You dont need to guess whether your looper is in recording/playback mode as each mode is displayed in a different way using green or red lights. These different recording modes can help you create the perfect loops. This is perfect for even even the pro player who wishes to enhance their performance with a touch of looping. The main benefits to the RC-30 is the ability to save up to 99 loops and the control you have over every aspect of the loop. The ability to save recordings to the pedal can give you a lot of ways to create and experiment with music. If you want to record separate loops for your verse and chorus and switch between them as you perform, the RC-10R is better suited to do that. Youre unlikely to ever need to record a loop that long, so both pedals provide more than enough recording time. Floor-based loopers are excellent for instrumentalists who want to, BOSS Loop Stations are famous for their industry leading flexibility right out of the box. The way the outer ring fills up during playback is a great way to gauge the progress of a recording. Even if it uses the same technology as the RC-5, the extra footswitches, buttons, and sliders give you significantly greater control over everything. The RC-500 packs in a lot of features and includes the same RGB LED screen used on the RC-5. Loop ruined, right? The above video uses a BOSS RC-50, which has been discontinued.
This guide will compare the RC-600 with all the other Loop Station pedals. Want to add some rhythms to your songs, well the RC-500 comes packed with 7 different drum kits and 57 different rhythms (like the RC-5), each with A/B sections - perfect for flicking between verse and chorus sections. The BOSS RC-500 was released in 2020 and while the name implies that its a bigger and better pedal than the RC-300, it definitely doesnt look it at first. While one of the above looper pedals will likely fit your needs, there are plenty of alternatives out there. Lets consider a similar recording to our first example, but this time well record each instrument on its own track: To the listener, this example will sound exactly the same as our first example. Every loop station pedal has an input for an external footswitch. The Ditto X2 and the RC-3 cost around the same, so you might expect them to be similar in terms of features. Advanced multi-track loopers such as the RC-300 or RC-505 allow each track to be a different length: LOOP SYNC feature enables you to change the loop playback behaviour to suit your creative whim. ith it's two separate recording tracks, with separate volumes, it makes for a perfect perfomance tool, allowing for more complex arrangements that can be manipulated on the fly with the builit-in fx; repeat, scatter, shift and vinyl flick are perfect to spice up your creations. A lot of guitarists enjoy using it for a while, then start noticing its limitations. Will two loop tracks be enough for what you want to create? The very core of the looping concept. This allows you to set up the looper to suit your own needs. The BeatBuddy is a superior rhythm pedal and the RC-5 is a superior looper pedal than the RC-10R. Youll also hear other effects pedals create synth-like sounds, which are also added to looplayers. DO YOU WANT KILLER BACKING TRACKS FOR YOUR LOOPER? The RC-5 is clearly the most advanced compact loop station when you compare it against the RC-1 or RC-3. The RC-30 steps up the features again, but this time it also increases in size. The RC-600 measures 17-1/8 x 6-7/16 (435 x 163mm) and 2-5/8 (66mm) high. The two footswitches give you plenty of control over creating and playing your loops. Please let us know which of the following products you are interested in. Created by Roland V-Drums specialist Simon Ayton, these patches were designed using the internal factory sounds and many of the techniques covered in the TD-50 guide. Check out the price and full details of the RC-3 here (Amazon). If you feel split between the features across these two options, look at the prices of secondhand RC-3 pedals to see whether the extra features in the RC-5 is worth the extra cost. At the most basic level, a looper is a very effective practice tool. The main advantage of the RC-3 is the ability to save your recorded loops to the pedal. The Ditto can record up to five minutes, while the RC-1 records up to 12 minutes in stereo. It also sells at a significantly lower retail price compared to the older RC-300. Contained within BOSSs classic compact pedal format, the RC-1 is the most value-priced looper in the Loop Station lineup.
