I hardly ever comment on videos but this is so helpful! Ive had this exact issue and by the time id get the "perfect" timing, i wouldnt even be in the mood to play it anymore due to the frustration of it all. I Tried it once and I can already tell it's exactly what was needed to clean up my loops, thanks for the video dude!
Thanks. Got the pedal a week ago, following your tutorial was the first time I was able to get a half-decent loop going. Boss should put you on the payroll! :)
Thanks,great info well explaned.I bought a RC30 over a year ago and gave up on it due to my timing.Going to go back to it and use the video,again many thanks.
Thanks very much david, I bought my rc30 about 2 years ago and just couldn't get it, so boxed again hoping one day I would get good enough to retry. Well the urge to have another bash came, I found this vid, set it to auto and within minutes managed to do some basic loops. I feel like a whole new world of guitar has opened, this is one of the main reasons why I learnt guitar. I'm now after a keyboard to add into the mix
Glad it was helpful to you! Spending time working out how to get it working the way you want before trying to do anything creative is worth the time. Once you have figured it out you can get it to work for you.
I get a kick out of these commenters who buy a loop pedal, then blame the pedal for their own shortcomings. There is NO LAG between the start and end of the loop...the pedal will play the exact loop you define, so you HAVE to be VERY PRECISE about the foot tap which both starts AND stops the recording of the loop. You must count while you play and make sure you tap EXACTLY on the "1" to start, and then again on the "1" to stop the loop recording. It helps if you forget the count-in and tempo, and simply start playing the phrase you want to record before you actually record it... play through it at least once as you count, then hit record on the "1" at the start of the phrase while you keep playing and counting.... finally hit the record button again (NOT the stop button) when you get to the "1" at the end of the phrase you want to loop, but KEEP PLAYING for a few seconds! That way. you don't stop playing in anticipation and record some of that silence at the end of the loop. And remember, LIKE ANY TALENT, IT TAKES PRACTICE!! As for your complaining about the pedal, answer me this... when you bought your first guitar, did you complain on the internet that the guitar was defective because your playing didn't sound like Eddie Van Halen's right away??? I would hope not!! You practiced! These machines require the same!!
The thing about this looper is that it is activated when the pedal is released and not when it is pressed down. This really got me because I have another looper pedal and that works on the press down. It wasn't until I saw a video here on UA-cam that shows you how to change it that I realized there was a difference. I must start reading the instruction manuals!
I just bought this pedal today before going on You Tube to see what's being said. As you stated, a lot of negative comments are being said. A lot more to the point of. Did I make a mistake and have to return it. After your demo/ video, I'm a bit more at ease with my decision. So I wanted to Thank you for clearing up a lot of my confusion. Great demo by the way. Thanks again...
Thanks for the video very insightful and very helpful. It's true that the pedal has so many features but it's just about taking the time to do it get used to it and this video helps you take it one step further.
This is very helpful David, thanks. I have a very good sense of rhythm and it is a pain to get the tempo right without that count feature you talk about. Glad I watched this, it should be a breeze from now on! I always learn things the hard way 🥴...
There is some small delay when switching playback to a different bank than the one already playing. I think this was just an oversight by Boss, who expected most people just to use it to create "layers" of tracks over each other, rather than store seperate phrases and switch between banks while playing back. If you are in any doubt try the pedal out first in a store to check if it will do what you are looking for! It fits me just fine because I use it as a sort of "drawing board" to record ideas into and mess around with. Secondly, if you are only recording guitar I would advise getting the smaller RC-3 pedal. I find myself not using the dual tracking very often, and only use the Mic input once in a while. I wish I had just got the RC3 lol.
@David Macca Brown ~~ Thank you soo much man hahaha yes very simple .. but as you may know there are some people (like me) who skip the instructions till it's too late and I'm searching for this particular video haha Thanks again
I like this feature of the RC-30. I was looking at the Line 6 DL4 as well, but I think the big difference between the two is that the RC-30 is more meant for at home and recording (AKA usb connector and metronome feature). Whereas the Line 6 is more for live playing.
You have to change the settings of the pedal functions so that the stop button “stops” on the pedal pressing Down, right now it stops recording on the pedals “upstroke”. Hence a split second delay.
I also have the RC-30, so I can respond: *You can to do that* without affecting pitch, but (perhaps) you can also get some glitches when slowing down, because of the sample rate frequency (44.1 kHz), so you shouldn't go beyond "x2" or "x1/2" of the original tempo in order to keep a tolerable sound quality in the recorded loops. Hope it helps, cheers!
Any one know how to set the distortion pedal BEFORE the loop pedal? Cant seem to work it out, and everything I loop is distorted which is not what I want
This is the set up I have in the video, the recorded loops are played back with the distortion, I could turn off the DS-1 and play clean over the looped parts if I wanted.
hi guys.i have this pedal connected with other two pedals(reverb,delay).i want to record loops with effects(reverb,delay)but have effects only in record,not in playback.with other words,i want to have different layers with different effects.how can i do it?because i recorded with effects but when i turned off the pedals,loop's sound turned to clear.please help me
Can you record / swap between channels without the lag for live performance without the tempo button that you never have time to click during the performance?
Hi there, I recently bough a Line6 DL4, but the issu is I want to play distorted guitar over a distrted look, the problem is the loop drowns out the guitar, do you need a separate mixer to do this adequately or does the RC30 allow this?
Do you know of a way to stop the rhythm track after you have set the tempo and then just for it to restart with the count in? I would like to set the tempo for a song before we go on stage and then when we get to the song in the set just select the correct track and hit the go button and the count in to start.
