Summary
• Pros: The VOX Dynamic Looper (VDL1) offers excellent versatility. It not only loops, but also includes built-in multi-effects, an expression pedal, and a mic input.
• Cons: No volume control knob. Lots of plastic so less durable than the competition.
• Overall: The VOX Dynamic Looper is a good all-in-one option for guitarists that like to travel light and don’t need hours of memory storage.
Check Current Prices
• Amazon: Vox Dynamic Looper (VDL1)
Full Review
Vox entered the looper market in 2012 to compete with Boss and Digitech. The question was, what could they do differently? The answer was a pleasant surprise. Instead adding hours of more memory like Boss and Digitech, Vox decided to focus on multi-effects instead. The result is that that Vox Dynamic Looper is a really fun all-in-one multi-effects pedal and looper pedal in one. There are even a few effects that you won’t find really anywhere else.
Memory
The VOX Dymamic Looper was designed to create and play looped phrases either at home or in live situations. It offers two independent loops with a length of up to 90 seconds. While the looping pedals from Boss and Digitech offer more than 3 hours of recording time, we found that we didn’t have much use for loops longer than 90 seconds, so the 90 second limit really isn’t much of a drawback. Furthermore, the Vox Dynamic Looper allows you to add countless layers thanks to its sound-on-sound recording capabilities.
Looping Functions
The Dynamic Looper also allows you to overdub, enabling you to build impressive guitar loops by simply recording an additional layer over the previous one. There is also an “Undo” feature, which allows you to undo the previous phrase without having to start over entirely. If you change your mind, just use the “Redo” function to put the phrase back. These features also allow you to transition between phrases with varying chord patterns or phrases with different lengths.
The Dynamic Looper has a Loop Quantize feature, which helps you to create precise beat length phrases. This feature allows the phrases to loop on the beat automatically in case your timing is a little off. A metronome also helps to ensure you have a guide for the desired rhythm. When you combine the ability to create two individual loops with these features, and then add the Auto Recording Start option to ensure you only begin recording on the first note, you have one powerful looper in your bag of tricks.
Using the Multi-Effects
The Vox Dynamic Looper doesn’t stop there. You can add effects to both the recorded loop and to the output you play over the loop. While playing, you can select and impose different effects on the output using eleven different Pre Effects. These include both bass and acoustic guitar simulation, along with a compressor, distortion, wah, reverb, delay, stutter, and a few other fun ones like “sci-fi.” These multi-effects make the Vox Dynamic Looper an ideal pedal when you are trying to save space and money.
Loop Effects
In addition to these effects, the Dynamic Looper offers several other effects that can be applied to phrases you have already recorded.
For example, the Loop Effect allows you to create unique phrases while still adding to the original loop after it has already been recorded. Some of the Loop Effect options include the following: reverse playback, pitch changes, stutter effect, or a loop in loop effect. The Loop Effect options help the guitarist to create original sounding phrases not possible with any other looper or effects pedal. You can even program the expression pedal so that it slows down your loops.
Useful Presets
The Vox Dynamic Looper comes with 50 preset programs, which you can can be use right away. There are also another 50 slots available to save your own program settings. You can create these from scratch or just tweak a preset to your liking. Each program can save a Loop Effect setting, a Pre Effect Setting, and a pedal assignment, so you can easily recall your favorite settings.
XLR Mic Support
Want to do more than just play your guitar through the looper? The Vox Dynamic Looper also has an XLR dynamic mic input. This allows you to run other instruments through the looper, beat box, or loop and distort your vocals. The possibilities with the Dynamic Looper are only limited by the musician’s imagination. For inspiration, check out what the artist DubFX does with his Loop Station.
A Few Other Perks
For finishing your performance, the Dynamic Looper has three stop loop modes. These include the ability to have a clean, fade, or delayed end to your loop. All of these features combined give you an even greater opportunity to show your musical creativity. And once you have your effects set up the way you like them, the “Key Lock” feature allows you to keep the controls locked so you don’t lose your settings.
Minor Issues
While there is a lot of good stuff jam-packed into the Vox Dynamic Looper, it’s not without its drawbacks. Significantly, we noted that the VDL1 doesn’t have a volume control knob or slider for each loop. Instead, you assign volume control to the expression pedal, but its pretty sensitive and hard to get just right. Vox says you can adjust the sensitivity, but this is a bit complicated for a basic feature like volume control.
