Boss RC-505 Loopstation

Started by Zoppe, April 04, 2013, 02:51:27 AM

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Hopkins

Oh, it will be interesting to see if they have revised their settings and terminology (Loop Sync, Tempo Sync, etc.) to make more sense, or if they have just copied everything from the RC-300.

Elantric

#26
Updated news.
http://www.rolandus.com/blog/2013/04/04/boss-rc-505-loop-station/

Look like live Roland US  employees  talking to potential customers there !
(they are finally making headway on social media)

http://cms.rolandus.com/assets/media/pdf/rc-505_brochure.pdf

http://www.roland.com/products/en/RC-505/

Csewell

I think the hands on requirements are a good thing. This will finally give beat boxers something to do with their hands instead of pretending to scratch records.

groovey1


ETS

hi all.
Just want to explain my looper try outs.
I bought me a second rc 300 to have more tracks when synced.
I liked to use it as a sort of multitracker.
Bad experience.
The slave was much of the time 'too busy'.
I couldn't determine when the problem was happen.
Very frustrating.
Contacted roland.
Everything was running ok for them they said.
Don't know if others have synced a rc 300 to other gear or daw.
So I think I will sell my two rc 300 and buy the 505 instead.
Five tracks is super,three was not enough.
I think I can handle the start/stop buttoms of the 505 with my bare feets!
Nice looperdays for everybody.
sorry for my not the best english.....
emmanuel

Threeleggedyoyo

Hi emmanual.

I wonder why you got that error message so much. Were both RC-300s using the same firmware?

I have connected an RC-50 as a slave to an RC-300 and haven't got any errors like that. That might be another way to go.

ETS

Hi
thanks for quick reply.
Yes they had both version 1.3.
I was always looping with loop sync on and tempo sync off for all the six tracks and the number of bars was also set to free.
Maybe too unusual settings for both keeping synced together.
Any way,I think that the rc505 could be the final looper for me.
How did you used the 50 and the 300 together?
I have seen on the web that there were sync problems with the rc50,at least in the beginning.

Threeleggedyoyo

Quote from: ETS on April 14, 2013, 02:19:00 PM
Hi
thanks for quick reply.
Yes they had both version 1.3.
I was always looping with loop sync on and tempo sync off for all the six tracks and the number of bars was also set to free.
Maybe too unusual settings for both keeping synced together.

That set of settings has some known bugs. See this thread:

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=7354.0

I'd wager that if you turned loop sync off or tempo sync on you'd be good.

As for syncing the 300 and the 50, I haven't done it a lot. Just tried it out a couple times. Usually I'm in Single mode with Loop Sync off and Tempo Sync on, off the top of my head. No issues though.

ETS

thanks for the link.
Didn't saw it.
I got nearly no freezes when using the rc300 stand alone.
So I was nearly sure that it was a sync problem.
Hope that the rc 505 runs his loops well in every para
etersetting.
Best regards

Ricoche

#34
Here's a new video I found on Youtube this week.




Ricoche

#35
The Boss RC-505 is now shipping in Japan.  Mine just came through the door today.  I'll check it out asap and write some comments.  I noticed the manuals are still not online at Roland/Boss which is interesting.

The Boss RC-505 is now shipping in Japan.  Mine just came through the door today.  I'll check it out asap and write some comments.  I noticed the manuals are still not online at Roland/Boss which is interesting.

Update:

I'm really digging the Boss RC-505.  I think I'm going to like this MUCH better than the RC-300.  You can control this with your foot but it does require some setup with either the Pedal Assign or Midi.  It works fine when using with my synths.  You can also switch between memories without any GAP like in some of the other loopers.  Thus you can easily, with some initial setup, create verses, chorus, and bridge sections live.  Then you can change seamlessly to each section and back.  Indeed this looper "favors" using your hands more than your feet, so for guitar players it might be a tiny bit tricky but the Midi implementation looks good so I'm sure using an external controller will be ok.  As a keyboard player it's not too tricky to lift one hand and punch one of the nice shiny lit buttons.  I set this on top  of my Roland JX-8P and it fits perfectly.  The effects sound great and I find the RC-505 overall to be MUCH more user friendly than the RC-300 not that the RC-300 was bad to begin with.  This thing is going to be great on stage but again I'm speaking as a synth player primarily.

dead_lizard

might be fun to link it with the vg99 via midi and use the d-beam to start and stop loops. i remember getting my rc50 to start and stop with the GK toggle.

