Recommend a SMALL SIMPLE 10 sec Loop Device

[veatch]

Not looking for fancy-schmancy, and i've had some really cool TC Elec stuff. That's all great, but i need something small - preferably the size of a dist+ or similar. All i want is an on/off, and a tap that can layer. I can even live without the layer. True bypass is a plus.

10 seconds would be nice.

Lemme know, and tnx.

Edit to add - hadn't seen the TC Elec Ditto before - looks promising. Anyone using one of these?

[velorush]

The original Ditto simple enough? Or was that the TC you were referencing? Up to 300 seconds.

Oops, you were posting your ETA as I was trying to find a photo small enough to post. I haven't used one, but they seem great on the demos.

[Bobby Marshall]

That seems like just what you ordered.

[veatch]

Yeah, I'm thinking so. The TC I had was one of those huge monsters with four switches. I think it weighed more than my amp...

I'll probably give this a shot...

[anotherfreak]

The ditto is great for practice, but I don't like it for playing live. To delete your loop you have to step and hold, and for that moment you hold the button it plays your loop again. I put my volunteer pedal after the ditto to solve that problem, but it adds an extra step to the mix. There is NOTHING better for practicing at home, and I think you can save your loops on the computer as well.

+1 on the ditto

[gorch]

Boss DD-7 should do it.

[gtone]

IME, TC Electronics has the worst customer service I've encountered from a pedal/guitar electronics producer. They write the book on how not to do it....

[veatch]

I had a TC with a bad footswitch. Could *not* get a replacement part number from them.

Took quite a bit of interweb searching to find a replacement. In the process, read a lot of other folks with the same problem. In warranty, they replace (not repair) the pedal. Out of warranty, out of luck....

Kinda hesitant about TC, but the Ditto is exactly (I hope) I need. Should be in today.

[velorush]

I love the Flashback delay and the Polytune Mini tuner, but the footswitches on both are highly suspect.

My older TC stuff (namely a NovaDelay that was moved on to someone else and the NovaMod that is still on my board) had much sturdier switches that worked great and felt like they'd survive anything.

I suspect the newer footswitches are PC-board mounted and will be near impossible to repair.

[veatch]

Yeah, the flashback switches are board mounted. I got some extra switches if one goes bad one ya'. Given their repair policy, I should go into business...

[chromium]

I love the Flashback delay and the Polytune Mini tuner, but the footswitches on both are highly suspect.

My older TC stuff (namely a NovaDelay that was moved on to someone else and the NovaMod that is still on my board) had much sturdier switches that worked great and felt like they'd survive anything.

I suspect the newer footswitches are PC-board mounted and will be near impossible to repair.

My v1 Ditto had an intermittent footswitch problem. On mine, it turned out to be less an issue with the switch itself and more with the actuator spring not exerting enough pressure to fully/firmly engage the tactile button on the PCB switch.

I "fixed" it by applying a little blob of epoxy at the business end of that spring to prevent it from compressing as much (cheesy fix for a cheesy switch Been working fine since. No doubt those switches probably fail too, but just sharing this quick-fix in case it helps anybody...

Here's a gut shot I had taken. Can't see the PCB switch, but its on the bottom board obscured by that blue cap:

...and this is the macgyvered actuator:

[Ethan]

I've got the one knob Digitech that I bought mainly for practice, works great!

[veatch]

Good tip, Chromium.

Got the Ditto yesterday. Does what I need it to, but the comment about the loop playing when clearing the buffer is annoying. I will have to move my volume pedal to the end of the board to mute it when clearing. So, no more than one loop per song, unless I mute for a couple of seconds. Likely won't be an issue, but I may look into the DigiTech if it becomes a problem.

Thanks folks.

Veatch board 6.0 is in progress...

[veatch]

Quick follow up - i stumbled across how to clear the loop without it replaying, as long as you clear it when you turn the loop off.

What's in the manual - To stop the loop, double tap. To clear the loop, tap and hold (for a couple of seconds).

What's not in the manual - triple tap with a hold - that turns off the loop and clears it. Not sure if it is by design or not. The double tap turns off the loop, and the tap and hold clears it. I think combining the two together makes it fast enough that the loop never turns back on? Dunno, but it works.

Veatch - out.

Oh - and Ethan - i think the Digitech JamMan XT would have been perfect. Too bad i already bought the Ditto. I will say that the Ditto is uber small - easy to find a place for it on the board. I liked the size enough that i talked myself into getting a Polytune Mini - which sez a lot as much as i disliked my previous TC experience...

OK, now Veatch - out.

[Tres Aardvarks]

Just saw this for the first time. The internal storage for the same price as the standard Ditto is pretty appealing. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NanoLooper360

[soli'd]

@veatch, you're right about the workaround you found for clearing the loop on the Ditto, but it doesn't take three taps- just two and hold the second tap.

[Brooks]

@veatch, you're right about the workaround you found for clearing the loop on the Ditto, but it doesn't take three taps- just two and hold the second tap.

yep. been doing solo gigs w/ mine for almost a year, its great.

recently got another, the X2

http://www.tcelectronic.com/ditto-x2-looper/

same idea but a few added features.

i like the stop feature,

and even use the 1/2 speed for a few jazz walking fake bass lines

[veatch]

That's pretty cool. I like the size of the Ditto - if i was doing a 1 or 2 man show, i think the Ditto X2 would be about perfect.

soli'd - tnx for the tip. That saved 33% of my foot taps through the night...