Boss RC-5 Loop Station Review

Summary

• Pros: The Boss RC-5 Loop Station has excellent sound quality, tons of recording time, plenty of features and a streamlined interface.
• Cons: If you’re primarily interested in a looper for live use, the compact size will present difficulties – unless you buy an external footswitch to make it more hands-free.
• Overall: The RC-5 improves on the formula laid down by the RC-3, offering a feature-packed looper at a relatively low price.

Compare Prices

• Amazon: Boss RC-5 Loop Station
• Guitar Center: Boss RC-5 Loop Station

Full Review

Boss pretty much dominates the looping world. Their RC series of pedals have been among the most sought-after pedals in the field since they were first released. They also do a pretty admirable job of meeting the varied needs of people looking for looper pedals. In particular, you don’t have to pick up a behemoth unit like the RC-600 because Boss has stompbox-sized options too. The earlier version of the RC-5, the RC-3, was an awesome pedal in its own right, but the RC-5 improves on the same formula. It offers a powerful looper for those of us who don’t want a looper that takes up too much space. But how does it measure up?

Note: If you want to know when the Boss RC-5 was released relative to other Boss loop stations, we’ve made a timeline here.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

You would be forgiven for getting a sense of déjà vu when seeing the RC-5. It looks basically exactly the same as the RC-3 but with a streamlined control panel at the top. Heck, aside from cutting out a few mm in height, it’s even exactly the same size. Don’t get me wrong – the design of the pedal is great. If it isn’t broken, why fix it? But under the hood things are very different. With so many upgrades crammed into the same core package, it’s downright impressive.

The Boss RC-5 Loop Station’s Improved Layout

The single footswitch controls all of the key looping functions (including stop and undo/redo). The controls at the top handle things like the rhythm accompaniment, memory locations and other settings. There is still just one dial, which you use to navigate between memory locations and adjust the loop level. This is all much simpler than the RC-3. Boss has also added handy little extras like the colored LCD lights that tell you whether you are in recording, playback or overdub mode.

Another great addition is that the display now shows you a visual representation of your progress through the loop. This is especially useful if you’re coming in part-way through a loop for an overdub and forget where you are.

It Sounds Much Better!

One of the biggest differences between the RC-3 and RC-5, however, is the sound quality. While both have the standard 44.1 kHz sampling rate, the RC-5 operates at 32-bit, compared to 16-bit on the RC-3. I’m not claiming to be an audiophile. In fact, I’d be the first to mock someone who spent hundreds of dollars on a guitar cable. The difference here is noticeable, however. I remember looping on some of the older pedals and feeling like the loops were coming from an underwater speaker. The upgraded 32-bit audio is clear and present as if you were still playing the looped portion. Since the loop could be running for a while, the sound quality really matters.

The Rhythm Tracks Are Super Cool

Boss has also substantially expanded the rhythm backing tracks. The RC-3 had only 10 drum patterns. While those 10 were enough to get by on for basic practicing at home, the good ones got old quickly. The RC-5 has really stepped this up, with 57 different rhythms. Each rhythm also has two variations and there are seven drum kits to choose from. If you want a real full-band sound, this gives you a lot of options in a variety of genres.

The Boss RC-5 Loop Station – More Memory

While you get the same 99 memory slots that the RC-3 had, Boss has increased the memory from 3 to 13 hours. Additionally, you can still store more loops on your PC through the USB port. Even if you only use the onboard memory, it’s hard to imagine filling it up unless you never delete anything. But, even if you hoard loops like a dragon guarding its gold, you can do so on your computer.

Connections

There are also plenty of connectivity options. These include stereo ins and outs, jacks for an external footswitch (like the Boss FS-6) or an expression pedal. There are also MIDI ins and outs in the form of mini TRS jacks. The MIDI support is an especially impressive addition and (along with the wide range of features) really pushes the RC-5 above its competitors.

Is the Boss RC-5 Loop Station the Ultimate Stompbox-Sized Looper?

The Boss RC-3 was a great pedal for guitarists with a more casual interest in looping. It had plenty of features under the hood, but it was pretty limited when it came to live use. Now I’m not going to say that the RC-5 can compete with the bigger units for live playing, but if you’re looking for a stompbox-sized looper that actually has some potential for live use it’s hard to beat.

From the basic improvements like the color-coded display showing your recording mode and loop progress, through to the MIDI support and well-executed rhythm tracks, the RC-5 stands out from the rest of its class. Throw in the excellent audio quality and the ability to load up backing tracks or store several sets’ worth of songs on one unit and the potential jumps right out at you.

Everything You Need, and Maybe a Bit More…

But it isn’t just “here’s a small looper for people who do slightly more than just annoy their families with endless looping” (let’s admit it, we’re all guilty of that from time to time). Now you could viably use the looper in a live situation as well. It might take a while to get used to performing some operations, but with a little practice it becomes intuitive. You can also always add an external footswitch later for easier control of the pedals features.

So, if you don’t want to cough up the money for a mammoth pedal that has a footswitch for every function, and if you don’t care about multi-track looping, the RC-5 is a stand-out option. It builds on what the RC-3 did perfectly well, but offers significant improvements.

Where to Buy

• Amazon: Boss RC-5 Loop Station
• Guitar Center: Boss RC-5 Loop Station

Boss RC-5 Loop Station Product Clip