Boss RC-20 Loop Station

This is my second review of this product. I first reviewed it back in Jan 2001 shortly after I bought it. I thought it would be worthwhile to reflect on what I thought of it now that I have had it for the better part of a year.

I can honestly say that, the things it is capable of, I never had any problem figuring out.

Currently, I am into sort of a one man band setup. I have keyboards, guitar & GT-3 pedal, Electribes, DR-5, and mike going into a Mackie mixer, which in turn has four line outs going to a Korg D1200 Digital Recording Studio. The RC-20's sound quality is quiet enough and distortion-free enough for my gear.

But, and this is a huge but for me, it is impossible to sync up the RC-20 to the rest of my rig. Which is why the RC-20 is now in my closet where all my other devices which are no longer useful reside.

I've had the RC-20 for the better part of the year. Everything still works, so I would say it is a pretty reliable box. But, if was lost or stolen, I would not replace it. Truth be told, I may just sell it some day.

Now, to the pertinent point I wish to make. Quite simply, all the things the RC-20 does well can be done better with a digital recorder.

This box is a bear to sync up with anything else. I have seen a bass player use it with a live band, but they got it to work by making sure the rest of the band sync-ed up with the RC-20.

Many reviews of this product tout how it makes you a better player by being able to jam against previously looped ideas, or better yet to layer several ideas together. And, this is true. The problem for me is that a digital recorder does these things so much better, is so much more versatile, is so much easier to sync up subsequent tracks, is not limited to 10 tracks (my D1200 has 96 virtual tracks), is not limited to a few minutes time (the D1200 can record 122 hours of audio on its 40 Gig hard drive), and the list goes on and on. The D1200 is four times the price of the RC-20, but note that there are now entry level digital recorders you can buy for around the same price or less then the RC-20. Such devices record to a smart media card instead of a hard drive like the D1200.

You are better off spending your money on a Digital Recorder than a looper such as the RC-20. A digital recorder was an expensive alternative back when I purchased the RC-20, but that stumbling block has now been removed thanks to entry level digital recorders such as Zoom's MRS 4 and PS-02 recorders.

With the two pedals, it's pretty easy to set basic loops and overdubs are simple, but there are some nagging quirks: you can't set a loop less than a couple seconds, the tap tempo is finnicky; the beat is onoxious and is WAY too loud even at its lowest setting, rendering it nearly useless unless you want to blow your eardrums out, smoke crack and worship satan. Actually, that sounds kinda fun. i also think the instrument and output knobs don't work very smoothly--it's hard to set even levels quickly. finally, the reverse and save buttons are a nice feature but they're tiny and you have to bend over and search around for them--try doing that in the middle of a song! i think boss sells a pedal for the reverse feature seperately--nice to squeeze a bit more money out of us, but for three hundred bucks i would think that the reverse should just have its own little stompable pedal built int! my biggest bitch is that once you set the loop it's louder than the guitar was while you were recording it--this makes it really hard to lead to without getting buried by the loop--you have to turn yourself up whether it's convenient or not, and if you're up all the way, you're out of luck. if anything, it should get a bit quieter, or optimally be perfectly even. this is something boss needs to remedy. it loses a couple points for this cause it really annoys me!

it could be worse though. if you just want to set basic loops and jam with yourself, this will work fine.

i have run both acoustic/electrics and electrics through this into several different amps, but mostly my fender hot rod deluxe--i've also run direct to a p.a. usually when i think digital i think clear sound with little if any noise floor, but the rc-20 is more on par with a cassette tape--it's a but mushy and with a slight bit of noise. servicable, but could still be better. and the metronome beat sounds worse than your mom farting.

i only use the line/instrument input; i don't use mic cables with TRS's anyway so i can't say anything about that.

it's a boss so it's pretty sturdy, its overall haft makes me think it wouldn't be qutie the tank that boss' single pedals are--i wouldn't want to drop this one--but you can still stomp the living crap out of it. i also use and highly recommend an ac adaptor--i don't want to be throwing all those AA's in it all the time and let me tell you, when the batteries get low, the thing pretty much just craps out with little warning. that said, i'd depend on it, with no backup necessary.

never dealt with them. i thnk it's got a decent 5-year warranty though, which is nice.

