Boss Reasserts its Looper Supremacy for Tabletop and Floor Applications - with the new Class-Leading RC-505 MKII and RC-600 Loop Stations
I hadn’t yet covered Boss’s recent RC-505 MKII Loop Station release - a significant update to Marc Rebillet’s favourite looper. The RC-505 really is the industry standard for creative desktop looping with super high quality 32-Bit recording and playback for ultimate fidelity.
5 parallel stereo phrase tracks give you maximum finessed control over live performances and studio use. Essentially the best tabletop looper just got better - with a slew of enhancements and refinements. 2 Instrument Inputs, 2 Mic Inputs, and 2 Subs with dedicated Headphones output too.
The whole FX assignment has been hugely evolved now with 4 Banks of 4 A|B|C|D FX per Track - with new FX button per Track, and 4 in-context Mini Controls for tweaking those FX on the fly.
So the RC-505 MKII has incredibly intuitive and ergonomic tactile control with super easy FX assignment, tempo changes and precision Track manipulation. 2 Key knobs give you instant refined control over input and output. If you’re looking for the state-of-the art tabletop looper - then this is surely it.
The RC-600 is really the floor-based equivalent of the RC-505 MKII and a replacement for the now somewhat ageing RC-300 model. Compared to the RC-300 the RC-600 significantly ups the specs with much higher processing power and signal fidelity.
The RC-600 has been robustly engineered to fully withstand the most rigorous of touring conditions. As mentioned, it really is the full counterpart to the Desktop-focused RC-505 MKII while those functions have been somewhat adapted towards mainly footswitch-based floor usage.
Both devices are similar in width - or 420mm vs 435mm - while the RC-600 is somewhat slimmer in vertical profile, and both devices are similarly priced. Each has very much been honed towards its particular environment and contains the optimal arrangement of controls for every pertinent usage scenario. Both devices are significant refinements over their predecessor and both share the same smart LCD display screen and 4 in-context FX controls.
These are obviously intended for pro usage and have significant footprints to cover the extensive features onboard. There is no better endorsement than being ’King of the Loops’ Marc Rebillet’s Looper of choice.
The RC-505 MKII is already available from all the usual dealers while the RC-600 should be arriving there within the next few weeks or so.
RC-505 MKII Loop Station - $600 / €619 / £549
Key Features & Specs
- The industry-standard tabletop looper, updated and enhanced
- Class-leading sound quality with 32-bit AD/DA and 32-bit floating-point processing
- Five simultaneous stereo phrase tracks with dedicated controls and independent volume faders
- Input FX and Track FX sections, each with four simultaneous effects and four quick-access banks
- Customizable FX and Track buttons for each phrase track
- Massive onboard effects selection with 49 Input FX types and 53 Track FX types, including new Harmony,
Electric FX, and many others - New ultra-durable faders with longer throw for more precise adjustment
- Newly added Mark Back function provides enhanced undo/redo flexibility while performing
- Two XLR mic inputs with phantom power, two stereo line input pairs, and three stereo line output pairs
- 99 memories, each containing five phrase tracks, custom effects and playback settings,
control assignments, and more - Synchronize your loops with over 200 onboard rhythm patterns and 16 drum kits
- Deep MIDI control support
- Two external control jacks, each with support for up to two footswitches or an expression pedal
- USB for data backup, phrase import/export with BOSS Tone Studio, and pattern import with the
- RC Rhythm Converter
- Sampling Frequency : 44.1 kHz
- AD/DA Conversion : 32 bits
- Processing : 32-bit floating point
- Number of Tracks : 5
- Data Format: WAV (44.1 kHz, 32-bit float, stereo)
- Maximum Recording Time: Approx. 1.5 hours (1 track), Approx.13 hours (total of All memories)
- Rhythm Type : 200 types or greater
- Rhythm Kit : 16 types
- Input FX : 49 types
- Track FX : 53 types
- Master FX : 2 types
- Memory : 99
- Nominal Input Level : MIC 1, 2 Input : -40 dBu | INST 1, 2 Input : -10 dBu
- Maximum Input Level : MIC 1, 2 Input : 0 dBu | INST 1, 2 INPUT : +7 dBu/+20 dBu (selectable)
- Input Impedance : MIC 1, 2 Input : 3k ohms | INST 1, 2 Input : 1 M ohms/25 k ohms (selectable)
