Advanced Tips and Tricks Boss RC-600 Loop Station (Midi Control turns RC-600 into RC-505 mkii)
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- How to use an external hand midi controller to make the Boss RC-600 Loop Station work like a Boss RC-505 mkii. Advanced users only!!!! Best of both worlds with midi control #BOSSRC600 #RC600 #KENTON #MIDI #LIVELOOPING #LOOPARTIST #LOOPCOVER #BOSSLOOP #BOSSMIDI #BOSSRC300 #BOSSRC505 #RC505
Please do more of these advanced tutorials - they are so helpful. thanks.
I will try, I'm gigging at least one gig a day for the next month. When I get some down time I'll do some more tutorials.
Loves BOSS gear ✔️
Has touch screen oven ✔️
Probably the best live loop artist walking the face of the earth ✔️
Brilliant, Matt!! My eyes are opened to so much more possibility now - I ordered the RC600 yesterday because of your vids. I sent you a message/question on Facebook but you didn't respond. Judging by this video alone, I'm almost sure I can do what I need to be able to. (Full time Live Looper for 15 years using the RC50.) I'm wanting to create my percussion on tr1, stop, and enable record tr2, then press All Start, thus playing tr1 and recording on 2. I do this for maybe 10 songs but it is still important enough to the whole show if someone requests them or I decide to do them. ALSO I have always wanted a tempo controller at my fingertips, I'm pretty specific on certain tunes for bpm's - If I start my percussion off a little fast, I drop off a couple of notches before recording the next track. I'm thinking a controller would be able to be assigned this way? Thanks for taking the time to do this - I really hope BOSS takes notice of you, your talent, and incredible insights.
You could probably assign track 2 record button to also be All Start to do what you want to do on a specific memory location. You can assign bpm to a knob or tap tempo on an external controller.
Thanks Matt 4 gigs this week using the 600.
This is helpful!
Glad I could help!
Thank you! Your comments and expressions are extremely helpful!
You are very welcome
Just received a Kenton MIDI usb host mk3, and it works wonderfully with my old Korg Nanokontrol 1! (Just a little programming in Mac) A big thumb up for your advices, Matt ! 👍👍👍
Great to hear!
Could you describe the "programming in Mac"? Is it the MIDI usb host, or the Nanokontrol1, that must be programmed to use with the RC600? Kenton says that Roland [which is same company as "BOSS"] devices have a setting option for "Advanced Driver" which must be turned off before using the MIDI host. Was that necessary for the RC600 (or is it already turned off by default in the RC600?) - It shouldn't be this complicated to hook up hand controls for a looper. Roland should make a compatible MIDI controller (like the fictional "-will it ever be released?) Behringer BCR32.
Soooooooooo Helpful!!! Thanks Matt!
Amazing. I'm ordering something similar now.
BUT ALSO?! Why in the world can't I get my Morningstar MC6pro to rec/play...or do anything else to control the RC600?!
Thank you.
You are very welcome sir
Thnx for the cool ideas!!
Hey Matt,Enjoy watching your Looper Gigs when I can..Liked you had your shaker panning..And a Lot more..I Miss the Volume Sliders from the RC-300..This is a Great Workaround..Going to see what Ebay has in the way of a controller like this..I play at home..That is the Perfect Table-top Controller..NOT too Big..Looking forward to seeing how you use this in your Looper Gigs...Keep putting out These Videos...Thanks, Best
Thanks Barflew! The RC-600 technically has volume faders if you assign the 4 knobs under the screen to track levels. But again, like the 300, you would need to crouch and reach down to adjust the track levels. Remember when searching for a controller you need 5-pin midi out from the controller. Most modern, cheap midi controllers only have USB out. You can open up your world of options with a MIDI host like this amzn.to/36dysDg #ad You can get a usb midi controller such as this amzn.to/3t2jM2B and use it in conjunction with a MIDI host to convert to 5-pin
@@MattBoltonMusic wow wow wow this is such great stuff. assign the 4 knobs to track volumes. i love it.
and damn i went searching for a reasonably priced 16 knob controller and found nothing that had 5 pin. i'll keep looking. any pointers would be appreciated.
