BOSS RC-500 Dual-Track Loop Station – Advanced two-track looper with premium sound quality, Loop FX, 99 phrase memories, 57 rhythms, and MIDI control support

Product Information

I’d also suggest, for live performance, you might be better looking towards the larger Boss RC-600 which offers more in the way of inputs and connectivity but will come with a steeper learning curve. Custom assignments are saved along with phrase memories, letting you instantly reconfigure the RC-500 for any application. With its versatile I/O and free-flowing interface, the RC-500 is ready to support all your musical visions. You can stop and start each track to create different musical sections or overlays, which can really help expand how far you take your loop compositions. Nevertheless, we would have preferred the device to work with a rechargeable battery instead of regular AA batteries.

The 2nd one instantly better the volume of the 2 tracks consistent, the sound quality is great and the 2 track function is great too, still learning it.Guitar Guitar Limited trading as guitarguitar acts as a credit broker not a lender and is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm registration number 742103. While the older unit had a just two footswitches, supplemented with a fairly busy upper section, the RC-500 adds an extra switch and streamlines the top. If you have questions about operating your BOSS product, please check our Knowledge Base for answers to the most common questions.

Connect mono/stereo instruments and pedal effects, plus a mic to the dedicated XLR input—complete with phantom power if needed.

Using the TRS MIDI input/output will enable you to save space and operate this pedal remotely through MIDI switchers and foot controllers. It can do tons of stuff – with two independent tracks, two footswitches and plenty of nice extras like on-board effects – but it’s still compact and affordable enough for more casual looping. When it comes to creating top-notch looper pedals, BOSS make some of the very best out there on the market. In addition, the RC-500 ships with 16 internal drum kits with 57 pre-programmed rhythm loops and A/B variations.

Support for expanded control is facilitated via optional external footswitches, an expression pedal, or MIDI. I really enjoyed having the option of mixing between two tracks, the creative possibilities using this pedal are fairly endless. I have a tiny bit of hope left that if I had an atomic MIDI clock with nanosecond precision, loop syncing could still work.

The Boss RC-500 is the big brother of the RC-5, which we talked about in another review What is this relatively new device capable of? There is around the same number of buttons, but the design has more of a focus on minimalism and simplicity so it’s less daunting as a new user. And, even if you do, you can connect via USB to a laptop and import/export WAV files to your heart’s content. I don't really have need for the effects, and would like to disable them, as occasionally I trigger the effects when tapping the left pedal (and the default effect is the Bend Down, which drops the signal frequency, and is very jarring when done accidentally).