Boss RC-10R Rhythm Loop Station Review

Summary

• Pros: The Boss RC-10R is a two-track looper with high quality audio and best-in-class drum rhythms.
• Cons: No XLR mic jack, and working with the two loops, loop sections and rhythms isn’t exactly intuitive.
• Overall: A fantastic pedal, overall. It isn’t perfect but it’s good for hours upon hours of fun and a perfect tool for smaller gigs.

Compare Prices

• Amazon: Boss RC-10R Rhythm Loop Station
• Guitar Center: Boss RC-10R Ryhthm Loop Station

Full Review

For a long time, the rhythm section on looper pedals was just… pretty bad, to be honest. Not that drum rhythms weren’t a nice feature to have for practicing at home. They just seemed to be a handful of token patterns with synthetic-sounding drums – only slightly better than a metronome. But the RC-10R sets out to change all that. It’s essentially the love-child of a traditional, Boss-level looper pedal and a drum machine. It has a variety of interesting patterns, including intros, outros, fills, and variations for song sections. It also gives you the option to change drum kits so you can really tailor the sound to your compositions. This all seems great on paper, but how does it work out in practice?

Note: If you want to know when the Boss RC-10R was released relative to other Boss looper pedals, we’ve made a timeline here.

Getting to Know the Boss RC-10R

The RC-10R won’t surprise you much visually if you’re already familiar with some Boss pedals. It has the classic red color scheme, two footswitches on the bottom, and the buttons, dials and displays on top. The footswitches and LED displays are split in two, with looping on the left and rhythm on the right. A couple of level dials sit between the LED displays, with the main display at the top. You access the menu options with a dial and two buttons at the top right. Overall, the controls are clean and sensibly placed.

Familiar Controls, But a Bit More Complicated

The footswitches are where most of the action happens on the RC-10R. If you’re familiar with looper pedals you’ll be right at home with what the pedal does. The basic workflow for looping is to press once to record, again to play back, and another time to overdub. Then you can continue adding overdubs for as long as you like. The looper also allows you to create two loops per memory slot. This allows you, for example, to have different loops set up for your verse and chorus in the same song.

The rhythm section has a slightly different workflow but it works in a pretty simple way too. You tap the pedal once to start the rhythm, and then again any time you want to add a fill. The rhythm will automatically start with an intro and end with an outro. You can also switch to a variation on the rhythm by holding down the footswitch for a couple of seconds. These are really key features of the rhythm portion of the pedal. They allow you to create rhythm backing that truly evolves with your composition instead of monotonously playing the same thing.

Key to the Boss RC-10R is the “Sync” mode, which essentially makes the looper and rhythm sections work together seamlessly. So, for example, switching to the second variation of the rhythm also switches you to the second loop. This really helps when it comes to putting together a song that simulates playing with a band.

Rhythms Are Where the RC-10R Shines

And given that this is a Boss pedal, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that they’ve packed the thing with as many options as they can manage. They have 280 presets for the rhythm, with two variations, intros, outros and fills (two options) for each. Additionally, you can change the patterns by selecting one of 16 drum kits, which cover a nice range of genres (from rock and metal to jazz, hip-hop and techno) and also include options like brushes or a “live” sound. This gives you tons to work with, and a lot of flexibility in terms of variations o each pattern.

The usual looping features are also included: you can undo or redo the last layer by holding the looping footswitch, it has 99 spots for phrase memory (which includes the rhythm pattern as well as the recorded guitar loop) and you get 50 spots if you want to import your own rhythm tracks, the pedal will be forgiving of some timing errors in your switch-presses, and of course there is more. It’s very much the usual Boss blueprint for looping combined with the rhythm section in terms of features.

No Nonsense Connectivity

There are plenty of connectivity options on the RC-10R too, including stereo ins and outs, a spot for an expression pedal, a micro USB port and you get 3.5 mm MIDI ins and outs.

Top Notch Audio Quality

And finally, audio is recorded in stunning 32-bit quality, with a 44.1 kHz sampling frequency. This is leaps and bounds ahead of the older generation of loopers, which often sounded like they were playing loops through an underwater speaker. With the 32-bit audio, you now get a clean, clear loop as if you were still playing the recorded portion, even when you add overdubs.

