Summary
• Pros: The Boss RC-500 has class-leading sound quality, two independent tracks and tons of features.
• Cons: Effects could be more useful (less weird), and still some limitations for live use.
• Overall: One of the most flexible looper pedals, and as good as you can get without coughing up for a beast like the Boss RC-600.
Compare Prices
• Amazon: Boss RC-500 Loop Station
• Guitar Center: Boss RC-500 Loop Station
Full Review
The name of the “RC-500” makes it seem like it’s an update of the Boss RC-300. But really that’s the wrong way to think about it. The RC-300 was Boss’s flagship looper in the earlier generation of loop stations (which includes the RC-3, RC-30 and RC-300). Boss has updated the RC-300 with the RC-600, which includes 9 footswitches! The RC-500 is really an update on the RC-30. It’s the happy compromise between a single-footswitch looper like the RC-5 and the massive RC-600.
Note: If you want to know when the Boss RC-500 was released relative to other Boss loopers, we’ve made a timeline here.
The RC-500’s predecessor, the Boss RC-30, epitomizes most mid-range looper pedals. It can do tons of stuff – with two independent tracks, two footswitches and plenty of nice extras like on-board effects – but it’s still compact and affordable enough for more casual looping. Indeed, the older RC-30 was an awesome pedal in its own right, but the layout did leave something to be desired in a live setting. But Boss has the solution in the form of its successor: the RC-500. With an improved feature-set and layout, it could be the solution you’ve been waiting for. But does it pull off what Boss intended?
The Boss RC-500 Is Truly a Next-Generation Looper
The RC-500 is a bit of a departure from its predecessor, the RC-30. While the RC-30 had two footswitches and a busy upper section, the RC-500 adds another switch and streamlines the top. There are three metallic footswitches on the lower half of the body, angled towards you as you play. On top, it also has a series of buttons, a couple of dials, two sliders, and an LCD display. There are roughly the same number of buttons, but the design is more simple so it’s less daunting.
A More Organized Control Layout
This simplification in terms of appearance is a dead give-away as to the intent behind the pedal. While Boss is looking to maintain the impressive level of functionality of the RC-30, they’re obviously focusing more on user-friendliness. The three switches are basically self-explanatory. The “Rec/Play” switch handles the record/play/overdub cycle that characterizes any looper. “Stop” does exactly what it says. And the “Track Select” switch lets you toggle between the two available tracks. You could literally start using the RC-500 without so much as glancing at the manual.
The two tracks have dedicated volume sliders, too, so it’s easy to get the right mix in terms of volume. Additionally, the LCD display is color-coded so you can easily see whether you’re in recording, overdubbing or playback mode. The track select switch is also color-coded so it’s always clear which track you’ll be affecting. This whole system works very well. It is fair to point out that the RC-30 was still quite good for hands-free operation, though. It required a little more tap-dancing with the switches and you were more likely to need to use the buttons, but it was still pretty easy to use.
Massively Improved Sound Quality
One area where the improvements are unquestionable is the sound quality. On the older generation of loopers (e.g., the RC-3, RC-30, and RC-300), the recorded loops often sounded degraded. This was especially as you added more overdubs.
TC Electronic was one of the first companies to raise the bar for sound quality with their Ditto Looper. Boss has now answered back. While the sampling rate is the same on the older unit (44.1 kHz), the bit depth has been increased from 16 to 32. This isn’t something to scoff at either. The improvement means you’ll get something a lot closer to your true signal and you don’t notice any degradation, even after multiple overdubs.
Heaps of Improved Features
If you’re a low-frills type of looper, this is pretty much all you need to know: You can lay down a phrase, build on it, make a basic song-type structure with the two tracks (or play them simultaneously), and handle all of this without having to unceremoniously bend over and tap away at buttons on the device by hand. But,Boss doesn’t stop there. What if you just need to have stuff like reverse mode, onboard effects and more rhythm backing options than you’re likely to ever use? Well, the RC-500 still has you covered.
