Live looping is now a mainstay in the music world, and BOSS’ innovative Loop Station products have played a vital role in the rise of this new avenue of expression. Scores of musicians of all types, from high-profile artists to local performers, now make Loop Stations an integral part of their performances. Just do a quick search of “loop station” on YouTube and you’ll find an endless stream of players showing off the unique creativity that BOSS looping supports. If you’re not “in the loop” yet, you need to check out a BOSS Loop Station and see how fun and inspiring making music with loops can be.

Looping Basics

For the uninitiated, a loop is simply a snippet of audio that plays repeatedly. With a Loop Station, you can plug in a guitar, mic, or other instrument, record a loop on the spot, and then use it as accompaniment for further live playing and/or singing. You can also overdub new performances while the loop plays, a feature also known as “sound-on-sound” recording. Many Loop Stations even have multitrack capability, allowing you to play multiple loops at one time.

Before the advent of today’s dedicated digital loopers, innovative musicians first created loops in real time with delay/echo devices (first tape-based and later digital). In fact, simple looping can be accomplished with BOSS delay pedals like the DD-500 and DD-7, and one of those might do all you need. But if you want to go beyond the basics, creating loops with a delay unit has some limits. First, the available recording time is quite a bit less compared to a dedicated looper. Second, unless you have an external recorder handy, there’s no way to save your masterful loop creation once it’s complete—if you turn off the power or record a new loop, your inspired performance is history!

The Loop Station Advantage

For many years now, BOSS’ Loop Station products have been the go-to looping devices for performing musicians everywhere. They’re made from the ground up with real-time live looping in mind, and offer tons of features that make them perfect for guitarists, vocalists, and all musicians, even those that play acoustic instruments. The current Loop Station lineup provides the most diverse selection ever, with five different models to choose from (see our roundup below).

Perhaps the most important thing a Loop Station offers is time—recording time, that is. In fact, most of the current Loop Stations provide a staggering three hours of onboard stereo recording! Even the streamlined RC-1, which is designed for quick on-the-fly looping, provides 12 minutes of stereo recording, dwarfing what’s available in any delay unit (not to mention many competing looping pedals).

With a Loop Station, you’re not relegated to creating short, repetitive phrases—you can capture complete song sections, or even record an entire song in a single pass. In addition, with the onboard loop storage and massive memory that most Loop Stations provide, you can use them to store pre-recorded backing tracks for both practice and live performing.

Nuts and Bolts

In Loop Station lingo, a recorded loop is called a “phrase.” A phrase can play repeatedly, creating a continuous musical backing.

While a phrase is playing, new recordings can be overdubbed sound-on-sound style. Here, the Loop Stations’ undo function is super handy—if you don’t like your overdub, simply press a switch and undo it, returning the phrase to its pre-overdub state. If you change your mind, press the footswitch again to redo the undo. Of course, all this can be done during a performance without ever stopping playback. Beyond the obvious function of fixing mistakes, undo/redo can also be used as a creative tool for bringing layered parts in and out as you play.

Most Loop Stations feature built-in rhythms, which are great for jamming and creating ultra-tight, grooving loops. Various models also offer multiple input types, allowing you to connect a guitar or bass, a microphone, and a stereo device such as a mixer or portable music player. These inputs are available simultaneously, letting you record the sounds of all the connected devices into your loops as the inspiration hits you.

Choosing the Right Loop Station

Whether your looping needs are great or small, BOSS has a Loop Station for you.

RC-1

For basic looping with an electric instrument, there’s no better choice than the RC-1, the latest member of the Loop Station family. Its compact size and simple operation make it perfect for use with guitar and bass, though it also works great with other instruments like synths and electronic percussion. It runs on batteries or AC power, and is right at home on any pedalboard.

Incredibly intuitive to use, the RC-1’s single integrated pedal switch controls all looping functions: record, overdub, play, stop, and undo/redo. Loop level is adjusted with a single panel knob, while the cool circular indicator provides 24 LEDs that show the current operation mode and the cycle of the active loop. Your control options can be expanded with an optional BOSS footswitch such as the FS-7, which gives you independent access to the stop and undo/redo functions.

The RC-1 Loop Station’s excellent sound quality keeps your tone intact, and the 12 full minutes of stereo recording time is ideal for capturing super-long loop jams. Your last loop session is stored in memory even when the power is turned off, so you can pick up right where you left off at the next practice session or gig.

RC-3

If you want to take your looping a little further, check out the RC-3. It’s the same size as the RC-1, and loop functions are controlled in a similar fashion with the single integrated pedal switch. It also offers true stereo I/O and support for expanded control via external footswitches.

