Boss RC-20 Loop Station

This pedal is a mixed bag when it comes to ease of use. As far as using pre-recorded samples accessable in a stomp box format, this peadal shines. When it comes to looping on the fly, I'm sticking with my Line 6 dl4. Perhaps its the disistance the pedal travels before switching on that makes timing my loops problematic with this device. Whatever the case, I find the dl4 easier to use. As far as the loop quaticize and guide tone aspects of the pedal, they're more a hinderance than an aid. Fortunately, it is possible to work around these features.

Loops sound great. No complaints. Unfortunately, this baby sucks tone. This pedal degrades my signal more than anything else I own: the prementioned dl4, a rat, a klon, a vintage mxr dynacomp, a crybaby wah, a boss tu-2 tuner, a small stone--all on my pedal board.

? I certainly hope it doesn't break.

Because this pedal allows me to realize a dimension to my performance no other pedal offers, I'm giving this baby a high mark in this category. As a stomp box sampler, this thing shines, and being the only one on market doesn't hurt my positive feeling about it.

You can get decent sound out of this although there is a noticible differnce between straight amp plug in.

The overdub function is a delight to have, but the problem is you are unable to correct your overdubs. I also think that the overdub function only works for as long as your original loop is so that is somewhat disappointing.

The manual is excellent. Easy to understand.

I have been using a standard Fender Strat US and all I have used at the moment is a Crate practice amp so, sound quality isn't the greatest to begin with. You lose some depth in the tone when going through the looper. It's not that bad though.

I've had it for 3 weeks and so far so good. I'd use it for a gig since at the moment I mostly play solo performances.

BOss definitely needs to come out with an addition to this looper to include many, many more functions.

Overall, for the price I paid, I'm satisfied althought I'm not a die-hard looper to begin with. I wish I would have looked around a bit more first at the other products and may have been willing to shell out more money for a product with more functions. The RC-20 needs to have a correct function on the overdubs as well as better mixing control (cutting multiple microphones from pre-recorded material). Since I use it mostly to create loops and improvise over them, it meets my needs, but it would be more fun to be able to use it as more of a mixer.

How would I know it has been in the shop longer then I actually GOT to play with it

None.....Still in the shop

Big fat zero. See above

Don't bother with roland, they will send it back broken, you will send it off again, and again, they will send it back Broken.

Though the guy from phone support was rather nice.

I sent it of in October to get fixed again after it was back for three days.

Still not back.

I am selling it ASAP.

Garbage, pure garbage.

I find it rediculous that it takes 3 month to fix a pedal. Insane infact.

This could be the last Roland product that I buy....which would be a shame, since I own quite a few Boss pedals, and like some of the newer ones. Oh well............................................

I downloaded and browsed thru the manual before going to the store to try it out. At the store, I had no trouble figuring out how to use the box and, in fact, the salesman (who did NOT know the box) decided to save a loop I made to demo to other customers. So, I would say this is not a difficult box to use.

I have a stereo setup, which creates a MAJOR problem since the RC-20 is NOT stereo. I am forced to cable the RC-20 before my GT-3, which then goes stereo into a Crate GFX-212 combo amp and 4x12 cabinet on each channel. This means that the saved loop and live playing must use the same effects (dumb, dumb, dumb).

I have owned one for about 3 weeks. It seems sturdy enough and no problems yet. Everything it was designed to do works fine. And, I did buy one, despite its limitations, because, well, what else even comes close for the price?

I will be EXTREMELY upset if Boss doesn't come out with an upgrade with improved features. This box is okay, I guess, for a first release, but I could give Boss a long list of improvements for the next time around.

In this wonderful age of electronics, modelers, etc there is no excuse for a pedal which costs over $200 bucks to not be stereo. I own a lot of Boss gear, so I would have to say that I am a loyal Boss customer, but they really dropped the ball in a lot of ways with this product. People give it high marks because nothing else is better for the money, but Boss can do a lot better. Sorry, Boss, but you taught me over the years to expect really great things. I own the Boss DR-5 drum machine and I keep finding myself thinking of all the neat things I have been doing with the DR-5 for years and how easy it should have been to build these features into the RC-20 ... stereo output ... being able to step backwards as well as forwards .. being able to concatenate individual loops into songs ... being able to load and save loops to and from a PC. Come on, Boss! Stop teasing me! I know you can do it. Lock those DR-5 and RC-20 engineers into a room together and don't let 'em out until they have a plan for a RC-21 ... or, even better ... a DR-51 with all the features of a RC-21 PLUS a built-in DR-5 for rhythm to back up your loops.