Yes it is possible to do this, the RC-30 must be set on the "Count In" recording mode. After setting it to this mode (must be on fresh bank for it to work) you can turn on the rhythm track with the "ON/OFF" button, to tap in the tempo. You can then press the "ON/OFF" button again to stop the count. When you press the left pedal to begin recording, the rhythm track will automatically turn on, and give a 4 beat count in before the recording begins (the rhythm track will continue playing during recording). Honestly I think it will be difficult to get the pedal to work with a full band, you will probably need to send the output from the looper to both your amp, and to the drummer's monitor or headphones, unless your drummer and other members have extremely good sense of timing. Keep in mind that any effects/overdrive you have from your amp will be applied to the rhythm track as it comes out through the same output which may cause things to clip.Hope this helps, if you have any more questions just let me know!
Do you know if you can set the tempo to an actual value? Four example if I'm recording over a beat of 120, can I set the loop to 120 with this looper? If not, do you know one that does?
Question about this pedal: While making the initial loop, when pushing the button to end recording, does the pedal automatically sync up the end of the loop to the timing of the rhythm? Or do you need to push the button exactly on the 1 beat? I would imagine that if the pedal doesnt automatically sync, unless one's timing is insanely accurate, there would be a slight difference in the length of your recording and the length of the rhythm that is playing, and after a few iterations it would start to become off. Can anyone let me know how this works or what their experience is? Thank you
Nice. Have you or anyone else been able to save your work and upload it to a computer? I got bored with this pedal several years ago because I could not save anything or transfer files to a computer.
Ahhhh, I always thought even with the count in that you had to start playing when you hit the pedal. I didn't know you could start playing after you step on the record pedal; then it actually starts recording when you start playing your riff.
Can you pleaaaase tell me how you are recording this? I'm completely new to this loop pedal and I don't even know how to connect it to my soundcard/laptop to record/video what I'm doing. Thanks!
i just recently got this looper (very first time) and so far I really liked it. I know it needs lot of practice to master it. One questions though, how can i handle rhythm/melody change, like chorus... can I handle this without any additional pedals? thanks for your feedback in advance.
The one I am using in the video is made by Loopi Pedals. I bought it from their eBay store here: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Footswitch-for-Boss-RC-3-RC-30-Loopi-Pedals-/221600320486
davidbrownguitar Great. So if i understand correctly: These loopi pedals (2) are used to switch between left/right banks? do they serve any other purpose, like stop/start?
The Loopi pedal does the same as any dual footswitch would for the loopstation; one single press of left turns the Loop effects on/off; one single press of right switches between the channels of the looper, holding right cycles up through the banks, holding left cycles down. The Stop and Start are performed by the RC-30's own footswtiches as normal.
Great video, this information is really valuable! I happen to have one question: what about time signatures in the CT-mode? You said it'll count one bar, so I guess you mean 4/4, innit? What about other time signatures? For example 3/4 or 5/4. Can the looper loop that? My guess is yes, but still with the 4/4 initial counting, isn't it? Thanks in advance.
It can do 3/4, and 4/4 beat as I know. As standard it set up at 4/4. There are some future that are set as standard that should not be set as standard. I am not a very experienced in music yet. But why set pedal to stop loop when you release the pedal and not at the push down etc. Such thing you can change so that it's so much more user friendly to use. Actually because of this video I did learn one more needed thing. So, suddenly I play real loops, it fits. So there is a little learning curve. This tips make it more easy to use. But any thing can be learned, even the hard way, if so to get better at timing... Anyway a needed future for us that play :)
Off topic, I notice your Boss DS1 Distortion, have you had it modified? They are definitely not the original knobs and I'm sure it sounds different than stock standard.
Hi, thanks for the demo! I play with another musician and we want to combine out loopstations. Is it possible that he plays a beat on his loopstation, which then becomes the input for my loopstation so i can play loop that don't go out phase with his? He has a Boss RC30, I need to buy one. Thx for responding
+Hugo van Engelsdorp Yeah that should be possible in theory, if you run the output of his into yours, have him set up the rhythm on his, having it running into yours means you can both hear it and play in time.
+davidbrownguitar Hello! Have you tried the Digitech JamMan Stereo? Im having a hard time deciding on which looper to get. The main use for it will be recording and storing ideas at my home studio. Sometimes I come up with ideas and it cuts my inspiration the fact that i have to turn on the pc, mic the amp. etc to record these ideas. With a looper i can record on the fly and then send the wav´s to the DAW! Between the rc-30 and then Jamman, which one do you recommend for those needs? I play ambient music mostly, so that means i have three quality delays on my pedalboard and i wouldnt use the effects on the rc30, also the reverse setting on the JamMan would work well for ambient ideas. Thanks! Great tips!
Hi! great video, I didnt know about these features so it was a big help. My questions are about backing tracks/rhythm. I basically want my looper for bass and drums so that I can solo over the top, but I'm having trouble getting a good solid rhythm section going. Although i like the snare in the background like you, I'd rather it had a bit more interest, basically drums. I tried using the boss tone studio for rc-30 and I uploaded a load of rhythm tracks to track two of each memory bank, but the phrases are only two bars long. Therefor each of my loops can only be 2 bars long. my questions are: can i make these rhythm tracks loop independantly of track one (indefinately) so i can do more than 2 bars? if not, can I change the preset rhythms to ones from the boss tone factory? (i hope you're listening boss, this would have been such a cool feature) because quite honestly, they suck. if i decide to forget the rc-30 rhythm section and get a seperate drum machine that I plug into the input, will the tap tempo recognise the drum machine rhythm correctly via an internal tap tempo detector? thanks! sorry if these questions seem a bit long winded, you seem like a guy who knows what hes talking about with these machines, cheers!