- Nominal Output Level : MAIN Output : -10 dBu | SUB 1, 2 Output : -10 dBu
- Maximum Output Level : MAIN Output : +7 dBu | SUB 1, 2 Output : +7 dBu
- Output Impedance : MAIN Output : 1 k ohm | SUB 1, 2 Output : 1 k ohm
- Recommended Load Impedance : MAIN Output : 10 k ohms or greater | SUB 1, 2 Output : 10 k ohms or greater
- Controls : TRACK1-5 REC/PLAY button, TRACK1-5 STOP button, TRACK1-5 TRACK button, TRACK1-5 FX button, ALL START/STOP button, UNDO/REDO button, TAP TEMPO button, RHYTHM START/STOP button, RHYTHM EDIT button, INPUT FX A-D button, INPUT FX EDIT button, TRACK FX A-D button, TRACK FX EDIT button, MENU button, LOOP button, ENTER button, EXIT button, PAGE buttons, 1-4 knobs, OUTPUT LEVEL knob, TRACK1-5 LEVEL Faders
- Display : Graphic LCD (128 x 64 dots, backlit LCD)
Connectors : MIC IN 1, 2 jack: XLR type (balanced, phantom power: DC 48 V, 10 mA Max, INST IN 1, 2 jacks, MAIN OUT jacks, SUB OUT 1, 2 jacks: 1/4-inch phone type, PHONES jack: Stereo 1/4-inch phone type, CTL1,2/EXP1 jack, CTL3,4/EXP2 jack: 1/4-inch TRS phone type, USB port: USB B type, MIDI (IN, OUT) connectors, DC IN jack - Power Supply : AC adaptor
- Current Draw : 1.0 A (with phantom power), 0.9 A (without phantom power)
- Accessories : AC adaptor, Owner's Manual, Leaflet "USING THE UNIT SAFELY"
- Options (sold separately) : Footswitch: FS-5U, Dual Footswitch: FS-6, FS-7, Expression Pedal: FV-500H, FV-500L, EV-30, Roland EV-5
- Width : 420mm / 16-9/16", Depth : 234mm / 9-1/4", Height : 67mm / 2-11/16"
- Weight : 1.8 kg / 4 lbs
- MAP/RRP : $600 / €619 / £549
RC-600 Loop Station - $600 / €619 / £549
Key Features & Specs
- New Flagship in Floor-Based Looping
- Industry-Leading 32-Bit Processing for Crystal Clear Looping
- The Ultimate Multi Track Device with 6 available Tracks
- 9 Assignable footswitches for high flexibility in performance and song creation
- Multi-layered Footswitches with rapid access to deep functions
- High Flexibility Audio Routing for Live Performance obviates additional Mixers and more complex setups
- Controls : Output Level, 4 x FX Controls, Menu, Loop, Rhythm, Tap Tempo, Exit, Enter / Write, Page / Lock, Track Select / FX Hold, Undo|Redo / Half Speed, All Start|Stop / Reverse, Rec/Play x 3, Stop x 3, Input A-C x 2
- Over 200 Presets + Up to 50 Users with 16 Kit Types
- Display : 128 x 64 Graphic LCD
- Instrument In : 2 x Stereo
- MIC in : x 2
- Sub Out : 2 x Stereo
- Main Out
- Phones Out
- CTL Jacks x 2
- MIDI In/Out
- USB-B
- Input FX : 49 types
- Track FX : 53 types
- Simultaneous Use : 4 Types x 4 Banks each - Input & Track FX
- Sampling Frequency : 44.1 kHz
- AD/DA Conversion : 32 bits
- Processing : 32-bit floating point
- Number of Tracks : 6
- Width : 435mm, Depth : 163mm, Height : 66mm
- Weight : 2.4 kg
- MAP/RRP : $600 / €619 / £549
Final Thoughts
It's interesting that with effects pedals - things are increasingly moving towards tabletop applications - with a slew of new artists constantly manipulating FX pedals by hand. So there's a growing market for RC-505 MKII applications - which has slightly more granularity and hands-on control to it than its floor-based RC-600 counterpart. Perfect for tabletop artists like Marc Rebillet and Reggie Watts.
The RC-600 is more likely to be used by the likes of Ed Sheeran, KT Tunstall, and Elise Trouw - or largely guitar-based singer-songwriter types where both hands are typically attached to their main instrument of choice.
As I mentioned, these are both near enough equal in width - and are for sure large pro-use devices. You're going to need a fair amount of real-estate for these - so these will have to be a dominant function within the effects section / pedalboard - or possibly a separate annexe to the side.
For my needs the RC-10R is still the frontrunner - I really think a big part of this is how much space you can dedicate to the pedal - and how significant a part it is of your regular playing.
Whichever direction you decide to go - the two options here are the for sure the state-of-the art for each application. There are significant difference in deployment - and the added granularity of the RC-505 MKII is going to be the preferred choice for many.
As mentioned - they're both similarly priced, and while the RC-505 MKII has just recently made it to dealers - you will need to wait a few weeks for the RC-600 to be in general distribution.
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