You can save to a different patch location during playback and therefore build fairly complex structures as you go. Neck aches aside, it’s so much faster adjusting four parameters at once, and the new Edit buttons mean that tweaking before effect activation is actually quite slick now.

It’s even possible to customize the headphones output to monitor individual tracks and rhythm sounds.This could well be a one-stop effects unit for some musicians with these Boss guitar effects, a guitar-to-bass sim and vocal FX all onboard. However, another Boss product, the RC‑600, could be worth considering if you prefer a more traditional format. As an interface the RC-505 MkII can work with your DAW and other apps with MIDI control on the side.

MusicRadar verdict: Boss has extended and enhanced its flagship desktop loop station without compromising its original quality and playability. Two external control jacks are also available for connecting footswitches or expression pedals, and each has its own dedicated set of parameters.

If you require further assistance, all Product Support questions are handled via BACKSTAGE which can be accessed via eu. The factory drum patterns cover a fairly decent range, from foxtrot to punk, world to electro, pop to metal. Personally, I’d be tempted to replace those encoder caps with rounder ones, but, as you can probably tell, I’ve reached the nit‑picking stage. Users who stick to regular loop lengths, probably in multiples of four bars, will experience no hardships whatsoever.

It's impossible to talk about the best looping pedals without Boss – and it doesn't just have one contender but a whole host now, and its Loop Station family just got even bigger with the announcement of the RC-600 and RC-505mk II. With the RC-505’s large selection of built-in effects, it’s easy to enhance your sounds as you perform. There's 49 Input FX and 53 Track FX types to choose from—including new vocal harmony effects—and you can even use up to four in each section at once. There's more' the RC-505mkII’s panel faders have "longer throw for more precise adjustments and rigid construction for a more solid feel. Though there are still 99 memory slots they now get to share a total of around 13 hours of recording time at 32-bit 44.

These 32‑bit recordings are sharp and clean, and if you don’t already have a conversion app (say, to import them into a DAW), Boss Tone Studio is a free download. Other time‑savers to set up for convenience might include tying tracks to specific inputs or to certain sub outs, or setting up unusual loop lengths. Recording is always one track at a time and, unlike delay‑based loopers, the audio cycles around perfectly, with no option to age or degrade. The RC-505 MkII is an expanded and enhanced update of the original desktop Loop Station, one of Boss’s many great original designs that has held its own as (digital) audio electronics has charged onwards. The LCD is a simple monochrome affair of 128 x 64 pixels and beneath it are four black encoders that, along with some of the buttons, blend mysteriously into the black background, a design trend only Douglas Adams could have predicted.