# DITTO Looper...comments please



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I just started taking some guitar lessons and my instructor asked me if I had a looper. I don't. 

I started to look into what is basic, popular, VERY easy to use and not too expensive. 

Any comments about the "DITTO" ? 

It is $130.00 @ L&M and seems to be about as simple as it gets!!

Thanks for your help.

Cheers

Dave


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## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

Yes it is! Just loops. No drum machines or extras. Great for practice.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

This is the competition.

Here is a review FYI:

_*DigiTech JamMan Express XT*_
_This thing is incredibly cool. Double the record time of *the closest competitor- the TC Ditto*- and about twenty bucks cheaper. Your loop can be as long as 10 minutes, with unlimited over-dubbing. This pedal sold out in about a day on most of the big retailers- likely due to pre-order obligations and a delayed release. It was worth the wait. You can add layer after layer of sound to build a wall of music. It's a really cool tool for jamming, performing, or composing. Operation is simple- press once to record. Press again and it begins playback. Press a third time to dub on top of your last layer. If you make a mistake, press and hold- it will erase your last dub. Tap twice to stop play of the loop. Press and hold while stopped and you will erase the whole thing. Switch is a soft switch, so there is no click. It is very responsive to pressure. There is a single knob to control the volume of the loop. Nicely done, Digitech _








BTW..I am not much of a techie (I am just slightly beyond the wonderment of the technology of a hammer) and I have never had all that much involvement with pedals. I guess that is evident by now...LOL 

Cheers

Dave


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## elliottmoose (Aug 20, 2012)

I've got the ditto. It's good for what it does, but the new jamman seems like a good deal too. 

I can only speak on the ditto, which I got when they first came out. I'm not a huge looper, so it was really just a simple phrasing/practicing tool to use at home. It performs exactly as expected, with no complications from extra features, submenus or anything that takes away from the playing -- just as advertised. Sound quality is pretty good too, never really noticed any noise, clicks or problems -- but it is an inexpensive, mass-produced pedal...

Can't go wrong on the Ditto or the new simple jamman for your needs, I'd say. 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I've had the rc-2, rc-20, and rc-3 (my fave). 

After 5 minutes you'll learn the basic functions. In an hour the rest. 

The simple ones Previously noted are fine, but it's nice to store everything. I just scroll through the backings I've recorded and play to what I feel like. The prices aren't far off, but you get so much more.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Hey Dave, good luck in your hunt!

The only looper that I've tried, is the one within my TCE Alter Ego.
I can see the reason for your teacher to suggest one though, they are useful.
Great for laying down a rhythm and just noodling over top of it.

A bigger unit can be nice to have drums and more options,
but if you want simple, the Ditto is hard to beat, that new JM looks simple enough too though.
Ha! Not much help, but I'd recommend one to anyone playing around on their own.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Thanks for all the responses...much appreciated!

I will try to find a JamMan locally. The Ditto is available through L&M.

Cheers

Dave


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## Beatles (Feb 7, 2006)

I've been considering a looper for a while. I like the JamMan because it has a long loop time and I like the fact that it lights up showing the function (rec dub play) and is a little less expensive. Having said that, it lacks any storage capability like the RC 3, which I think would be more sutiable for me personally.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I did a search and found this thread...if anyone else is interested.

http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?57253-TC-Electronic-DITTO-Looper&highlight=ditto

Cheers

Dave


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

greco said:


> This is the competition.
> 
> Here is a review FYI:
> 
> ...


I didn't know about this pedal! Thanks for the info, Dave!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Somehow, as good as other manufacturers' products are, Digitech always seems to find a way to pack more features (and recording time) into their units for the same money...or less. I can't speak to the audio quality, but am confident it rises well above what your typical tape recording would have achieved, back in the day.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Our local L&M is bringing one of JamMan Express XT pedals in for me to try. It should be here in January...hopefully (they were not sure).

Cheers

Dave


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Rrrrr. Now I'm starting to get looper gas.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I just got a Ditto looper a couple of weeks ago but have not used it yet LOL I also used to have a Jamman Stereo (not the new one) which is an excellent looper except that I really don't need all the features it provides as the only thing I really want is to have something to record a series of chord progressions that I can create melodies for. I'll let you know how the Ditto compares to it when I get a chance to try it out in the next couple of days.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Chito said:


> I'll let you know how the Ditto compares to it when I get a chance to try it out in the next couple of days.


Thanks Chito.

Cheers

Dave


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

I have a Ditto. It does what they say it does, very simple on paper.

In practice, it's a bit rough wrapping around the end of a loop. I mean, it's hard to decide what I should be playing and exactly when to kick the button to get a pleasant seamless loop without a big glitch at the end. I imagine I'd probably have that issue with any looper.

I haven't had any problems with it, aside from limitations that are obvious from the specs. eg. there's no way to mute the input signal, it always passes through at full volume. Only the playback volume is adjustable. So it's not a great solution for certain applications (effects loop in a mixer, for example).

I WAS impressed that it seems to handle line levels fine and even balanced cables - none of that was mentioned in the specs.