i play all kinds of music from rock and heavy stuff to blues, folk, jammy stuff, and so on...been playing about 2-1/2 years now, and have come a long way in that time. My gear changes around a bit, but i play an alvarez pf90sc acoustic electric, '99 schecter t-1 (p-90/neck duncan '59/bridge), a fender jazzmaster, an old fender p-bass ripoff and various friend's guitars have been plugged into this pedal as well. for amps i have a tweed fender hot rod deluxe, and a shitty little peavey blazer as well. also have a morley pro-wah, chandler rack-mounted tueb driver, lousy boss hm-2 an ibanez fuzz which seems to have died and a dod which i, um, broke. if the rc-20 were lost or stolen, like say i tossed it through someone's windshield and they drove off with it, i'd consider a new one if i had the cash, or at least something similar. i didn't really compare it to anything. i'd seen other people using them and it works ok for i wanted to do--make simple loops with maybe an overdub or two and play along with them--and for that it's a useful tool. i wish it sounded a bit cleaner and i wish

easy but not always good for improvising.
no loops under two seconds.
it takes two seconds to eraes or save a loop and ther is no way to subtract or quieten portins of the loop. you must bend dowen to save a loop
BEFOR you have the opertunity to make a non destructev mistake, ie ther is no undo.
also it is not posable to save subsiquent vershons separetly without bending down.
no dry out , an fx loop wold be good.
no separet meranome out , the sounds are horid.
lots of potentil and very fun but frustatingly flord.

sounds good, even the mic pre sound ok.

myn has started to make a loud glitch ocashonly, power suply i think.
but atherwise fine in a live situation, tough i wold recomend a volum pedel and a/b as ther is no way to fade in or out other than bending down .

not as good an expresiv devise as the haed rush and not as flexibl.
no half speed like the line 6 machean.
good for inserting tieny fragments but my old 4 sec boss delay/sampler could fade segmants as well.
but 5.5 MINUTS of looping is very usful. and the unit is solid and atractev
i play it alot and am only a littel frustrated with its short cumings
biecos i love it so mutch.

Nice petal it works great. a simple over read of the the instruction
will put you on your way. The unit comes with a cd filled with a few sounds however if you are into hame recording your going to have a lots of fun. It would be nice if the unit came with a slot for a smart
media card I guess the unit was oready was on the drawing board way after the big storage hipe came around. I think you will see this option on future units

Sounds pretty good. Very help full in determining what you really sound like. also the sound, sounds great boss did a great job with this petal.

What's to say its Boss

I have called boss in the pass they then to be very reliable.

I cant really give a response on this matter because I just got the petal however I see it to be a great overal tool for today's musician.

Incredibly easy to learn and operate, it is easy to edit the patches because there isn't too much you can do to it. I picked it up easily in a day.

Crisp and Clear,very nice. I have used it with an acoustic/electric Alvaraz Koa, and a Gibson Les Paul special, both through a Fender performer 650.

Very Dependable, have only had it for a short time. The only thing is I would not be reckless with it like you can be with other boss pedals, because this is bigger with more chips inside and I feel like it could knock something loose or bust a circuit.

Haven't tried yet.

Awesome.

Read the small manual, play with the knobs. Ease of use is the biggest advantage of this looper.

I play it direct into a sound board and through headphones at home. I haven't noticed any degration in sound quality.

Seems solid. 5 year warranty. Boss has good rep.

Don't know.

I use it for song writing and to add depth to live performances. I don't over rely on it for live performance. If I've practiced with my band and it worked in rehearsal then I'll use it but only if I feel there's no other viable option. If you're not using an electronic drummer and running everything through a sound board with perfect whole band monitoring your drummer will need a headphone feed to be able to sync to it. The unit seems to have little competition. It ain't perfect but it ain't bad. It's a very popular gadget as can be seen by the # of guitar players singing it's praises. There's room for improvement but is Boss the only company out there smart enough to pull this off ?

The unit is pretty easy to use. Manual is okay. I bought mainly to practice with. It really enhances your playing. The only thing I don't like about it is that the Tap Tempo knob is difficult to get to a decent volume. On my unit, the distance between too loud and too soft is only a hair. It could just be my unit though. I've had it for about 2 months now.

As I said I use it mainly for practice and I love it! I plug my G&L Legacy right into the unit and from there into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The sound is fine for me.

So far, no problems. But then again, I haven't taken it out of the practice room.

N/A

If this unit was stolen I would replace it. It really helps you get the most out of practicing. I've only been playing for 5 years. Since I've had it I can honestly say that I've gotten better at playing.

I have been using the RC-20 for about a month now. The loops and layers sound pretty good in my opinion. The manual is easy to read and in theory is pretty straight forward on how it works. I bought this unit with the intention of using it a live band situation. I'm still working out the best way to use it for gigs. It is cool for special effects and sound bytes that you can record into the RC-20 such as electronic sounding effects. As far as layering guitar licks during a live performance, I'm finding it very difficult. First of all you better have a drummer that keeps a very steady beat otherwise it will throw the whole loop off. You must also be very precise and also have a great sense of timing and rhythm. What I would suggest is when your beginning a loop, to have the entire band bring the volume way down so they can hear you making the loop. Let the loop run for several measures until the rest of the band is comfortable with the tempo that the loop is going at. Basically the band must follow your tempo. Once that is established than you'll be set to record the layers.