+ali ray Hi there ali, sorry for taking a while to get back up with you on this... As far as uploading files to the RC30 goes, I think you are limited in loop length by the length of the files because they are probably transferred as WAV audio files which do not contain tempo information so the looper has only the start and end of the actual file to synchronise with... if that makes sense. I never used the Boss tone factory ones, so am not really sure. If you have access to music software like Logic/Cubase... you could make some loops of the desired length there and transfer them to the pedal? For an external drum machine, you can use that... but there is no MIDI output on the RC30 to send out tempo information to the drum machine (this is actually a huge fail on Boss's part with this looper... guess they were saving that for the bigger flagship looper) so to get this to work, you will probably have to set the RC30 rhythm function to off, and really nail the timing with when you start and stop recording. It might be possible to get the start time accurately using the "auto" mode, where the looper starts recording as soon as it receives a signal on the input. You would still have to manually stop recording using the footswitch though... hope this helps you. It is a bit frustrating, the RC-30... (why I eventually sold it...) once you get into the depths of looping you begin to realise the shortfalls it has, this is probably just a price to pay for having a more compact looper. In my opinion if they got rid of the effects (cus lets be real, they are fkn useless...) took out the built in beats in favour of offering a proper click and MIDI to send out tempo information it would have been a much more useful pedal. There is plenty of space on the left and right sides for them to add a MIDI port...
David Macara Brown Man that's so disappointing! Thanks for replying as its good to hear that my suspicions were kind of true. Saves me looking for answers where there are none. This is almost useless for what I want as I wanted to be able to record both tracks simultaneously. I agree the effects are total shit, probably great for someone who wants beatboxing craziness, but I have always hated out of the box effects, or certainly effects banks. They just sound cheap and nasty to my ears. As for the drums, they are so limiting, and the "different time signature" is a joke. The midi link would have been so useful, like you, I'm amazed they didn't include it, but I'm glad you mentioned the auto record as it may offer me a solution to getting somewhere near what i'm after and not render this pedal completely redundant. Weirdly I just wish it did less, but did it all well. I'm still gonna persevere with it for a while before i sell tho! what setup do you have now if you don't mind me asking? I'm running a beatbuddy and bass guitar into mine, and outputting to two seperate amps for each instrument. it seems to work ok for now for my simple backing tracks.
Nowadays I just use a Line6 Pod HD, has a looper built into it... so now I have everything in one box hehe. I sold all my pedals, can't be bothered with all that stuff these days, easier to have one unit doing everything!
While playing RC-30, if I'm on Track1 and I've recorded multiple layers on it + I'm in the middle of the song, I want to clear the Track1 completely using Pedals, not the small button, is it possible? If I'm track1, and start loop1, then over that - loop2, then over that loop3. Finally, if I press left paddle for 2 sec, it deletes loop2 and loop3 but keeps loop1 going. I want to get rid of loop1 too. Example - Ed playing this song ua-cam.com/video/vxP8FIFH2k8/v-deo.html. At 3:10 (ish), he clears all the recordings in Track1 and starts another track there. Any help would be appreciated.
Yes, the issue is precisely the same as 'punch-in' and 'punch-out' while recording stuff, and you just have that slightly dodgy bit on one track you decide you cannot tolerate, must put right. Sure, if you have all the tracks in the world, you just lay down and pick and mix. However, for reasons of the tech available to you, you may not have that. So, you have to crash into an otherwise good track, and drop in a short 'repair'. With my old tape four-track, the mechanical nature of the process, meant it was exactly this devil you articulate. If one were not a perfectionist, one might suggest we need a 'fit it to the chosen number of bars' option. IE like with those cameras in your car that are always recording, but only actually SAVE anything once they detect an accident has occurred (sudden G-forces etc trigger it to do this). We could do with that function here. So, forget having to time it right, count yourself in, you'd just hit the pedal to make recording start, the metronome or drum beat would run for a bit, and you just play the riff when you feel like it, and hit the pedal again to stop. This 'ideal' system I describe, would then have a button called 'fit-it' you could tap, to make the loosely-dropped riff, fit the pre-programmed number of bars you wanted. Like sequencer recording software 'quantizes' notes into 1/8th or 1/16, even if you actually made several notes more, or less long than that, or even out of time. It would 'regularise' the loose thing you'd laid down. I mean, you could say, it's not going to be perfectly as you would like. However, I don't think it has to be perfect with a loop - it's a rough and ready system by design no? Quick'n'dirty is the entire point? If you wanted to prat about with Cubase all day for the sake of a quick bit of practice, you would. Setup time, hassle, complexity, and you might not have such a program anyway. Otherwise, loopers wouldn't exist. So, I say, that's a mod they could make - we drop the riff down, roughly counted in, and hit the 'fit' button I am imagining, and it does the task of keeping the pitch the same, and making the overall riff, fit the preferred amount of time. Especially with the likes of this RC-30 - it's not one of the bargain-basement loopers. Gawd, I sweated over that punch-in pedal...air-operated you know, like old camera rubber bulbs that tried to disturb the camera the least possible amount...
No, I come from Ayrshire & Renfrewshire, ask anybody, we only speak in 'Received Pronunciation'. RP is hard to explain, but the best example is the Queen. Obviously therefore, anything else is a like a foreign tongue. !
Hey man please help! how do you all clear a loop? Like if im playing with a loop i just made how can i clear and start recording another fresh new loop? what do i have to press?