The RC-3 is great for basic looping, and also includes built-in rhythms to keep your loops tight (though you can loop without the rhythms if you like). But the biggest thing that the RC-3 adds over the RC-1 is more looping time and onboard loop storage. There’s a full three hours of time for recording loops, and 99 memory locations for saving loops for later recall. The RC-3 is also equipped with USB, allowing you to connect to a computer for backup and file swapping.

RC-30

The RC-30 Dual Track Looper comes in the popular BOSS Twin Pedal format, and offers some advanced features for players that want to explore even more sophisticated looping. It starts with the basic RC-3 feature set (three hours of recording time, 99 phrase memories, rhythms, etc.), but adds a dual phrase loop feature that lets you create and play two completely independent stereo loop phrases in perfect sync!

Also included in the RC-30 are a selection of Loop FX, allowing you to process loops in real time with effects such as Bend Down, Sweep Filter, Tempo Delay, and more. Multiple inputs include stereo ¼-inch inputs and outputs, an XLR mic input with phantom power, a stereo Aux In jack, and a key selection of onboard rhythms that include real audio drum loops.

RC-300

With its multitrack capability, powerful loop manipulation tools, and built-in effects, the RC-300 is the ultimate floor-based looper. It features eight built-in pedals for massive foot control, plus an expression pedal that can be assigned to adjust loop volume, effects, and other functions.

Offering three simultaneous tracks, the RC-300 can record and store up to three hours of stereo phrases. There are 99 patches, and each patch contains three phrases—that adds up to onboard storage of nearly 300 phrases! And with USB, it’s easy to manage loops with your computer.

The three phrases in an RC-300 patch can be used together in many ways to create complex sounds and interesting song arrangements. With the Loop Sync function, the recording and playback of all three phrases is perfectly locked together, putting an interactive multi-track studio at your feet. Alternately, the Single Track Play function is ideal for creating different song sections (verse, chorus, solo, etc.) and playing them sequentially as needed as the tune progresses.

With the powerful Loop FX in the RC-300, you can apply sound processing before and after recording to take your loops to all-new places. Included are filter and mod effects, unique vocal processing options, and a cool guitar-to-bass effect that sounds awesome for looping bass lines on the fly. A dedicated Loop FX footswitch provides instant effects activation, and parameters can be controlled in real time with the expression pedal for hands-free creativity onstage. You can apply the effects to any single track as well as to the entire mix, giving you lots of sonic variation in your performances.

RC-505

Floor-based Loop Stations are great for instrumentalists, because they can operate them with their feet while performing. However, many solo vocalists and beatboxers prefer to use a looper at table height so they can manipulate the controls with their hands. Designed for fingertip operation, the powerful RC-505 is the perfect fit for these modern performers.

With its five simultaneous stereo loop tracks and up to three hours of recording, the RC-505 is well suited for DJs and club performers as well as singers and beatboxers. Via USB, you can load up the RC-505’s tracks with WAV audio files consisting of everything from sound effects to entire songs, and then trigger, mix, and manipulate them sampler-style with the numerous front-panel controls.

Powerful Input and Track FX make it easy to process live sounds and loops as you perform, with quick-access buttons for effects selection and dedicated knobs for real-time tweaking. Multiple inputs (all available simultaneously) include an XLR mic jack with phantom power, mono/stereo instrument jacks, and a mini-jack for hooking up a smart phone or music player. 99 phrase memories let you save your loop creations instantly, including all five tracks plus effects and playback settings.

The Sky’s the Limit

A Loop Station is a perfect tool to enhance your music and stimulate fresh creative directions. You can take solo or small group performances to a new level, creating on-the-fly backing tracks for soloing or vocal accompaniment. With a single instrument or just your voice, you’re able to build an entire multi-layered musical arrangement right in front of your audience. If you like to work with pre-recorded backing tracks, simply load them as phrases in a Loop Station that supports onboard storage and head to the gig. If you’re into unstructured sounds, a Loop Station is also an amazing device for turning improvisations into unique ambient soundscapes.

A BOSS Loop Station makes a great practice tool as well—you can jam along with backing tracks to build your chops, and record your playing to evaluate your progress. With the RC-300 and RC-505, it’s possible to record or import external audio songs and slow down the playback without changing the pitch, perfect for guitarists and other instrumentalists who want to learn speedy licks by their favorite players.

To see and hear some of the amazing things that can be accomplished with a BOSS Loop Station and stimulate some creative inspiration of your own, check out the many video performances we’ve collected at the BOSS Channel on YouTube.

Happy looping!