Boss RC-500 Loop Station Pedal

This thing is solid! very well built, nothing is flimsy about it. I bought it specifically over other models because it can use battery power for use in the field. I am military and don't always have power where I want to make music. After several hours of use now, it is very user friendly and easy to use. The instructions actually make sense! Its ability to overdub what you just played or sang (it has a direct mic hookup with phantom power) makes for a fun and professional sounding experience.

When you're making a stereo pedal board and you need a stereo looper pedal this is probably your best bet. That's mostly because there aren't really any other currently available stereo pedals but it's also because you're getting great quality with Boss. I'm going to list some pros and cons that I think are the most important.Pros:- simplicity- Fairly easy to use- 3 stomp button controls add to the ease of use- lots of storage ( this is a big feature as I like to store riffs so I can practice along or have them loop over and over while I try to come up with new leads or new riffs)Cons:- size, it's a chonky pedal that'll take up a decent amount of space on your pedal board... This is a given mostly because of the three stomp controls and the stereo in/outs- ... MoreWhen you're making a stereo pedal board and you need a stereo looper pedal this is probably your best bet. That's mostly because there aren't really any other currently available stereo pedals but it's also because you're getting great quality with Boss. I'm going to list some pros and cons that I think are the most important.Pros:- simplicity- Fairly easy to use- 3 stomp button controls add to the ease of use- lots of storage ( this is a big feature as I like to store riffs so I can practice along or have them loop over and over while I try to come up with new leads or new riffs)Cons:- size, it's a chonky pedal that'll take up a decent amount of space on your pedal board... This is a given mostly because of the three stomp controls and the stereo in/outs- the input and outputs are too close together for some cable jacks like the Ernie ball flats patch cables and prevents similar or even other cables from plugging into adjacent inputs/outputsOverall an amazing stereo pedal with great quality looping and memory. The cons really aren't that big a deal but I figure they are important things to note for either making room for it on your pedalboardor or for what cables you might need to consider are the best fit, so I took one start away. Otherwise it's one of the best stereo looper pedals I have personally owned.

Great Looper pedal with just one downside

Great product from Boss. The sound is great, the drum computer (rhythm section) is a lot better than I expected and the menus are very intuitive after a little practice. Would recommend this product to anyone looking for a looper pedal. Obviously you can get cheaper looper pedals, but the two track functionality and ability to connect several instruments including a mic is really worth it.The only negative from this looper pedal is the fact that it drains batteries within 4-5 hours in my experience. It is nice they added the option but in reality you are obligated to use a power supply which Boss conveniently sells for €30, while stating you may only use their manufactured power adapter for safety reasons..

I would recommend.

This is a great piece of kit…it’s my first looper. I bought it for sketching out song ideas and using it as a practice tool. I really noticed how it sharpens you up in a real short space of time.I found it a little tricky to use from the off as the instructions aren’t very good. I found more info on YouTube than anywhere else from demos and reviews.All in all its really good quality with excellent sound.I would highly recommend this for a first timer like me or an experienced looper.

Versatile and fast response

This two track looper is easy to use and the switches click-in on the one beat accurately. Nice choice of rhythms, although the 10R and RC-600 feature more rhythms from the drum machine. I use a Lehle P-split III in front of the unit in the pedal chain to obtain a direct out to my amp to free up output A and output B of the looper (assignable). I send output A to one dedicated track and output B another dedicated track, with A having rhythm/drum sounds and B having recorded loops. This way I have three independent tracks. I send live guitar from the Lehle direct out to my amp. Output A and B from the looper I send to a Headrush powered speaker. If you need more outputs, the RC-600 has this and IRs. Naturally, there is no need for the Lehle and sending the tracks in ... MoreThis two track looper is easy to use and the switches click-in on the one beat accurately. Nice choice of rhythms, although the 10R and RC-600 feature more rhythms from the drum machine. I use a Lehle P-split III in front of the unit in the pedal chain to obtain a direct out to my amp to free up output A and output B of the looper (assignable). I send output A to one dedicated track and output B another dedicated track, with A having rhythm/drum sounds and B having recorded loops. This way I have three independent tracks. I send live guitar from the Lehle direct out to my amp. Output A and B from the looper I send to a Headrush powered speaker. If you need more outputs, the RC-600 has this and IRs. Naturally, there is no need for the Lehle and sending the tracks in different directions. Live guitar, recorded loops, and drums can all be sent (default) out of output A into an amp. Powerful unit, great sound quality. It has buffered bypass, but all signals are AD/DA to the outputs. Using the Lehle splitter preserves the analog signal chain. The sound quality is crystal clear on this unit regardless of how the routing is used. Nice job Boss!