+nick 55555 It's just a cheaper alternative to the "official" boss added footswitch, does the same things change banks etc. but for a third of the cost! I got it from eBay!
here is my problem with the countdown recording. it is quite awesome if im playing 3/4 or 4/4 rythm patterns. automatic recording mode is the same thing just without the countdown. it still records to the end of the last four beats. but the thing is in my country, we have so simple (like 3-5 chords) songs which are also very beautiful but they are in some different rythm patterns like 7/8, 9/8 or 11/8. how to loop those kind of rythms? thanks for the video btw, i learnt these functions from you.
hasen akkhaya Hi there, glad it helped. I think to loop the more difficult rhythms you will need to use the normal recording mode, and just be very very exact with your stopping of the recording. For example, try to time your foot press for the "stop" with the instant the next "down" beat of the repeat of the phrase would begin: for example in 11/8: press for RECORD count 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-(1... beginning of next phrase) and press for STOP exactly ON the next "1" after the end of your phrase. If it is a 4 bar phrase you would count four bars of 11/8 like above, and stop on the first "1" of the fifth bar... maybe that will work. The tricky part with this is getting the timing of the stop press correct. The looper is not recording to the count when doing this, so it will not correct any badly timed stop command.
DaveMacara89 many thanks for the reply. yes i know it wont correct my badly timings :D i experienced it many times till now. well i kinda thought the same, with the counting in the mind and pressing on 1 to start and on 1 to end as well. but i always got the feeling of being badly timed just with miliseconds. i think its about practising like a new instrument. :( thanks again. very good video, nice info.
Hi there, could somebody tell me how do I get back to the beginning after having recorded layer upon layer, with the rc 30. I wanna find a way to get back to the very first loop with out all the rest. Thanks!
Gianni Stefano Gonzalez Cierro Unfortunately you can't, as it is writing what you play over the top while recording into one combined stereo audio stem.
Hi ya m8! Quick question, since i perform my loops live when performin, is there another way to delete loops other then that delete button? Coz its kinda hard to press that button when ur performin......
This looper is activated when the pedal is released and not when it is pressed down and this causes a maddening split-second time delay. You can change the settings so that it works on the press down by following this helpful video here: ua-cam.com/video/ML5zvWKooys/v-deo.html
Hello. Can you tell me how I can loop a phrase of a beat 4/4 and then add another one 8/4 on top of it. MY question (if not clear) is: I need to create a drum loop with the tempo 4/4 and then add a longer phrase and the shorter should repeat on top of it. So as the second one plays once, the first one should play twice in the same time frame. Can you teach me how do that? Ive seen people do that on videos here but I cant seem to get mine to do the same.
If that loop sounded perfectly in time to you listen to the last note before the repeat. Now listen to it again. That is one ugly loop man and Id be sweating bullets if I did that on stage and had to layer more riffs on top of it. I realize this is just an example of pedal usage but still ...not a good loop. Keeping good time requires practice.. the count in feature is useless in a performance setting. The reason this pedal is used on stage is because of that automatic feature you disregarded. A player who can't click in and out on "normal" and make fluid loops needs to practice doing that.
I hardly ever comment on videos but this is so helpful! Ive had this exact issue and by the time id get the "perfect" timing, i wouldnt even be in the mood to play it anymore due to the frustration of it all. I Tried it once and I can already tell it's exactly what was needed to clean up my loops, thanks for the video dude!
Great! thank you for making this video, I just started to use mine and didn't know it has this "count" mode , thank you David , it helps a lot
Thanks very much. I bought an RC30 about a month ago and had trouble with the timing. This was just the thing I was wooking for.
Great advice on the tap tempo. I have just stomped on the "one" for both on and off, and it gives me perfect timing.
Thanks. Got the pedal a week ago, following your tutorial was the first time I was able to get a half-decent loop going. Boss should put you on the payroll! :)
Phenomenal advice, thank you. Wish all videos were this useful
Thank you ... probably the most important demo on this unit
Glad it was helpful to you!
You da MVP man😭😭we need more people like you
Thanks for the tips.... Very helpful as I just got one today without a manual !
Thanks,great info well explaned.I bought a RC30 over a year ago and gave up on it due to my timing.Going to go
back to it and use the video,again many thanks.
Thanks very much david, I bought my rc30 about 2 years ago and just couldn't get it, so boxed again hoping one day I would get good enough to retry. Well the urge to have another bash came, I found this vid, set it to auto and within minutes managed to do some basic loops. I feel like a whole new world of guitar has opened, this is one of the main reasons why I learnt guitar. I'm now after a keyboard to add into the mix
Glad it was helpful to you! Spending time working out how to get it working the way you want before trying to do anything creative is worth the time. Once you have figured it out you can get it to work for you.
Great explanation of this pedal. I haven't used mine for a while cause I could never get the timing right. Anxious to try it again. Thanks.
Thanks for the upload, I used mine right alongside yours and learned as I went. Got a a much better understanding now!
+Chris Triantafillou glad to know it helped you out :))
Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for. I was having a hard time making the beginning and end match up. Not clear in the manual.
I get a kick out of these commenters who buy a loop pedal, then blame the pedal for their own shortcomings. There is NO LAG between the start and end of the loop...the pedal will play the exact loop you define, so you HAVE to be VERY PRECISE about the foot tap which both starts AND stops the recording of the loop. You must count while you play and make sure you tap EXACTLY on the "1" to start, and then again on the "1" to stop the loop recording. It helps if you forget the count-in and tempo, and simply start playing the phrase you want to record before you actually record it... play through it at least once as you count, then hit record on the "1" at the start of the phrase while you keep playing and counting.... finally hit the record button again (NOT the stop button) when you get to the "1" at the end of the phrase you want to loop, but KEEP PLAYING for a few seconds! That way. you don't stop playing in anticipation and record some of that silence at the end of the loop. And remember, LIKE ANY TALENT, IT TAKES PRACTICE!! As for your complaining about the pedal, answer me this... when you bought your first guitar, did you complain on the internet that the guitar was defective because your playing didn't sound like Eddie Van Halen's right away??? I would hope not!! You practiced! These machines require the same!!
