Electro-Harmonix 2880 Super Multi-Track Looper

It takes a little while to get your mind around this unit. I have owned the original Jamman and the Digitech Jamman reissue. The original I kept and sold the reissue. On the first night, I almost called Tech Support because every time I pressed New Loop, all other tracks already recorded was erased. Then it dawned on me that this is how it works. Using a looper tends to illuminate how well or how badly you play in real time. I tend to struggle with the 2880 more than the others. I too have found that it is rather finicky about incoming levels. I cheaped out and didn't buy the pricey footswitch thinking that I would dust off my Lake Butler Midi Mitigator for this duty, but haven't gotten to it yet. The 2880 is far superior to the Digitech Jamman in the ease that files can be swapped back and forth with the pc. This also overcomes the limitation of having only one set of project loops per card. Gigging musicians may find multiple Compact Flash cards a more convenient than dragging around a laptop.

I am certain a hear faint pops and crackles in the mix especially after time shifting. I have upgraded to the latest firmware and there wasn't any change in that regard. You really have to watch those recording levels for the tracks and when you mixdown. I find that I am pulling everything into to Soundforge to normalize and compress. Afterwards it sounds pretty much like the source material. You can easily make a muddy mess by mixing down four harmonically complex tracks or over doing the layer thing.

So far so good. I seems a little less robust than my Stereo Super Memoryman Plus with Hazarai. Gotta love that aluminum diecast case. The knobs, switches and faders are of medium quality. The jacks in the back are nice and tight. It is not the kind of thing you would risk having underfoot on a pedal board. That's why you may want to invest in add-on footswitch or a midi equivalent. You want to be able to lay hands on it for maximum tweaking anyway.

No experience with EH.

I work in a prog influenced loop based style playing bass, guitar and synths. I have bought and sold tons of audio gear over the years. I am just beginning to explore the real potential of the 2880. Many of my songs have begun as loops which later are moved onto my pc to build additional tracks in Acid. I have not fallen in love with this piece yet, but she has begun to grow on me.

You can check out my tunes at:
http://redfizz.com/rf/band.aspx?&bandid=432495

I found this quite easy in simple looping terms and I am always figuring out new ways to use it. As far as looping goes it has it down pat. However, I find the fact that you can't adjust the quantize mode a bit tricky to work around depending on the kind of music you are playing into it.

I run a lot of effects into the looper. I find that unlike other loopers I have used the unit has a tendency to clip more easily. This means I have to juggle my gear and settings around which I find rather tiresome. I run a drum machine through it and it clips. So it takes some tweaking for those who use a lot of effects.

The clipping thing is a pain but that is a set-up issue. Sound quality I find this pedal very sensitive to how much sound you are pumping through it.

It gets muddy much more easily than my Boss RC20XL did. However, the overdubbing does not get louder but the ability to send a dry signal gets lost and you will constantly have to adjust your sliders. But that is also a great feature. The ability to play with feedback etc.

This is a tool and an extremely versatyle one. I find the midi clocking great on the way out but if you are using an external clock you can't jump from record to play or else the unit will struggle to match its tempo (this can be a very cool effect). So you record, stop, and then hit play.

It takes some getting used to but what a tool. I find in a simple set-up this thing sounds best but it can be very finicky.

I use a godin LSX - various effects - 2880 - kaoss pad.

So far so good...

Amazing. They respond and that is great.

I play ambient rock with some electronic influences. I love to mess with my sound. This has been a blessing for computer integration with midi. It is a bit tricky to get exactly what you want but actual looping is a breeze.

There is still a lot I am learning. I wish you could isolate your tracks with the foot controller. I also wish the loop lengths could be different between tracks. For example... lay a rhythm 2 bars long on track 1 and play a lead of 4 bars long on track 2.

My biggest peave is the units sensitivity to peaking and its level control for the click track and dry outs. It is delicate in that way but it just means you have to adjust your set-up around it and I experiment a lot.

All in all what a great machine and its nice not to stare at a screen to get some crazy sampling.

'Rang V2. Extremely easy to use, if you've used a multitrack tape/digital recorder you can use this in a heartbeat. Manual is easy to understand.

Sound is fine, a little bit of noise but not bad, if you're running a bunch of effects into it, you're going to have to deal with a little noise. I run a Cry-Baby, Whammy, Distortion, etc. into the 'Rang then direct into board or amp (Electro-Plex Rocket 50, Acoustic 124, or little Charvel practice amp). Sound is great. Running into a board and digital multitrack I can clean up the sound any way I want.

I've been using it for 5+ years in the studio and live and no problems. It's built like a tank.

Never had to deal with them, have had no problems.

Jazz, rock, blugrass, been playing for 35 years and own one of just about every instrument, effect, amp, etc. there is. If I lost the Rang or it got ripped off I'd buy another in a heartbeat. I also use a Digitech looper (early Jamman), PODxt, RP7 and 2880 - nice thing about the 'Rang is the "on the fly" features, very good. Wish it was easier to save loops but I've figured that out with a custom switch box to route the signal to a multitrack recorder.

If you have some experience with both the current crop of loopers out there (Loop Station, Boomerang Etc.) and the Porta-studio type devices, you will have no problems fiquring out how to use this looper.

The manual is short and easy to digest and the features/options are displayed well on the front on the unit, no surprises really. A mimimum of Multi function/Mode knobs that can be confusing.

You need the foot pedal switcher to use this unit to its full effect. The main unit should be within reach of you hands to take advantage of the fader/panning features

The main reason I bought this was for the upgraded sound quality and stereo option. I had been using a custom routing box with two Boss Loop Stations, one for each amp. Right and Left.

The CD quality sound reproduction (44.1Hz) is great. I use two small tube amps in stereo (Tophat Club Deluxe and Orange AD15) and the Loop Stations got kind of muddy with the natural distortion from the amps.

The stereo option also allows me to run stereo effects (Line 6 Filter and Modulation Modelers respectively) at the end of my effects chain.

I was never convinced that the EH production quality would hold up. The constuction seems flimsy. But I bought a POG and it has been great! No problems whatsoever. BUT... 2 weeks after I bought the 2880, the silk screened lettering and trim on the foot pedal started to crumble and fall off. You can lightly scratch it with your fingernail and pull it right up!! Very Bad!

This is purely cosmetic and I believe the functionality and electronics to be reliable but I am forced to dropped the rating here for the cheesy print job on the graphics

Never dealt with them, and don't care enough to send it back for graphics problem

I use this for improvised ambient looping performances. I don't usually keep the loops, so the USB computer connection is rarly used by me. If you could down load the loops one track at a time to allow them to be mixed in a recording program later (I use Logic) it would be fantastic! But I beleive this option is primarly for storage since the memory card will only hold one loop at a time.

This Unit is a really good tool for what I do. Being able to mix and pan the tracks on the fly allows for more interesting dynamics when performing. And the Midi is useful for syncing to a drum machine.

The boomerang and the new Boss Looper take up so much room on the pedal board, I opted for this instead and I don't think there is anything better, that will do some of the things this can, in this price range.