“Once you get the hang of it, thislooper has many practical applications and is a fun creative tool”: Walrus Audio Xero Polylooper review

Guitar World Verdict

While the Xero is initially a little complicated, once you get the hang of it, this looper has many practical applications and is a fun creative tool.

Pros

+Compact size.

+Stereo panning.

+WYSIWYG operation.

+Three operational modes.

+Loop speed and direction flexibility.

+External footswitch option,

+MIDI.

Cons

-It’s a bit of a learning curve.

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What is it?Walrus Audio’s first foray into looping is the Xero Polylooper, a dual-channel stereo looper pedal that the brand says is designed to fully explore the creative possibilities of multiple loop channels.

It’s a practical-sized pedal that offers two identical looping channels with three available modes to determine how the two are synchronised. Each channel has its own volume slider, plus a Pan knob to fix its own location in the stereo field – a great feature that can deliver a real sense of space and clarity if you’re running in stereo.

For effect, each channel can be independently switched to run in reverse and/or at half or double speed with the consequent octave pitch change.

Specs

(Image credit: Future/Phil Barker)PRICE: $299/£285ORIGIN: USATYPE: Looper pedal FEATURES: True bypass, up to 3 mins’ looping, 2x channels, variable loop speed, loop reverse, loop panningCONTROLS: Pan (1&2), Volume slider (1&2), Speed switch (1&2), FWD/REV switch (1&2), Mode switch, footswitch 1, footswitch 2CONNECTIONS: Standard inputs Mono (L) & Stereo (R), standard outputs Mono (L) & Stereo (R), EXT switch, 1/8” MIDI In, 1/8” MIDI Thru, USB C (for firmware updates)POWER: 9V DC adaptor (not supplied) 300mADIMENSIONS: 100 (w) x 118 (d) x 57mm (h) CONTACT: Walrus AudioUsability and sounds(Image credit: Future/Phil Barker)The control surface of the Xero is simple enough with no menus to navigate, but the two footswitches have to take care of a lot of functions via various presses-and-holds on either single footswitches or both simultaneously.

Subsequently, it can take a little time to become fluent with your feet and get your head around the visual cues provided by the seven different colours in the multi-coloured LED allied to each footswitch. Operational ease can be improved by adding an external dual footswitch or via MIDI for full control of functions and clock sync.

(Image credit: Future/Phil Barker)Sync mode offers pretty much standard looper operation with both channels locked to the same length and time base, while Unsynced sees both channels operating fully independently so any loops will drift in and out of sync, which can create some mesmerizing effects if you’re recording ambient pad-type sounds.

The third mode, Poly, lets you record loops of different lengths that stay rhythmically sync’d. Recorded loop lengths will automatically quantize to a multiple of the shared time, so you can have a mixture of short and long phrases, or do the actual polyrhythmic thing by recording a three-beat pattern against a four-beat pattern, for example.

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VerdictVerdict: ★★★★

(Image credit: Future/Phil Barker)The pedal delivers plenty of possibilities for practice, solo performance or songwriting, whether you’re just laying down a chord sequence to solo over or getting into building something more complex where the footswitchable loop speed and direction changes are a real bonus, facilitating sonic explorations that could trigger even more creativity.

The pedal delivers plenty of possibilities for practice, solo performance or songwriting

Guitar World verdict: While the Xero is initially a little complicated, once you get the hang of it, this looper has many practical applications and is a fun creative tool.

Hands-on videosWalrus Audio

Walrus Audio Pedal Play: Xero Polylooper – YouTube

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Walrus Audio Xero Polylooper Tech Demo – YouTube

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The Studio Rats

Walrus Audio Xero Poly Looper – The Best Looper Pedal Ever? – YouTube

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John Nathan Cordy

So Walrus Audio Made a Looper! Introducing the XERO Poly Looper – STEREO MIDI and MORE – YouTube

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Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he’s also mimed it on the UK’s Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.

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