If you can not figure this pedal out you will most likely have a hard time making it through life. :) This is as straight forward as one can expect a pedal to get that has so many features in such a compact unit. When I received this device, I plugged right in without ever opening the manual and just started to loop bass tracks one after the other. After about 10 minutes I had a pretty fat jam going on, 6 tracks + or something like that. All of my loops were different lengths in time, ranging from 5 seconds to 2 + minutes. I quick referenced the manual and saved the track so I could work more with it at a later time. When our drummer came over we plugged his V-Drums into the instrument input and had him lay a nice groove over it. Since I was already running everything through my Roland 1680, I just started the loop, pressed record on the Roland and let it play for a few minutes. The amazing thing was we had no problems at all with volume levels and there were 6 bass tracks, one drum track, and 2 percussion tracks all looping at once. You just need to listen to the levels before you start recording and remember to always save after each track, this way you can redo your loop if you screw up. But never save unless your sure you like what you hear. Once saved theres no turning back, which is to de expected, this is a loop station not a multi track recorder. Damn, I was happy I even had the option of saving at all. After wards we burned it all to a CD and brought it to my guitarist to work with. Doesn't get more easier then that.

No problems here and I'm picky about sound. My play a Ken Smith Bass into a Fodera Pre Amp which runs into a ASH Down 500 EVO head. To top it off I have a Epifani 2x12" cabinet perfecting the overall sound. I did not have any trouble adding this piece of hardware into my setup and did not find it to enhance/diminish my sound at all. I may have added a little more high end after plugging into the unit come to think of it. But that's to be expecting when ever adding or taking anything out of your rig. The important thing, NO NOISE!

Not sure yet, I've only had these pedal for a week or two. I am nervous based on some of the reviews I have been reading on this unit. However, the same people this pedal seems to be breaking for are the same people that say it's hard to use or it's changing their sound. My gut feeling says this pedal will be a part of my rig for some time to come. As far as using it on a gig, I can't wait too! And if it breaks oh well, improvise, your a musician remember. If you need something like this to get through a gig theres much more you should be worried about then just your equipment. :)

N/A

I think this unit was originally intended for guitarist. However it's IDEAL for bass players. When I don't have my hold band in the room I have to use a lot of imagination when writing songs. But if I lay a solid groove with my bass I can start to improvise some of the other parts to get a better idea of what it is I'm trying to write. For writing solos it works great. And most of all it's fun to use. Every time I plug in I seem to be successful with working out ideas and coming up with new ones. That's something you just can't put a price on.

Update on a old review.......

Update on a old review.......

I got it back for three days, it's still broken.....sent it back to Roland AGAIN.....

I'm getting mad.....

It has spent more time in the shop then it has being used......

Update on a old review.......

I would not buy one again.........Personally, I wished I bought a Repeater or a Boomerang, they cost more, but MAYBE they would ACTUALLY WORK.

Then again, I have bad luck with these.....my Line 6 is dead as well.....second time it's been in the shop in a year......

I do not abuse my gear....I EXPECT it to work everyday, and I do use it for long periods at a time......I expected these two companies would make gear that lasted.

I'm now going to save for a boomerang......why not, I have read that many bad things about them, and they seems simple enough......

First two things about the RC-20 Loop Factory; it's not as simple as it looks, and it's NOT a Delay/Looper like the Jam Man or the Line 6 Delay Modelers. Sound quality is relative. It will probably take you a while to tweak the Input and Output controls to get the right balance between your direct sound and your loop. The first time I used the RC-20, I found that my loop was coming out at a much lower volume than I would have expected, given the setting on the knob. There is nothing in the manual to help you find unity gain, but overall, this manual is a little less obtuse than the usual Roland-speak. I think a lot of people are going to be fooled by the simple format into thinking that this is also a Delay pedal. If you love doing lo-o-ong "Frippertronics" style delays on a fully loaded Jam Man, the RC-20 isn't going to do that for you. It's more of a hybrid Sampler pedal, really. You can store loops, of different lengths, up to a total of 5 minutes and 30 seconds of recording time. Unlike the Jam Man, the length of one loop doesn't determine the length of the others; you can have a 2 second loop, a 4 second loop, a full minute loop, all stored as different "phrases." One improvment over the Jam Man and the Delay Modelers, you can store your loops even when the RC-20 is turned off, which is sweet if you've worked up a really great loop that you want to use again. The downside is that there's no good way to load loops from the RC-20 to anything else, no MIDI Out, no SmartMedia card slot. You can use the single Output jack to record your loops into some other Sampler, or recorder, that's all.