Threeleggedyoyo

Quote from: Ricoche on May 23, 2013, 05:19:49 PM
The Boss RC-505 is now shipping in Japan.  Mine just came through the door today.  I'll check it out asap and write some comments.  I noticed the manuals are still not online at Roland/Boss which is interesting.

The Boss RC-505 is now shipping in Japan.  Mine just came through the door today.  I'll check it out asap and write some comments.  I noticed the manuals are still not online at Roland/Boss which is interesting.

Update:

I'm really digging the Boss RC-505.  I think I'm going to like this MUCH better than the RC-300.  You can control this with your foot but it does require some setup with either the Pedal Assign or Midi.  It works fine when using with my synths.  You can also switch between memories without any GAP like in some of the other loopers.  Thus you can easily, with some initial setup, create verses, chorus, and bridge sections live.  Then you can change seamlessly to each section and back.  Indeed this looper "favors" using your hands more than your feet, so for guitar players it might be a tiny bit tricky but the Midi implementation looks good so I'm sure using an external controller will be ok.  As a keyboard player it's not too tricky to lift one hand and punch one of the nice shiny lit buttons.  I set this on top  of my Roland JX-8P and it fits perfectly.  The effects sound great and I find the RC-505 overall to be MUCH more user friendly than the RC-300 not that the RC-300 was bad to begin with.  This thing is going to be great on stage but again I'm speaking as a synth player primarily.

If you get a chance, I'd be very interested in a list of the Target and Source values used for making Assigns. Been trying to find that since the unit was announced.

Elantric

#38
QuoteIf you get a chance, I'd be very interested in a list of the Target and Source values used for making Assigns. Been trying to find that since the unit was announced.

Here is a link to the Japanese Boss RC-505 Owners Manual
http://lib.roland.co.jp/support/jp/manuals/res/63052372/RC-505_j02_W.pdf

Copy / paste the text into Google Translate to obtain English descriptions of all the RC-505 functions.
http://translate.google.com/

Here are the Control Assigns



Elantric

#39
Looks like these are expected by July 1st 2013 in USA
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966275-REG/roland_rc_505_hands_on_loper_for_modern.html

Roland Canada Interview with the Japanese Roland engineer / developer of Boss RC-505

http://blog.roland.ca/tag/boss/

As mentioned in a recent blog post, one of the hits of the 2013 Frankfurt Musikmesse has been the new BOSS RC-505 Loop Station. During the show, I had the chance to interview Mr. Hideyuki Mamori (Mamori-san), Producer/Engineer for the BOSS RC-505. I asked him about his background, the inspiration for this great new Looper, artist reactions,  and what he is working on next.

How long have you been with Roland, and what products have you worked on before the BOSS RC-505?

I've been with Roland for eight years. As an Engineer, my first product was the BOSS RC-50 Loop Station. My first product as a Producer (team leader) was the BOSS VE-5.

When did you start working on the RC-505, and what was your inspiration?

We started working on the concept for the RC-505 about one and a half years ago. Our idea was to create something that offered dynamic control of loops for the live performer – not using prepared audio as a starting point like a DJ. Our target was of course Beatboxers, but also musicians playing dance music and electronica styles like ambient, dub step, and so on.

Why would a musician playing in these styles be interested in the RC-505?

I personally play guitar, but I also like ambient and electronica. I make music playing my guitar and using a PC, but I want to use the RC-505 myself because it is more fun than working only with the computer!

At the Musikmesse, Tioneb from France was one of the artists demonstrating the BOSS RC-505. What was his first reaction to it?

He understood the concept right away, and really liked our new effects like Beat Repeat and Beat Scatter. I like his RC-505 video, it is really good! Sometimes product videos are not so fun, but his video is like a live performance movie!

Another well-known Loop Artist that has created videos for the RC-505 is DUBFX from Australia. What were his first thoughts about RC-505?

He really liked the RC-505?s 5 tracks. He also very much liked that the loop length of each track could be set separately, and could also be very short (100 milliseconds!). He often uses loops that are only one beat.

You have a vision for a kind of "hybrid" performance style which combines prepared and live audio loops. Can you tell us about this?

The RC-505 has very good MIDI Sync features that allows it to connect with other gear plus computers and software. This is very important – it allows for this kind of hybrid performance style. Live performance is so fun!

Thank you, Mamori-san. In closing, can you tell us what you are working on next?

