Boss RC-20XL Loop Station
Being mostly self-taught in the art of ‘ukulele playing, I have been told by several people that to improve my playing it might be a good idea to invest in some cheap recording equipment or get hold of a looper. Recording equipment takes up too much space and money so I decided to go for a Boss RC-20XL Loop Station. Wow. This thing is incredible.
First of all a looper is a device that records your playing and then at the tap of a pedal plays it back. Your loop then plays over and over until you tell it to stop. While it is playing back you can overdub – add in riffs or chords to the already playing loop so that next time the loop goes around you hear the original loop plus the overdub. You are now a one man band.
The Boss RC-20XL really is a work of art. It is easy to learn how to do simple things with it, so I was plugged in and going “loopy” in five minutes. To create a loop with the RC-20 you select one of the eleven phrase tracks, adjust input levels, and the playback level. Then you stomp on the left pedal to start recording. Once you have recorded what you wanted to record (be it a chord progression, melody line or something in between) you step on the left pedal again to stop recording and start playback. (It takes a while to learn how to punch in and out at the right time.) After the loop starts playing back you can tap the left pedal once more to overdub. If you don’t like the overdub you can delete it by holding down the left pedal for two seconds. To bring back the deleted overdub you press and hold the left pedal again for two seconds. At this point you can either delete the whole loop along with overdubs or you can save the loop by pressing the “write” button twice.
That is basically what the RC-20 does, although it does have some nice features that make it even easier and more exciting to use:
- 16 minutes of recording time.
- Before you start recording a loop you can add tap tempo with the right pedal to let the RC-20 know how to even out the space in between loops.
- There is a simple drum machine built in that uses the right pedal to set the tempo. You can change sounds and control the volume of the drum machine.
- You can punch the reverse button to make you loop sound like an alien invasion.
- The auto-start button makes the RC-20 start recording the moment you start playing instead of the moment you tap the pedal.
- Stop mode makes your loop fade out in different ways.
It is indeed a Boss. I’ve heard stories about how a Boss could survive an atomic bomb, after buying the RC-20 I don’t have any doubts. The knobs operate smoothly and are very solid. Most of the lights are LCD; the ones that are not are inside the buttons so I’m not at all worried about them breaking.
This is definitely a nice thing to have if you play alone a lot and have some extra cash. I personally play a chord progression into the looper with my ‘ukulele and then overdub bass parts in with my electric guitar. After that I play lead or practice my soloing with the loop.
The RC-20 does not come with an AC adapter but it does come with a pack of batteries. You will also need an extra instrument cable – one from your ‘ukulele to the looper, and one from the looper to the amp.
Thanks for the review. Just curious what kind of uke and amp you use your RC-20 with. Also did you do any research into the DigitTech Jamman? I am looking at a looper but don’t know if it will be the Boss RC-2, RC-20 or the Jamman. Just got an amp (Streetcube) and put a K&K pickup in an old uke. Am hooked now. So will get either an Applause or Risa stick and a looper. All seems like great learning and fun.
I use a Roland Micro Cube with my Kamaka tenor. My ‘ukulele has a Hilo passive pickup. I did not do any research on the Jamman, but I just got the latest Musician’s Friend catalog and the Boss is $260 and the Jamman is $300. You might want to consider just some sort of recording device unless you want to do real time loops. I wish now that I would have gotten a recorder instead. Good luck with your search,
Hippie Guy
Thanks for your quick response. I’ve just ordered Boss 20XL for $199. You’re right Jamman at $300 is a bit much. From work podcasts I have a Zoom H2 and GarageBand with preamp and a Samson condenser mic that I used for recording. Although I recorded through the H2 and played through amp and had great fun practicing, it looks like working with the Boss will increase the challenge of improvising and soloing.
You’re the only one I found who uses the loop pedal with the ukulele. Haven’t ordered a better electric uke yet (need to save up) but I guess it’ll be the Applause — price looks the best. A Kala would be cool but is a bit more than I have to spend.
Thanks again, JR
Just got the Loop station. Does yours work with batteries? Do you use it much with just the batteries. Mine works fine with the power adaptor, but no lights, no power, nothing with batteries in. (and jack in to power on). This is not normal, is it? If I thought I’d never need the portability of batteries, I’d not hassle to send it back. But am wondering. It is a lot of fun.
I haven’t tried mine yet with batteries, I’m not a battery guy. But I wouldn’t think that no power is normal. Keep fiddling, I hope you figure it out.
Hippie Guy
Can anyone tell me where they’re ordering the Boss RC20-XL for the said price of $250. Seems all the music stores around where I live sell them for about upwards from $300 with $350 being the most. Thanks!
Hi Jlozada,
I got my RC-20XL from Musicians Friend – $259 online. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Boss-RC20XL-Loop-Station?sku=151352
It’s great to support the local stores if you can afford it, but a $100 price gap is quite a setback.
Aloha,
Hippie Guy
Hello liveukulele,
I like you website and so much good information about the uke!
I am a guitarplayer (hobbyist) from germany and get in touch with the uke watching the jack-video “while my guitar…” on youtube in 2006. Last summer I bought a Risa uke-solid-tenor and since two weeks I am playing my Risa Uke with the RC-20XL Loop Station. It is really great and helps to improve my playing every day and every loop. You are right – this thing is incredible. Sorry for my bad english and best regards from Berlin.