Digitech JamMan Review

Summary

• Pros: The Digitech Jamman is easy to use and is a good quality pedal. It has onboard memory and the option of backing up loops to your computer. You can store a massive 99 loops onboard.
• Cons: Difficult to use live because of the amount of button pressing that needed without buying the external footswitch. Doesn’t have full range of extra features (e.g. no “Reverse” effect, etc.).
• Overall: Similar to the Boss RC-20XL, with a better memory system and fewer features. This is the older model JamMan, however, so it has fewer bells and whistles than the newer JamMan Stereo.

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• Amazon: Digitech JamMan Looper Pedal

Digitech Jamman Review

Right off the bat, you may have noticed the similarity in look between the JamMan and Boss’s RC-20XL. You are certainly not alone. The RC-20XL came out in August 2004, and the JamMan a year later. This leads to a lot of competition between the two pedals, and they are in many ways easily comparable. DigiTech has since released the JamMan Solo, the JamMan Stereo, and the Jamman Delay, but then again, so has Boss with it’s RC-3x series.

The manufacturing rivalry between Digitech and Boss does stand out, and they are similar in more ways than just appearances. In fact, both manufacturers offer us loopers with a lot of the same functions. The key to choosing between the two is simply to establish the differences and take your pick.

The layout of the original JamMan is straightforward, and an experienced looper will find it intuitive. For any new loopers, the manual will have you on your feet in no time. To start looping, all you have to do is tap the “Rec/Play/Overdub” pedal on the left hand side of the unit and start playing your loop phrase. Give the pedal another tap to end recording and start looping. Tap it once again to start adding overdub layers. For general information on looping, click here.

Memory

To store your loops the JamMan gives you 99 locations, which are saved on a Compact Flash card. With the unit you get a 128MB card, which is good for around 24 minutes of recording time. You can also get cards of up to 2GB, which provide over six hours of storage time. In addition, you can connect the unit to your computer via USB and keep any important loops stored on your hard drive.

This is one of the main differences between the JamMan and the RC-20XL. The RC-20XL only offers sixteen minutes of recording time, and there is no USB connection for remote storage. The Jamman definitely comes out ahead of the Boss pedal in this regard.

Basic Features

As well as “Rec/Play/Overdub,” the left pedal also operates the “Undo/Redo” function. This a vital feature that takes account for the fact that we as humans are quite prone to making mistakes. A quick hold on the pedal will remove the last part you overdubbed. This way you don’t have to record your entire loop all over again. You can also use this as a phantom, one-off memory, to add in a layer of variation to your loop when it’s needed. For example, you could bring in a harmonized part to compliment your melody, but take it away so it doesn’t conflict with your soloing.

The other footswitch can be used to stop playback, clear what you’ve recorded and to tap out the tempo. The “Tap Tempo” feature is an impressive one, allowing you to change the tempo of recordings without changing the pitch. Tapping the tempo is also vital if you want to play along with one of the pre-made rhythm sounds. You can either tap the tempo on the pedal or on it’s button on the upper section of the pedal. This is as simple as it sounds. A light blinks to show what tempo you’re tapping out, and once it’s right, just don’t tap anymore.

Built-In Drum Patterns

The rhythm sections are basic, but the JamMan gives you nine options so you can pick something that suits your style. These work as a simple metronome and are very helpful. While the JamMan does supposedly contain an internal “Quantize” feature, it’s effect isn’t too noticeable. You have to be pretty close to the mark already for it to even help you by making sure your loops end exactly on the beat. In a way, this maintains some authenticity insofar as the looper isn’t doing much for you. But when you just want to make some simple loops to amuse yourself, you’ll be glad to have good quantization. That’s one thing the RC-20XL does better than the JamMan.

Once your loop is recorded, you can set whether you want it to play once, or to loop continuously. There is also a single play option where you can have sections of a song saved in different locations, set to play through once, and then move onto the next part when the first one comes to the end. Or you could set certain parts to loop, and the bridge, for example, to just play once.

The JamMan can also be set in “Auto-Record Mode,” which makes the unit start recording as soon as it picks up audio from your guitar. This makes things very convenient, especially when you’re playing live.

Negatives

In use, the JamMan is great for bedroom rocking, but you might want to buy additional footswitches for full hands-free live use. Although the sound is only in mono, the sound quality is good. While there is a slight decrease in quality the more you overdub, this is common and expected. Unfortunately, there have also been reports of loop corruption after the 4th or 5th overdub (see Yahoo JamMan Discussion Group). Another issue is that the outputs make it impossible to put the backing track through the PA and not your amp, which is certainly not ideal.

Another criticism is that you can’t dial a tempo in using the unit’s display screen. You have to tap it out. This isn’t a huge problem for most users, but if you know exactly what BPM you want to play at, you should be able to tell the looper.

In direct comparison with it’s competition, the RC-20XL, the JamMan is pretty equal. Even though it seems almost spitefully designed to be slightly better than Boss’s pedal, it really only surpasses it in memory, and USB connectivity. It falls a bit short in its extra features. It still has more than you will need for basic looping usage, but it would have been nice to have a “Reverse” function, or some form of pitch changer. Also, the “Quantize” on the RC-20XL is better than on the JamMan. This could actually either be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your outlook.

Conclusion

The JamMan is a great looper, but faces familiar issues with not having full hands-free functionality. The price is probably well-suited to the bedroom looper, and it’s also unlikely to matter that you can’t access everything remotely, because when you’re using it as a jamming tool, it doesn’t matter if you have to reach down and fiddle with dials for a while.

Overall, the JamMan is a great pedal. Even though it has been surpassed by newer models, and doesn’t quite have all of the functionality of some of the pedals from Boss, it still remains a viable option for many guitarists because of ease-of-use and the relatively low price. If you’re a bedroom jammer, its flaws won’t make much of a difference. The pedal serves well as a jamming partner, and that’s why it remains so popular.

Where to Buy the Digitech Jamman

• Amazon: Digitech JamMan Looper Pedal

Digitech JamMan Video