TioneB demonstriert den Boss RC-505 Looper auf der Musikmesse 2013

Ed_Saxman

(translated from the RC-505 japanese manual)

MIDI  :o
It is possible to be tempo synchronized to MIDI clock from the USB port or terminal IN.
Using MIDI, You can be synchronized with the tempo of the DAW
You will be able to include, change the settings automatically to fit to play in the ensemble, the progress of the performance of the song.

:'( No love for our RC-300. Shame on you, Roland.


Ricoche

I've been working with the Boss RC-505 for about a week now and I'm very impressed by it.  So much so that I actually bought another one here in Japan.  My current setup is one Boss RC-300 Master connected to two RC-505 slaves.  I have found that the RC300 works best ( if not only best ) as a Master.  The two RC-505 loopers can work well either as a Master or Slave.  Tempo sync works awesome.  I have no issues at all keeping the three in sync.  I use this setup with my old synth gear and it's really been fun.  Start All and change memory works great and is instant across all devices.  The ONLY issue is that the Boss RC-300 cannot "Stop All" the two Boss RC-505.  No matter how I connect, the RC-505 Loop Stations will not respond to a Boss RC-300 "FC" Stop All command.  Thus I have to stop the RC-505 Loopers manually either by hand or foot. 

As a synth player these Boss RC-505 loopers are fantastic.  They sit very nicely up top most of my synths and the touch sensitivity of the start/stop pads are nice.  I LOVE the repeat effect and it works great on everything I throw at it.  Really cool.  Overall the effects are pretty good.

Another interesting point is that you can only select "ONE" target track for the foot pedal.  There's a shortcut talked about in the manual that will allow you to press a button or two to change your target track.  Then you can start/rec/stop using a foot pedal.  It might be a sticky point for some who want a "completely" hands off solution.  I don't believe you can midi program that target track change command just yet.  Yes, you can assign virtually anything to the pedal or midi jacks, but they only affect the target track.  This will make sense once you get the RC-505 and try to rec using a foot pedal.  It's not the same as the RC-300.

Finally, the build quality is not great with the RC-505.  For those who might try to use this on the floor, be careful.  Everything is flimsy about it.  I'm ok with it on a table or synth, but definitely would not put this on the floor.  The RC-505 is all plastic folks!

I think the RC-300 and RC-505 make a great combination.  The RC-300 will need to be Master and a workaround will be necessary to issue the FC stop command for Stop All.  Also, I've synced a drum machine and sequencer to the RC-505 triggered by the RC-300 via midi and it all syncs beautifully.  Love it!!

Threeleggedyoyo

Quote from: Ricoche on May 30, 2013, 04:56:16 PM
I've been working with the Boss RC-505 for about a week now and I'm very impressed by it.  So much so that I actually bought another one here in Japan.  My current setup is one Boss RC-300 Master connected to two RC-505 slaves.  I have found that the RC300 works best ( if not only best ) as a Master.  The two RC-505 loopers can work well either as a Master or Slave.  Tempo sync works awesome.  I have no issues at all keeping the three in sync.  I use this setup with my old synth gear and it's really been fun.  Start All and change memory works great and is instant across all devices.  The ONLY issue is that the Boss RC-300 cannot "Stop All" the two Boss RC-505.  No matter how I connect, the RC-505 Loop Stations will not respond to a Boss RC-300 "FC" Stop All command.  Thus I have to stop the RC-505 Loopers manually either by hand or foot. 



Another interesting point is that you can only select "ONE" target track for the foot pedal.  There's a shortcut talked about in the manual that will allow you to press a button or two to change your target track.  Then you can start/rec/stop using a foot pedal.  It might be a sticky point for some who want a "completely" hands off solution.  I don't believe you can midi program that target track change command just yet.  Yes, you can assign virtually anything to the pedal or midi jacks, but they only affect the target track.  This will make sense once you get the RC-505 and try to rec using a foot pedal.  It's not the same as the RC-300.



So let me get this straight.

With the foot pedals, you can select a track, then push a third button to make an action happen on that track?

That's what I was hoping for for foot functionality. Otherwise the 8 assigns would get burned up really fast.

Also, the RC-300's Start/Stop All pedal can't be reprogrammed at all (stupid)! BUT you could program another button to send a Start/Stop command, I believe, as well as overload it so it stops the RC-300 too. That might work for you.

