BOSS

115
MAY 2020 GUITARIST
Tech Spec
ORIGIN: Malaysia
TYPE: Looper pedal
FEATURES: Buffered bypass,
maximum recording
time: approx. 6hrs (stereo),
99 phrase memory slots
DRUM KITS: Studio, Live, Light,
Heavy, Rock, Metal, Jazz, Brushes,
Cajon, Drum&Bs, R&B, Dance,
Techno, Dance Beats, Hiphop,
808+909
CONTROLS: Value, Loop Level,
Rhythm Level, Menu switch,
Exit switch, Loop footswitch,
Rhythm footswitch
CONNECTIONS: Standard inputs
(A/Mono, B), standard outputs
(A/Mono, B), CTL 1, 2/EXP,
MIDI In, MIDI Out, USB
POWER: Supplied 9V DC
adaptor 250mA
DIMENSIONS: 101 (w) x 138 (d)
x 65mm (h)
9
slightly busier) variation on it (Pattern 2).
Fills are automatically inserted when
transitioning between the two patterns
and you can chuck in a fill at any time
by hitting the footswitch once. There
are some great patterns here that will
really entice you to play along: excellent
for creativity and sparking new musical
ideas, but also extremely practical if you
need to hone your timing. If you don’t
like the sound of the kit that comes as the
default with a particular pattern, it’s easily
changed for another and you can adjust
the reverb on it, too.
For looping you choose a free memory
slot and get started, with single presses
taking you through either a record/
overdub/play cycle or a record/play/
overdub cycle. You can hold the switch
to undo and redo loops and press it twice
to stop. With two tracks available you can
record two different song sections, and
these can play serially with switching
between Track 1 and Track 2 carried out
by holding down the Rhythm switch and
hitting the Loop switch.
All of that is with rhythm and loops
operating separately, but using them
simultaneously is facilitated by the very
practical SYNC mode that lets you initiate
loop recording by setting the rhythm going
and having the looper change to Track 2
when the rhythm changes to Pattern 2.
It’s all very intuitive and great for looping
newbies. If you wish to expand your
control options then external footswitches
and expression pedal can take on a number
of roles, or you can use MIDI.
VERDICT
An inspirational tool for songwriting and
practice: its rhythms can feed creativity
and stretch your playing. Of course, the
RC-10R is also perfectly capable for live
use, too, and if you don’t choose to use the
rhythms, you still have a looper that works
like the Boss compact models. That’s not
to say the rhythms aren’t useful live: a solo
act may find them invaluable for a bigger
sound, especially as the facility to load your
own enables ready access to tailor-made
backing tracks. Impressive.
PROS Ease of use; large variety of usable
rhythms; instantly switchable between two
song sections; visual loop indicators
CONS A headphone output would have
been useful; no battery power for buskers
01. LOOP
FOOTSWITCH
Footswitch for looping
functions: single presses for
recording, overdubbing and
playback; two presses to stop
playback; hold for undo/redo
02. RHYTHM
FOOTSWITCH
Press once to start the
rhythm; hold to change to
the next pattern. Pressing
once during playing will
bring in a fi ll, while pressing
twice will stop the rhythm
with an ending fi ll
03. CIRCULAR
DISPLAY (RHYTHM)
This displays your rhythm as
it progresses, one LED per
beat. A contrasting coloured
LED indicates the fi rst beat
of each bar
04. CIRCULAR
DISPLAY (LOOP)
The LEDs here change colour
to indicate the status: green
for playback, red for recording,
orange for overdubbing
05. DISPLAY &
VALUE ENCODER
The Value encoder in
conjunction with the display
lets you select your rhythm
patterns and phrases
as well as taking care of
housekeeping tasks
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5
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GIT458.peds_boss.indd 115 19/03/2020 17:32