The thing about this looper is that it is activated when the pedal is released and not when it is pressed down. This really got me because I have another looper pedal and that works on the press down. It wasn't until I saw a video here on UA-cam that shows you how to change it that I realized there was a difference. I must start reading the instruction manuals!
I just bought this pedal today before going on You Tube to see what's being said. As you stated, a lot of negative comments are being said. A lot more to the point of. Did I make a mistake and have to return it. After your demo/ video, I'm a bit more at ease with my decision. So I wanted to Thank you for clearing up a lot of my confusion. Great demo by the way. Thanks again...
You are welcome, glad it was useful to you!
Thanks for the video very insightful and very helpful. It's true that the pedal has so many features but it's just about taking the time to do it get used to it and this video helps you take it one step further.
This is very helpful David, thanks. I have a very good sense of rhythm and it is a pain to get the tempo right without that count feature you talk about. Glad I watched this, it should be a breeze from now on! I always learn things the hard way 🥴...
Thanks for this explanation, I've been trying to decide if this pedal is worth it but some negative comments about a delay was making me nervous
There is some small delay when switching playback to a different bank than the one already playing. I think this was just an oversight by Boss, who expected most people just to use it to create "layers" of tracks over each other, rather than store seperate phrases and switch between banks while playing back. If you are in any doubt try the pedal out first in a store to check if it will do what you are looking for!
It fits me just fine because I use it as a sort of "drawing board" to record ideas into and mess around with.
Secondly, if you are only recording guitar I would advise getting the smaller RC-3 pedal. I find myself not using the dual tracking very often, and only use the Mic input once in a while. I wish I had just got the RC3 lol.
I read somewhere that the slight delay has been fixed in the latest firmware upgrade. I only got this loopstation today, so I can't tell you yet.
Joey Ong Thanks for the info, I had no idea there even was a firmware update for it!
davidbrownguitar No problem, I can now say the firmware update has solved it. :)
Thanks! Really helped me get over the hump.
@David Macca Brown ~~ Thank you soo much man hahaha yes very simple .. but as you may know there are some people (like me) who skip the instructions till it's too late and I'm searching for this particular video haha
Thanks again
Thanks so much for this. So well explained and demoed. chur!
I like this feature of the RC-30. I was looking at the Line 6 DL4 as well, but I think the big difference between the two is that the RC-30 is more meant for at home and recording (AKA usb connector and metronome feature). Whereas the Line 6 is more for live playing.
Thanks man
Really helpful
Hi, do you know how to activate fade in/out? Is it possible on this model please?
ok, anways tnx for ur video big help for me,keep it up!!
Thanks...now I can work the thing!
You have to change the settings of the pedal functions so that the stop button “stops” on the pedal pressing Down, right now it stops recording on the pedals “upstroke”. Hence a split second delay.
Could you tell me how to change that? :)
Hello. There is a video here showing you how to do it: ua-cam.com/video/ML5zvWKooys/v-deo.html
Nice one, well done, thanks; why dya get rid of the looper?
Thanks, well explained
But is there a way to do the same but without the hit hat or any other recorded rythms playing ?
Very helpful video. Can you provide a similar fix for the RC-20XL?
Thank you so much for this!
Question. Can you record your loop into the Rc-30 and then TAP TEMPO the loop to adjust it if your drummer is speeding up or slowing down? Thanks. :-)
I also have the RC-30, so I can respond:
*You can to do that* without affecting pitch, but (perhaps) you can also get some glitches when slowing down, because of the sample rate frequency (44.1 kHz), so you shouldn't go beyond "x2" or "x1/2" of the original tempo in order to keep a tolerable sound quality in the recorded loops.
Hope it helps, cheers!
Any one know how to set the distortion pedal BEFORE the loop pedal? Cant seem to work it out, and everything I loop is distorted which is not what I want
This is the set up I have in the video, the recorded loops are played back with the distortion, I could turn off the DS-1 and play clean over the looped parts if I wanted.
Thank you David. Did you notice any issues with the midi sync not syncing? Read about some firmware issues. Great video?
hi guys.i have this pedal connected with other two pedals(reverb,delay).i want to record loops with effects(reverb,delay)but have effects only in record,not in playback.with other words,i want to have different layers with different effects.how can i do it?because i recorded with effects but when i turned off the pedals,loop's sound turned to clear.please help me
Can you record / swap between channels without the lag for live performance without the tempo button that you never have time to click during the performance?
Thanks very helpful
can you link the pedal to a recording software so when you press the pedals record button, it starts recording through the computer software?
Hi there, I recently bough a Line6 DL4, but the issu is I want to play distorted guitar over a distrted look, the problem is the loop drowns out the guitar, do you need a separate mixer to do this adequately or does the RC30 allow this?
Exactly. Thank you
does it send the signal to loop as soon as you hit the pedal or when you let your foot off?
green robot all the pedal actions are activated the moment you press it.
thanks for posting very usefull
That is a really nice guitar sound. if it's not top secret would you mind telling what guitar/amp/effect you are using for this demonstration.
+Vaughan Trebilco Blackstar Ht-5 amp, Boss Blues Driver, and a fender Tele on middle positon ;)
Do you know of a way to stop the rhythm track after you have set the tempo and then just for it to restart with the count in?
I would like to set the tempo for a song before we go on stage and then when we get to the song in the set just select the correct track and hit the go button and the count in to start.
