Summary of the content on the page No. 1
Workshop
RC-50 Loop Station
The Guide and Loop Quantize
© 2006 BOSS Corporation U.S.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the
written permission of BOSS Corporation U.S.
RC50WS05
Summary of the content on the page No. 2
Understanding the Symbols in This Booklet About the RC-50 Workshop Series Throughout this booklet, you’ll come across information that deserves The BOSS RC-50 Loop Station sets a new standard for performance loopers. special attention—that’s the reason it’s labeled with one of the following With 49 minutes of mono recording time (or 24 minutes in stereo), onboard symbols. storage for up to 297 phrases, and massive realtime control, the RC-50 is a powerful realtime performance tool. While lo
Summary of the content on the page No. 3
The guide sound is silenced when phrase playback is stopped (the current About the Guide phrase in Single mode or all phrases in Multi mode). The RC-50’s built-in guide provides a rhythmic backing The guide sound can also be turned on and off manually for you to play with while you’re recording and playing by pressing the GUIDE START/STOP button. This can phrases. The guide offers many different patterns in be done any time before or during phrase recording, various time signatures and m
Summary of the content on the page No. 4
� Turn the PATCH/VALUE dial to the desired value. Guide Parameters � When you’re finished, press EXIT. Here’s an overview of the guide parameters. The lights on the TAP TEMPO button and TEMPO pedal flash in different • Guide:Pattern—Select the desired guide pattern here. The available colors along with the patch tempo, with red indicating the first beat—or patterns vary depending on the Guide:Beat (time signature) setting. For “downbeat”—of each measure, and green indicating all other beat
Summary of the content on the page No. 5
• Guide:Play Count—When Guide:Play Count is set to 1MEAS, a one- About Loop Quantize measure count-in plays prior to playback when phrase playback is started with the REC/PLAY/OVERDUB pedal. (The OFF setting disables The RC-50’s Loop Quantize function helps you close a the count-in.) The count-in level is determined by the GUIDE LEVEL phrase in time with the guide or another phrase, even knob. if you don’t press the REC/PLAY/OVERDUB pedal at exactly the right moment. This keeps everything
Summary of the content on the page No. 6
The Benefit of Loop Quantize Phrase 1 (reference) To better understand how Loop Quantize aids in phrase recording, let’s take Play start a look at how one typically records phrases on the RC-50. Phrase 2 When the guide’s off and you’re recording a Single mode phrase, you usually have one primary concern: closing the phrase so it loops smoothly. If you In this example, Phrase 2 was recorded in reference to Phrase 1, just as before. This time, don’t close the phrase at exactly the right moment
Summary of the content on the page No. 7
There’s no on/off switch for Loop Quantize—it’s automatically enabled when As shown in the following illustrations, this is the case whether recording is you’re recording to one of the following references: initiated at the start of one of the reference’s measures (the downbeat) or somewhere else (an offbeat). • The guide. • A phrase whose Tempo Sync switch is on. Reference 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 • The phrase that determines Loop Sync playback length. Loop Quantize
Summary of the content on the page No. 8
When the phrase is closed with the REC/PLAY/OVERDUB pedal, Loop Most of the time, you’ll be creating phrases that are longer than 1.5 seconds, Quantize adjusts the phrase ending to the nearest adjustment point at the so the minimum recording time won’t be an issue. However, if your musical time the pedal is pressed (in our example, any second beat of one of the material falls short of this time, we recommend repeating it two or more reference’s measures). times before closing the phrase to ge
Summary of the content on the page No. 9
� When you decide to close the phrase, press REC/PLAY/OVERDUB again. • Multi mode—and Loop Sync is off. Loop Quantize automatically adjusts the phrase’s ending to the guide measure downbeat that’s nearest when the pedal is pressed. It’s possible to start recording on an offbeat when Loop Sync is on, but Loop Quantize behaves a little differently—it adjusts Guide 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 phrase lengths to match the longest phrase. We’ll discuss this (and other uses fo
Summary of the content on the page No. 10
When you’re in Single mode and the patch’s Phrase Change mode is set If you want to record and play your Multi mode phrases without any timing to LOOP END, selecting a phrase for recording while another is playing reference to each other, turn the guide, Loop Sync, and all phrases’ Tempo puts it in a record standby state, and recording doesn’t actually Sync switches off. begin until the current phrase ends. If the guide is on, this behavior ensures that all phrases’ beginnings and endings
Summary of the content on the page No. 11
Two measures Here’s an important thing to keep in mind: Turning on a phrase’s Phrase 1 Tempo Sync switch will make it play at the current patch tempo. (Tempo If you don’t want its playback speed changed from the way it was Sync on) When REC/PLAY/OVERDUB originally recorded—which you’ll probably find preferable in most is pressed, Phrase 2’s ending is Rec start circumstances—set the patch tempo to the same value as the phrase’s adjusted to Phrase 1’s nearest original tempo. Three
Summary of the content on the page No. 12
Loop Quantize with External Sync Loop Sync playback When the RC-50’s set to receive a MIDI clock signal at its MIDI IN jack, its Phrase 1 Silence phrases and guide can be synchronized to MIDI clock messages sent from an external MIDI device, such as a drum machine, MIDI sequencer, or even Phrase 2 another RC-50. When synced externally, the RC-50’s patch tempo follows the incoming MIDI Phrase 3 Silence clock tempo, and phrase actions (recording and playback) can be contr
