Boss RC505

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

It’s been mentioned in a few threads, but doesn’t have a dedicated one. I’d love to hear what people think of the Boss RC505. Going to read the manual, but I’m thinking it might be a good fit for me…

Thanks!

2 Likes
#3

I was almost completely over it (getting a Boss RC505) but now it is back on my radar for the xxx th time probably.

Was doing all live looping in the box with Ableton but still I return to the idea I could use and would love a dedicated hardware looper with 5 tracks that sync if needed to my OT. The EHX 445OO looks a lot slicker though… .

Here we go again … :nyan:

By the way: are there still RC505 users around here? If so, in what setup?

I mainly want to have fun looping with toddlers and young kids, it’s fun for them and for me. I do not want screens involved, so a dedicated box is needed.

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#4

I think the RC-505 is superb for what it does - 5 stereo loops with FX and a very fast, easy interface. It has a large capacity too so you can lay down a long initial track or prepared backing then add more over the top.
There are a bunch of things it doesn’t do - bounce downs, loop degradation etc. and it doesn’t have the MIDI bells and whistles of my absolute favourite looper, the Electrix Repeater. Nor can it drop freakily to 1BPM or accomplish wild pitch shifts - but if you want no-nonsense looping that syncs up to MIDI clock, it’s great. I should probably get another before people realise they’re the bollocks for live performance.

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#5

I’ve had both the EHX-45000 and the Boss RC-505. The 45000 is aesthetically immensely more pleasing but syncing it via midi was somewhat problematic etc. The RC-505 is very very cool for it’s functionality but the plasticky cheapo feel and bad design choices takes away some of the pleasure. I wish Boss came out with a new multitrack looper with a metallic chassis, a beautiful design and some heft to it. I know they’re capable of that. Every now and then I get the craving for another 505, but I fight the feeling.

The Electrix Repeater is amazing. I wish I had never sold it. Never tried it with any pedals but just working with the front panel worked like a charm. I still have the CF-cards filled with my loops, If I ever manage to get one back.

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#6

Ive got the EHX 45000 and the RC-505. For me each one has features I wish the other had…

The main thing I wish the 45000 was able to do (that the RC-505 can ) is run the 4 loops at different lengths. …the 4 loops are all set to the length of the first loop. On the other hand, I wish the RC-505 had the loop decay / feedback and mixdown functionality of the 45000 as this really lets you play the 45000 like an instrument. If the 505 had these features I’d be able to overlook its hideous appearance as it’d be near perfect.

The EHX 22500, while only offering two tracks , addresses some of the issues above (no mixdown) so is currently my preferred Looper. Shame it has no sliders though :frowning:

2 Likes
#7

Checkout the forthcoming Isla Instruments SP2400. It has the Boss RC505 type looper built in.

1 Like
#8

Wow, that’s an eye (re)opener! I read that somewhere but forgot about that!

Thanks all for the feedback!

Oh, found it again

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#9

I like it a lot – use it every day. The whole charm of the unit does come down to the large buttons, and the way the lights work etc. It’s a good unit that gets out of the way and lets you get on with looping. For me the key features are:

  • any time signature
  • any loop length
  • like the sound overall (converters)
  • MIDI support is decent
  • fast workflow

The only thing i wish it had was internal mixdown, but in the meantime it’s easy enough to copy the preset and delete some tracks and keep going;

Also, it would be nice if there were an easier way to import to Ableton, but for now i have to manually set the tempo and time sig in Ableton, then drag in the loops. It would be cool if it created a live set for each preset, like the 1010 Blackbox

3 Likes
#10

Anyone using one of these for ambient creations. I’d love to hear your feedback.

#11

This was made entirely with slowed-down RC-505 ambient loops with some stoned Hydrasynth improv over the top. It’s nothing remarkable but lemme know if you want a free download code.

1 Like
#13

I’m in the same boat here. Sold my RC-505 because I really disliked the plastic housing. I’d put me off completely. Now I’m quite ok with the EHC 1440 Stereo looper. Solid, does what it shoud do.

1 Like
#14

Thanks, thats very kind of you. Sounds good, very film sound tracky.