Yes it is possible to do this, the RC-30 must be set on the "Count In" recording mode. After setting it to this mode (must be on fresh bank for it to work) you can turn on the rhythm track with the "ON/OFF" button, to tap in the tempo. You can then press the "ON/OFF" button again to stop the count. When you press the left pedal to begin recording, the rhythm track will automatically turn on, and give a 4 beat count in before the recording begins (the rhythm track will continue playing during recording). Honestly I think it will be difficult to get the pedal to work with a full band, you will probably need to send the output from the looper to both your amp, and to the drummer's monitor or headphones, unless your drummer and other members have extremely good sense of timing. Keep in mind that any effects/overdrive you have from your amp will be applied to the rhythm track as it comes out through the same output which may cause things to clip.Hope this helps, if you have any more questions just let me know!
Do you know if you can set the tempo to an actual value? Four example if I'm recording over a beat of 120, can I set the loop to 120 with this looper? If not, do you know one that does?
Question about this pedal:
While making the initial loop, when pushing the button to end recording, does the pedal automatically sync up the end of the loop to the timing of the rhythm? Or do you need to push the button exactly on the 1 beat? I would imagine that if the pedal doesnt automatically sync, unless one's timing is insanely accurate, there would be a slight difference in the length of your recording and the length of the rhythm that is playing, and after a few iterations it would start to become off. Can anyone let me know how this works or what their experience is? Thank you
Is there a way of turning the hi hat off after recording is complete, when playing back the phrase
How much is it in Australia and where can you get it?
Nice. Have you or anyone else been able to save your work and upload it to a computer? I got bored with this pedal several years ago because I could not save anything or transfer files to a computer.
Very helpful to a beginning looper in Germany!
Sorry, one question mate, if you tap in the tempo, is there away to make it numerically display what tempo you tapped in! cheers! g
Ahhhh, I always thought even with the count in that you had to start playing when you hit the pedal. I didn't know you could start playing after you step on the record pedal; then it actually starts recording when you start playing your riff.
brilliant thank you
When it sound the track 66, can I hear the 67 while the 66 it sound? Thanks!
Can you pleaaaase tell me how you are recording this? I'm completely new to this loop pedal and I don't even know how to connect it to my soundcard/laptop to record/video what I'm doing. Thanks!
can we loop odd time signatures on the device?
i just recently got this looper (very first time) and so far I really liked it. I know it needs lot of practice to master it.
One questions though, how can i handle rhythm/melody change, like chorus...
can I handle this without any additional pedals?
thanks for your feedback in advance.
George Popkhadze To change banks while playing you need an external foot switch such as the ones Boss make, or another type with 2 momentary switches.
davidbrownguitar Thanks David.
Whats the exact name/model of the extra pedal?
The one I am using in the video is made by Loopi Pedals. I bought it from their eBay store here: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Footswitch-for-Boss-RC-3-RC-30-Loopi-Pedals-/221600320486
davidbrownguitar
Great. So if i understand correctly:
These loopi pedals (2) are used to switch between left/right banks? do they serve any other purpose, like stop/start?
The Loopi pedal does the same as any dual footswitch would for the loopstation; one single press of left turns the Loop effects on/off; one single press of right switches between the channels of the looper, holding right cycles up through the banks, holding left cycles down. The Stop and Start are performed by the RC-30's own footswtiches as normal.
Great video, this information is really valuable! I happen to have one question: what about time signatures in the CT-mode? You said it'll count one bar, so I guess you mean 4/4, innit? What about other time signatures? For example 3/4 or 5/4. Can the looper loop that? My guess is yes, but still with the 4/4 initial counting, isn't it? Thanks in advance.
It can do 3/4, and 4/4 beat as I know. As standard it set up at 4/4. There are some future that are set as standard that should not be set as standard. I am not a very experienced in music yet. But why set pedal to stop loop when you release the pedal and not at the push down etc. Such thing you can change so that it's so much more user friendly to use.
Actually because of this video I did learn one more needed thing. So, suddenly I play real loops, it fits. So there is a little learning curve. This tips make it more easy to use.
But any thing can be learned, even the hard way, if so to get better at timing... Anyway a needed future for us that play :)
Off topic, I notice your Boss DS1 Distortion, have you had it modified? They are definitely not the original knobs and I'm sure it sounds different than stock standard.
Hi, thanks for the demo!
I play with another musician and we want to combine out loopstations. Is it possible that he plays a beat on his loopstation, which then becomes the input for my loopstation so i can play loop that don't go out phase with his?
He has a Boss RC30, I need to buy one. Thx for responding
+Hugo van Engelsdorp Yeah that should be possible in theory, if you run the output of his into yours, have him set up the rhythm on his, having it running into yours means you can both hear it and play in time.
+davidbrownguitar Thank you for response. I am gonna try connecting the output of the RC30 to my RC2-aux-in.
+davidbrownguitar Hello! Have you tried the Digitech JamMan Stereo? Im having a hard time deciding on which looper to get. The main use for it will be recording and storing ideas at my home studio. Sometimes I come up with ideas and it cuts my inspiration the fact that i have to turn on the pc, mic the amp. etc to record these ideas. With a looper i can record on the fly and then send the wav´s to the DAW!
Between the rc-30 and then Jamman, which one do you recommend for those
needs?
I play ambient music mostly, so that means i have three quality delays on my pedalboard and i wouldnt use the effects on the rc30, also the reverse setting on the JamMan would work well for ambient ideas.
Thanks! Great tips!
is there a way to erase multiple phrases instead of just one without starting all over again?
Hi! great video, I didnt know about these features so it was a big help.
My questions are about backing tracks/rhythm.
I basically want my looper for bass and drums so that I can solo over the top, but I'm having trouble getting a good solid rhythm section going. Although i like the snare in the background like you, I'd rather it had a bit more interest, basically drums.