Many More Rhythms
The Boss RC-30 only gave you 10 rhythm drum tracks to play along with. While this was a welcome feature at the time, the drum tracks got old and did not exactly inspire creativity. The RC-500 now boasts 57 preset rhythm backings – with two variations each and 16 different drum kits to choose from. This is a lot more fun and lets you really get the feeling of practicing with a live band.
In fact, for solo performances, you could even viably use the onboard drum tracks in a live setting. It is worth mentioning, however, that the Boss RC-10R might be a better choice if rhythm tracks is the most important feature for you. The Boss RC-10R has even more rhythms to choose from, all with built-in intros, outros, fills, and song sections. Nevertheless, the drum tracks on the Boss RC-500 are more than enough to get your creative juices flowing. They are great tools for songwriting.
Cool Effects
And for players who want more features, and the on-board loop effects are the cherries on top. The effects are more focused on how the loops play back than traditional effects, including repeat (playing one of the beats over and over), shift (which shifts the playback by one or two beat-lengths), scatter (which literally scatters the phrase around in time with the beat, kind of weird but it can be effective) and a vinyl flick option (which sounds like a quick flick of a turntable bringing the sound to a stop).
Notably, the older RC-30 compares pretty well in these areas. Although the drum rhythms are much better on the 500, the traditional effects on the older unit are perhaps more useful. For example, have you ever thought, “oh I know what this loop needs, I should take one of the four beats and just have it play over and over and over again.” Probably not. A phaser or delay would have been more useful.
Plenty of Ways to Connect
For connectivity, you get stereo ins and outs, a balanced and phantom powered XLR jack, mini stereo-style MIDI in and out, a jack for an expression pedal or external footswitch and a USB port. This compares favorably with the RC-30, although it’s missing the RC-30‘s stereo aux-in jack. The aux-in was nice so that, for example, you could easily play along to backing tracks from your smart phone. You can still play mp3 files on the RC-500, but you need to load them using the USB port.
Is the Boss RC-500 Worth Picking Up?
The fact that there are better options for live looping musicians shouldn’t distract from what the pedal can do. The sound quality is exceptional – literally the best you can get in the area. It’s also very easy to use and it has more features than you’re even likely to need. While Boss may have missed an opportunity to add more useful effects (rather than ones I honestly can’t imagine using other than as a novelty), the RC-500 stands out as a happy medium for those who want to take their looping to the next level. And with 99 memory locations and 13 hours total recording time, the RC-500 packs a punch.
The bottom line is that if you’re like most guitarists, looping mainly as a practice tool or for a bit of fun, with the occasional gig, it’s comfortably towards the top of the pack. It’s reasonably priced, well-designed and loaded with features. If you want something better for live use, the Boss RC-600 could be a better choice. But for a mid-sized looper, the RC-500 one of the best we’ve tried.
Where to Buy the Boss RC-500?
• Amazon: Boss RC-500 Loop Station
• Guitar Center: Boss RC-500 Loop Station
Boss RC-500 Product Clip
Quick Answers
How many loops can the Boss RC-500 Store?
The RC-500 has 99 memory locations. Additionally, you can connect the pedal to your computer and download or upload other loops in your library.
How much recording time does the Boss RC-500 have?
The RC-500 can store 13 hours of recorded loops. That should be enough for your next gig!
Can the Boss RC-500 play in stereo?
Yes.
How many rhythm backing tracks are on the RC-500?
The RC-500 has 57 different rhythm tracks and 16 drum kits.
Does the RC-500 support MIDI?
Yes, the RC-500 has full MIDI capabilities.
Can the RC-500 run on batteries?
Yes, the RC-500 can run on four AA batteries or AC power (adapter not included).
How many independent loops does the RC-500 have?
You can record two independent loops with the RC-500.
Does the Boss RC-500 have an XLR mic input?
Yes.
