BOSS RC-30 LOOP STATION

Two-loop live looping with effects.

RRP: $199

Bypass: Buffered Footswitches: Two Dedicated stop control? Yes A/D/A conversion: 16 bit

PROS:

• Bonus effects • Stereo synced loops • Versatile

CONS:

• Footswitch operation isn’t intuitive

At the core of the Boss RC-30 are two synchronised loops. There’s a streamlined interface with a couple of sliders for volume and then two footswitches. The footswitches are pulling double-duty: where the left-hand one stops its loop with a double-tap, the right stops all loops with a double-tap. Whether it’s on these smaller units or the larger RC-50/300 sized ones, which offer quantisation, we’ve never been a fan of that pattern, preferring instead to bank through loops with a button if it means we can have dedicated start and stop footswitches.

Although they’re not something we’ve ever found a use for, there are backing tracks in a variety of styles that can be triggered. More useful are the effects – especially as this is a Boss unit – with a step phaser, delay, sweep filter, lo-fi setting and pitch bend all ready to be applied to your loops.

The RC-30 also makes our list of best looper pedals because it can save and load audio via USB, with the ability to load and play back WAV files. However, this is where things dip into less-thanideal territory. For live playing, most audiences won’t notice the difference between 16 and 24 bit, but if you’ve got tracks from a recording you want to load on, chances are they’ll be 24 bit. Hardly the end of the world, but certainly a bit of extra effort.