As we have seen in the article Taking Control of Your Loop Station, a key feature of all BOSS Loop Stations is the ability to expand their functionality by adding additional control pedals. But if you want to create multiple loops, complex layers, and use other advanced features like what you saw in the above video, one of the more feature-filled loop stations like the RC-30, RC-500, or RC-300 might suit you better.
The feature set of the RC-300 is vast. Each track has two dedicated footswitches. An issue a lot of beginners have when they first try a looper is with timing. From the most value priced Loop Station (RC-1) through the entire range, the features you can find on every Loop Station are. looper jackets levitt sevenart jerie Heres a rough comparison of the size difference between the two pedals: While the RC-300 gives you three looping tracks while the RC-600 gives you six tracks. To add an extra dimension of spontaneity and realism, you can trigger drum fills whenever you want! The LOOP/TEMPO SYNC options are an important feature of the RC-300 that dictate the playback behaviour of the 3 loop tracks. Its easy to see why when you consider how much control the RC-30 gives you. Removing the expression pedal helps reduce the footprint of the unit and you can still connect two external expression pedals. These effects are applicable to either a single track, multiple tracks, the master output, or even to the input signal. Looping has become the solo performer's way of life. External footswitch support: the number of footswitches plays a big role in how flexible a looper can be. Buying an external footswitch to add to your RC-3 might give you enough control over your loop that you dont need to consider the RC-30. As well, the rotating wheel display gives you a visual indication of the length of the loop. The RC5 is great for a simple looper who just needs a bit of backing and drums in a performance and as a sketchpad for a songwriter who wishes to revisit his ideas later. Find out more here. Check out the price and full details of the RC-600 here. Experimentation with the Tempo/Loop Sync settings for each track can yield different and useful looping behaviours. You can perform an infinite number of overdubs on one track. The BOSS RC-5 is a compact looper pedal with a lot to offer yet small enough to add to your pedalboard.
For example, you could use the RC-5 for your looping and the BeatBuddy for your rhythms. Although the RC-300 has been out for a number of years, it still reigns supreme as the heavyweight champion of floor-based looper pedals.
It surpasses the now-ancient RC-300 in many ways as well as introducing new features not found on any other loop station pedal. The RC-30 is also almost twice the price of the RC-3. The RC-300 features 16 onboard FX, including such useful tools as GT>BASS (adjusts a guitars pitch and tone to sound like a bass), DELAY, ROBOT VOICE and TRANSPOSE (+/- 12 steps). Already, you can probably see why multi-track looping has a lot of potential for expanding your creativity! The rhythm patterns are also a great way to work on your timing skills and build up complex loops. Then youre able to add to each loop as you see fit or stop them when needed. violin pedal It offers the most features and the best system to understand what the pedal is doing. The RC-300 offers options for input signals to route to one of 3 sets of outputs (MAIN / SUB / PHONES). If you are a guitarist who wants to play full verse/chorus style songs and jams in full using a looper and rhythm player, there is an alternative worth considering. As you can see, the RC-1 is a bare-bones looper pedal compare to the other loop stations. This gives you a great visual indication of the length of your loop and what the looper is currently doing. In my opinion, the Ditto X2 falls far behind the RC-3. By using CONTROL ASSIGNS, these functions (and many more) can be configured to be controlled using either external control devices or by reconfiguring the RC-300s own footswitches. If you want to add the overdub back in, hold down the footswitch again for longer than two seconds during playback. Here are the main features of the BOSS RC-500: The RC-500 basically takes the brains of the RC-5 and puts it in a bigger enclosure to give you far better control over your loops and rhythms. Check out the price and full details of the RC-30 here. 