Can the Boss RC-10R Replace Your Drummer?

The RC-10R is undeniably a great concept. Looping is so close to allowing you to produce a full-band sound on your own anyway, but the rhythm sections often let loopers down. Combined with the sensible, user-friendly layout and the quality of the rhythm sounds, it’s kind of hard not to enjoy the RC-10R. Choosing a drum beat, tweaking it to your liking and playing along in whatever way takes your fancy is unavoidably fun, and with the two-section structure of both the beats and the looper, it works really well as a practicing companion too.

There are problems, of course. For example, the drum sounds are sometimes lacking in dynamics. While there are fills and the ability to switch to slightly varied patterns, the rhythms can still feel a little monotonous like you’re stuck “in the grid” after a while. This is especially true if you’re used to playing with a live drummer. If you bringing along a drummer isn’t an option and for home practice, however, it’s hard to find a better option than the Boss RC-10R.

A Few Gripes

There are some little niggling issues. For example, you can’t run the RC-10R on a battery and there is no auxiliary input. A bigger issue for some is that there is no XLR microphone input. Of course there are vocal-focused loopers like the Boss RC-500, but the RC-500 has much more basic rhythm capabilities. An XLR input in combination with the better rhythm sounds of the RC-10R would have been nice.

Additionally, the RC-10R can be a bit hard to work with at first. For example, when you are in synch mode and you switch to Part Two of the drum track (which adds a variation to the rhythm), you have the opportunity to record a varied loop with the varied drum pattern. If you need to redo this, however, it is far from intuitive how you can clear the second loop. Switching to the second part and holding down the Stop button for a few seconds should do it, but it doesn’t.

In fact, you need to hold down the rhythm footswitch for a few seconds and then, while still holding down the Rhythm footswitch, tap the Loop footswitch with your other foot to get to the loop recorded in Part 2. Then you can hold down the Stop button to clear the varied loop recorded along with the Part 2 rhythm. If this sounds complicated, it’s not after you do it a dozen times, but it does require a glance at the manual (which is only available via a pdf download).

Is the Boss RC-10R Worth Picking Up?

That all said, the core appeal of the RC-10R is still there. There aren’t many options for this level of control over a looper and rhythm section in one unit, and everything is done well enough that you’ll definitely be happy with it if you’re just looking for something casual to practice and gig a little with. If you’re very serious about loops with drums, you could definitely use a MIDI drum kit instead, get a dedicated rhythm pedal (or a good selection of samples) and have a bit more freedom, but as a more casual solution it’s hard to beat.

The main other option is the Nux JTC Pro Rhythm Looper, and while this is cheaper than the RC-10R, the pedal really pales in comparison in many ways. In terms of memory slots, the quality of the rhythm sounds and the sheer volume of choices, the RC-10R kind of wipes the floor with it. It’s a cut-price imitation in every sense of the word, but, it’s almost half the price. If you want something on a budget and you can do with less features, it’s absolutely worth considering that too. But if you want the best looper/rhythm combination and don’t mind the price-tag, go with the RC-10R.

Where to Buy the Boss RC-10R

• Amazon: Boss RC-10R Rhythm Loop Station
• Guitar Center: Boss RC-10R Ryhthm Loop Station

Boss RC-10R Product Video

Quick Answers

How many rhythms are on the RC10R?
The RC-10R has 280 different rhythms. Each rhythm has an intro, outro, two slightly different sections, and fills.

Can the RC-10R record and play back in stereo?
Yes.

How many loops can you store on the Boss RC-10R?
You have 99 phrase/memory locations on the Boss RC-10R. Each phrase/memory location can include two loops (one loop per part/section).

How many hours of recording time does the RC-10R have?
You can record up to 6 hours of stereo loops on the RC-10R.

How many independent loops does the Boss RC-10R have?
You can record two loops on the RC-10R, but only in serial. You cannot play the loops together in parallel.

Is the RC-10R MIDI compatible?
Yes, the RC-10R has MIDI in and out.

Does the RC-10R have an XLR mic input?
No, there is no XLR input on the Boss RC-10R