I usually use a GT-3, a Line 6 Delay Modeler (the pedal) and the RC-20, with different Gibson and Hamer-style mahogany-plank guitars. Mainly I play a Hamer Special with stock P-90's. My live signal chain runs Guitar -> RC-20 -> GT-3 -> Ibanez VL10 Volume Pedal -> Line 6 DM4 Delay Modeler. From the Delay Modeler's Outputs I go direct to a mixer, house sound system or recording deck, depending on where I'm playing and what's there. I've gotten used to setting the levels on the RC-20, but it took me a bit of experimenting. The loop Output seems to be independent of the direct signal, which takes some getting used to. You can set the Input knob to where the peak indicator is lighting, but when you hit Play, your loop may come out as a faint whisper if the Output level isn't set high enough. Set the Output too high, and you'll bring up some noise, too. If you change instruments, or gain levels, often, you'll spend a lot of time turning those two little knobs. Otherwise, the sound is fairly clean; if I overload the input, I expect to get a noisy loop, but I've also found that I need to drive a pretty good signal into the RC-20, so I don't add noise turning the Output knob up too high. I usually put the RC-20 in front of the GT-3, for three reasons; it allows me to have a constant gain level going into the RC-20, it lets me use the stereo jacks on the GT-3 and DM4, and it lets me add some Delay after the looper so that my loops don't just cut off abruptly. I strongly recommend placing a volume pedal after the RC-20, if you want to get a controlled fade on your loops. A lot of players have complained about the quick cutoff, and a volume pedal is the best solution I've found.

Like most of the folks who post reviews here, I can't afford a backup for every piece of gear I own. I buy Boss gear because it works for me; I also take good care of my gear, so it tends to last. I've used the RC-20 live, with no problems. I feel sorry for the folks who've had bad luck with Boss/Roland gear, but so far, my Boss/Roland gear has never failed me.

Never had to deal with them, except to order a manual for another piece of gear; they got my order right, that's all I can tell you.

I play what some people call electronic guitar, using the guitar almost as a tone generator, then abusing the signal with effects, while driving loopers, sequencers and long delays in place of backing musicians. My approach to music is less cerebral than Robert Fripp's, and more aggressive than David Torn's ambient textures; I don't tend to map out my solos before I play them, and I like a guitar sound with some serious bite to it. You can dance to some of my music, although I wouldn't classify it as "dance music." The RC-20 works well for me in most ways; I love the long loop time, and I find the pedal format very handy. I chose the GT-3 and the RC-20 for live use so I wouldn't have to haul around a rack, a pile of pedals and a monster amp, and I'm pretty happy with my setup. I do wish the RC-20 had stereo jacks like the DM4. It seems kind of shortsighted to design a looper with mono jacks. The Line Level/ CD Input accepts a stereo 1/8 inch plug, but within the RC-20, that signal is collapsed to mono. I haven't used the little CD Input jack at all, and I don't expect to. I'm not sure who will, really. It seems more of an afterthought, or a wasted attempt to push the RC-20 at DJ's, who already have plenty of Boss/Roland toys available. The pedal format isn't ideal for DJ's, who don't spend a lot of time looking at their feet, and there isn't really anything else that DJ's will want. There are no onboard effects, and the quantize function is less useful than it seems. The RC-20 is clearly aimed at guitarists/bassists who want to make loops on the fly, and I think most of us would have preferred to have stereo jacks. The lack of MIDI Out, or access to any other storage medium is another letdown. Really good loops deserve to be saved in a more durable format. One other minor gripe; I agree with the reviewer who was "peed" about having to buy a power supply, too. I know that adding more knobs, switches or jacks to the RC-20 would raise production costs, and therefore retail prices, but by the time you buy two more footswitches and a power supply for the RC-20, you'll have spent another $75 or so. If my RC-20 were lost or stolen, I'd have to give some serious thought to the cost of replacing it. I got mine at a really good price from a local store, a price I wouldn't expect them to match, now. Most catalogs are selling the RC-20 at right around $320; add $75 for the footswitches and power supply, plus shipping, and you're over $400, up into the price range of the least expensive samplers, most of which have stereo jacks, MIDI ports, or some kind of SmartCard slot. I'd really have to think about the pedal format vs. more jacks/outboard memory. Right now, I'm glad I don't have to make that choice.

The line 6 delay or the Akai headrush are a little easier to use....the choice of on/off switch for a phrase sampler are not the greeatest since you have to account more for the footswitch to stop recording then you do with thoughs boxes

I did it's job....easy to use......