Sad to hear the build quality isn't that great. That's very unlike Boss. But I guess it's different with a unit designed to be used on a tabletop.

I think I'll be holding out for a version designed for foot use. I only barely got my 300 and still have a 50 if I really want more tracks. I hope a new foot-centric one still happens.

Oh, how is the Undo/Redo function? Much lag after engaging it?

Ricoche

#44
Hi there,

In the Japanese manual on page 16 there is a memo next to the parameter Play: TargetTrack TRACK 1.

This says and I can confirm that when you press the "EXIT" button, the "Edit" pad button will flash green indicating that TRACK 1 is the current target track.  Now if you press and hold the "EXIT" button while pressing any of the other TRACK 2-5 "Edit" buttons, you can change this target track from TRACK 1 to lets say TRACK 3 for example.  THEN, if you have a Pedal assigned to REC, you can record a loop on that new current target track. 

So let's say I have the Boss RC-505 setup to REC using Pedal Assign 1.  I currently have my Target Track set for TRACK 1.  I am playing the guitar and simply can record my first loop using my foot onto target track 1.  Now is the difficult part.  If I'm in the middle of my jam using both hands and want to record a second track, I can't do that.  The reason is that I have to physically take my right hand away from the guitar and press hold EXIT while selecting EDIT for TRACK 2 to change the Target Track to TRACK 2.  Then I can continue playing the guitar and record using the foot pedal.

At the moment, there is no way ( that I can find ) to control the changing of the Target Track using a foot pedal rather than my hand manually holding Exit and pressing Edit. 

For synth players, vocalists, beat boxers, this may not be an issue.  However, for two handed instruments like a guitar or bass, it might be tricky unless you factor in changing the target track by hand into your song.

Perhaps there is another way and maybe this isn't such a big issue, but I thought it was worth mentioning in case people want to use the RC-505 completely hands free.  It may be difficult.

Hope this clarifies my original post a bit...laugh.  Thanks!!

Jim

Ricoche

Hello again,

I haven't worked much with the Undo/Redo function on the Boss RC-505.  I did try it out though and can say I didn't detect any obvious lag or issues.  I must admit that with all the tracks now I don't overdub much but rather I just create new tracks instead.  I'm also getting the hang of timing my loops right so the redo function isn't used much either.  However, it looks like I can go back to any of the 5 tracks and undo my last overdub loop which is cool.  That would give you 5 additional tracks if you can work the undo/redo well for the last overdub.

Jim

Elantric



http://jimatwood.wordpress.com/2013/05/23/boss-rc-505-loopstation-review-questions/

By Jim Atwood
I just received notification that my new Boss RC-505 Loopstation was shipped. That means I'll likely have it in my hands to check out tomorrow afternoon or maybe morning even. I've been quite excited about this release mainly because of the five tracks, loop effects, and table top design. I'm also excited to use this not for what it was intended, a beat box looper, but rather a synth looper. I currently own the Boss RC-300 and while it's a very good looper, the Boss RC-505 has more features that I wished were on the RC-300. I have some questions though and I hope to answer them tomorrow when the Boss RC-505 arrives.

1. How much can I control the RC-505 with my feet? I am hoping I can start, stop, and overdub record with a foot pedal. Indeed I can do that with my hands, but there are some synth parts that might make this difficult. Having the option to start/stop/mute/continue would be fantastic.

2. Are the effects global or can I record or use the effects per loop track? I believe this is already answered in the demo videos and catalog, but I'd like to know for sure how flexible the effects are with looping.

3. MIDI! Oh yes! How well does the Boss RC-505 sync with a drum machine or the Boss RC-300. Likely the RC-505 has to be the master, but will a drum machine stay in sync? We'll see.

4. Boss RC-505 Manual – It will be nice to also have a manual to check out all the possibilities. Boss seems to be a little slow in releasing the manual. Likely I'll get a Japanese manual since I'm in Japan, but hopefully soon an English one will be posted.

5. Size! I'm very curious about how big the Boss RC-505 is and whether I'll be able to set it on a synth instead of a table or dedicated stand.

Those are basically the main questions I have. The five tracks is huge with the Boss RC-505. Although three was great, there is a lot you can do with five. Plus you can load or dump the tracks as WAV files for further editing in a DAW.

The Boss RC-505 is going to be a lot of fun. I just hope it allows me to do a little bit more with my feet using external pedals. I'll find out soon!!