I tried using the boss tone studio for rc-30 and I uploaded a load of rhythm tracks to track two of each memory bank, but the phrases are only two bars long. Therefor each of my loops can only be 2 bars long.
my questions are:
can i make these rhythm tracks loop independantly of track one (indefinately) so i can do more than 2 bars?
if not, can I change the preset rhythms to ones from the boss tone factory? (i hope you're listening boss, this would have been such a cool feature) because quite honestly, they suck.
if i decide to forget the rc-30 rhythm section and get a seperate drum machine that I plug into the input, will the tap tempo recognise the drum machine rhythm correctly via an internal tap tempo detector?
thanks!
sorry if these questions seem a bit long winded, you seem like a guy who knows what hes talking about with these machines, cheers!
+ali ray Hi there ali, sorry for taking a while to get back up with you on this...
As far as uploading files to the RC30 goes, I think you are limited in loop length by the length of the files because they are probably transferred as WAV audio files which do not contain tempo information so the looper has only the start and end of the actual file to synchronise with... if that makes sense. I never used the Boss tone factory ones, so am not really sure. If you have access to music software like Logic/Cubase... you could make some loops of the desired length there and transfer them to the pedal?
For an external drum machine, you can use that... but there is no MIDI output on the RC30 to send out tempo information to the drum machine (this is actually a huge fail on Boss's part with this looper... guess they were saving that for the bigger flagship looper) so to get this to work, you will probably have to set the RC30 rhythm function to off, and really nail the timing with when you start and stop recording. It might be possible to get the start time accurately using the "auto" mode, where the looper starts recording as soon as it receives a signal on the input. You would still have to manually stop recording using the footswitch though... hope this helps you.
It is a bit frustrating, the RC-30... (why I eventually sold it...) once you get into the depths of looping you begin to realise the shortfalls it has, this is probably just a price to pay for having a more compact looper. In my opinion if they got rid of the effects (cus lets be real, they are fkn useless...) took out the built in beats in favour of offering a proper click and MIDI to send out tempo information it would have been a much more useful pedal. There is plenty of space on the left and right sides for them to add a MIDI port...
David Macara Brown
Man that's so disappointing! Thanks for replying as its good to hear that my suspicions were kind of true. Saves me looking for answers where there are none. This is almost useless for what I want as I wanted to be able to record both tracks simultaneously. I agree the effects are total shit, probably great for someone who wants beatboxing craziness, but I have always hated out of the box effects, or certainly effects banks. They just sound cheap and nasty to my ears. As for the drums, they are so limiting, and the "different time signature" is a joke.
The midi link would have been so useful, like you, I'm amazed they didn't include it, but I'm glad you mentioned the auto record as it may offer me a solution to getting somewhere near what i'm after and not render this pedal completely redundant. Weirdly I just wish it did less, but did it all well. I'm still gonna persevere with it for a while before i sell tho! what setup do you have now if you don't mind me asking?
I'm running a beatbuddy and bass guitar into mine, and outputting to two seperate amps for each instrument. it seems to work ok for now for my simple backing tracks.
Nowadays I just use a Line6 Pod HD, has a looper built into it... so now I have everything in one box hehe. I sold all my pedals, can't be bothered with all that stuff these days, easier to have one unit doing everything!
While playing RC-30, if I'm on Track1 and I've recorded multiple layers on it + I'm in the middle of the song, I want to clear the Track1 completely using Pedals, not the small button, is it possible?
If I'm track1, and start loop1, then over that - loop2, then over that loop3. Finally, if I press left paddle for 2 sec, it deletes loop2 and loop3 but keeps loop1 going. I want to get rid of loop1 too.
Example - Ed playing this song ua-cam.com/video/vxP8FIFH2k8/v-deo.html. At 3:10 (ish), he clears all the recordings in Track1 and starts another track there.
Any help would be appreciated.
Yes, the issue is precisely the same as 'punch-in' and 'punch-out' while recording stuff, and you just have that slightly dodgy bit on one track you decide you cannot tolerate, must put right. Sure, if you have all the tracks in the world, you just lay down and pick and mix. However, for reasons of the tech available to you, you may not have that. So, you have to crash into an otherwise good track, and drop in a short 'repair'. With my old tape four-track, the mechanical nature of the process, meant it was exactly this devil you articulate. If one were not a perfectionist, one might suggest we need a 'fit it to the chosen number of bars' option. IE like with those cameras in your car that are always recording, but only actually SAVE anything once they detect an accident has occurred (sudden G-forces etc trigger it to do this). We could do with that function here. So, forget having to time it right, count yourself in, you'd just hit the pedal to make recording start, the metronome or drum beat would run for a bit, and you just play the riff when you feel like it, and hit the pedal again to stop.
This 'ideal' system I describe, would then have a button called 'fit-it' you could tap, to make the loosely-dropped riff, fit the pre-programmed number of bars you wanted. Like sequencer recording software 'quantizes' notes into 1/8th or 1/16, even if you actually made several notes more, or less long than that, or even out of time. It would 'regularise' the loose thing you'd laid down.
I mean, you could say, it's not going to be perfectly as you would like. However, I don't think it has to be perfect with a loop - it's a rough and ready system by design no? Quick'n'dirty is the entire point? If you wanted to prat about with Cubase all day for the sake of a quick bit of practice, you would. Setup time, hassle, complexity, and you might not have such a program anyway. Otherwise, loopers wouldn't exist. So, I say, that's a mod they could make - we drop the riff down, roughly counted in, and hit the 'fit' button I am imagining, and it does the task of keeping the pitch the same, and making the overall riff, fit the preferred amount of time. Especially with the likes of this RC-30 - it's not one of the bargain-basement loopers.
Gawd, I sweated over that punch-in pedal...air-operated you know, like old camera rubber bulbs that tried to disturb the camera the least possible amount...
sleekitwan it's called an accent. Do you not have one?
