NPD: JamMan Solo XT

Artie

Artie

Peaveyologist
My wife doesn't know what to get me for my upcoming b-day, so just asks me to show her. I do. Since I know what it is, she lets me play with it now. (After all, gotta make sure it works.) :D I love my wife.

I've been wanting one of these "looper" pedals for a long time. Don't know why I didn't snag one earlier. This one seems to be feature packed. I especially like the USB connectivity and SD card capability. You can extend recording time out to 32 hours! :omg:
The "Aux-in" input is a nice touch too. This thing has a bit of a steep learning curve, but you can still get it up and running straight out of the box, so to speak. Anyway, I won't ramble on here. You can watch YouTube videos all day long about how cool this thing is.

However, I did discover one "flaw", that is really annoying. There's several different ways to start a recording. The primary one, is to tap the foot-switch at the exact moment you start playing, and tap again at the exact stop point. For someone with poor coordination like me, this doesn't work well. JamMan to the rescue. They have an "auto-start" feature. Tap the foot-sw, and the LED flashes, but it isn't recording yet. It waits for the 1st "sound" to come in. Problem is, it isn't capable of detecting my finger-picking on a Fender Strat, with Duncan STK-4/4/9b's. That's a reasonably hot signal. I spent a long time going through the manual trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, 'til I finally struck a chord and it took off recording.

Solution was to put my SFX-01 Pickup Booster in front of the JamMan, but that shouldn't be necessary. There really should be some way to adjust the input "trigger" sensitivity.

So, except for that mini-rant, I love this thing. It just has a couple of quirks. :)

Artie
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

Just get into the habit of hitting the punch in point where you want it...it isn't hard with a little practice.
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

Ah . . . good idea. Start playing, then hit the pedal. Thanks. :)
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

I was just gonna say "Mincer recommends these…."

Most likely will end up with one on my acoustic board at some point. Boss is way complicated and Expensive.
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

The original Ditto is fantastic , 1 button and one knob for volume. 5 min of loop with as many overdubs as you want to do. $100 and the Ditto X2 has a few options and is around $150. Best damn loopers ever by far and I have used most all of them except for a Boomerang , which is just out of my price range by 20 miles.
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

Can find the Jam mans cheaper though, and are pretty much the same.
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

The Jamman Express is cheaper than the Ditto, has stereo, and can be battery powered. and Artie, you hit the pedal as you start playing, and not a nano second after, or else you get a 'bump' in the loop. For serious looping these days, I'd recommend the Boomerang or a used Digital Echoplex Pro.
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

It seems like a great little pedal. My Zoom G1Xon is great for a bit of late night noodling along to a backing track...but otherwise it's pretty limited feature-wise. Can't save stuff ..can't change beats as you go etc..plus just 30 secs of loop time & most irritatingly I can't use external pedals (or an amp) very effectively (can't bypass the Zoom's preamp).

I see one of these in my future :lmao:
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

Mincer said:
The Jamman Express is cheaper than the Ditto, has stereo, and can be battery powered. and Artie, you hit the pedal as you start playing, and not a nano second after, or else you get a 'bump' in the loop. For serious looping these days, I'd recommend the Boomerang or a used Digital Echoplex Pro.
Click to expand...

So does the "recording" begin the moment you hit the switch, or is it when the switch is released. I have a Ditto and an RC-2 and suck using either because of the timing issue.
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

The moment you hit the switch. I don't know of anyone who could get the timing right if it started when you release it. I havent used a Ditto, but have used the RC-2, and it just took 15 mins of practice- the Boss loopers have to travel a bit before they engage.
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

Part of the problem is also hitting the the switch at exactly the correct "stopping" moment too.

However, as I've played with this, I realize the real problem. You can't get precise timing when your looper pedal is sitting on carpet, with a backing pad. ;)

I'll be mounting this on a "board" tomorrow. Film@11.

Artie
 
Re: NPD: JamMan Solo XT

Yeah, the stopping point is exactly the same as the starting point. And no carpet or bare feet.
 
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