The Electro-Harmonix 2880 Super Multi-Track Looper is a dedicated looping machine: as MusicRadar put it in its review, "Not a delay machine that also loops, you'll notice - just a looper." It is a digital unit built around four tracks plus a fifth mixdown track, with enough memory, Flash Card permitting, that a player could record a whole song's worth of multi-track on it in CD-quality stereo1. It sits in the multi-track branch of the looping pedal family, alongside units like the Electro-Harmonix 22500 and the Electro-Harmonix 95000.
Where it came from
MusicRadar's review traces the 2880's lineage to the 16 Second Delay, Electro-Harmonix's looping-adjacent unit originally from 1983 and re-released not long before the 2880 appeared. The review calls the 2880 "a significant evolution from the recently re-released 16 Second Delay (originally from 1983)"1. Where that earlier unit blurred the line between delay and looping, the 2880 commits fully to looping, with what the review describes as "a pile of digitalia within, all bent to the task of creating a dedicated" looping machine1.
The controls
The 2880 is a finger-operated unit, not a footswitch pedal. MusicRadar describes it as "the brain" of a setup, "all about fingers," with eleven buttons, seven sliders and nine small pots on its panel1. That makes it a different proposition from compact floor loopers such as the Boss RC-1 Loop Station or the TC Electronic Ditto Looper, which are played with the feet.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Four track sliders and pan pots | Each of the four tracks has a volume slider and a pan pot1 |
| Mixdown track | A fifth track with volume and pan, level controlled by the mixdown fader, to which the first four tracks can be mixed down1 |
| Quantize mode | Stops recording at the exact end of the nearest bar, creating a perfect loop1 |
| Reverse button | Records and plays back reversed chords1 |
| Octave button | Halves the speed and lowers the part an octave1 |
| Punch-in button | Lets you drop in and fix a mistake in a recorded loop1 |
The octave and reverse functions show how the 2880 works as a composition tool, not just a phrase recorder. In MusicRadar's example, a player records a part, hits the octave button, and "the part halves in speed and lowers an octave to become the fat bassline we originally inte[nded]"1. With the reverse button, the reviewer armed track 4 and "record two or three chords along with the backwards version of our masterpi[ece]"1.
MIDI sync and working with other gear
The 2880 is capable of synchronization to MIDI Clock, as Molten Voltage noted in a 2013 piece on MIDI pedalboards, when it counted Electro-Harmonix among "a growing number of cutting-edge effect companies" whose devices sync to MIDI Clock2. For a player running sequenced gear or a DAW-backed rig, that means the 2880's loops can stay locked to an external tempo source.
What reviewers said
MusicRadar's verdict on the 2880 was positive on sound and flexibility:
"Great sound quality, doesn't degrade. Versatile, for guitarists or DJs. Can work with DAWs."
The review highlights that the sound does not degrade through repeated overdubs, and that the unit's multi-track approach and MIDI and DAW compatibility make it usable beyond guitar, by DJs and in computer-based studios as well1.
Videos
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Questions
How many tracks does the Electro-Harmonix 2880 have?
The 2880 has four tracks on which to lay loops, each with its own volume slider and pan pot. Alongside them is a fifth mixdown track, with its own volume and pan, to which you can mix down the contents of the first four tracks.
Can the Electro-Harmonix 2880 sync to MIDI clock?
Yes. Electro-Harmonix built the 2880 to be capable of synchronization to MIDI Clock, which matters if you run it alongside other clock-synced gear on a pedalboard or in a studio setup.
What does the quantize mode on the 2880 do?
In quantize mode, the 2880 waits until the exact end of the nearest bar to stop recording, which creates a perfect loop even if you stopped playing slightly early or late.
Is the Electro-Harmonix 2880 operated by foot?
No. MusicRadar's review describes it as all about fingers: it has eleven buttons, seven sliders and nine small pots, operated by hand rather than foot.
Can the 2880 play loops in reverse?
Yes. It has a reverse button for recording and playing back reversed chords, so you can record a part along with a backwards version of what you have already played.
Is the 2880 related to the 16 Second Delay?
Yes. MusicRadar describes the 2880 as a significant evolution from the recently re-released 16 Second Delay, which originally appeared in 1983, though the 2880 is a dedicated looper rather than a delay machine that also loops.
Sources (2)
- Electro-Harmonix 2880 Super Multi-Track Looper review, MusicRadar, 2007-12-11
- MIDI PedalBoard Devices: MIDI PedalBoards are finally a reality, Molten Voltage (blog.moltenvoltage.com), 2013-05-07