The big advantage the RC-300 still has over the RC-500 is the sheer number of footswitches, controls, and external device support. If youre looking for a basic looper that wont take up much space on your pedalboard, then the RC-1, RC-3, or RC-5 is probably all you need. While the RC-1 is a great pedal, its bare-bones compared to the RC-3. On top of this, there is an entire effects section with 16 effects for you, some notable ones include a guitar to bass effect to give you some bass on your track without switching instruments and distortion for adding some dirt. As you will read next, a better comparison is the RC-3 and the RC-5. Here are the main features of the BOSS RC-1: The best feature of the RC-1, in my opinion, is the indicator ring. The RC-5 features the capability to import and export digital audio between the pedal and your computer in full 44.1 kHz 32-bit WAV format.For the live musician, any audio that has been recorded into the 99 memory slots can be exported for storage. So which one is the better choice? What if you used separate looper and rhythm pedals? BOSS has a large range of guitar effects that could draw from, so hopefully, we will see a good range of guitar-based effects. If you cant think of any reason to run two loops at the same time, then the RC-3 may have everything you need. For most guitarists, this difference is big enough for you to immediately choose the RC-500. The large circular display makes it crystal clear what the current status of the pedal is. Three loop tracks: The RC-30 has two loop tracks. You hit record and mess up the timing of the melody. You might be surprised by how flexible these small looperpedals are. Here are the main features of the BOSS RC-5: The big change with this pedal and the main selling point is how you manage the loops and settings. As mentioned before, RC-10R is built for song-based looping, so each groove that you choose will have two separate verse and chorus drum parts which you can switch between via footswitch. The RC-3 keeps the same compact size as the RC-1 but steps up the features. Contributed by Matt Walsham for the Roland Australia Blog, 1: LOOPING BASICS / SINGLE TRACK LOOPERS2: ADVANCED LOOPING / MULTI TRACK LOOPERS3: ACCESSORIESAppendix A: LOOP STATION Comparison Chart. Having one footswitch means you need to memorize how to control the loop. If youre a complete newcomer to the world of looping, make sure you check out our beginners guide to looping before you continue reading. They can also change FX parameters, change the playback level and deactivate the microphone, or any number of controllable functions. Control Assigns: The RC-300 has immense capability for the user to control dozens of different parameters on the fly during performance. To keep your song dynamic there are also intro and outro fills as well as transition fills for switching from verse to chorus or an instrumental. At a higher level of looping, the ability to create multiple layers of music by yourself is an extremely addictive concept. BOSS created the RC-1 to compete against the incredibly popular Ditto Looper by TC Electronic (read my review of the Ditto here). We will begin by going through the range of BOSS Loop Stations and discuss their unique features, so you can determine which Loop Station will be the perfect fit for you and your music. Check out the price and full details of the RC-300 here. Then youre able to create loops from either instrument as needed. BOSS FS-5U, FS-6 or FS-7). Three individually controllable stereo loops yield another level of creativity available to advanced loopers. The press release for the RC-600 mentions a lot of vocal and DJ-style effects, but I would expect to see a decent number of guitar effects as well. Theres clearly a big difference between the RC-3 and RC-30. The main difference between the RC-1 and the Ditto is the indicator ring on the RC-1. nux jtc While guitarists have been using the RC-30 to play full songs for many years, it seems the RC-10R is now a much better pedal for this purpose. There is a BOSS Loop Station to fit everyone's needs and budget requirements, but finding the right one to suit may be a little confusing, so here is a little guide on each pedal to help you make the right choice. The name Rhythm Loop Station should give you a clue on the focus for this pedal. If your delay pedal is MIDI compatible, you can easily sync it with the RC-300 (the RC-30 also supports MIDI). MIDI gives you an easy way to sync up multiple pedals and instruments. Each track is configurable separately for ONE SHOT or LOOP playback. The ability to connect to a PC to import/export audio files is a handy feature. So in many ways, the RC-500 is a far better pedal. While it may cost more to have two separate pedals instead of the RC-10R, you will end up with a far better rig suitable for performances. There are many uses for looper pedals with one of the most common uses for solo guitarists to create a rhythm track to play over in live performances. This is great if you run a stereo rig, but it can be a great way to experiment with looping different instruments together. beatbuddy pedals akcija The RC-10R was clearly designed for live performers who want to jam full verse/chorus style songs. This can be great when creating atmospheric soundscapes or complex rhythms. Get a looper that youre not going to outgrow in the next few years. Theres a big difference between each Loop Station pedal, so for most guitarists, the choice will be easy. With such a diverse selection of musicians using the wide range of BOSS Loop Stations, its fair to say that there is a BOSS Loop Station for everyone. Not only that, it comes with 12 minutes of looping time available.
