Chase Bliss BLOOPER

The Chase Bliss Blooper is a creative looper pedal that approaches looping less as a backing-track tool and more as a compositional instrument. Where most loopers focus on transparent, faithful reproduction of what you played, the Blooper builds in extensive modulation and modification options designed to take a loop in unexpected directions — speed shifts, pitch shifts, granular stuttering, filtering, and more — with the ability to record those modifications back into the loop as you play. The result is a looper that encourages experimentation, performance, and gradual transformation of an idea over time.

The core looping engine supports up to 16 overdubs per loop with 8 layers of undo and redo, and saves loop audio (not just settings) into 16 preset slots so loops can be recalled across power cycles. Recording can be additive — any modification applied to a loop while overdubbing gets recorded into the overdub itself, baking the modulation into the audio. This makes it easy to build evolving loops where each pass adds new texture, pitch material, or rhythmic variation.

The pedal's defining feature is its modifier system. Two independent modifier slots (one assigned to Modifier A, one to Modifier B) can each select from a library of effects that operate directly on the loop audio: Smooth Speed (continuous speed change with pitch following), Stepped Speed (musical interval pitch shifts), Stretcher (time stretch without pitch change), Pitcher (pitch shift without time change), Dropper, Trimmer, Speed Trimmer, Scrambler (granular randomisation), Filter (low-pass filter), Swapper (channel swap), Stutter, and Stopper. Dipswitches on the top of the pedal organise these into Bank A and Bank B, allowing two complete sets of modifier choices to be swapped in performance. Each modifier has its own depth control on the front panel.

The control layout includes loop and record footswitches, modifier engagement, and the standard Chase Bliss feature set: full MIDI (Program Change, Continuous Controller, MIDI Clock) over TRS, expression pedal input, CV control of every parameter, USB customisation via the BLIP web app, internal modulation (Ramping) of any knob, and a bank of dipswitches for deep parameter access.

The signal path is digital for the looped audio with an analog dry-through path. Bypass is buffered (the pedal is intended to stay in the signal chain for trails functionality and seamless dry-thru). Power is 9V centre-negative at around 150mA — manageable on most pedalboard supplies. The chassis is the standard Chase Bliss aluminium format, hand-built in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Who Is This For? The Blooper is aimed at experimental, ambient, and performance-oriented players who want a looper that encourages creative manipulation rather than just stacking layers. It is particularly well-suited to ambient and post-rock guitarists building textural soundscapes, electronic and synth musicians treating it as a granular/looper hybrid effect, and improvisers who want to deconstruct and re-contextualise material in real time. Players who want a transparent, traditional looper for backing-track style use will find dedicated loopers like the TC Electronic Ditto or Boss RC line a better fit; the Blooper is for players who want to break and reshape their loops as much as record them.