Guides

How to loop live on a Mac

By Kevin Clayton, maker of Loopstack · October 12, 2026

A looper records a few bars, plays them back round and round, and lets you stack new parts on top while it plays. It's how one person builds a whole groove live: a beat, then bass, then chords, then a melody. A loop pedal does this on stage; on a Mac you get the same thing with far more room to fix and keep what you make. This guide uses Loopstack Pro, but the ideas carry to any looper.

What you need

• A Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
• Something to play: the built-in instruments (keys, synth, drums, sampler) with the Mac keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, or a guitar or voice through an audio interface.
• Optional: a foot pedal. Any MIDI foot controller, or a page-turner pedal that types keys, keeps your hands on your instrument.

1. Choose: fixed length or free length

There are two ways to start a loop.

• Fixed length (1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bars at a set tempo): the loop is exactly that long, with a click and an optional count-in. Best with drums, or when you know the tempo.
• Free length: no click. Tap to start, play, tap again to close the loop, and its length sets the tempo for everything after. This is how a hardware loop pedal feels, and it's best for guitar and voice.

In Loopstack Pro, pick the length on the left of the Stack page, or switch on Free length.

2. Record the first loop

The first loop sets the feel for everything else, so keep it simple and steady: a drum groove, a chord pattern or a bass line. Press Looper (or your pedal) to start, play, and press again to close it. It starts playing back at once.

Tip: if you're starting from drums, let the built-in drum machine play a groove under you. Your first loop then lands in time without a click.

3. Layer

Each press of the looper adds a new layer over what's playing. Build it up in an order that leaves room:

1. Drums or a rhythm part
2. Bass
3. Chords or a pad
4. A melody or a vocal hook last

Every layer is its own loop with its own level, mute and solo, so nothing is baked in. In Loopstack Pro the stack holds up to 64 loops.

4. Undo, mute, and stop

Live looping is forgiving when undo is quick. Two quick taps on the looper take back the last layer; holding it stops. Mute a layer to drop it out for a section and bring it back for the next: that's most of the arrangement done live.

5. Use a foot pedal

With a pedal you can loop guitar or keys without taking your hands off. In Loopstack Pro, open Instruments › Pedals, click Learn beside Looper, Record, Undo or Drum fill, and press the pedal. MIDI foot controllers and page-turner pedals both work.

6. Turn the loops into a song

A loop session can be the song, or the start of one. Loopstack Pro gives you three ways on from here:

• Parts: keep a verse stack and a chorus stack in one project and switch between them.
• Scenes: put loops on pads and launch them live, one section after another.
• The timeline: Send stack to timeline drops the loops onto tracks to arrange, edit and mix like any studio app.

Common looping mistakes

• A wobbly first loop. Everything sits on it. Re-record it until it's steady; it's worth it.
• Too many layers at once. Four strong parts beat ten muddy ones. Mute more than you add.
• Closing the loop late. On free length, press right on the next downbeat, not after it.