Vox has included a “Limiter” feature which helps flatten out your loop if you’ve been adding overdubs and come in too strong. However, a flattened sound is not always desirable. There are at least two intensity options of “Hard” or “Soft” for the limiter.
Conclusion
When it was first released, the retail price for the VOX Dynamic Looper was in the $400+ range, but if you shop around, you can find it for much less. For many musicians, the pedal was a bit too expensive. When you factor in the combined cost of the built-in multi-effects, however, the price tag makes more sense.
Where to Buy the Vox Dynamic Looper
• Amazon: Vox Dynamic Looper (VDL1)
Vox Dynamic Looper Video
is it stereo? does it have loop output volume control? How bout true bypass?
it’s mono, loop output volume control is possible only through the wah pedal. I don’t know about true bypass ’cause I’m a noob to the pedal and effects world.
The expression peddle seems to drive the creativity. I like it.
does it got drum patterns to play on? or bass beat to play on?
this is my current gigging looper, i really like it and i’ve had lots of great gigs with it. however, having used it for about 2 years now, i’ve discovered several things which need improvement.
1. durability.
when you gig as often as i do, maybe 3-4 times a week, you need your gear to be able to take the punishment. everything breaks down eventually and the first thing to go were the pedals. they started giving out after a year of constant use. had i not known an excellent electrician, i probably would have had to ship the whole thing to get it fixed.
2. layout.
i find it very cumbersome to have to press 2 pedals in order to swtich between tracks, play both tracks simultaneously or switch between effects. i really wouldn’t mind the extra space if it meant having a dedicated stop/start/overdub pedal for each track. but then again, vox might have been going for a more compact footprint anyway. just my opinion.
having less pedals forces you to step on them more often and if one of them isn’t working, well you get the idea.
3. lack of volume control.
my biggest problem is that i can only feed so much volume from my guitar or keyboard before it starts to clip. the microphone input on the other hand is too loud i don’t even get halfway before it starts to feedback. a separate volume control for the instrument would help immensely.
don’t get me wrong, this is a great looper pedal for live performance. i would say the expression pedal is the best feature on this looper. the ability to control effects pre and post loops gives it a lot of potential. i particularly like the filters and delays. the bass simulations are a bit slow, so i just use the pitch shift to drop the guitar an octave. i haven’t even explored the full potential of this looper, so i’ll be happily using for years more 🙂
here’s a video of me performing one of my songs using the vox vdl. thanks!
Galing bro! Strapped of funds of getting an RC-300 or Boomerang III, I was deciding either the Dynamic or RC-30. The volume control, which even the RC-3 has, seemed to be the dealbreaker. Adjusting the volumes from the music instruments will compensate for that, although such could present some challenges. You’re very fortunate to know someone who could fix that. Cheers from Canada!
Hello,I am a cellist using this pedel intensly so here are the problems after 3 years of using the vox Vdl 1.
1. For the Effects you do not have the posibility to adjust the volume of each preset(tone) and save it. This causes great trouble in time( live performance etc.)
2. The quality of the Effects is pour.
3. The quality of the loops is pour and if you overdoub the everything is lower as volume. The expresion pedal is going to loosen up after 1 to 2 years and the mechanism of the pedal will get softer.
Conclusion , the Effects are ok but not editable(you can not unite 2 effects and you can t set the volume of each effect and save it. The quality of the loops is on the lower side of hearing. Personally I will look for a simple looper but with good quality and a separate effect processor but with editable effects .
It is really easy to tighten the expression pedal. Not an issue at all. This is the most creative looping unit out there in its price-point. You will be rewarded if you dig deep.
People I have an issue. This looper creates a weird noise each time I play with it. If I play the guitar with the amplifier alone that doesn’t happen, so it must be the looper…
Any tips? thanks
Try using it with batteries, if this looper allows. Or if not, try replacing the power supply unit. I have found this to be a problem with some switching power supply units in the past, though they seem right in terms of electrical details.
Can you hear the loop and the true instrument through the headphones output or is it only for the metronome?
Is this pedal just for guitars or can I use it to connect other instruments like a hang and voice?
The effects are for guitar but you can loop anything you want with the pedal. It has a XLR mic input for vocals, etc.
I had no idea why this dynamic looper cut my volume and tone sharply.
There is no issues about my cables and guitar.
I reset it with follow the instruction (pressing pre fx + cancel)
But issue persists.
Volume and tone are far different with the original sound.
May I know what’s the problem and how can I fix it?
Thanks!