Does anyone have experience with these two or either of them. I really want to get one and most of the reviews are good but there are some things that concern me. One is that supposedly the metronome click is always heard in the background. If that's true that's not a good thing.
Also there were some people that posted about getting the timing correct was nearly impossible.
So is anyone using one of these?
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I've got the RC-2 which I've read only lacks the reverse function that the RC-20XL has. If you plug in a footpedal into the rc-2 you then have the extra pedal that the 20 has. I read this in a forum so I don't know how accurate it is.
There is no click on the rc-2 but it has whats called guide tracks which a re drum loops. You can just turn them down and not hear them which I do quite often and then nothing sounds but what you record into the box..
"All battles are first won or lost in the mind." - Joan of Arc
"It took me about 20 years to figure out how to write without inspiration. Thankfully, I got there." - Leon Russell
It's not one of your two choices but have you considered the DigiTech Jamman? The click track (one of 8 clicks or simple drum beats) is able to be fully shut off. It also has a USB connector to allow you to move tracks to/from the pedal (or use the removable flash card and a card reader on your computer).
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
I heard that the JamMan had been discontinued. Is that true? You may still be able to pick it up though.
Interview guy: What is the source of your feedback?
Neil Young: Volume.
I think you may be right. If I look for the JamMan at the various major online stores (MusciansFriend etc.) they all show it as discontinued though I can see them for sale new on eBay and some smaller online stores.
In looking at DigiTech's website I see two newer loopers that don't show up in the online stores yet nor in a Google shopping search. They look kind of interesting. One is a smaller single pedal size version of the JamMan and the other is a similar size to the old one but is stereo. Both use SD cards instead of the older CF cards. The larger stereo pedal adds some extra features beyond the older JamMan - not enough to make me sell my JamMan and buy it but maybe enough to make me wait if I was buying new. No idea what the prices are but I imagine they've got to be competitive with the Boss loopers / similar to the older JamMan.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
Hyper - I saw the new Digitech loopers and they look like Boss clones with some upgrades. It looks like they can store a heck of a lot more loops than the Boss pedals but the price will be more too.
I see their loop station is true stereo but I'm not sure what advantage that offers do you?
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I actually think it's the other way around and that the Boss pedals came after the JamMan. At the time that I bought it there were no Boss loopers.
The JamMan is/was roughly the same price as the RC-20XL. It stores a lot more because it uses some pretty standard storage - CompactFlash or in the case of the new ones SD cards. This is kind of handy because I can pull the CF card and just connect that up to my computer rather than dragging the pedal and power supply over to the computer. That plus I can have multiple cards with tracks on it and I don't need to delete stuff so much. The CF cards work ok for me because I've got a bunch of them (my old camera used those and so I have them left over - the new camera uses SD cards). Over the next few years I imagine these will get scarcer.
The new JamMan is stereo and I think that would only matter if you are running a stereo rig and have effects that have stereo out. I have heard complaints about stereo looping before on the JamMan mailing list and it seems like some of the serious looper users are into ambient/industrial/space music and so using a lot of time and spatial effects which are stereo. I can see the reasons for making the looper support that. You might also be able to keep voice (the new and old JamMan have XLR mike input) and instrument separate and so run them through different amps on output.
The biggest new features, in my mind, are the extra switches and the new software JamManager. The extra switches look to be track up and down which are really useful. I bought the extra external footswitch to add those controls but building them in is good. I use it to have different backing loops for different parts of a song and then switch between them. The JamManager software looks to be for managing your loops on your computer for downloading to the JamMan and possibly for various types of conversion of files etc. I'm hopeful that this software will work with the JamMan - it should if the file formats are the same or similar enough.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
I wanted one of those pedals a couple of years ago. Finally I didn't buy it. I remember these models had the same electronics (or very similar), the main difference was the easy to use because the RC-20 is a 'double pedal' and you can get some functionalities directly.
I asked in the forums about them and I remember the Hyperborea's comment about DigiTech but there also were several comments on the Boss. I have the thread bookmarked in another computer, tomorrow I'll update the post!
Hi Chris,
Here it is the link. BTW, you will find your own comments on the RC-20! :D
The boss loop stations are great. I use one all the time. If you're in 4/4 time it's very easy to get the timing right. Layeing is easy also. It's great to play harmony lines on the fly too. The one I have is the small pedal and it has up to 16 minutes of recordable time. As a soloist I wouldn't gig without it now.
If you have a love for singing learn to play guitar and sing at the same time.
