Re: RC-2 : First impressions / comparison RC-50

["Krispen Hartung" <khartung@cableone.net>]

This is a very good review Buzap. Thank you. I learned things about the 
unit 
I didn't even know. :)  One thing I wish they had done was make it so that 
you can record on loop1, press the external footswtich, and have it switch 
to recording to loop2, etc. That would have been good for real time 
looping 
of A/B parts. (Like Next Loop on Mobius or EDP). But as they design it, 
you 
have to prerecord your loops to switch from one loop to another and play 
them. Or wouldn't it have been really cool if they allowed you to sync 
several RC-2 pedals!!  You could loop all you want on pedal 1, and then 
loop 
an exted part on pedal 2, like multiply.

One day, it seems they might make a pedal looper the size of the RC-2 with 
the functionality of the RC-50, most features controllable via MIDI or 
external pedals, or computer intereface.

Hey, about VST in a box?  It would be like a single effect pedal version 
of 
the Muse Receptor. Now that would be nice!  Sorry, I'm just dreaming, with 
not enough coffee in my bloodstream this morning.

K-

----- Original Message ----- 
> 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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