10 slots to hold samples in.....

Totally servicable......A fine Looper.....

Here is a shock......6 weeks after I bought it, it's dead....

Got home from work....Plugged it in and everylight started to flash on/off....tried a adaptor, different batteries.....Nothing.....

Reliability is up there with the line 6 delay modeler......It is also sitting BESIDE my Line 6 delay at a local music store waiting to be repaired......

I called Boss too see if they knew about the problem.....they were very nice actaully....

Also, the new website does not suck.

Solo musician........play almost anything......used this pedal on everything from a guitar, to a sitar, to my vocorder......

It is in the shop now......

I don't know.....If I had it over again I would have bought a Electrix repeater........I love his pedal....But it just does not seem reliability enough for me to right now....Maybe I just got a dud, and it will be fine....

Own or have owned tons of Boss pedals.......Name one....I've had it, sold it, or didn't bother with it (like the Slow Gear.....the most overrated pedal in history) and this is the first time one has failed....

Now, all I have left is an AKAI Headrush.....and it seems to be on the way out too....

I'm buying a Repeater.....My filter Factory and Vocorder have not failed me yet.........

If you're using this as a basic looper for live applications then the Loop Station is great. It's as easy to use as a Boomerang or a JamMan in that regard. If you're using saved loops then it requires a little more pre planning with regard to order of loop and volume of loops. I haven't tried to use it in any other applications so I can't comment. But then I bought it to use in real time, so I thinks it's a no brainer to use. The manual is okay.

I use the Loop Station with a variety of set ups and it works well. You do have to be careful with getting a proper mix between the input level and the loop level. Once you figure that out you're golden. It's only noisy if you don't have your levels set right. I use it with a Peavey Transformer 112 and a Fender Powerstage 100 and a Parker Nightfly and Takamine LTD 98. I am able to get great sounding loops with any combination, plus I always have some effects before the looper. It works best if you use the send/return loop on your amp instead of going thru the front end.

It's a Boss so I'm pretty confident in it. I recently used it in a gig where it rained (I was under a tent) and it got a little and there were no problems then or after.

I play solo jam-based stuff and the Loop Station is great for it. I have a JamMan (which I love but it's not as portable and has less memory) and I've had a Boomerang (much bigger unit with less memory). I've also had an Akai Headruch (too noisy, less memory, harder to use) and I have a Line 6 Delay Modeler (less memory, sounds just as good). The Loop Station is good sounding, more portable, and has way more memory and options. None of the above mentioned items let you undo an overdub (you'll have to spend way more $ for that options) but they all work well. For the money, the Loop Station is great.

Pretty straight forward though finding changes in level between inputs after switching off to be quite weird

Not quite CD or HD recording quality but does not interfere with mastering straight to CD

Only had it 8 weeks

Never needed to speak to them.

A bit peed off about having to buy a separate power supply though.

Having used a PC for hard disk recording for about 6 years and a 4 track for about 6 years prior to that it is a pleasure to get back to producing a useable track in less than 8 sessions!

It's just like the good old days witha 4 track where ideas can be generated quickly with a minimum of hassle.

We're prone to writing quite a few instrumental tracks in a variety of styles and this unit is ideal for creating soundscapes and moods very quickly.

If you don't have a plethora of outboard effects & effect racks be prepared to get some as the RC 20 has none of it's own.

We use a variety of Boss distortion pedals, Kork Pandora's Box, Zoom 9001, Zoom 1202, Alesis Midiverb II and a few other bits and pieces. Since I took the RC 20 out of the box nearly every effect I own has been spread all over the studio floor.

This thing kinda grabs you this way and you just want to get sounds and ideas down as quickly as possible.

You have to be a bit cute with how you use the RC 20 and plan memory spaces in advance to ensure that a psuedo 'undo' is available as the unit does not have this built in.

I tend to save a good loop into another memory/loop space keep the original and build over the copy. There appears to be no degradation in quality using teh unit this way as long as the effect you use is not noisy. This also helps create peakes & troughs in atmosphere and allows a 'mix on the fly' element to recording to CD.

I looked at purchasing various other loopers before deciding on the RC 20 due to it's long sample time and obvious cost advantage over other competitors (e.g. Boomerang).

I've seen David Torn use the Jamman in a live situation although never used one myself. Some of the features reputed to be include in there would be nice but obviously for Roland in the cost vs functionality curve the RC 20 unit has been produced to compete at the budget end of the scale.

If you're fed up with programming and want to get back to being a musician again I'd recommend the RC 20. - It will force you into learning how to programme those pesky effects units though....