Very good, but be aware of input limitations before you buy

I got this quite recently and I'm having lots of fun with it... but I'm surprised by how weak the input gains are for mic and instrument level signals. I suppose they have given the instrument inputs plenty of head-room so that you can connect line level signals from keyboards or preamps but I don't understand why they have given the microphone input such feeble gain. If you connect a dynamic mic (e.g. an SM58) directly to the mic input and shout into it with the gain turned to max, you still cannot get it to peak and you immediately notice that the mic signal is very quiet compared with the internal drums. The instrument input is not much better... single coil passive pickups are very weak.... My active LR Baggs M80 and i-beam are a bit better but not great... You ... MoreI got this quite recently and I'm having lots of fun with it... but I'm surprised by how weak the input gains are for mic and instrument level signals. I suppose they have given the instrument inputs plenty of head-room so that you can connect line level signals from keyboards or preamps but I don't understand why they have given the microphone input such feeble gain. If you connect a dynamic mic (e.g. an SM58) directly to the mic input and shout into it with the gain turned to max, you still cannot get it to peak and you immediately notice that the mic signal is very quiet compared with the internal drums. The instrument input is not much better... single coil passive pickups are very weak.... My active LR Baggs M80 and i-beam are a bit better but not great... You can manage by fiddling about with the internal level controls, but it isn't very inspiring in terms of signal to noise... For my preference, I would only connect this unit after some pre-amp stages i.e. after a mic preamp and a guitar preamp (e.g. Fishman Platinum or an LR Baggs Venue DI) or in the effects loop of an amp or after mixer preamps using the aux or the effects loop or a main insert... All of these work fine... Just be aware that plugging a dynamic mic or pickup straight in to the unit as they show in the manual will be quite disappointing.... but when you get a good setup... Lots of fun!!!

Worth the upgrade

I have used the Boss RC30 for three years. I create rhythm and instrument loops, store them in the memory and use them in live performance.The new RC500 is a significant improvement. Firstly the sound quality is so much better particularly when overdubbing as the clarity of each layer is maintained. Secondly the rhythm patterns are very usable and very flexible. I previously created drum patterns in Logic and imported them as wav files. I have just created presets for two new songs using the built in patterns and they are great. Thirdly the new menu system allows you to control each song individually. For example for most songs I keep the foot-switch configuration as start, stop and track change and use an additional switch for all start/stop. However, on two songs ... MoreI have used the Boss RC30 for three years. I create rhythm and instrument loops, store them in the memory and use them in live performance.The new RC500 is a significant improvement. Firstly the sound quality is so much better particularly when overdubbing as the clarity of each layer is maintained. Secondly the rhythm patterns are very usable and very flexible. I previously created drum patterns in Logic and imported them as wav files. I have just created presets for two new songs using the built in patterns and they are great. Thirdly the new menu system allows you to control each song individually. For example for most songs I keep the foot-switch configuration as start, stop and track change and use an additional switch for all start/stop. However, on two songs I use the additional foot- switch to turn the rhythm pattern on and off.Finally you can import your old RC30 presets but you do need to convert them to 32 bit floating point waves using a program such as Audacity or Sound Forge.

a quality, well thought-out, aid for musical expression

I have rarely relied on a loop machine in my 33+ years of performing music. I've had a DigiTec JamMan for a long time but found it too difficult to co-ordinate short phrases into a piece. I used it more with sampling of ambient sound than musical phrases. I've only had the Boss RC-500 for a short time but already find it much easier to use. I haven't even experimented with the percussion aspects but I can see great possibilities. I'm a great fan of Boss and Roland. They make quality , well thought out, aids for musical expression. What a creative company they are, indeed!

boss rc500 looper

used the rc30 for a few years, good but the 500 is on another level. easier pedal control, and reassignable if you want. can send the outs to different locations, so i play guitar through my marshal stack but then send any recorded loops direct to the mixing desk and out the monitor speakers, whilst the live guitar continues through the marshall. this give great volume control over individual tracks on the mixing desk as well as the track level controls on the 500. my only grip is that no of inputs are still limited to 1/4 in and mic in so creativity is required in what you connect and how.

not made for verse/chorus

Sadly, this pedal doesn't support verse/chorus very well and I had to return it.It sounds great with the 32 bit processor and it's built well. Even in simultaneous mode it still requires an awkward pedal dance. Too bad the firmware missed the mark on this one. Had great potential.I hate having to return gear. Makes me sick to my stomach. Should have done more research. I saw "Two Track" and just assumed they would have thought about fully supporting verse/chorus with varying length tracks and without an awkward pedal dance.