@@ChrisandDanielMusic Any USB based midi controller without 5 pin would work as long as you have a midi host. I just bought this amzn.to/3tte1LK #ad and will do a video about it when it arrives. It is USB based and will require a midi host like this amzn.to/3qpVP3z
@@ChrisandDanielMusic I have the akai apk224 it has 8 knobs and 8 pass which you can assign to drum functions. I'm pretty happy with it so far, and there are 3 banks so it's actually 24 possibilities
I'm testing out the Arturia BeatStep pad controller and CV/ gate Sequencer..from Sweetwater 119.00..
Hey, great idea, please let us know if that works. I have one of those just sitting around actually! Tnx
@@Larjschoen1 it is a success as a standalone using the larger knob for volume
Dude you should do a vid walking through your live set up, how you program your buttons and approach tunes - do you mostly just use 3 tracks for everything? Do you use track 1 on multi and track 2 and 3 on single mode for different song sections and then do most of your layering with undo / redo? Your fans need to know lol
Thank you! Surgery went well. I'm on bedrest. Should be back streaming in about 8 days
And those 16 midi can be set up per memory. So that is 16 different midi control functions for each of 99 memories, all different if you like!
Yes. But you get crazy if you memorize all 99 different assigns of 16 controllers.
-and 99 different options per memory for almost everything else, so what u really get is 99 different loopers contained in 1 looper, This is a wonderful thing as it compensates for the fact that there are only 16 assigns.. (True 32 assigns would be BETTER [Boss R U reading this??], but still..) with 99 different possible MIDI assign combinations.. (in addition to the 99 different foot switch combinations.) For mad-scientist musicians, this does open up a lot of options.
@@greendrinkguy1882 I don't want it like this. I would like to have much more than 16 controllers to assign but much less presets. 16 controllers is not enough to assing. 99 presets is crazy. There is not very often the necessity to change controllers. 16 presets for 99 controllers would be much better.
Dude thanks for this!!
No problem! Glad it helped.
awesome tutorial man! - do you know if can you use 2 midi controllers if one has midi thru? the idea being one on the floor and one with the attenuators
Thanks. I haven’t done that specifically but there should be no reason it wouldn’t work as long as your midi controller definitely passes thru midi and the channel is set to the right one. Basically the RC-600 will listen for midi CCs. So you can send it from one controller or ten controllers through a midi hub or whatever. The only thing that matters is what is coming through the midi wire and what channel. Make sure it’s sending midi messages and you’re all good. The RC-600 doesn’t care how many midi controllers you have.
@@MattBoltonMusicwow❤
Good info! Thank you. How is the midi clock sync tho? Is it able to work with sequencers and stay in time? Any lags etc? Thanks.
There's some slight lags with midi clock info. It's pretty close. I'd say it's the same as the RC300
@@MattBoltonMusic Thank you for your teply. It's a shame there are so few hw loopers with reliable midi integration. No wonder people stick to ableton.
Can you connect the 505 and the 600?
Not 100% sure but most likely. The 505 and the 600 are basically the same cpu. Same internal brain. Firmware is almost exactly the same. I sold my 505 a long time ago. Should probably get another one some time soon and see if it’s possible. That would honestly be the most amazing looping rig. Best of both worlds. Fun for at home craziness. Not for gigging. There would definitely be some problems with routing and stuff. Would have to have certain instruments on each device. Good question.
@@MattBoltonMusic I just got the 600. I’m gonna try and midi link from the 505 out to 600. I have my midi pedal to my 505. I want to use 505 for vocals and try running Guitars and HD20 to the 600. I’ve been trying to figure out a smart way to do it. I got this weekend to figure it out lol.
@@MattBoltonMusic I’m sure the 600 will do it all. Just trying to figure out how to combine the two. I like to use out effect on the 505 beat repeat and vinyl to mess around with while performing.
Hi, there! Nice video! Can I use the FCB1010 - Behringer to control the RC 600 as well?
Yes you can. Just make sure the midi rx channel is the same as the tx channel of the 1010.
