswitch again and the loop will stop recording and begin playback. When the loop is playing back, a circular set of lights shows the progress of the loop. This is actually pretty cool so you’ll know when you are getting back to the beginning of your loop if you want to record an “overdub” layer.
To overdub, simply press the footswitch again (while its playing your first loop) and start recording your new layer. When the loop comes around to the beginning again, it will automatically play the loop back including your overdub. If you press the footswitch again, it puts the pedal back into “Play Mode.” Then you can can jam over the top without the pedal continuing to record. You can, of course, add unlimited overdubs if you want to build up a more complex loop.
Undo/Redo
A very nice feature for his pedal is the Undo/Redo function. If you are building a loop and make a bit of a mistake on your last overdub, you can just hold down the footswitch for a couple of seconds and it will Undo the last layer. If you hold the footswitch down again, it will bring the last layer back. Besides using this feature to fix mistakes, you can also use it to create some variation in your loops for different sections of your songs.
How to Use the Lekato Looper as a Tuner?
To use the tuner function, just press down on the two small buttons on the face of the pedal. This turns off the output of the pedal so that you can tune your guitar quietly without making a bunch of noise on stage.
Connectivity
The pedal has fairly simple connectivity options. There is an input for your instrument cable and an output to your amplifier. There is also a power jack for a 9v power adapter (not included). Lastly, there is a port on the side for connecting the pedal to your computer via a USB cable. This lets you download your loops to your computer so that you can save your loops for later or use them in your recording software. You can also load stored loops from your computer back to your pedal if you have something you’ve been working on. You can also use the USB port to load any WAV file onto the pedal. So, if you want to play along with a song, you can load it right onto your looper and play along with it that way.
Memory Options
The Lekato looper has several storage banks, depending on which version you find on Amazon. The latest model has 9 storage banks and each loop can be up to 10 minutes with a maximim recording time of 40 minutes. Other, older versions of this pedal had storage for 3 loops with 18 minutes of total recording time. On these versions, each recorded loop could be up to 6 minutes long. This is still plenty of time for any one loop. As mentioned above, you can also store loops on your computer if you’ve recorded some especially good ones that you don’t want to delete.
Sound Quality
The Lekato looper records in 48k/24 bit audio. While this is not quite as high as, for example, the Boss RC-5 which records with a 32-bit audio, it’s still pretty great. Up until a few years ago, Boss loopers were still recording at only 16-bit or (CD-Quality). 24-bit is a noticeable step above that.
Despite it’s good recording quality, there have been several issues with noise with the Lekato loopers. Some of them seem to be better than others, but they tend to have noise issues when used with other effects pedals. Many people report noise issues such as hissing even when using isolated power supplies. Other complaints are clicks and pops when operating the device. This is not in all units, however, which brings us to the next topic, quality control.
Poor Quality Control and Customer Support
So, as a white label pedal, there are a few concerns for the consumer. First, the company selling you the pedal has not had any hand in manufacturing the pedal. Depending on which “brand” you buy, the seller may just be a sole proprietor and have no employees, so don’t expect any support if you have a problem. That said, you could buy six of these pedals and still spend less than you would buying a Boss RC-5 Loop Station. As usual, you get what you pay for though. You can expect these pedals to break easily, stop working altogether, and have noise issues, especially when used in conjunction with other effects pedals.
The Verdict
If you’re looking for a looper pedal for under $50, then here you go. The Lekato looper has a ton of features. You also get a built in tuner so it’s really two pedals in one. If you’re on a tight budget and just want something to practice at home with, this might be the pedal for you. If you have a little bit more money, however, and just want something more reliable, you might want to consider the TC Electronic Ditto. It’s twice the price, but you aren’t likely to have any problems with it. That said, if you’re on a budget, the Lekato looper is a great when it’s working well. Be sure to also check out our full list of cheap looper pedals for some other inexpensive options.
Where to Buy the Lekato Looper Pedal (and similar “brands”)?
• Amazon: Lekato Looper Pedal
• Amazon: Ai Tone Looper Pedal
• Amazon: MeloAudio Looper Pedal
I bought one of these and returned it, It records the “click” of the switch every time you press it, after a few overdubs you get a lot of annoying background clicks that ruin the loop, it has very cheap non isolated electronics inside, it is NOT true Bypass either as advertised!, Beware of the seller named “Pro Music & Camera Gear Store” on Aliexpress as they sell this pedal defective, counterfeit and offer no support and don’t want to return your money
Hi yes i had one of these bought me for my birthday and i followed the instructions to record a few chords and then pressed the footswitch and played a solo over it and it all played back fine. Next day i tried to lay down a few chords but it only replayed part of them and then it just got worse and worse i couldn’t even play 2 chords without the 1st one repeating. I pissed about with it for hours but after reading your review i’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just cheap rubbish and don’t sound like it’s worth trying to get any technical support so i’ll try to return it. Ps what make did you replace yours with and would you recommend it? regards Dez.
I bought the Lekato looper (that’s the beginner or cheapest part that does up/down only) for round $40. It help me to play the chord 1st and works great then I can play a lead. I bought several loops round the costs $75-$110. Sure the other several that does more, but this is the best Lekato if just only play one looper… and it works best. Ok, if I need to play part of my chords then add a bass guitar sound and add a drum-part… I need the other brands loops.
Yes, rubbish. It stopped recording altogether. Just pretty red and blue lights now.