TC Electronic

TC decides that two loops is better than one, but still keeps it simple
TC ELECTRONIC
DITTO X4 LOOPER
£185
TC ELECTRONIC DITTO X4
REVIEW
FOR
its fi rst looper, TC
Electronic tried to get
away from any superfl uous and
complicated features that can stifl e
creative fl ow, and released the
miniature marvel that was the
original Ditto – one footswitch,
one knob… blimey! And guitarists
fl ocked to it, because it was so
simple and fun. Following on from
the Ditto’s success, we got an X2
stereo version (including dual
mono for two players). The X2
took the Ditto’s simple operation,
but made things even easier with
the a second footswitch to stop the
loop or to apply an effect. We also
got USB loop transfer and the
ability to store backing tracks.
Now, the X4 puts two loopers –
each with fi ve minutes of looping
time – side by side in the same
four-footswitch pedal format as
the Flashback X4 delay.
Each loop has its own footswitch
but there’s also a dedicated ‘stop’
footswitch that has the dual
advantage of stopping a loop with
just one tap and also stopping both
loops at once dead in their tracks.
The fourth footswitch, FX, offers
alternative ways to stop loops
– you can make a loop to stop at
the end of its cycle, or stop it
immediately, with either a fade or
a tape reel-style slowdown. Other
effects available via this footswitch
let you reverse a loop, play it back
at half- or double-speed with the
consequent octave pitch shift, or
repeat a short segment of the
loop as long as the footswitch is
held down.
Each loop has a large knob to set
its playback volume, while a decay
knob determines the amount of
volume reduction that occurs each
Sound quality is top-notch and
operation retains its simplicity
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
time a loop repeats, ranging from
the loop cycle just playing back
once to no volume change at all.
The loops relate to each other in
two selectable ways; Sync mode
sees the two loops having the
ability to play together at the same
time, the second’s length being a
multiple of the fi rst, while
independent loops are kept
separate from one another in
Serial mode – very useful for
separate verse and chorus loops.
As with previous Dittos, the
sound quality is top-notch and
operation retains its simplicity. The
only things that might take more
than a couple of seconds to fi gure
out are MIDI sync and loop
transfer to computer, should you
want to use them, and the four
set-and-forget switches on the X4’s
rear panel that let you confi gure
the X4 – how the overdubs work,
how the serial loops record and
bypass mode – but they are
probably in the best default
position to start with, anyway.
Adding a second loop to the
Ditto has greatly increased the
creative possibilities both for home
use and onstage. You can now
build up more complex and
intricate musical pieces with ease,
plus those effects add a polish to
pique an audience’s interest.
Ultimately, though, two loops
equals a lot more fun.
Trevor Cur wen
80 APRIL 2016
TYPE: Looper pedal
CONTROLS: Loop 1 volume, loop 2
volume, decay, FX selector, 3x
toggles, 4x mode switch, loop 1
footswitch, loop 2 footswitch, stop
footswitch, FX footswitch
SOCKETS: Standard inputs (mono
and stereo), standard outputs
(mono and stereo), MIDI in, MIDI
thru, USB
BYPASS: True/buffered
(switchable)
POWER: 9V adaptor (supplied)
CONTACT: TC Electronic
0800 917 8926
www.tcelectronic.com
AT A GLANCE
LOOP/DECAY
YOU can set the playback
volume for each loop
separately, while the decay
knob determines the rate at
which loops get quieter as
they cycle
FX
THIS is where you can select
an effect to be applied to the
loop(s). The seven options
include three different ways
to stop a loop
SERIAL/SYNC
SETS up how the two loops
work with each other – that can
be either both playing together
or only one loop at a time
TGR278.gear_tc.indd 80 2/25/16 10:03 AM