Hi, great video, thanks! Will the Arturia Beatstep work? It has 16 knobs and pads and doesn’t need midi host. Is it easy to configure? Regards from México City!
It should. I don't have one but anything that sends CC#s should work. If it doesn't need a midi host, bonus! Anything that sends 5 pin midi and is programmable to send CC#s (not notes) you should be good.
@@MattBoltonMusic thank you very much! Have a great day!
Let us know how it works.. It appears to be the only (somewhat) small sized MIDI controller that actually has a 5-pin connection, cuz who wants to screw around with a MIDI host if u don't have to?.. but how well, will it really work for U after U try it for a while? Curious.. because the reviews on amazon for that thing are TERRIBLE.. apparently the attenuators have to spin around 4 x to get from low to high.. the buttons have time delay issues..
Hi thks +++ for your videos. All these commands are always related to assigns. I'm controling RC600 output levels via touchosc on a tablet, works perfectly. the only pb is that I already need like 10+++ assigns / per memory used by touchosc... I would easily accept at least 32 of these assigns per memory. I'm then looking for an alternative which is not consuming RC600 assigns...hope i'm clear... Any ideas are welcome. Ths in advance.
Unfortunately that’s the only way I think. I wish the rc600 could be completely controlled via midi. With every command given a unique midi cc. Unfortunately that would’ve taken way too much processing power and they didn’t want to spend more money on more processing chips. I have a feeling the 8 assigns or whatever it is, is the max amount it can handle. Also the unit doesn’t work on midi commands it works on its own proprietary messaging system. So assigning midi commands is a bit of a workaround to its internal language. Basically you are stuck consuming assigns. They’ve given us no other option. Maybe a future version will be completely midi controllable. A rack version or something. That would be great. But right now it’s relatively limited for users that are using it to its limits. 99% of people don’t even need the 8 or 10 assigns. So they figure what’s the point.
Behringer claims to be making a remake of the BCR2000 and calling it the BCR32. It'll be an amazing partner to the RC-600. They said it was coming soon a year ago. I guess they are still working on it. www.synthtopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Behringer-BCR32.jpg
I actually contacted Kenton and told them that the Spin Doctors are in high demand because of the RC600 and they guy who made it wrote back and said he would probably re-release the spin doctor but it has to be a bit different cuz some of the parts are no longer available.. He sounded like he was serious, but then I never heard back after that so not sure if it will actually happen, maybe if a few more people request it... it could motivate them a bit more.
Have you tried memory tempo change via midi controller?
No, I use the RC-600 as the master tempo controller because I need beat detection. Using an external controller to control tempo would cause more problems than it solves.
another soooo useful video! many thanks and big congrats for sharing this with so much passion!
you are really bringing RC600 to an upper level!
what could you recommend as a substitute to Kenton Spin Doctor unit ? (looking for a 16 knobs or sliders unit). You are mentioning below the BCR32, but looks over-weighted for my usage.
I would try to find one of these maybe amzn.to/3tzDlQe
I ordered the behringer one amzn.to/3D6aOVs
It seems programmable, I'll make a video after I receive it.
I also ordered one of these amzn.to/3qUTL43
which also seems very programmable and has 8 knobs and 8 buttons. Seems like best of both worlds.
@@MattBoltonMusic Problem with the Novation II is it puts out so much EMF radiation that (in addition to the health problems..) it makes a buzzing sound if u get your guitar pick-ups too close to it.. Dude made a video about it here (I dropped u in..) ua-cam.com/video/uHrqRPVBDfI/v-deo.html
FOR SALE: Kenton Spin Doctor (that looks a lot better than Matt's) as it still has all the physical knobs in tact. 8 of them work perfectly, 1 is a bit sticky +harder to turn but it also works perfectly, the other 7 should not be used as they have trouble locking onto their CC#'s.. -it's an old relic from the 80's. but this would be IDEAL for ANYONE WHO ONLY NEEDS 9 ATTENUATORS, +wants the smallest MIDI controller in the world that also basically contains the MIDI HOST inside of it (since it also has 5-pin MIDI-out.) That means one less thing to have to program +plug into the wall etc. Reply if interested.