I'm a bit amused by the Digitech. "Look at us, we can copy a product exactly and sell it for $10 less!" Cool beans. Can you put a Gibson sticker on it too?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

greco said:


> Here is a review FYI:
> 
> _*DigiTech JamMan Express XT*_
> _This thing is incredibly cool. Double the record time of *the closest competitor- the TC Ditto*- and about twenty bucks cheaper. Your loop can be as long as 10 minutes, with unlimited over-dubbing. This pedal sold out in about a day on most of the big retailers- likely due to pre-order obligations and a delayed release. It was worth the wait. You can add layer after layer of sound to build a wall of music. It's a really cool tool for jamming, performing, or composing. Operation is simple- press once to record. Press again and it begins playback. Press a third time to dub on top of your last layer. If you make a mistake, press and hold- it will erase your last dub. Tap twice to stop play of the loop. Press and hold while stopped and you will erase the whole thing. Switch is a soft switch, so there is no click. It is very responsive to pressure. There is a single knob to control the volume of the loop. Nicely done, Digitech _
> ...


I finally got this pedal today. It is a Christmas gift from Mrs. Greco and L&M ordered it for me. 

It took about 5 weeks for L&M to get it. Unfortunately, they were supposed to call me but forgot. Mrs. Greco was feeling badly about me not getting the gift so I called them for an update.

It is an fun pedal and certainly helps with scales and timing, etc. When I came upstairs from the "studio", my wife told me that she thought I was playing some CD's!! ....Cool!! First time I have ever heard her say that about my playing!

I am still getting used to setting the recording level and the concept/use of "dubbing".

Cheers

Dave


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Sorry for not posting my experience with the Ditto. In any case, congratulations! I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun with the Jamman.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

:frown-new: I have to take the JamMan back. It does work but not the way the (downloaded) manual describes that it should. I can not go "mono in" to "mono out" without extreme noise and no recording capability. At first, I thought it was my error...then I downloaded the manual.

I can go "mono in" to "stereo out" and it works. That is how I was able to use it. However, I want it to be completely functional.

A word of warning...if you buy a JamMan, try it before leaving the store. 

Cheers

Dave


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Sorry for the necro-post, but thought I might pass this on to anyone considering or having already bought the TC Electronics Ditto Looper. 

Picked one up used on the GC buy/sell emporium here and used it with good success the first two times I played it - worked perfectly, created very nice sounding loops too. Third time was a whole different ballgame, however - loops started getting glitchy sounding (quality was decaying and speed was changing). Went online and tried to find out if anyone else had experienced the same thing. Found a thread on TGP where people were talking about similar glitchy behaviour with their Dittos also. After exchanging some of the first few units under warranty, TCE apparently dialed in a fix into a firmware update on their website, downloadable thru the unit's USB connection.

Anyway, did the firmware update last night, but haven't had the opportunity to test the Ditto yet as it's too early yet (youngest son's working nights). Will give 'er a go and see if that fixes the issue...


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Followup to previous post: Did the firmware update/patch for the Ditto that TC Electronics provided thru their website. While it helped with the sound degradation on loop playback, the loops still speed up and slow down unless I keep the level on the unit in the range of 75-100%, in which case it keeps _reasonably _close time. This leaves me wondering if I have a defective unit or if they're all basically like this.

In case you're wondering if my timing issue is one of synching up the loops properly (I certainly did!), I did a few runs where I recorded long loops along with a digital drum machine (unsynched as the Ditto does not support MIDI), replayed those on and listened to them alongside the drum machine with the same settings. It was a little painful to listen to a digital device that "clocked" that poorly actually.

While I'm pretty much stuck with this having bought it used, it's of somewhat limited value as a result of it's quirkiness. After all, I could still use it as a crude practice/writing tool (sorta like playing with a 2nd guitarist that can't keep time or maybe Keef while he's really bent...8^P), but it's essentially unusable with a drum machine or a real drummer unless you're playing 30 sec songs like the Sailor Jerry Rum jingle. 

Should add that I contacted the seller who indicated he never had/noticed any issues with it. As a result, I'd caution anyone that's looking at a TC Electronics Ditto Looper to either try it out first or buy one through a venue with a full return policy, just in case you run into one with the same issues.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

I'd take a chance and just send it to TC with a politely worded WTF letter. You may get lucky and get a new one sent to you. In any event, it wouldn't be that big of a loss to you since it doesn't work right in the first place.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Stratin2traynor said:


> I'd take a chance and just send it to TC with a politely worded WTF letter. You may get lucky and get a new one sent to you. In any event, it wouldn't be that big of a loss to you since it doesn't work right in the first place.


Not a bad suggestion, for as you said, I don't have much at stake. I've contacted TC's customer support in the interim indicating the problem to see what they say. Maybe compromises my chances of forcing their hand a bit under your scenario, but think I'd rather play it that way...

Would hate to resell the unit, but you never know, with full disclosure, maybe someone could use it for screwing around with. That, or someone who needs practice playing with bandmates who're impaired or otherwise can't keep time... ;^)


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Didn't have very helpful or polite exchanges with TC Electronics' customer service department, at least one rep there ("Shawn"). FWIW, their website has a user forum attached, noted an alarming amount of enquiries about glitchy Ditto Loopers in both versions. I wouldn't recommend their products or the Ditto Looper frankly.


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## murraythek (Jun 1, 2013)

I have the Ditto Looper and it is one of the single greatest pedal acquisitions for improving my lead playing and timing.


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