In the long evolutionary path of Roland loopstations R-50, Rc-3, R-300... designed for those who cannot use their hands (guitarists & c.), Here is one exclusively for those who can: beatboxers, djs, vocalists, keyboard players.
The keys are too small to use as a pedal board but large enough to be able to make quick evolutions with the fingers of the hands.
Let's start with the chassis
Having to move towards a tabletop product, Boss abandons the aluminum of the pedals and focuses on a much lighter plastic.
The result is a product that weighs 1,4kg, about a third of the Rc300, with a pleasant design, key backlighting and good space optimization. The line has lined up a bit with the controllers of the moment but overall - apart from a feeling of fragility - I don't mind.
R-300 vs Rc-505
Let's say right away that Rc505 is very reminiscent of the functions of the Rc300 so more than an evolution it can be considered an expanded table version.
However, some differences are worth noting:
- RC-505 delivers well 5 tracks separated against the 3 of Rc-300
- Effects controllable on the input and on the recorded tracks. The Rc300 has this function but it is not impossible to use them live, too many menus and submenus to control with your feet ...
Here the controls are visible with the possibility of storing 6 effects (3 for the audio input and 3 for the recorded tracks).
Furthermore, the effects are numerically more than those offered in the Rc-300 with interesting loop output solutions such as Beat repeat (repeat a track sample) and Vinyl Flick (speed change typical of vinyls).
Effects can be applied to one or more tracks very simply by selecting the tracks concerned.
- Il MIDI has finally evolved! It seems - and I say it seems - that Boss has finally extended the midi functions allowing you to control tracks, effects, synchronization with external devices, software and other loopstations. The midi has always been a weak point of the Roland pedalboards, is it the right time?
- It was reintroduced on fade in, already present in the RC50 and mysteriously disappeared in the RC300 (I said they had made a c ... mistake!).
- There are more or less the same drum rhythms with the addition of the rhythm called "Metronome"
- No audio output SUB
- Miss the MIDIThru
- The ability to connect the pedal external 3/4 (only 1/2 is present)
Quality
- Rc-505 records in wav format with CD quality 44kz 16bit stereo
- Recording time about 3 stereo hours
- 99 presets to register
Effects
Effects are divided between effects on the input audio signal and effects on the recorded tracks. Also you can set Reverb and Compressor on the Master output.
- FX input
FILTER, PHASER, FLANGER, SYNTH, LO-FI, GUITAR TO BASS, TRANSPOSE, ROBOT, VOCAL DIST, VOCODER, COMP, EQ, ISOLATOR, OCTAVE, PAN, SLICER, DELAY, TAPE ECHO, GRANULAR DELAY, CHORUS, REVERB
- Fx on the tracks
FILTER, PHASER, FLANGER, SYNTH, LO-FI, GUITAR TO BASS, TRANSPOSE, ROBOT, VOCAL DIST, VOCODER, COMP, EQ, ISOLATOR, OCTAVE, PAN, SLICER, DELAY, TAPE ECHO, GRANULAR DELAY, CHORUS, REVERB, BEAT REPEAT, BEAT SHIFT, BEAT SCATTER, VINYL FLICK
Traces and impressions of use
Rc-505 offers 5 independent tracks with record / play / overdub and volume fader functions. Each key has its own Edit key. This is a really nice prospect!
The keys Edit they have the double function of selecting the track to apply an effect and to access the functions of the edit menu. Editing during a live is unlikely, however, so unless in extreme cases it is unthinkable to navigate the submenus during a live (after all, you don't usually need to do it ...).
On the tracks it is possible to apply effects separately, choosing only the tracks concerned. The backlighting of the keys with green, red, yellow colors indicates the status of the key and allows easy orientation of the musician who instantly knows what he is playing and in what mode.
The contents of the tracks are reset by holding down the stop button for 2 seconds as in some previous models.
The system as a whole is intuitive with functions undo e redo e stop with separate keys, the use is fun and does not get lost in technicalities. The designers tried to bring to the chassis as many functions as possible that would otherwise have been lost in the system menus.
Inputs / outputs
- IN XLR microphone with 48v Phantom - 4 k ohms, -40 dBu (typ.), -10 dBu (max)
- 2 IN mono instrument - 200 k ohms, -10 dBu (typ.), +4 dBu (max)
- 1 IN aux stereo - 22 k ohms, -20 dBu
- 2 mono OUT LINE OUT
- USB for use as a sound card and download files - 2 k ohms
- MIDI (IN, OUT) connectors
- CTRL 1/2 EXP for external pedal connection
- 1/4 headphone OUT
Use as a USB sound card
The USB port, as in the case of the RC-300, allows it to be used as a 2-channel mono sound card with any software. The quality is that of CD. In the Rc-300 there were problems with the noise of the recorded signal and Roland - after a while of waiting - released a new version 1.05 firmware who has finally cleaned everything up. This loopstation obviously inherited that upgrade.
PRO
Lopstation Simple to use, with most functions at sight; the largest number of independent tracks available on the hardware market today (there is something software instead)
AGAINST
It is not a product for all musicians. If you play the 6 strings or so, bet on something else.
