Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

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Mecler
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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by Mecler » Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:18 am

I had a RC20XL that I was okay with, but then I discovered a weird off tempo metronome sound coming through. It totally messed up my timing on the loops. I traded it for a Jamman and I like the digitech much better.
Burn the South.

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thingsthatfly
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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by thingsthatfly » Fri Apr 22, 2011 7:17 am

first thoughts

basic controls: press left pedal to record, press again and it will go into overdub mode (an improvement on the rc20 I think) press again and its just playback (this can be changed to record-playback-overdub rc20 style if wanted). Press right to stop current track, press right pedal and hold to switch to second synced track, press right pedal twice to stop both tracks. Press right and left pedals at the same time to clear track (well awkward)

gonna get one of these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BOP-Dual-Momentar ... 1e614cc7dd

with the additional foot switchs: press addional left once and it will switch to the other synced track, press and hold and it will switch to the next memory slot, press additional right once and it will turn the effects on and off, press additional right and hold and it will shift down a memory slot, press and hold left then right and it will change the effects.

effects:

bend down: sounds rubbish
step phaser: sounds rubbish
swep filter: kinda like it, very clean pumpkins esque on layered tracks
tempo delay: standard
lo-fi: sounds really rubbish

pros: the synced tracks are good for adding and stripping away layers, giving more flexibility than the rc20's undo/redo. I like that it can instantly start to record an overdub as soon as the original has stopped recording

cons: the you can't change stop mode on unsaved tracks (I used fade out alot).

you can only do 4/4 or 3/4 time signatures (rc20 could do any should have kept this and lost the fx).

no reverse (gimmicky but I liked it)

there doesnt seem to be any way to switch between synced tracks which mutes the unselected one automatically this would have been good for letting

you record different parts of a song and switch between them

still no stop and save option with your feet meaning you still cant really use this to record and play different parts and go back and forth in real time

the pressing both pedals to delete is really awkward it would be good if once you have the additional footswitch to switch between synced tracks if you could then make it so the right pedal works like an rc20 i.e hold down right to erase track as it is you can make it so if you have the additional footswitchs the duplicated functions of press and hold are taken away but not additional functions in their place shame.

overall I think boss have blown it, the rc20xl had its limitations but was really easy to use, this fixes some of those limitations but puts in others and is difficult to use, think they shouldnt have bothered with the effects and concentrating on making sure that the rc30 has all the same functionality as the rc20xl plus the extra features, as it is neither does everything I would like. Gonna keep it though as the synced loops are useful and will really help with how I write, and the increased capacity means I wont have to worry about filling it up and having to delete something I like.

I wonder if the usb connectivity will allow any updates and changes to be made to the pedal, also has anyone had any experience with the new vox loopers?

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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by 2n3904 » Fri Apr 22, 2011 7:52 am

Thanks for giving such an honest appraisal.

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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by echobaseone » Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:50 am

Indeed. Thanks for the review. I'm happy with the RC-20 in free mode for live shows, and will soon (today I hope) have the Apogee GIO to do some composing on the fly.

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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by thingsthatfly » Fri Apr 22, 2011 3:50 pm

played around with it abit more, by far the most frustrating thing with it is how hard it is to erase a loop with your feet, with the rc20xl if you realise youve fluffed it you just press down the right pedal for two seconds and then try again with this one if you have used both synced tracks you have to press the right pedal twice to stop playback, then press right and left at the same time to delete the current track, then press down the right pedal for two seconds to switch to the other synced track then press down right and left to delete that track then you can start again. You can always just bend down and press delete but I think it is pretty essential to be able to control that with your feet, even if they couldnt accommodate that with the pedal youd think they would have made it one of the additional footswitch options, would be far more useful than being able to scroll through the effects that will barely be used my most I imagine

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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by 2n3904 » Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:10 pm

That's boss for you; gimmicky feature for johnny demarco to show off in a demo rather than a practical addition every time... (LS-2 excluded!)

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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by ice9 » Fri Apr 22, 2011 7:05 pm

thingsthatfly wrote:played around with it abit more, by far the most frustrating thing with it is how hard it is to erase a loop with your feet, with the rc20xl if you realise youve fluffed it you just press down the right pedal for two seconds and then try again with this one if you have used both synced tracks you have to press the right pedal twice to stop playback, then press right and left at the same time to delete the current track, then press down the right pedal for two seconds to switch to the other synced track then press down right and left to delete that track then you can start again. You can always just bend down and press delete but I think it is pretty essential to be able to control that with your feet, even if they couldnt accommodate that with the pedal youd think they would have made it one of the additional footswitch options, would be far more useful than being able to scroll through the effects that will barely be used my most I imagine
Thanks thingsthatfly. I've been waiting for reviews like yours.
Does the manual say anything about using an external FS6 type footswitch (like the one you linked to) solve this issue? :)

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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by thingsthatfly » Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:36 pm

according to the manual the additional footswitchs can only switch between synced tracks, scroll through memory slots and turn on/off/switch between effects, thinking about it though so long as the next memory slot is free switching to the next memory slot would delete an unsaved pair of loops so maybe that is a way around it

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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by ice9 » Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:32 pm

Thanks :)

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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by Jeff E » Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:56 pm

I'd love my RC 50 if it weren't for the latency issue (probably ¼ second or more) when you begin playback of a fresh loop. That and the EXTREMELY annoying tendency for the guide sounds to kick in sometimes when you don't expect them to. And my own retardedness in learning how to program the damn thing. And the pidgin English in the user's manual. Other than that I'm happy. Seriously, the ability to create three separate loops on the fly and switch between them is great.
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Re: Boss RC-30 / RC-3 Looper

Post by fakeplasticdreams » Sun Apr 24, 2011 5:19 pm

Jeff E wrote:I'd love my RC 50 if it weren't for the latency issue (probably ¼ second or more) when you begin playback of a fresh loop. That and the EXTREMELY annoying tendency for the guide sounds to kick in sometimes when you don't expect them to. And my own retardedness in learning how to program the damn thing. And the pidgin English in the user's manual. Other than that I'm happy. Seriously, the ability to create three separate loops on the fly and switch between them is great.
the rc 50 gets overlooked a lot but i know a lot of musicians who loop a lot swears by it.

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