No, I come from Ayrshire & Renfrewshire, ask anybody, we only speak in 'Received Pronunciation'. RP is hard to explain, but the best example is the Queen. Obviously therefore, anything else is a like a foreign tongue. !
thats great... i heard you can connect rc 30 in compute. can you do a tutorial on that?
You can connect it with USB to a computer to store and backup the loop data, and to transfer your own backing tracks onto it.
hi just a question when I start giging is there a way so you can change your saved backing tracks without bending down to change them. thanks
Don't wear a shoe, press the button with ya toe
Can this pedal do the metronome click straight to your in ear only, while the loop or backing track is playing ?
I don't believe so :(
Hey man please help! how do you all clear a loop? Like if im playing with a loop i just made how can i clear and start recording another fresh new loop? what do i have to press?
Whatever loop your bank is in, just hold down delete. It will flash, and delete the track.
hold the right pedal and then press down the left pedal at the same time
cool,what does the loopi pedal do in all this
+nick 55555 It's just a cheaper alternative to the "official" boss added footswitch, does the same things change banks etc. but for a third of the cost! I got it from eBay!
I'm sorry but people cant blame the rc30 for timing issues. Its down to the performer obviously
+Josh Gulacar Well yeah, the functions of the pedal are only useful if they are operated correctly!
Nice shoes
Terry Blackwell hehe thanks mate
here is my problem with the countdown recording. it is quite awesome if im playing 3/4 or 4/4 rythm patterns. automatic recording mode is the same thing just without the countdown. it still records to the end of the last four beats. but the thing is in my country, we have so simple (like 3-5 chords) songs which are also very beautiful but they are in some different rythm patterns like 7/8, 9/8 or 11/8. how to loop those kind of rythms? thanks for the video btw, i learnt these functions from you.
hasen akkhaya Hi there, glad it helped. I think to loop the more difficult rhythms you will need to use the normal recording mode, and just be very very exact with your stopping of the recording. For example, try to time your foot press for the "stop" with the instant the next "down" beat of the repeat of the phrase would begin: for example in 11/8: press for RECORD count 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-(1... beginning of next phrase) and press for STOP exactly ON the next "1" after the end of your phrase. If it is a 4 bar phrase you would count four bars of 11/8 like above, and stop on the first "1" of the fifth bar... maybe that will work. The tricky part with this is getting the timing of the stop press correct. The looper is not recording to the count when doing this, so it will not correct any badly timed stop command.
DaveMacara89 many thanks for the reply. yes i know it wont correct my badly timings :D i experienced it many times till now. well i kinda thought the same, with the counting in the mind and pressing on 1 to start and on 1 to end as well. but i always got the feeling of being badly timed just with miliseconds. i think its about practising like a new instrument. :(
thanks again. very good video, nice info.
thanks a lot
Hi there, could somebody tell me how do I get back to the beginning after having recorded layer upon layer, with the rc 30. I wanna find a way to get back to the very first loop with out all the rest.
Thanks!
Gianni Stefano Gonzalez Cierro Unfortunately you can't, as it is writing what you play over the top while recording into one combined stereo audio stem.
Gianni Stefano Gonzalez Cierro You can keep the left pedal pressed for two seconds and undo the last layer. (just check your manual)
well I just bought mine and its going on eBay the delay i can't operate it turns me off
safe thank yu
that ds-1 is it mckinnley mod?
arnyarny77 eh, no its just a normal DS1 with different control tips
oh ok thanks great demo , looks like lots more fun than my rc2 thats for sure
bro just wanna ask if u update ur firmware after buying it,tnx
Hi, I actually have no idea if I did or not, I probably didn't though!
Hi ya m8! Quick question, since i perform my loops live when performin, is there another way to delete loops other then that delete button? Coz its kinda hard to press that button when ur performin......
+Gilbert Leon I think you can if you get the external footswitch, not sure though... I don't actually have the pedal anymore :(
+Gilbert Leon as long as all loops are stopped, press both footswitches at once
This looper is activated when the pedal is released and not when it is pressed down and this causes a maddening split-second time delay. You can change the settings so that it works on the press down by following this helpful video here: ua-cam.com/video/ML5zvWKooys/v-deo.html
Hello. Can you tell me how I can loop a phrase of a beat 4/4 and then add another one 8/4 on top of it.
MY question (if not clear) is: I need to create a drum loop with the tempo 4/4 and then add a longer phrase and the shorter should repeat on top of it. So as the second one plays once, the first one should play twice in the same time frame. Can you teach me how do that? Ive seen people do that on videos here but I cant seem to get mine to do the same.
Are you Andy Murray?
I am afraid not, If I was; I would be able to afford the RC-300!
Or use the quantise
Sorry, I don't get this. When you say "count in," I'm expecting it to give me 1-2-3-4 (tap-tap-tap-tap), and then record. I don't hear that.
@6:28 you actually demonstrate the usefulness of the Auto mode straight after you say you can't think of a use for it... heh...
lots more banks than my rc-20 which has 11, lots more buttons too than my 20
i wish i had one :(
does anybody prefer the Digitech RP35 over the boss rc-30? Digitech RP35 is a lot cheaper thats why...
If that loop sounded perfectly in time to you listen to the last note before the repeat. Now listen to it again. That is one ugly loop man and Id be sweating bullets if I did that on stage and had to layer more riffs on top of it. I realize this is just an example of pedal usage but still ...not a good loop. Keeping good time requires practice.. the count in feature is useless in a performance setting. The reason this pedal is used on stage is because of that automatic feature you disregarded. A player who can't click in and out on "normal" and make fluid loops needs to practice doing that.
ok cheers mate
How to use this loop station..
ua-cam.com/video/SI1gkMaAWNM/v-deo.html
Scotish accent
noisy
its record not recard
thanks a lot.very helpful