Price: € 499,00
In the long evolutionary path of the Roland R-50 , Rc-3, R-300 loop stations … designed for those who can't use their hands (guitarists & c.), Here is one exclusively for those who can: beatboxers, djs, vocalists, keyboardists.
The keys are too small to be used as pedals but large enough to be able to make quick changes with the fingers.
Roland RC505
Let's start with the chassis
Having to move towards a table-top product, Boss abandons the aluminum of the pedals and points to a much lighter plastic.
The result is a product that weighs 1.4kg , about a third of the Rc300, with a pleasant design, backlighting of the keys and good space optimization. The line is a bit aligned with the controllers of the moment but as a whole – apart from a feeling of fragility – I don't mind.
R-300 vs Rc-505
Let's just say that the Rc505 is very reminiscent of the functions of the Rc300 so more than an evolution it can be considered an expanded table version.
However, some differences are noteworthy:
- RC-505 offers 5separate tracks against the 3 of RC-300
- Controllable Effectson input and recorded tracks. The Rc300 has this function but it is not impossible to use them live, too many menus and submenus to have to check with your feet …
Here the controls are visible with the possibility of storing 6 effects (3 for audio input and 3 for recorded tracks).
Furthermore, the effects are numerically more than those offered in the RC-300 with interesting solutions for exiting the loop such as the Beat repeat (repetition of a track sample) and the Vinyl Flick (speed change typical of vinyls).
The effects can be applied to one or more tracks very simply by selecting the tracks involved.
- MIDIhas finally evolved! It seems – and I say it seems – that Boss has finally extended the midi functions allowing you to control tracks, effects, synchronization with external peripherals, software and other loopstations.The midi has always been a weak point of the Roland pedals, is it the right time?
- The fade inhas been reintroduced, already present in the RC50 and mysteriously disappeared in the Rc300 (I had said that they had made ac … error!).
- There are more or less the same drum rhythms but with the addition of the rhythm called ” Metronome"
- The SUBaudio output is missing
- The MIDI Thru ismissing
- The possibility of connecting the external 3/4 pedalis missing (only 1/2 is present)
Quality
- Rc-505 records in wav format with CD quality 44kz 16bit stereo
- Recording time approximately 3 hours stereo
- 99 presets to record
Effects
The effects are divided into effects on the input audio signal and effects on the recorded tracks. In addition, Reverb and Compressor can be set on the Master output.
- FX input
FILTER, PHASER, FLANGER, SYNTH, LO-FI, GUITAR TO BASS, TRANSPOSE, ROBOT, VOCAL DIST, VOCODER, COMP, EQ, ISOLATOR, OCTAVE, PAN, SLICER, DELAY, TAPE ECHO, GRANULAR DELAY, CHORUS, REVERB
- Fx on the tracks
FILTER, PHASER, FLANGER, SYNTH, LO-FI, GUITAR TO BASS, TRANSPOSE, ROBOT, VOCAL DIST, VOCODER, COMP, EQ, ISOLATOR, OCTAVE, PAN, SLICER, DELAY, TAPE ECHO, GRANULAR DELAY, CHORUS, REVERB, BEAT REPEAT, BEAT SHIFT, BEAT SCATTER, VINYL FLICK
Traces and impressions of use
Rc-505 offers 5 independent tracks with record / play / overdub and fader volume functions. Each key has its own Edit button.This is really a beautiful prospect!
The Edit buttons have the dual function of selecting the track to apply an effect and to access the functions of the edit menu. The editing during a live is unlikely anyway, so unless there are extreme cases it is unthinkable to start browsing the submenus during a live (in general it is not necessary to do it …).
On the tracks you can apply effects separately, choosing only the tracks involved. The backlight of the keys with green, red and yellow colors indicates the state of the key and allows an easy orientation of the musician who knows instantly what is playing and in which mode.
The content of the tracks is reset by pressing the stop button for 2 seconds as in any previous model.
The system as a whole is intuitive with undo and redo functions and stop with separate buttons, use is fun and does not get lost in technicalities. The designers have tried to bring as many functions as possible to the chassis that would otherwise have been lost in the system menus.
Inputs / outputs
- XLR microphone with Phantom 48v – 4k ohms, -40 dBu (typ.), -10 dBu (max)
- 2 IN mono instrument – 200 k ohms, -10 dBu (typ.), +4 dBu (max)
- 1 IN stereo aux – 22k ohms, -20 dBu
- 2 mono OUT LINE OUT
- USB for use as a sound card and download files – 2 k ohms
- MIDI (IN, OUT) connectors
- CTRL 1/2 EXP for external pedal connection
- OUT headphone 1/4
Use as a USB sound card
The USB port, as in the case of the RC-300, allows you to use it as a 2-channel sound card with any software. The quality is that CD. In the RC-300 there were problems with the recorded signal noise and Roland – after a while of waiting – released a new one firmware version 1.05 that finally cleaned up everything. This loopstation has obviously inherited that upgrade.
PRO
Lopstation Simple to use, with most features visible; the largest number of independent tracks available on the hardware market today (there is something software instead )
VERSUS
It is not a product for all musicians. If you play the 6 strings or so you bet on something else.
Price: 499.00 euros
