Pigtronix launched the first Infinity looper pedal in 2013, and like many loopers in its price range, it did a lot. What set that looper apart, though, was its approach to how one might use a looper. While many other loopers were aimed at creating ambient soundscapes, the first Infinity pedal aims to allow the player to create two separate loops that might be switched back and forth for verse/chorus type arrangements.
Fast forward a few years and as simple, stripped down loop pedals such as TC Electronic’s Ditto had brought simple looping to the masses, they released the Infinity 2 Looper, a somewhat pared back version of their first offering, with a more modest price.
Our good friends at Sweetwater were kind enough to provide us with a demo model of the pedal, though as ever, they asked for no editorial input and our opinions in this review are entirely our own.
So, does the Infinity 2 have a place in today’s market? Let’s find out.
Read more about our review process.
Contents
Who is This For?
The Infinity 2 looper is aimed at players who don’t need a huge number of bells and whistles, want to be able to layer several loops together, and quickly move on to a new loop for the chorus! The pedal is also one of the easier to use loop pedals on the market, so while the price is a little high for beginners, it’s an excellent entry point.
Appearance/features/controls
Following on from the first Infinity’s barrage of buttons, lights and switches, the Infinity 2 is positively spartan. Sporting two foot switches, two knobs and one button, the pedal is not so much basic as streamlined.
The two knobs on the pedal are volume, which controls the volume of your loop, and decay, which essentially allows you to set your loops to gradually decrease in volume.
The mode button on the pedal allows you to quickly access four quite ingenious functions. Undo lets you erase the previous loop, stop allows you to either silence your loop at the end of its current loop or with a fade out, and once allows you to either just play a loop once or, by repeatedly tapping the button, create some interesting turntable type cuts in and out. Finally, octave allows you to pitch the existing loop up or down – surely helpful if you want to add a bassline to the loop.
The two footswitches, as you would expect, allow you to control the looping – but here’s where the magic of this pedal happens. Each footswitch aims to contain one entire loop. In practice, this means you can build a loop with the footswitch on the right, and then suddenly stop that loop with a tap of the one on the right and build a whole new loop – and then switch back if you wish.
Another part of the design that makes this a great pedal for beginners is that, once you’ve laid down the initial loop, you don’t need to hit the footswitches with perfect timing to open or close a new loop – once you’ve hit the pedal, it knows to start recording at the start of the next loop, not right at that time. In the same way, if you want to switch from left to right, you can hit the right footswitch in the middle of the loop and it will start recording your new loop (with the current one silenced) as soon as that loop is over.
In terms of additional features and connections, the pedal features a buffered bypass, which really helps to keep the signal noise down when you’re not looping. It also features stereo in/out, which is great for anyone trying to create those room filling sounds with multiple amps. If your board isn’t easily accessible while you play, you’ll be pleased to know that it accepts a remote footswitch, and even boasts a micro USB port for firmware updates.
As for power, it won’t take batteries, only a DC input. The power cable isn’t included, so be sure to think about this when you purchase.
Performance/Sound
In pure playback terms, the Infinity 2 loops sound identical to the output – this is due to the 48kHz sampling, ensuring no degradation of tone. Cheaper loopers typically suffer from a pretty drastic quality difference between live playing and recorded loops, so this was definitely something we noticed and appreciated.
Using the pedal was both easy and fun. While many are scared away from loop pedals due to the stress of timing the loops perfectly, the Infinity 2 takes that stress away and allows you to get on with the fun of creating.
A lot of the built in features really encouraged experimenting, too. One of our favorites was the loop aging, which gradually faded out old loops as we recorded new ones. If you’re used to more standard loopers, you’ll know all too well how muddy things can get after you’ve recorded a few lines, so it was really cool to be able to just carry on recording new lines and get a good feel for the pedal without having to stop and clear everything.
As mentioned, loopers often seem like a good idea until you’re faced with the idea of using one in a live setting – but with this Pigtronix unit we found it to be so intuitive that we were able to grasp the basic functions without even looking at the manual. Being able to get on and use it without worrying about finicky controls was yet another reason why we loved this pedal so much. It wasn’t really any more difficult to grasp than an overdrive or a wah, and that’s what really sets it apart from other loopers in our opinion.
Final thoughts on the Pigtronix Infinity 2 Looper
The Pigtronix Infinity 2 Looper really was a fantastic bit of kit. It’s not particularly bulky considering its feature set, and the user friendliness was way beyond our expectations. Not only was it easy to use, it was really fun. If you’re a solo player, or you’re looking to start gigging alone, this is the kind of pedal that can really change your entire approach to music.
We can’t recommend the Infinity 2 Looper enough – if you’re thinking it sounds like a good option for you, we recommend you check it out over at Sweetwater for the best deals!