Hi ! I'd be interested in this however I am over in the UK...
@@harrywalkr that might work, we could check the price to ship.. Most people have to pay to have it shipped from Japan which is where the majority of them for some reason are.. I just retrieved your email from your youtube account so keep an eye out in your Gmail +we can talk about it there. I'll send in a few hours after my photos upload to iphoto so that i can include a few pics. or maybe now that i took photos i could post it on ebay..
Brilliant video, wanted more potentiometers for fx on the rc600, thank you!
Ahh successfully using a volume from Arturia called beat step sequencer for a volume on rhythm
As a test run note I make my own rhythm with a wave drum..but options are endless.
Yes. Options are endless once paired with a MIDI host. Here are my recommendations:
Maybe this one amzn.to/3tzDlQe
I ordered the behringer one amzn.to/3D6aOVs
It seems programmable, I'll make a video after I receive it.
I also ordered one of these amzn.to/3qUTL43
which also seems very programmable and has 8 knobs and 8 buttons. Seems like best of both worlds.
The Behringer x touch mini works amazingly. I just got it. Video coming soon.
@@MattBoltonMusic How do you connect it to the RC600? I’m seeing USB out of that unit. Can you control midi commands thru the USB port on the looper or would I need a USB to 5 pin converter (looks like there are little boxes that do this). Can’t find your spin doctor so trying to find an alternative. Thank you.
Awesome Matt! A fan of your loop skillz and music. More videos like this too please. Keep jammin 🎸🎶
Also, would love and appreciate video 101 stuff on your midi use of the Roland HPD-20 with your RC600 👍
I spent some time trying to get the hpd-20 to send some controls to the RC-600 but unfortunately it only sends MIDI Note commands and not CC#s. The only CC it sends is out of the d beam controller. I was able to trigger loops using the dbeam controller but in applications it didn't seem very practical. I was hoping the HPD-20 would be able to have a specific drum set that sends midi CC from each specific pad, but unfortunately it doesn't. I wish the RC-600 would be able to have MIDI NOTES as sources in assigns but it doesn't. Only CC#s. So I only use the HPD-20 as an instrument. Hope that helps.
@@MattBoltonMusic Hey Matt..you are a badass looper who inspires me with this looper stuff..so thought I would ask you a newbie question..
I have the boss FS-7 pedal with my 505 mk2.
I set the fs7 pedal to All Start/Stop. I also turned off Track one on All Stop Track of the Play menu..so when I hit the FS-7 pedal, I want all tracks except first track to stop playing..which it currently does that.
But when I press All Start/Stop on my FS-7 pedal again, l want all tracks to return playing for me...but they aren't. Only track one remains playing..grrr..hope that makes sense.
Any idea what I'm doing wrong here? Or how best to set up my pedal controls to accomplish that?
Thanks in advance for any help here!
Next time im in Cali, I hope to catch a Matt Bolton show 🎶✌️
Dustin
Hello Dustin. I'm guessing you have something wrong in the All Start Track menu and the All Stop Track menu. Maybe try leaving all stop track 1 off and the rest on. And maybe All START track 1 OFF and the rest on. See if that does anything. Otherwise you might need to use some assigns. You could set the all start/stop button FS7 pedal to start and stop certain tracks depending on assigns. It's a bit of a head scratcher and I'm confused about exactly what you want to do. But it sounds like a case of the All Start Track and All Stop Tracks being misconfigured. The possibilities with this pedal are endless...which in turn means the possibilities for confusing menu misconfigurations are also endless. Good luck.
You can use this thing for your tempo up and down…..can you. You had a problem with tempo in your other video…..
I just got click baited lol
Success!! Haha, now while you're here maybe check out my other videos where I actually play songs with the RC600. Or subscribe....or not, whatever.
too much info LOL
Advanced users only!! It’s stated clearly in the fine print! 😆
no it was great info!
Thats it! I'm quitting UA-cam forever! NO MORE INFO VIDEOS!! I'm DONE!!!!
Please don't 🙏 😅