Are the Ditto series of loopers the be all and end all?

zepp76

Or are there, excuse the pun, other pedals in the loop that'll do a good job of looping multiple layers? What do you all use and what are the benefits of other loopers?

gringopig

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AntonHunter

I used to use the DL4, which was really creative for what I wanted (layering up soundscapes mostly). Part of the reason I stopped was I ended up doing the same things everytime, often sounding like a poor attempt at a Bill Frisell thing. I now use a basic Ditto which is loads more limiting, but I have to be more creative when building loops, rather than just an easy "reverse it and occasionally change the octave" which sounds epic but often samey.

I'm tempted by a Ditto X2 at some point, but am nervous about the quality of the switches from what I've read on here.

What sort of looping are you aiming to do?

zepp76

AntonHunter said:

I used to use the DL4, which was really creative for what I wanted (layering up soundscapes mostly). Part of the reason I stopped was I ended up doing the same things everytime, often sounding like a poor attempt at a Bill Frisell thing. I now use a basic Ditto which is loads more limiting, but I have to be more creative when building loops, rather than just an easy "reverse it and occasionally change the octave" which sounds epic but often samey.

I'm tempted by a Ditto X2 at some point, but am nervous about the quality of the switches from what I've read on here.

What sort of looping are you aiming to do?

Thank you for the replies. I just mainly want to build up what I would call ethereal soundscapes to solo over, lots of delay and reverb, that kind of thing mainly but I will want to try and record it too I don't know if that makes a difference?

Grumpyrocker

Have a Boss RC3. It's excellent. Easy to use. Can add backing tracks or use built in rhythms. Easy to overdub. Sound quality very good. 

AntonHunter

zepp76 said:

AntonHunter said:

I used to use the DL4, which was really creative for what I wanted (layering up soundscapes mostly). Part of the reason I stopped was I ended up doing the same things everytime, often sounding like a poor attempt at a Bill Frisell thing. I now use a basic Ditto which is loads more limiting, but I have to be more creative when building loops, rather than just an easy "reverse it and occasionally change the octave" which sounds epic but often samey.

I'm tempted by a Ditto X2 at some point, but am nervous about the quality of the switches from what I've read on here.

What sort of looping are you aiming to do?

Thank you for the replies. I just mainly want to build up what I would call ethereal soundscapes to solo over, lots of delay and reverb, that kind of thing mainly but I will want to try and record it too I don't know if that makes a difference?

That's mostly what I use my Ditto for, so it should be fine, although something with reverse effects (like Ditto x2) would be even more fun of course. And I just record everything that comes out of the amp, so that shouldn't make any difference.

Has anyone on here used the cheapo Rowin Twin Looper? Looks like an affordable way to find out what features you like/want/need, but I've never used one, so I don't know.

zepp76

Grumpyrocker said:

Have a Boss RC3. It's excellent. Easy to use. Can add backing tracks or use built in rhythms. Easy to overdub. Sound quality very good. 

I've just been taking a butchers at the RC3 it seems like a great bit of kit, really good reviews too. Thank you for the suggestion.

joetele

AntonHunter said:

I used to use the DL4, which was really creative for what I wanted (layering up soundscapes mostly). Part of the reason I stopped was I ended up doing the same things everytime, often sounding like a poor attempt at a Bill Frisell thing. I now use a basic Ditto which is loads more limiting, but I have to be more creative when building loops, rather than just an easy "reverse it and occasionally change the octave" which sounds epic but often samey.

I'm tempted by a Ditto X2 at some point, but am nervous about the quality of the switches from what I've read on here.

What sort of looping are you aiming to do?

I have had a Ditto X2 for ages now - switches still work and the ease of use cannot be underestimated. Best looper I've tried and can be had for around £75 second hand too. 

And re the soundscapes - that's basically all I do in my band - which is just me and the drummer. 

octatonic

The Oberheim Echoplex Digital Pro is the be all and end all of loopers.
But it is discontinued, complex and an instrument in itself.
Some of its functionality borders on granular synthesis, not just looping.

Ditto series are decent if unremarkable sound on sound loopers.
They work fine, they sound ok but I find them too static and inflexible.

NelsonP

I have a Boss RC3 and it's great. 

One thing to consider though is whether you need more than one foot switch. 

Tap to record/play and double tap to stop is fine for home use but I wouldn't want to have to do that live.  You can either buy a looper that has dedicated footswitches or add an aux foot switch like the Boss FS5 or FS6.

AntonHunter

joetele said:

And re the soundscapes - that's basically all I do in my band - which is just me and the drummer. 

Nice, got a link to hear it?

LightB4sound

From personal experience I've found the boss to work better for me for one main reason.... The bigger footswitch area. It's so much easier to hit that when playing live than the switch on the ditto. 

I ended up sticking with the RC30 as the two tap drop 6 is also hard when playing live, I just need one press to stop.

The ditto is great through!

joetele

AntonHunter said:

joetele said:

And re the soundscapes - that's basically all I do in my band - which is just me and the drummer. 

Nice, got a link to hear it?

PM'd! 

Wazmeister

LightB4sound said:

From personal experience I've found the boss to work better for me for one main reason.... The bigger footswitch area. It's so much easier to hit that when playing live than the switch on the ditto. 

I ended up sticking with the RC30 as the two tap drop 6 is also hard when playing live, I just need one press to stop.

The ditto is great through!

Spot on.

Ditto is decent but the Boss footswitch is much better.

Also, saving loops is vital for me. 

Fuengi

I've had a Ditto and now a Boss RC-3. For me the Boss is far superior, mainly because of the ability to save your loop. If you want to practice in a particular key you can save a loop and recall it in seconds. 

A few people struggle with the operation of the Boss but having got it down I find it really easy and intuitive. 

victorludorum

You can get much smaller external switches for the Boss. Bright Onion and Raygun do a few.

zepp76

Thank you to everyone for your replies, I think the RC3 is the way forward.

mrkb

I’ve got an unused RC3 sitting in a box I’d sell for £80.

VJIves

Surprised the Digitech Jamman range hasn't had any love shown yet. Having used various Boss and TC loopers previously, the Jamman Stereo is the one I've found the most intuitive, especially for toggling between loops on the fly.

zepp76

mrkb said:

I’ve got an unused RC3 sitting in a box I’d sell for £80.

@mrkb ;Thank you for the offer, I would have definitely gone for it but I've just had a nasty council tax bill in the post today that needs paying and it's left me flat on my arse broke. The only way I can get the things I want is through trade now. Sorry.

munckee

The donner looper I have is exactly the same as the ditto looper I had before.  Only difference is the 9v goes int he top rather than the side which works better on my board.