An obvious change is the lack of a built-in expression pedal on the RC-600. The first thing to point out is that the RC-3 was released in 2011, so it is nine years older than the RC-5. Or do you need that extra track? With a range of BOSS Loop Stations to choose from, it can be somewhat confusing at times. This is a great feature that should allow you to customize your pedal to suit your own needs. Footswitches: The RC-300 features eight integrated footswitches and an Expression pedal. With RC-500s slightly larger footprint, this also means there is more space for inputs (perfect for live loop performer), stereo ins and outs, a dedicated XLR input, MIDI and Controller/Expression pedal connectivity. I cant imagine many situations where somebody would pick the Ditto X2 over the RC-3. Importantly, it means that 2 completely separate mono instruments (e.g. It crams in a lot of control, but when you break it down to its simplest components, its manageable. You can stop the bass drum track, whilst the others continue playback. The Ditto Looper is mono while the RC-3 supports mono or stereo inputs and outputs. Another example might be to link your RC-300 to a MIDI compatible lighting controller. Or if you want to practice working on a riff, lick, or solo, you can import the audio clip to your pedal and practice playing over the loop. The Ditto Looper became popular thanks to the low price and easy-to-use features. The Count-in mode gives you a bar of rhythm set at a tempo of your choice (using a tap tempo button) before it starts recording. As this loop recording infinitely plays back on itself, you have created your own backing track to play along with. The RC1 is great for a beginner looper and for someone with a full complement of pedals who just wants to build soundscapes and solo over them. Tap the pedal again and it enters playback mode. The RC-1 is the simplest and cheapest loop station pedal. The maximum size for our loopers comes in here with Bosss Flagship looper and everything is enhanced, added and utilized for a great performance or loop jam. By the end of this guide, youll know which pedal is best suited to you. The final entry here is Bosss latest pedal in their looping range The RC10R has been added with more backing for more genres, 280 preset rhythms and 16 drum kits for them to be played on. I havent had the opportunity to test the RC-10R (BOSS dont return my emails), but there seem to be quite a few negative reviews with people dealing with issues. The RC-600 is the most feature-filled loop station covered in this guide. Also, the external footswitch jack can support either a single or dual footswitch (e.g. MIDI IN/OUT/THRU: A full MIDI interface means that the RC-300 is usable in conjunction with other MIDI devices to sync your performances. Youre able to fade a track in or out as you see fit instead of only being able to start/stop the track with the footswitch. If youre stuck choosing between two pedals (eg: between RC-3 and RC-5), I generally recommend the higher model (eg: RC-5). RC-10R is packed with high quality drum grooves and sounds, whether youre playing rock, pop, Latin, jazz or even if you want to get some 808 beats in there! They both have a strong focus on rhythms and two footswitches. More often than not, when you see a live performer creating loops, youll see an RC-30 on the pedalboard. Check out the price and full details of the BOSS RC-1 here (Amazon). Youre able to switch the order of the modes to suit your needs. Setting a track to ONE-SHOT playback allows that track to be played back once, without looping.
The current range of loopers in the Loop Station range are (links to Amazon for price and details where available): In this guide, Ill go through each of the above pedals features and explain who each pedal may or may not suit. After stopping the loop, hold the footswitch down for longer than two seconds and the pedal will erase your loop. The RC-3 adds useful features such as saving up to 99 loops and a rhythm player.