TC Electronic Ditto Looper X2
Simplicity at its finest.
£169 at andertons.co.uk | £151 at thomann.com
The TC Electronic Ditto X2 Looper pedal is a very well-built and reliable pedal that offers a number of useful features for both recording and live use. The original Ditto Looper was a huge success, offering a simple and intuitive solution for recording a backing track, but the lack of a dedicated pause button made it difficult to use in a live environment. The X2 addresses this issue by adding an additional foot switch and a number of other key features.
At its core, the Ditto is a simple looper pedal. Press LOOP, it starts recording. Press LOOP again, it starts playing back what you just recorded at the volume. There is a loop level control, which makes it easy to adjust the volume of your looped tracks relative to your live playing, ensuring that they don't overpower your sound. You get up to 5 minutes of recording time and unlimited overdubs. This allows you to create complex and layered looping performances without the need for a separate recording device. To pause playback you can just tap the FX switch. To delete the current loop – double-press the LOOP switch quickly and hold it for a few seconds. It is simple, it is intuitive and it sounds great.
Another new feature of the Ditto X2 is the ability to permanently store a backing track on the pedal. While having a recorded loop, pull the left switch upwards and it will permanently save the recording. To clear this, hold the switch in the up position for 3 seconds. Nothing ground-breaking, but the feature is there if you want it.
The FX foot switch on the X2 can also offer a number of different options for manipulating your loops in real time. You can set the switch to act as a simple stop button, allowing you to quickly stop the playback of your loops. You have it to half the playback speed, which can be used as a creative effect or to slow down a track for practice purposes. My favourite feature of the FX switch is the reverse effect, which allows you to play your loops in reverse, creating strange and unexpected sequences in your music. It is a very powerful live performance tool, preserving the key you are playing in.
In addition to its impressive feature set, the Ditto X2 also includes stereo inputs and outputs, which can be used to pass a stereo signal through the pedal or to connect two instruments at the same time. This can be especially useful for creating complex and layered looping performances with multiple instruments. You can also split a single input if you want to use multiple amps or have 2 effect chains running in parallel.
The only downside to this pedal is that you can get the TC Electronic Flashback 2 (or even the 4 foot switch X4 version) for a similar amount of money. If you are happy with a 40-second looper and no permanent storage option, the Flashback will give you a very versatile delay pedal in addition to the same looping capabilities of the Ditto.
Bottom Line
Overall, the TC Electronic Ditto X2 Looper pedal is a versatile and reliable tool that offers a number of useful features for both recording and live use. Its user-friendly interface and impressive feature set make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to add looping capabilities to their pedalboard.