Bryan R. Tyler
TalkBass: Usurping My Practice Time Since 2002
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- May 3, 2002
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- Reviewer: Bass Player Magazine
Got this in the mail today for $295 plus shipping. I love this little box! It sounds very, very good-better than I thought it might. Had it figured after about 15 minutes, so it's pretty intuitive, particularly if you've had other Boss multi pedals. I don't know the sample rate (couldn't find it in the book either), but it reproduces very well. I'm sure a Gibson Echoplex has a higher rate, but this will probably cover all your needs (lower-frequency instruments tend to not need as high a sample rate to reproduce well). You can store 11 loops and make any of them one-shots. You can set the loops to run into each other as well by using the loop selector (or the footswitch if you get one). Undo and redo functions allow you to scrap or put back in a loop that didn't work (both are hands-free).
You can choose between three types of stops (instant, fade-out, and stop at end of phrase), and you can save whichever type of stop you like with individual patches. Other fun things include reverse which can be done on the fly or a patch can be predesignated as reverse, autostart which makes the loop begin recording only when you begin playing (I like this a lot), tempo alteration (which I haven't really messed with yet), and the ability to record CD parts and play along to whole songs or just parts of them. Tons of loop memory with up to 16 mins of space to use.
I haven't gotten any of the extensional pedals yet, but you can hook up two FS-5Us to allow you to switch up and down between patches hands-free, and you can use an additonal one to allow you to access the "Reverse" function hands-free. The Boss site says you can use one FS-6 pedal in place of the two FS-5Us, but the FS-6 isn't in stores yet, and I'm not sure how it functions with the RC-20XL as it can't use latching pedals and the whole schtick behind the FS-6 is that it has 1 momentary and 1 latching pedal on one unit. There's no LCD panel, so it indicates which patch number you're on by having a LED blink that many times (8 times for patch 8, etc.) I'm going to email Boss and see what the deal is with the FS-6, and then decide which extension pedals I'd prefer to buy.
Great little looper, and I imagine a really fantastic one with the extension pedals. I'm diggin' it.
You can choose between three types of stops (instant, fade-out, and stop at end of phrase), and you can save whichever type of stop you like with individual patches. Other fun things include reverse which can be done on the fly or a patch can be predesignated as reverse, autostart which makes the loop begin recording only when you begin playing (I like this a lot), tempo alteration (which I haven't really messed with yet), and the ability to record CD parts and play along to whole songs or just parts of them. Tons of loop memory with up to 16 mins of space to use.
I haven't gotten any of the extensional pedals yet, but you can hook up two FS-5Us to allow you to switch up and down between patches hands-free, and you can use an additonal one to allow you to access the "Reverse" function hands-free. The Boss site says you can use one FS-6 pedal in place of the two FS-5Us, but the FS-6 isn't in stores yet, and I'm not sure how it functions with the RC-20XL as it can't use latching pedals and the whole schtick behind the FS-6 is that it has 1 momentary and 1 latching pedal on one unit. There's no LCD panel, so it indicates which patch number you're on by having a LED blink that many times (8 times for patch 8, etc.) I'm going to email Boss and see what the deal is with the FS-6, and then decide which extension pedals I'd prefer to buy.
Great little looper, and I imagine a really fantastic one with the extension pedals. I'm diggin' it.