    The Boss RC-505 Loop Station just arrived in the mail today!! I'm really excited about this. My first impression is that the box is really small. Is it possible that I could simply set this on top of my Roland JX-8P which has a pretty wide body. We'll see! I'll update again shortly.


    The Boss RC-505 is awesome!!! I'm really having fun using it with synths.

    I found that if you record five tracks in one memory bank, you can switch to the next memory bank in a seamless manner. This means "MEMORY 1? could be an Verse and "MEMORY 2? could be recorded as a chorus. Using a foot switch you can toggle between the two memories without any gap at all. You have to first make sure that the particular Memory or patch is setup to toggle between the memories and that you have any particular track running or drums running so that it will carry through the song. Basically you have to write into memory the way you want it to sound so that when you toggle back and forth, the drums and any desired tracks will play automatically.

    I also found you can toggle record using the assign pedal jacks but only to one particular target track. It looks like you'll have to use midi to either cycle through the target tracks OR rec start and stop using a midi foot controller. At least one target track is allowed via the foot pedal assign so you can record with no hands.

    I also found the on board drums to be rather dry and uninspiring. I expected this and will likely sync a drum machine or sampler. I plan to test syncing the RC-505 to other devices shortly.

    The effects are great and the overall workflow of the RC-505 is much better for me as a synth player. I found the Boss RC-505 sits perfectly on top of the Roland JX-8P which is one of my main synths now.

    I like the Boss RC-505 much much better than the RC-50 or RC-300, that is for sure. I'm tempted to dump the RC-300 for another RC-505 as these really make FANTASTIC recording boxes for synths. According to the manual you can tie two together and sync them up nicely. Interesting.



    You can auto rec/play with your foot for each track, BUT there is a caveat. You MUST manually issue the following command in order to change the target track that will be allocated to the rec/play foot pedal. The command is as follows:

    Press the [EXIT] button Note Play screen, you can see the target the current track. You can press the 1-5 track the [EDIT] button while holding down the [EXIT] button, you can switch the target track.

    Once you switch the target track you can then control it with your foot. Thus to my knowledge there is NO WAY you can rec/play each of the five tracks like on the Boss RC-300 without first issuing the shortcut command with your hands above first.

    For keyboard/synth players will likely not be a problem, but for guitar players it likely will. As a keyboard player when changing patches one can simply reach over and issue the change target track command. Then when ready, you can record and lay down a track with both hands on the keys. Then repeat the process.

    For guitar players I probably would still recommend the Boss RC-300. While for keyboardists, the Boss RC-505 is fantastic.



    Another interesting note. The Boss RC-505 manual indicates that the RC-505 can be slaved "tempo wise" via MIDI to another device. It doesn't have to be the RC-505. Does this work? I'm not sure yet, but it appears the Boss RC-505, "MAY" have fixed some of the Midi sync issues of the past with some of it's other devices. We'll see. In the past, the Boss RC-300 and RC-50 could only be the MASTER in order to sync. I'll try to update this comment after some testing.
   

    For those interested, there is no "Midi Implementation" chart in the Boss RC-505 manual. At the moment, Boss has not released any system exclusive info for the RC-505 or even CC data for midi. Hope they do so in the near future.


            Hello! The English version of the Boss RC-505 manual has not been posted yet on any of the English Roland websites. The Japanese manual however, is available at the Roland Japan website. Since my Boss RC-505 was purchased in Japan, it only had a hard copy of the Boss R-505 Japanese manual. I'm sure the English version will be out soon.

groovey1

Quote from: Ricoche on May 30, 2013, 04:56:16 PM
...  My current setup is one Boss RC-300 Master connected to two RC-505 slaves. ... Also, I've synced a drum machine and sequencer to the RC-505 ...

Wow ... thirteen tracks plus! That sounds like quite a setup. Do you have different instruments permanently dedicated to each RC,  or are you doing some kind of on the fly routing?

Ed_Saxman


kumpfunk

this is a real step forward for Boss... good midi clocking, great real modern effects. I hope we can figure out how to use it as gtr players... or maybe they'll come out with the 506 for gtr players?

reading through the manual I did notice a couple of things:

1) FINALLY there's a metronome sound in the guide!!!! yay, it's for professionals... I've only been waiting for this for 9 years

2) no way to have only the metronome in the headphones without the loops? not professional... booo... do better!!!

aside from those 2 things that will probably only be applicable to me personally I think the thing looks really promising.

I hope they post a midi implementation chart soon