BOSS RC-5 Loop Station — modern, compact looper with first-class sound quality, 99 phrase memories, 57 rhythms and optional MIDI control. Perfect for guitar, bass, electroacoustic

I will start by saying I use this for backing tracks not looping. I had to do a bit of research into what would work for me and this is close to perfect. 99 tracks and plenty of storage. Simple to load the tracks (using either the app or just drag and drop.). It has one big let down and that is you can only load and delete tracks using the app, you cannot change any settings/name the patches etc. Meaning you can spend a long time clicking through options on the pedal itself which is really fiddley. Also you will benefit massively by buying a boss footswitch (don't make the mistake of thinking a normal footswitch will work it needs to be powered). This will allow you to change the patches up/down or other settings without touching the pedal.

Its a great device and the all-metal housing feels very solid and heavy. The basic operations of a looper are intuitively easy to use and recordings sound good, as long as the amp is setup correctly (i.e. either wired into the effects loop if present or the amp effects are all turned off). The only quibble was that the foot switch goes from REC > DUB > PLAY which forces one to quickly double-tap to get out of DUB mode when laying down just one track as a baseline and playing to it. Luckily I found on the support website that the order can be changed to REC > PLAY > DUB. I see that both modes have merit in some situations and it would be nicer if switching between would be easier (and documented in the manual). A create feature is the USB connection to save and load tracks. I have converted a few songs to 16-bit WAV and loaded them into the looper at memory locations 80 to 89 which now makes playing along with them very easy. I am using a PC running Linux (XUbuntu 16.04) to connect to the looper's USB port and it works flawlessly.

Very impressive build and sound quality. Nice compact size. I have home DIY fitted couple of switches to replace the external footswitches for more control onboard.However,Drums are just start and stop. Please don't expect any fills, transition, intro or outro. Keeps you on time though. Single loop only. Need to install software in your mac/pc to upload backing tracks, its NOT drag n drop. Also, the file has to be converted to Wav format. Extra hassle, but it is a very handy pedal (recommended) for those who likes to play along backing tracks.The main thing i dislike is that; when you are clearing a recorded loop, after stop; you press and hold the pedal, at this moment the track plays for about 1-2sec before its cleared. So your crowd may not appreciate that.Overall its a good pedal, it does OK for my need but i guess the hype is more than what it really does, unless you spend a good fortune on midi controllers. Don't always go for brand. Get what satisfies your need.

I bought this as a little project. Originally I was going to buy a delay pedal with a basic looper function but got drawn in to the idea of having a more complex looper.The pedal itself is fantastic... I guess. As per any boss pedal the build quality is incredible and the functionality all makes sense. Having 99 preset/recording slots is also great. But unfortunately I only have a Line 6 practice amp these days which has no "effects loop". Therefore I had to run the pedal in series before the input to the amp, which meant that drums were distorted, as were any presents that I recorded with clean tone, once I set my amp to a distorted channel.Even then, when I harmonised distorted tones there were some strange tonal interference effects... It just wasn't pleasant.But I know from youtube demonstrations that in the effects loop, this pedal would have done everything that I wanted.With regret I had to return the pedal - and of course Amazon accepted this without query!

I have been using the Boss RC3 for just over a week now and can confirm that I am 98% pleased with it.Build quality:• Like most Boss products it is built to last, bullet proof.• The controls are positive to use and laid out logically.Ease of use:• Here's where it gets interesting, for a beginner or someone with little patients I would imagine that it may drive them slightly crazy… However… I would recommend watching a couple of YouTube vids and you will be flying.• Keep it simple to start off with a smooth twelve bar blues loop with some percussion, ad a few licks to the mix and you are edging into looping heaven.• What I really love about this looper is the option to add drums after looping, they automatically match your rhythm, and can also be used with the Tap function and used to develop better timing.• Overdubbing, deleting and stopping are all controlled by the foot switch so no bending down to clear overdubs.• Saving to one of the 99 banks is also a great option meaning that you can recall all of your favorited loops to jam along to.CONS:• Get a dedicated power supply… a descent one… the right one for the unit, I own a InnoGear® 10 power supply which has a dedicated port suitable for the RC3 however the noise from the peddle through the amp is unworkable. I ended up buying a Boss PSA adapter which cost an extra £20 which solved the noise problem.• The pre-sets are 90-99 are very cheesy - I have deleted them.SummaryIf you want a tool to help improve timing, record melody ideas, mix up your practice sessions or even gig with (for me that may take lots more practice) BUY THIS WITHOUT DELAY!!!!