How to Use A Looper Pedal On A Keyboard [SIMPLE]

It’s the same process as connecting a looper pedal to a guitar or bass guitar except you use an electric piano. The only other difference is you may decide to use a keyboard amplifier rather than a guitar amplifier.

To connect a digital piano or electric piano to a looper pedal, connect a 1/4″ instrument cable from the headphones output on the piano and run it into Output A of the looper pedal. Connect another 1/4″ jack to Input A on the looper pedal and run it to your keyboard/guitar amplifier.

And that’s all you have to do, other than powering the pedal with either a 9V battery or using a power supply of some kind.

What Gear You Need To Connect A Keyboard And A Looper Pedal

We’re not going to dwell on all of the gear too much, because you already own some of it, no doubt, and the features of everything aren’t that relevant to what we’re doing here.

What I will do though is briefly explain what gear I use, why I use it, and why it might be wise for you to use some of the same stuff.

1) Electric Keyboard – Yamaha P125

The reason is that it’s the one the PianoForAll creator Robin Hall recommended to me when I asked him what kind of piano is best for beginners to get. You can see what he had to say when I asked him from the screenshot shown down below.

2) Looper Pedal – BOSS RC-5

There are other, much cheaper, looper pedals on the market if you’re looking for one. The BOSS RC-1 is a great example of a reliable, sturdy, and functional looper pedal that doesn’t cost a lot of money.

I’ve got a tutorial on how to use the RC05 on my other site, Traveling Guitarist, by the way. Both the RC-5 and RC-1 can also be used as stereo loopers, and not just for mono signals.

3) Amplifier (Guitar or Keyboard Amplifier) – Bugera V5 Infinium

Unfortunately, I’ve yet to own a Bugera V5 but it’s currently on my Christmas list. I don’t own a keyboard amplifier either, but I’ll be using my mini-amplifier for this tutorial because it works just fine for a piano and it’s very convenient for tutorial’s sake.

You’ll have to look elsewhere for keyboard amplifier recommendations if you’re looking for one. This YouTube video appears well-researched and thought out, so I would take his advice.

4) Two 1/4″ Instrument Cables – PigHog and Ernie Ball Cables

Obviously, what cables you use doesn’t matter a whole lot, but I recommend using the Ernie Ball right-angled guitar cables as well as one straight-angled cable. These are perfect because they don’t stick out like regular cables.

How to Connect A Keyboard To A Looper And Keyboard Amplifier

And that’s really all you have to do. As I said, it’s just like connecting a looper pedal to a guitar and a guitar amplifier. Here’s what it looks like when I set my piano up with a looper pedal.

1) Connect An Instrument Cable From The Piano’s Headphones Output to the Looper’s Output A

Run that very same cable into Output A on your looper pedal. Output A is always the port you want to use on the RC-5. As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure what Output B is for.

2) Ensure The Pedal Has A 9V Battery or Power Supply

As I said earlier, you can also use a power supply like the MXR Isobrick, just to name one.

3) Connect Another 1/4″ Instrument Cable to the Keyboard Amplifier and Turn It On

At this point, you can use the electric piano and the looper pedal just fine with your keyboard or guitar amplifier. It’s pretty cool.

Other Articles You May Be Interested In

• How to Connect A Digital Piano to an Audio Interface [EASY]
• How to Connect A Looper Pedal To Your Computer [SIMPLE]
• How to Connect an Old MIDI Keyboard To PC/Mobile (Any DAW)
• What’s the Difference Between A Keyboard & a MIDI Keyboard?
• MIDI Keyboards for Beginners – Why You Definitely Need One 

Important Things to Note About Connecting Looper Pedals to Keyboards

1) You Can Also Do The Same Thing With A Mixer

It’s possible to use a looper pedal on a mixer connected to a bunch of instruments and equipment as well, that way you don’t need a ton of different looper pedals to record and overdub more than one instrument at a time. I’ll make sure to make that article for you sometime in the future.

2) You Can’t Connect An Electric Piano To A Looper Then An Audio Interface

I tried to connect my electric piano to a looper pedal, and then to an audio interface connected to my computer but I couldn’t get it to work. I’m not entirely sure if this is possible, although, I’m sure it can be managed in some way if you have the right cables.

With 1/4″ instrument cables, I was not able to do it, however. The audio interface just wouldn’t receive the sound. Although, you can connect an electric piano to an audio interface on its own just fine. You just can’t put a looper pedal in between.

Gear Mentioned

1) Yamaha P125

2) PianoForAll

3) BOSS RC-5 Loop Station

4) Bugera V5 Infinium [or Keyboard Amplifier]

5) PigHog Instrument Cables