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Download Example 1
Lead over looped section, which is switched to reverse and then Octave-down function in the fadeout.
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| Clip recorded with Fender Jaguar and Vox Pathfinder.
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A looper is one of the most powerful tools
available for expanding your sound and
exploring technique. A good one can be an
enormous asset in performance, allowing
you to create and replay textures and rhythm
parts that free you to solo and improvise.
Loopers are also handy for developing hooks
to spice up chord progressions or learning
how to solo over tricky changes.
The Boomerang has been one of the most
popular, prominent, and capable loopers
available since the first version debuted in
1995. It’s been the choice of guitar visionaries
from Adrian Belew to Daniel Lanois (see
Premier Guitar, August 2010). And in its latest
incarnation—the Boomerang III reviewed
here—it’s evolved into an even more powerful
and versatile musical device. The III is
brimming with new features, including play
modes for synchronized and freestyle looping,
stutter start loops (that can approximate
an effect like a DJ scratch), functions for
facilitating drone loops, and the capacity to
stack loops at half speed. But even in more
straightforward applications, the Boomerang
III is a formidable tool for exploring uncharted
musical territory.
On the Bridge
With it’s flashing lights and array of
knobs and footswitches, the Texas-made
Boomerang looks and feels like a control
module from the command deck of the
Starship Enterprise. In addition to six
knobs for Decay, Volume, Vol 2, 3, and 4,
and Fade time, there are three footswitches
for triggering loops, and two additional
Bonus buttons for activating additional
functions. There’s also a “Clock” Display
that tells you what functions are assigned to
the Bonus buttons at any given time. It also
tells you the values assigned to the Decay,
Volume, Vol 2, 3, and 4, and Fade Time
knobs—a critical function given that the
knobs will turn endlessly like scroll knobs,
and there are no simple 1-10 values printed
adjacent to the individual controls.
The Bonus buttons open doors to a
wealth of functions. At their most basic,
they are used to erase, stack, and redo or
undo loops. But they can be assigned other
functions, including everything from fades
to reverse loops and octave drops. Lights
of dim or bright yellow or green indicate
which functions can be activated with a tap
or hold. For example, a dim yellow light
will be illuminated next to the Stack indicator
while a brighter adjacent light will be
illuminated next to the Erase indicator. This
means a tap of the yellow Bonus button will
erase a loop and holding the button will
stack additional sounds on top of that loop.
The Boomerang III offers guitarists
four playing styles. Serial mode will play
loops seamlessly in any sequence you select.
Serial Sync enables you to record a master
loop over which Serial loops will play in
sequence. Sync, which is the mode most
neophyte loopers are familiar with, enables
you to play all three loops simultaneously—
though the Boomerang will automatically
sync their respective start points. In
Free play, you’re at liberty to introduce any
loop at any time to create odd, clashing, or
loosely interwoven parts—a killer mode for
improvising experimentalists.
Flying the Boomerang
The first thing you’ll notice about the
Boomerang is that it sounds great—as in
almost totally transparent. It records at a 48
kHz sample rate, so you don’t sacrifice a bit of
your guitar’s tone or suffer signal loss—a beautiful
thing when you’re stacking complex parts.
I explored the Boomerang III’s stacking
capability and Serial modes, as well as a number
of special effects, using a Fender Jaguar,
an Eastwood Warren Ellis tenor, and Vox
Pathfinder—two guitars and an amp with
clear tones that are great for probing the wide-open
spaces the Boomerang inevitably unveils.
In Serial mode, I was able to play rhythm
and lead guitarist for the duration of a whole
song by dedicating verse, chorus, and bridge
parts to each of the three loops, activating
them with a tap of their respective switch,
and then soloing or playing melodic hooks
over each. It’s remarkable how well this
mode can supplement practice and improvised
jam sessions if you’re in a band. I was
able to create the basic structures for two
songs that my own ensemble has been tinkering
with in the studio and work through
dozens of potential melodies and lead sections.
If you’re a songwriter, the Serial mode
alone makes the Boomerang a creative tool
that’s potentially worth its weight in gold.
Stacking additional parts on loops is
exceptionally easy. Just hold the yellow
Bonus button for 1/2 second and you’re
stacking. Hold it for 1/2 second to turn
stacking off. I created an arpeggio loop on
Loop 1 with two taps of the footswitch,
then hit the yellow Bonus button to play
a second sequence of volume swells that
lay over the top. And from that simple,
two-layer loop, I must have practiced scales
and various lead phrases for a solid hour. If
you ever find yourself in a situation where
practice feels ordinary, this pedal can, quite
literally, create a whole new environment to
inspire you.
Assigning functions like the Reverse and
Octave functions is a breeze too. You just
hold the Bonus Assign button until the
green light in the center of the Clock display
glows green. At that point twisting the
Hold and Tap knobs will illuminate a bright
or dim light next to the function you’ve
selected to activate with a hold or tap.
For the purposes of my test, I assigned
the Reverse function to a tap of the Green
Bonus button and an octave drop to a Hold
of the Green Bonus button, while keeping
the Yellow Bonus button dedicated to
Stack and Erase functions. Again, a simple
arpeggiated chord pattern became a whole
galaxy of textures that challenged my lead
vocabulary as I switched between swirling,
psychedelic reverse passages and half-time,
dropped-octave sections that invited lyrical
slow-bend techniques, and then back
to standard looped mode. If you gravitate
toward the simplest song structures, you
might find these functions (and the ease
with which you can program and switch
between them) less inspiring than I did.
But if you’re a soloist or songwriter that’s
prompted by unusual textures and twists,
the Boomerang III’s deeper functions and
effects can lead you into very interesting
territory with very little effort.
The Verdict
Even for an experienced looper familiar
with say, a Jam Man or Boss Loop Station,
the Boomerang III demands a little bit of
study in order to operate it seamlessly and
unearth its unique features. It also takes a
good bit of practice—and timing—to put
some of the more complex functions into
practice. But the Boomerang III is deep in
functionality and will reward the time you
devote to unlocking its secrets. You can really
expand the possibilities of a small group
in live situations. And as a compositional
tool, the Boomerang III can take the place
of hours of jamming with bandmates when
you’re looking for a lead hook to go over an
established chord progression. Sturdy, built
to last, and brimming with surprises, the
Boomerang III is a pedal that’s likely to pay
for itself dozens of times over and has the
potential to inspire more real creation than
all your other pedals combined—if you’re
willing to do a little homework.
Buy if...
you’re thrilled by the notion of new
paths to practice and song creation
and aren’t technology averse.
Skip if...
the footswitch on your overdrive is
already one switch too many.
Rating...
