Microdesignum small looper

The Microdesignum small looper is an adjustable MIDI switcher for guitar effect loops and amplifier channels, what the maker calls a "looper" or loop switcher. It carries four loops and two channels, so a player can bring several pedals in and out of the signal path and switch amp channels from one MIDI-controlled box rather than tapping separate footswitches mid-song.¹

It belongs to the switching side of MIDI gear: if you are new to this category, the MIDI pedals and switching pedals pages set out how loop switchers differ from time-based and modulation effects.

What it does

The small looper's job is routing. Pedals sit in its loops, and an amplifier's channel-switching input connects to its channels. Instead of stomping individual pedals, the player recalls a setup and the looper switches everything at once¹.

Each of the 128 MIDI programs stores its own relay combination, so a program can be set to, for example, open the loops a song needs and select the amplifier channel that suits it, then be recalled from a MIDI controller. Because the switching is done with relays, the loops pass the guitar signal without the looper processing it.¹

A program recall therefore changes both at once:

1. The player stores a relay combination in one of the 128 MIDI programs.¹
2. A MIDI controller recalls that program.¹
3. The relays open or close the four loops and select one of the two amplifier channels together.¹

Where it sits in Microdesignum's range

Microdesignum describes the pedal as an adjustable MIDI switcher of guitar effect loops and amplifier channels, a "looper" in the maker's own words. Its switching works by assigning a relay combination to each of 128 MIDI programs, so the loops and amp channels engaged can change with every program change on a MIDI rig.¹