FIRST LOOK REVIEW : PIGTRONIX INFINITY
Traveling with Electronics : First Look Review : Infinity Looper
infinity.....boundless simplicity
for beats and beyond
Pigtronix released the INFINITY LOOPER in November of 2012 and have been adding feature updates in response to user requests in a very timely fashion.
***Update*** As of 6/1/15 Pigtronix released the 2.0 firmware update for the Infinity - At this point in time this is the holy grail of hardware loopers (imho)
The INFINITY has just landed on my pedal-board and I am very happy with what this extremely powerful yet compact, dual stereo looper can do.....for me, as always, I choose and use a piece of gear based on it's sound - size - build - and functionality.
Keeping with the historical perspective of last months blog about the Slammi and the history of digital pitch-shifters (http://jadeane.com/blog/thu-01302014-1551), here is a quick look back at some other great loopers and delay / loopers that I have had the pleasure to spend some creative time with.
DELAY / LOOPERS the one that started it all
Roland - RE301 Tape Echo EHX - 16 second DDL
sound-on-sound looper the legendary looper
mid 70's to mid 80's mid 80's to mid 90's
Digitech - Echo + Plus PDS8000 Boss - GigaDelay DD-20
mid 90's to mid 2000's (2 of these) mid 2000's - still in my rig
EHX - Memory Man SMMH Strymon - TimeLine
2010 through 2012 2012 through 2013
LOOPERS
the first card based looper
and the first 4 track looper
2002 through 2006
4 track - card based
2006 through 2010
All of these units are great and I used them to the max during the time they spent on my board. They all left for various reasons (old age, travel considerations, change of set-up configuration, etc.), except for the (tap tempo) DD-20 which is still in my rig. Often overlooked in todays crowded market, there is good reason why I still use it.
After just about ten years on my pedal-board the trusty DD-20 still offers up the best combination of basic delays (including reverse), and the longest delay time out there (1ms - 23sec). It has a 23 second basic sound-on-sound looper, plus the 23 seconds of delay which can be used as an "evolving looper" with feedback set high. The SOS looper and the delay looper can both be running at the same time. Check out this closer look at a classic pedal. http://jadeane.com/blog/mon-08062012-1513
NOW LETS TAKE A LOOK AT THE AMAZING PIGTRONIX INFINITY LOOPER
Last year when my good friend Tim Motzer brought an INFINITY on some INSTANT TAKEMITSU concerts back east ( http://jadeane.com/blog/sat-09282013-1537 ), I started keeping an eye on the Pigtronix site for updates and when they added "loop aging" (variable feedback decay) and "vari-speed" (continuous speed control) to the unit's feature set, well I was sold. Those two features, which are remarkably absent from most "modern" loopers today, are what made the original EHX 16 second DDL the revolutionary piece of gear that it was (it started all of this).....way back in 1983.
One look at the unit and it's clear that this thing is very well thought out with enough space between the foot switches and just enough visual feedback for the controls you need to access (no menu surfing), all in a small footprint solid yet thin case.
The INFINITY sounds amazing - totally transparent - what you play in is what comes out and even after multiple overdubs on both loops there is a clarity, a real sense of space between the layers - sonically this looper is really quite impressive.
* looper functionality is undeniably thorough - 2 stereo loops with overdub - undo - redo
* loops can be run in series or parallel - un-synced - in sync multi or synced to a midi clock
* loop reverse and continuous control of loop speed from half speed through double speed
* overdubs can be locked (accumulative overdubs) or evolving (variable feedback decay)
* there are 5 stop modes and the inputs can be split to loop separate sources
* it comes with an 8 gig card (2 hour record time) and will take up to a 32 gig card
* loops and settings can be saved as presets and uploaded to computer via usb
* 24bit 48khz recording and transparent analogue pass through of the input signal
INFINITY has an input for 2 momentary switches
to control undo / redo and reverse playback plus
an expression pedal input to control loop volume
loop aging or vari-speed in record or play modes
since I prefer a split rig configuration (floor & table)
I am using a little DIY control box on the table
(2 momentary switches and an expression knob)
With this much flexibility, the INFINITY will be equally at home on a master clocked traditional song form project (with a discrete monitor output for the drummer) or in a multi-clock, pan-rhythmic sound design environment, and you can't say that about too many loopers these days. The crew at Pigtronix really thought this through!
FEATURES - videos > http://www.pigtronix.com/products/infinity-looper/
- 2 Stereo Loops with Sync
- Loop 2 Multiplier x1, x2, x3, x4, x6
- Series or Parallel Looping Modes
- 9 loop presets + 1 blank canvas
- 24bit / 48kHz recording
- Latency Free Looping
- Analog pass through of clean tone
- USB access to saved loops
- Supports upload of virtually ANY audio format via USB
- Input Split for recording separate instruments on each loop
- Remote switch for UNDO / REDO & REVERSE
- Supports 256 (or more) overdubs per loop
- Aux Loop Out for Drum Monitor
- Expression Pedal for Loop audio volume
- Midi Beat Clock Sync
- REVERSE Playback
- Rec --> Play --> Overdub
- Rec --> Overdub --> Play
- Variable Feedback Decay (aka Loop aging)
- All commands are instantaneous
- 5 Stop Modes for flexible performance options
- 18VDC power supply included
- USB-A to microUSB cable included
- Chassis Size = 7.4” x 4.6” x 1.5”
In a time when 24 bit audio and 32 bit processing has been stuffed into a plethora of hand held devices, what really sets a looper apart from the throng these days is it's functionality and ease of use (technological transparency) and the aptly named INFINITY LOOPER is both simple and boundless.....a powerful combination.
until next month then.....be sure to check out my latest recording.....just released
BLACK IRON TRIO : SANCTUARY - High Resolution Downloads Available Now!
the downloads http://jadeane.downloadsnow.net/black-iron-trio-sanctuary
the backstory http://jadeane.com/blog/tue-03262013-1408
safe travels.....dino
