The Free the Tone Motion Loop ML-1L is a pitch shiftable short looper pedal from Japanese maker Free The Tone, released worldwide on January 29, 20211. Unlike a phrase looper such as a Boss RC-3 Loop Station, it is built around short-term sampling: it captures a brief snippet of your signal and processes it in real time with effects including pitch shift, delay, filter, reverse, soft clipping and slowdown2. Premier Guitar described it as "a revolutionary short looper that performs short-term sampling and real-time effect processing such as pitch shift, delay, and filter"3. It listed for $350 at launch2, with a Japanese list price of 41,800 yen including tax4.
The pedal is digital, using a dedicated DSP that Free The Tone says combines 32-bit fixed point high speed processing with 32-bit floating point high precision processing4. It ships in a green housing with a small display screen5, and Free The Tone fits its HTS (Holistic Tonal Solution) circuit, which the maker says performs impedance conversion while preserving the character of guitar and bass and prevents sound quality degradation when the effect is off4.
What it does
The Motion Loop is not designed for layering whole chord progressions. Its effects work on a short sampled loop, and the modes listed at launch were324:
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pitch shift | Up or down to 2 octaves, with adjustable speed of pitch shift1 |
| Delay | Delay effect on the sampled loop2 |
| Filter | High-pass and low-pass filtering1 |
| Fade curve | Adjusts the attack of the sound1 |
| Reverse | Plays the loop backwards2 |
| Soft clipping | Adds clipping to the looped signal2 |
| Slowdown | Slows the loop down2 |
| Loop level | Volume increase or decrease setting for each repeat of the loop1 |
| Random | Random processing of sampled waveforms2 |
Premier Guitar noted that "Random processing of sampled waveforms can create accidental sounds"3, which points at where this pedal sits: closer to experimental tools like the Hologram Electronics Microcosm or Glou-Glou Loupé than to a conventional looping pedal. Gearnews called it "one of the company's more unusual pedals"5.
The controls
The pedal has two footswitches, On/Off and Preset2. The On/Off footswitch engages the loop effect, while the Preset footswitch lets you switch between assigned presets2. Around them sit the knobs:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Rate | Adjusts the sampling duration for the loop operation2 |
| E.Level | Controls the balance between the original sound and the effect level2 |
| Loop level | Sets the loop's volume for each repeat of the loop5 |
| Filter | Filter control, assignable like many of the other effects2 |
Guitar World noted that the filter knob, like many of the other effects on offer, can be assigned to third party expression pedals and control knobs2. Pedal of the Day confirms that functions for knobs and the expression pedal are freely assignable, and that this is configurable in each preset1. With 128 user presets and 35 factory presets4, you can store very different control mappings and recall them from the footswitch.
Power and connections
The Motion Loop runs on DC9V, from either an AC adapter (sold separately) or a 006P type (DC9V) 6LF22 alkaline battery4.
The pedal draws approximately 185mA4, which is high for a 9V battery. Plan on powering it from a supply, and check that your pedalboard power unit can deliver enough current on its 9V output before daisy chaining it with other pedals.
Connections are on 1/4-inch jacks: one TRS input and three TS outputs, covering OUT/L, OUT/R and a combined EXP/CV/FS jack4. Maximum input level is +10dBu and output load impedance is 10k ohms or above4. There is also a MIDI input on a 3.5mm stereo mini plug4, which Gearnews described as a way to sync the tempo of the loop to external MIDI clock5, so the sampling duration can follow your rig rather than being set only by the Rate knob.
Expression pedal compatibility
Free The Tone recommends expression pedals of 10k to 25k ohms, and names these models4:
- Boss FV-500L
- Roland EV-5
- Electro-Harmonix Expression Pedal and Dual Expression Pedal
- Jim Dunlop DVP-3 and DVP-4
- Moog EP-2 and EP-3
- M-Audio EX-P
Because expression assignments are stored per preset1, one expression pedal can control pitch shift speed in one preset and filter cutoff in another.
Videos
Brett Kingman
Ambient Endeavors
Pedal of the Day
Questions
Can the Motion Loop ML-1L run on a battery?
Yes. Free The Tone specifies a 006P type (DC9V) 6LF22 alkaline battery, alongside a DC9 input jack for an AC adapter, which is sold separately. Note that the pedal draws approximately 185mA, so a battery will not last long compared with most analog pedals.
What expression pedals work with the Motion Loop?
Free The Tone recommends expression pedals of 10k to 25k ohms, naming the Boss FV-500L, Roland EV-5, Electro-Harmonix Expression Pedal and Dual Expression Pedal, Jim Dunlop DVP-3 and DVP-4, Moog EP-2 and EP-3, and M-Audio EX-P. Expression pedal functions are freely assignable and can be configured per preset.
Does the Motion Loop sync to MIDI tempo?
Yes. The pedal has a MIDI input on a 3.5mm stereo mini jack, which lets you sync the tempo of the loop operation to external MIDI clock rather than setting the sampling duration by hand with the Rate knob.
How many presets does the ML-1L hold?
It holds 128 user presets plus 35 factory presets. The Preset footswitch lets you switch between assigned presets while playing, and knob and expression pedal assignments are stored per preset.
Is the Motion Loop a full-length looper?
No. It is a short looper, built for short-term sampling and real-time effect processing such as pitch shift, delay and filter, not for recording long phrases. Think of it as a sound-mangling tool rather than a phrase looper like a Boss RC series pedal.
Sources (5)
- Free The Tone Motion Loop ML-1L Pitch Shiftable Short Looper, Pedal of the Day, 2021-01-05
- Free the Tone introduces intelligent pitch-shiftable short looper, the Motion Loop ML-1L, Guitar World, 2021-02-01
- Free the Tone Releases the Motion Loop ML-1L, Premier Guitar, 2021-01-29
- MOTION LOOP / ML-1L｜Products 商品紹介｜Free The Tone, Free The Tone
- Free The Tone Motion Loop ML-1L: Mangle your waveforms and loop them!, gearnews.com, 2021-01-30
