RC-2 : First impressions / comparison RC-50

["Buzap Buzap" <buzap@gmx.net>]

Hi everybody

ok, so here are my first impressions of the Boss RC-2 loop pedal. Since I 
also have the RC-50, this is especially with a comparison in mind.

First of all, I think this little thing looks great, seems robust and has 
a compact size. 
I'm really impressed how much functionality they were able to put into 
such a little pedal. With basically just 1-2 knobs and an enter button, 
you can pretty much do everything. Very  easy to perform basic functions 
blind-folded. I have to decide if I want to use it as a floor pedal or 
have it on the table (pity you cannot use REC/PLAY/OVERDUB via external 
footpedal..).

The sound is great=clean. I would have preferred a headphone jack to an 
AUX IN. Would have been great for jamming during holidays. Speaking of, I 
now have this setup, with the next holidays in mind, completely 
battery-driven:
SM58 Dynamic Mic
-> Edirol M10-MX Mixer
-> Boss RC-2
-> Roland Micro-Cube mini-Amp
It really works great and you have a light&mobile setup.
(Throw in a battery-driven multi-effect pedal like the Zoom G2, if you 
want).
Would also be nice to connect a guitar to the Edirol mixer additionally. I 
don't know if it takes Hi-Z input, though. In that case you could connect 
the mixer to the RC-2 AUX IN input and the guitar directly the RC-2, I 
guess.

Anyway, let's get back to the pedal:
As always the Guide with ryhthm tracks is competely useless for my 
purposes, so I skip that. Too bad that, unlike the RC-50, they just have 
two 3/4 patterns. Were they thinking that guitarists are somewhat limited 
rhythmically?? ;-))

As a surprise, two thinks work MUCH MUCH better than on the RC-50:
- Tap tempo (change tempo)
- Shift Patch (next loop)
Unlike the RC-50, the RC-2 sounds quite decent when slowing down/shifting 
up the tempo. Nice!!
Also, switching to the next loop works really great & smooth. On the 
RC-50, switching to the next Patch (not Phrase in Single Mode) always has 
a little gap of silence in-between (to be fair: haven't tried it with the 
new software update, though).
Even better:
When playing i.e. loop2 on the RC-2, you can turn the knob to i.e. loop7 
and it will start playing loop7 smoothly at the end of loop2. I can think 
of great thinks you can do with this. Then again, it REALLY REALLY is a 
shame that the RC-2/RC-50 has to stop playing to WRITE a loop. (why? i.e. 
the Repeater can do without, as far as I know!).

Let's take a closer look at the Useability:
The one-pedal concept really works better than I have thought:
- First press= Record, Second press= Play, Third press= Overdub, Fourth 
press= Play again...
- Keep pressed >2 seconds= Undo, Keep pressed again=Redo
- Double click (like my mouse button ;-)=Stop
Especially the UNDO/REDO is a great feature, you can use like this:
1. Setup your basic loop
2. Go to Overdub and add several layers (i.e. for Chorus)
3. Undo to get back to basic loop (you have to time the Undo, though!)
4. Redo to get to Chorus again...
Only thing I really missed was the Replace (instead of Overdub) function 
in the RC-50.
The only irritating thing: if you accidentally want to switch between 
Play/Overdub too fast, the loop will stop.

I have also tried out the external foot pedal:
- External Pedal 1: Stop/Tap Tempo
- External Pedal 2: Shift up Loop (next loop)
For me personally, the footswitches were not of much use. I would have 
preferred a different setup. If you have problems with the "double-click" 
for stopping, the footpedal might be good for you (I have no problems with 
it). It would be REALLY REALLY nice if adding a footpedal would deactivate 
the "double-click" feature on the original pedal.
If you want to prepare your tracks (Intro,Verse, Bridge, Chorus....) and 
shift through them, the 2nd external pedal might work for you. I 
personally prefer using the Loop Knob, because I can go forth and also 
back between loops (i.e. verse->chorus->verse...).


So, overall. My impression has been VERY VERY positive. Having 11 loops 
you can record with PLENTY of looping time is really great. Roland has 
implemented  also a useful tap tempo in the RC-2. Additionally, 
battery-option is very useful for me.
For my purposes, I would personally prefer it over the RC-20XL. RC-50 is a 
completely different beast (stereo, three parallel loops, basic midi, 
replace function...). Unlike a lot of delay effects out there, the RC-2 
has a really looong loop lengths (16min) available. 

I would definitely recommend the RC-2 as a first looper (keep in mind you 
need to lift the signal if you use a Mic). It really sounds great 
(transparent) and is a useful, comapact, basic looper. 


Buzap
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