Boss RC-50 Loop Station Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this as my first loop station, completely ignoring the RC-2 and RC-20, because if you're like me, you don't want to spend $100+ on a loop station that is obsolete to a $500 one. I decided to save for a while, and I must say it was worth it, for my desires as a musician. It's much easier to use than I thought it would be. I used one at my local music store and ended up embarrassing myself, because it was the first time I'd ever touched it. So, because I didn't wanted that feeling of embarrassment again, I read the first few pages of the manual on how to use it, practiced with it for a good 20 minutes, and I had it down, apart from a couple little things I learned along the way.
Here's how it works: There is a tap tempo pedal, where you can tap your foot to set the tempo, or you can actually hit the tap/tempo button to set the exact bpm (this is very useful for me, because I want to do electronica music, and having the loop at, say 90 bpm, makes it much easier to sync other instruments like a drum machine or a synth to the loop). The little light on the pedal blinks as a metronome, and it can play drum loops as a guide, which makes thing a bit easier. You hit the record pedal to obviously record, and hit it again when you want it to loop. If you made a mistake, there is an undo/redo pedal for the most recent loop made. There are three pedals all the way to the right title "Phrase 1", "Phrase 2", and "Phrase 3" and you can choose which of these to record the loop in, and you can alter the volume of each in case you wish to have one loop louder than the other(s). And then there's the "Stop" pedal, which will stop whatever phrase is selected. There's a lot I've left out, these are just the basics, the manual has everything you need to know.
Features:
Drums loops: There are plenty of drum loops available, varying different genres.
Reverse: If you're like me, you will LOVE this feature. My favorite band is Boards Of Canada, so obviously I enjoy the sound of music backmasked, which they do in a ton of their songs. You can record a loop in a phrase, and then reverse whatever is being played in that phrase. You can make some really dark moods, or create a very unique sound of drums (Ex. The Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever" has some drum sounds played in reverse).
USB Connector: Exchange data between RC50 and computer.
Again, more stuff I've left out, but I don't want this review to be too long. These are just the features I mainly use.
Pros:
*Easy To Use: I didn't really have any huge problems with it, and got it down kinda fast.
*You can use multiple instruments: Like I said, I bought this because I want to do more with Electronic music, and I planned to use with with a synthesizer, drum machine, computer, etc.
The rest of the pros I'm sure I mentioned earlier. Now on to why it didn't get a perfect 5/5 stars for me.
Cons:
*I could use more phrase pedals: Call me greedy, but I would find it so much more useful.
*Placement of knobs and buttons: I kind of wish this could detach and have a cable to the pedal board. I can't operate all the knobs and buttons with my feet, and I hate having to bend down in order to do that. This is my biggest complaint.Other than that, I'd recommend this looper. For the stuff I want to do in music, I couldn't do it without this.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Boss RC-50 Loop Station

For those awaiting the arrival of the ultimate looper, the wait is finally over. Introducing the RC-50 -- the most feature-laden Loop Station BOSS has ever built. It's the best live looping tool ever built for that matter. Housed in a spacious seven-footswitch floor unit, the RC-50 lets you manipulate three stereo phrase tracks simultaneously.

Click here for more information about Boss RC-50 Loop Station