Some obvious excellent uses for this pedal is for practicing licks, solos, and substitution chords. If you use this as a solo act than it will be fairly easy to get the loops in synch.

I play a Les Paul through a Marshall Valvestate. And use a Korg effects unit. I don't use much distortion but like to use a lot of delay and auto wah effects. It sounds great, it's just getting synched up with the rest of the band that is a major challenge. You'll need a patient band.

So far it is dependable and sturdy.

Never dealt with them yet.

I play rock,jazz,funk,latin styles of music and I will be able to use this for many different functions. I've been playing for about 15 years. Using this pedal in a live situation with a full band is the biggest challenge. If anyone has any tips or recommendations on how to make that easier please email me !

This really isn't an effect so much as a tool. The sound that goes in is the sound that comes out. As far as I can tell no color is added nor sound degradation evidenced. Very clean. The manual is very clear and there's a cd which I haven't even checked out. I rated it an 8 because it's a little tricky to get used to the timing although I can't imagine how it could be simpler. A little practice and you'll be spot on perfect.

This unit doesn't color the sound, it simply records what you play and then loops it, allowing you to add more layers if you like. You can run anything through it. I run it in the effects loop of my amp so I can record a particular eq/distortion setting then play over it with another. The digital sound quality is as near perfect as I can determine. This tool will make you a better player, guaranteed! You can lay down your own rhythms and play over them or layer bits and pieces to produce very complex loops. It has the capacity to record 11 loops and with an optional outboard switch pedal you can rotate between these loops. Very nice performance tool. It also has the ability to reverse the loop or reverse a track as you lay it down providing some very interesting effects.

Been stomping on this for about 4 months now with no problems whatsoever. I'd be confident using it without a backup, but if someone will loan me a few bucks I'd like to get a couple more of 'em.

Never needed it.

The usefulness of this box goes beyond styles. It provides the opportunity to jam with yourself or to perform solo on a very complex level. I've been playing for over 40 years and this is the best money I've ever spent. I don't know that there's anythings else like it on the market. I only wish it had more versatility in switching between recorded loops. The ability to rotate through loops is nice but the ability to choose a loop sequence or to switch to any loop rather than the next one in sequence would be marvelous and probably will show up on subsequent models.

This unit is very easy to use, yet there is a trick. You have to be fast with your feet to correctly loop your phrases so they flow togethter nicely and evenly...but I'm finally use to operating this unit.

I love the fact that you can store up to 10 loops and play them back when you're playing in a live situation. Even though, I think I would store up to maybe 4 loops and use the remaining time to create loops "on the fly."

The manual was also very informative regarding tempo changes, reverse playbacks, and how to save and delete loops on this unit.

The sound quality on this effect is superb! No cracks, no hisses. I am still using my Guild Bluesbird for my electric guitar, and a nice Ibanez classical guitar for my acoustic stuff. It's all going trough a Mesa Boogie nomad. I'll admit that I do have good sounding gear, but even through a nice PA system, the Boss RC 20 still gets the job done.

My favorite artists are Earl Klugh, Chet Atkins, Lee Ritenour, Pat Metheny, and Larry Carlton. It's so refreshing to have a loop sampler with good sound quality, that will allow me to play in my own unique style, because I do write my own songs in a "smooth jazz" format. The Boss RC 20 also allows me to keep track of my songs when I'm performing them live. Just write down what particular songs you have a the loops (1-10) and play back the saved loops in a live situation when you need them, and you have it made in the shade!

Boss has been making quality and consistent products for over 25 years. This unit is built tough, and I know that I can depend on it, if anything should happen to it.

I have never dealt with the company, but they have a 5 year warranty on all of their products. Now that's customer satisfaction!

I highly recommend this unit to anyone who would love to expand their musical horizons. It has made me become a better guitar player in this sense: by listening back on your overdubbed phrases. From this I can key in on my own strengths and weaknessess.

I have been playing for over 7 years. I was selected as the All-State jazz guitarist in the state of Florida, and I made FSU's top jazz band. I know quality when I see it and hear it. With all of the other gear I own (including a Boss DD-3 delay and a Yamaha acoustic) I can honestly say that this unit is a keeper, because it enhances my musical abilities.

If this unit were stolen I would buy it again, even though I'd have to save up for it, but it would be worth every penny!