Get the latest updates/drivers, owner’s manuals, and support documents for your product. Register Products MIDI IN/OUT: A comprehensive MIDI interface means that the RC-600 can be used with other MIDI devices to sync your performances. If you and your bandmate both use MIDI-equiped loopers, they can be synched to the same tempos and loop lengths via MIDI for perfectly synchronised performances. Note: If you want to know when the Boss RC-1 was released relative to other Boss looper pedals, we’ve made a timeline here. Straightforward Features

Two separate footswitches allow you to play and stop or record and overdub, making it a great option for live players. Four different lights ensure you always know where you are and what’s happening with the loop, especially important when improvising on stage. There’s a lot more functionality under the hood too, but you’ll need to add an external footswitch to get the most out of this looper.Although the premise of using a looper is simple, it actually takes a bit of practice to get used to using one. Some loopers have just one switch, meaning you’ll have to get used to double-tapping, single tapping, or holding the switch to manipulate your loops. For those loopers with multiple switches things get a lot easier, and having a dedicated play/record and stop switch is definitely a useful feature. The “mono to stereo”-feature suggested by Howard above does not seem to work in this case: the stereo channels are separate. The BOSS RC-10R stands out from the rest of the loop stations and was clearly designed for a specific type of guitarist. The DL4 MKII sees a significant upgrade on the original’s capabilities but retains an easy-to-use ethos with four separate footswitches to control your loops. It’s got up to 240 seconds of looping time, which goes down to 120 seconds in stereo mode, so whilst it’s not as long as some on this list it’s still plenty to be getting on with. The downside of the RC-5 is that it still only uses one footswitch. While you can connect external footswitches, that’s an extra cost that could go towards a bigger unit.

The RC-30 is possibly the most popular looper pedal of all time with live performers. More often than not, when you see a live performer creating loops, you’ll see an RC-30 on the pedalboard. It’s easy to see why when you consider how much control the RC-30 gives you. The right footswitch can play fills at any time as well as fills when you want to switch it over to the second pattern (eg: switching from verse to chorus). Who is the RC-10R for?

What’s really useful, is the coloured LEDs indicate exactly where you are within your loop, as well as give you a countdown to the start point. This visual aid is perfect for helping you to perform in time with your loop. IT will also inform you which mode you have the looper set to. On the other hand, if you’re a live performer and plan on heavily using loops in your performances, it’s worth considering the RC-30. Running two synchronized loops at the same time gives you a lot more freedom when building layers and starting/stopping parts. If you get to the end of the song, for example, you can double tap and hold and it will stop the loop and delete it, so you’re ready for the next one. However, if you double tap to stop, and maybe you’re not sure if you’ll need the loop again or you forgot to hold it down, you then have to play the loop again for a second or so whilst it deletes. As soon as you’ve recorded a loop, the overall cycle duration indicates loop length. This means you know exactly where you are in the loop at any point. It’s an extremely useful feature for people who like to work with long loops or build sonic soundscapes that don’t have a formal bars/beats structure.

I want to replace my old RC-20XL with a much simpler unit and a better sounding unit (RC 20 does affect the sound!). I’m hesitating between this boss RC1 and a TC Ditto. Ditto seems to have the best sound quality (is it noticeable?), but I like the LED on the Boss and the switch seems more reliable. What about the sound quality on this boss unit? The RC-1 is the simplest and cheapest loop station pedal. It was designed as a basic looper to compete against the extremely popular Ditto Looper by TC Electronic.If you’re searching for a simple looper, then it’s hard to not recommend the Boss RC-1. It does a lot with just a single footswitch, plus it gives you the option of adding more functionality with an external pedal. Twelve minutes of record time and unlimited overdubs should be plenty for most players too. It’s great to be able to jam along with basic loops, but there will be times when you want to take things further. All of these controls are all freely assignable and easily customisable, and you can create entirely different custom footswitch setups for each of the 99 memory slots. You have a lot more control over your loops, the ability to store recorded loops on the pedal, and mix in rhythm patterns.

My guess is that they were going to call this the RC-50, but because they had an RC-50 in the past (now discontinued), they felt that RC-500 would be a good model number. If you are new to the world of looping, the RC-1 is a great option, as it has a simple layout and is easy to use. Quite simply, you press the pedal to start recording, press it again to add layers and double-tap to stop - that’s it! As you’d expect from TC Electronic, the sound quality is impossible to fault, while techier loopheads also get MIDI sync and loop transfer functionality, as well as the ability to configure how overdubs and serial loops record. Unlimited overdubs: some looper pedals are limited with how many overdubs you can add to your loop. Unlimited overdubs mean you have the freedom to add to your loops as much as you like. The original reviewer proposed that 12 minutes recording time without memory slots is a waste of precious capacity. After I toyed happily with this nice, simple but effective tool for a while, a lightbulb went off over my head. This is one looper, where you *never ever* have to worry if your loop will be long enough – everybody will be fast asleep by the time you get to the end. Since you want to concentrate on playing, that is worth something in itself.MIDI control: when you get to this level of looping, you’re probably going to want MIDI. MIDI gives you an easy way to sync up multiple pedals and instruments. From the most value priced Loop Station (RC-1) through the entire range, the features you can find on every Loop Station are… Sound on Sound Recording with Unlimited Overdubs Yes, you can use a looper with any guitar amplifier, just plug it in as we’ve mentioned in the questions previously, and away you go! We’ve yet to come across an amplifier that doesn’t work with a looper pedal. The RC-300 is the top-of-the-line looper from BOSS and it’s an absolute beast. As big as a typical multi-effects floorboard, it gives you complete control over your loops. Every loop station pedal has an input for an external footswitch. If you ever feel limited when controlling your loop station, try adding an external footswitch. BOSS RC-1 Loop Station