Loopers are a lot of fun, and so are drum machines. But there aren’t too many units that combine both into a compact pedal that’s reasonably priced and easy to use. NUX JTC Drum & Loop Pro is one of the best jam and loop devices on the market.
Disclaimer: This pedal was provided to me by NUX and we have worked on numerous videos over the years. However whether the video/post is sponsored, or not, the company has no say in the things I mention nor do they get to see the post/video before it is released.
(The video above was initially released in May 2019.)
Specifications
- 24-bit audio quality
- 6 hours recording time
- 256 memories
- Drums: 25 4/4 beats, 10 3/4 drum beats, 5 shuffle beats
- Drum tempo 40-240
- 2 start modes, 3 stop modes
- One Shot player
- 2 Loop switch modes: Record-Play and Record-Overdub
- Optional drum sound enhancement
- 2 Outputs, Right Output speaker emulated (optional)
- 3 Output modes: Guitar to L and Drums to R, Guitar and Drums to R/L, Guitar to R and Drums to L
- External footswitch input to switch between loop phrases. (NMP-2 optional)
- Micro-B USB input
- 9 V negative tip power input
What is NUX JTC Drum & Loop Pro?
NUX JTC Drum & Loop Pro is a looper and drum machine pedal that allows you to record clips of your instrument, loop them, and add different drum grooves on top of those loops.
Drum & Loop Pro can be used for jamming by yourself, coming up with song ideas, and using it for live loop performances, for example.
First Impressions
The Drum & Loop Pro is part of NUX’s Verdugo series. Every single pedal from that range has been well-built, and there’s a certain ‘premium’ feel to everything from the packaging to the quality of the manual. The pedal itself feels robust and well-made.
I like the limited number of knobs and buttons on the front panel, even if it might mean there’s a bit of a learning curve with this pedal.
How To Use NUX JTC Drum & Loop Pro
The content of this video/post was created in May 2019, so some of the things I mention here might have changed since then through updates to the pedal.
Footswitches
The footswitch on the right turns the drums on. When the loop is playing, if you hit the drum switch again, it plays a fill at the end of the bar. If you double-tap it slowly, it will play a longer fill. And if you tap the footswitch twice fast, it will stop the drums.
With the left footswitch, you can start recording the loop, record overdubs, and set the tempo. The left footswitch has more functions depending on what you are doing with the pedal, and we’re going to look at those a later in the post.
Level controls
Loop Level and Rhythm Level allow you to balance out the levels between your guitar and drum tracks.
Rhy./Tempo Select allows you to select different drum patterns, and by pressing and holding the knob, you can select different time signatures. At the time of shooting the video above, the 3 time signatures are 4/4, 3/4, and shuffle.
You can save your loops into memory banks and recall them right from the pedal. You can also upload your own loops into the pedal.
Stop Modes -button allows you to decide how the loop will stop once it has been played once.
- Inst. Stop: the loop will start immediately when you double click the loop button
- One shot: play the loop once and stop. (this could be useful if you for example have uploaded backing tracks into the pedal)
- Fine: play until the end and stop
- Fade out: Fades the track away over the next 10 seconds.
On the ‘back’ side of the pedal, you’ll find power input, USB Micro port for installing updates and uploading your own jam tracks into it. There’s an input for the external footswitch that allows you to switch phrase memories using the NUX NMP-2 footswitch, for example.
Outputs
What I like about the JTC Drum & Loop Pro are the two outputs on the pedal: Amp and Mixer outs. This allows multiple output options for extra flexibility:
1. You can send both drums and your guitar into two both outputs. (into your amp and front-of-house, for example)
2. You can send drums and guitar into separate outputs (like I do in the video above)
3. Send drums and guitar into your amp via ‘amp’ output and just the drums into front-of-house for example via ‘mixer’ output.
There’s also an option to activate speaker cabinet simulation for your guitar output in case you don’t have an amp. And if you are playing drums through an amplifier, you can turn on the frequency optimization for a clearer drum sound.
If you want to hear how much of a difference that drum sound compensation makes, I recommend checking the video above.
Drummer
The different drum patterns cover many music genres, and there’s a few fun extras like the electronic drums and bongo drums as well.
What I also find impressive is that these drums sound good. There’s even a bit of groove in them, which is not always the case with virtual drummers. The ability to add two types of fills is great for adding variation to your loops.
Is The NUX JTC Drum&Loop Pro Good?
This pedal is a lot of fun. Once you familiarize yourself with its controls, you’ll be looping and jamming in no time. For a professional looper guru, this pedal might be a bit too limited with just two (or four) footswitches. But for an average guitar player, the features and the price allow you to dive into the world of looping without breaking the bank.
The build quality of the pedal is great, and NUX has a good track record of keeping their products up to date. If you’re looking for a looper/drummer pedal on a budget, the JTC Drum&Loop pro is one of the best options out there.
If you’re interested in getting the NUX JTC Drum & Loop Pro and support what I do, you can use the affiliate links below:
►► Get your JTC Drum & Loop Pro at Thomann: https://thmn.to/thoprod/480072?offid=1&affid=394
►► Get your JTC Drum & Loop Pro at Reverb: https://reverb.partnerlinks.io/nuxjtcdrumlooppro
Leave a Reply