I’m sure this topic has been beaten to death but I’ve have a dilemma. Both theDitto x2 jam and the Ditto x4 are the same price in the guitar center app. The x4 says it’s a clearance price. For $200 which do you recommend for use with my Beatbuddy?
I’m am 3 years into my guitar learning journey and it will be almost entirely for practice.
I just want a loop that will sync with the BB.
Thanks
The x2 does not have midi sync. The X4 does, but there have been quite a few reports on here about it not syncing entirely correctly with the BB, as it required its own double tap to end a loop. For $21 more, you can get the Electro Harmonix 1440 from Sweetwater, which, from limited user reports, did work with the BB.
I was trying to not get into midi at all. That’s why I was looking at the x2 jam. Has a mic port to send the headphone output from the Bb
to. Supposed to find and sync to the tempo.
Folks have reported varying degrees of success with the x2. I would guess that the simpler beats work the best.
I saw that. Thank you.
I have both and have been able to synch them to BB reasonably well. Like you, I just play at home for fun and to jam with friends. The X4 is huge so that may be an issue, but it is able to stop at the end of loop which I like. The X2 Jam seems to synch fine with the BB headphone output into the mic input. The X2 doesnt seem to have a stop at end of loop feature though and just stops immediately which makes it more difficult to stop both X2J and BB together. The X4 will also cost you $15 more for the BB midi cable. If size is not an issue I would probably go with X4 as you get 2 loops and better stop implementation. Plus you may get into midi later. I cant speak to other loopers like boss or infinity etc, i moved on to Aeros in the end.
You’re going to have to get into it a little bit… Midi is how the BeatBuddy synchronises with your looper (or vice versa to be more accurate).
If everything works as it should then you connect the midi out of the BeatBuddy to the midi in of your looper. That should get you tempo sync which will quantise your looper clicks to the beat. For more high level musical synchronisation at the bar level then more specialised support is needed in the looper (aeros for example). I’m not sure how standardised those midi messages and sorry for them is in loopers though so take heed of the advice you get on this forum if you’re going a non-aeros route.
If you’ve got really good timing and are lucky then unsynchronized (no MIDI connection) is just about possible. I used an rc-30 and a BeatBuddy for a while, but it’s honestly a lot of pressure to get absolutely right and adds a lot of potential for a crash and burn in gigs. It’s doable for home fun though.
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I have the X2 Jam and am using the headphone out into the mic in. It works most of the time, sometimes. I really wish it was more reliable. I also don’t want to get into midi but I’m performing out and about a lot and when it doesn’t work… it’s a train crash. Holding the Stop button on the Ditto until the light is solid green clears the memory. That helps sometimes… I’ve never been able to get the “Pre-Record Tap” or the “During Play Tap” listed in the manual to help/work. I’m sometimes playing what I want to loop a few extra times prior to recording the loop to help the Ditto get on beat. Sometimes I start recording the loop immediately and with a 4/4 song and no off beat strumming, it works most of the time. I tried the new BB firmware upgrade and it made some changes to how the remote 2 button switch works, so I down rev’d it back to where it was.
I may have to go to some type of midi control at some point… but for now, until I know all the midi issues are worked out and I’m certain the new piece of gear (whatever that is) is going to fix the issue I’ll just play it as it is, mask it when it fails or laugh about it with the crowd and make some joke about “Drummers”!
I ordered the Jam X2. It’s perfect for my skill level and when or if I out grow it I’ll get a midi looper.
Thank everyone for the quick replies.
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My ditto jam arrived. So far so good. For the most part it has synced with everything I’ve tried. It’s simple to use and lets me concentrate on my playing rather than the looper.
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I recently bought Ditto Jam 2x and i connected to beat buddy via head phone port and it works incredibly well for me. Sometimes I have the loops going very long while I practice with another instrument or different part. The the drum beats and the loops stay right in sync.
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I wouldn’t recommend a ditto product to anyone. I have a ditto 4x and while I’ve had good luck while it works, and it works well with the beat buddy, the thing breaks regularly. It runs Linux in an SD card and every few months it stops working randomly. I need to crack it open, and reflash the card with an image file.
You can find this widely documented online.
Luckily I saved the image (let me know if you need it) but ditto has been chasing down the mirrors and shutting them down. I’m thoroughly annoyed.
One week update on ditto x2 jam. Worked fabulously. Well for one week. Then it failed. Noisy ticking and won’t sync with any beat.
Back to the store it went. Full refund.
Never will I buy another.
Now I will wait for the EHX 1440 to be I. Stock and I will buy one.
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Hello jimyoung,
Do you still have the Ditto x4 SD Card Image file?
I sure can’t find it anywhere…
Thanks!
I sent it privately. Please let me know when you have it.