Loop Station

TurboStart
2. 3. Connect the output of your guitar, instrument, or pedal rig to the RC-50s rear-panel INST R(MONO) and L jacks, or to the R(MONO) INPUT jack if you want to record in mono. Turn the PATCH/VALUE dial to select an unused patch for recording. When you choose a patch, the PHRASE 1 pedals indicator lights solidly orange, and the indicators on the PHRASE 1 and REC/PLAY/OVERDUB pedals flash red. Press the SINGLE/MULTI mode button repeatedly until the indicators on the SINGLE/ MULTI and LOOP SYNC pedals arent lit. Turn the INST (INPUT LEVEL) knob to adjust your recording level. Turn the MASTER LEVEL knob clockwise to adjust your listening level. Turn the GUIDE LEVEL knob until Guide Level OFF appears in the display. Step on the REC/PLAY/OVERDUB pedal to start recordingthe indicators on the PHRASE 1 and RECORD/PLAY/OVERDUB pedals light red. Perform the desired phrase. When youre finished, step on the REC/PLAY/ OVERDUB pedal to stop recordingthe pedals indicator changes to green and the phrase youve recorded plays automatically. You can adjust the volume of the phrase by turning the PHRASE 1 LEVEL knob. To add more material to Phrase 1, step on the REC/PLAY/OVERDUB pedal againits indicator turns orange. This means the RC-50 is overdubbing: recording new material without erasing what youve already recorded. To stop recording, step on the REC/PLAY/ OVERDUB pedal so its indicator is greenthe RC-50 plays your original recording and the overdub together. When youre finished, press the STOP pedal. To record Phrase 2 and Phrase 3, step on the desired phrase pedal that you want to record to, and then follow Steps 8-13 above.

Welcome

Congratulations on your purchase of the Boss RC-50 Loop Station. This TurboStart contains step-by-step instructions that will quickly introduce you to the RC-50s major features.

Auditioning Patches

A patch is a collection of phrases along with settings that determine how they play. The RC-50 contains 99 patches. Patches 1-5 are Preset patches with prerecorded phrases you can play along with. 1. Choose how you want to listen to the RC-50: Connect headphones to the RC-50s rearpanel PHONES jack, or Connect the RC-50s rear-panel MAIN OUTPUT jacks to your amp or mixer, or for mono listening, connect only the R(MONO) MAIN OUTPUT jack. 2. Turn the PATCH/VALUE dial to select Patch 2, FUNKY BLUES. 3. Press the PHRASE 1 pedal. 4. Press the REC/PLAY/OVERDUB pedal to play the patchs first phrase. Turn the MASTER LEVEL knob to adjust the volume as desired. 5. Press the PHRASE 2 pedal. When Phrase 1 finishes playing, Phrase 2 begins to play. 6. Now press the PHRASE 3 pedalwhen Phrase 2 finishes, Phrase 3 plays. 7. Once Phrase 3 has played through, it stops automatically. If youd like to stop playback sooner, press the STOP pedal. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Recording a Phrase

The RC-50 contains two playback modes: Single Modelets you play back phrases one at a time. This allows you to record three different song sections (verse, chorus, and bridge, for example) and play each section individually. Multi Modelets you play Phrases 1, 2 and/or 3 at the same time. You can record, for example, a drum part in one phrase, a bass in another, a guitar in the other, and then play them back together in any combination, or by themselves. Heres how to record phrases in Single Mode: 1. Turn the MASTER LEVEL knob counterclockwise to turn down the master level. 13. 14.

Writing Patches into Memory
When youve recorded new phrases or made any changes to a patch, you have to write them into the RC-50s memory to store them. Use the following steps to store a patch: 1. Stop playback of all of the patchs phrases, and then press the WRITE buttonWrite to appears in the display.

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Note: If youd like to save your patch to a different patch memory location, turn the PATCH/VALUE dial to select the desired location (1-99). 2. Press WRITENow Writing appears in the display as the settings are stored.

Stop Mode

Stop Mode gives you three different methods to stop the playback of a phrase: Immediate, Fade Out, and Loop End. Use the following steps to select the Stop Mode for a phrase. 1. Choose a patch to edit. 2. Press the desired phrases PHRASE button. 3. Press PARAMETER until Phrase: Stop appears in the display. 4. Turn the PATCH/VALUE to choose the desired mode: IMMEDIATEWhen the STOP pedal is pressed while a selected phrase is playing, the phrase stops immediately. FADE OUTWhen the STOP pedal is pressed while a selected phrase is playing, the phrase fades out and then stops automatically. LOOP ENDWhen the STOP pedal is pressed while a selected phrase is playing, the phrase plays to its end and then stops automatically. 5. 6. 7. Repeat Steps 2 and 4 for any other phrases youd like to set up. When youre finished, press EXIT. Press the WRITE button twice to save your new Stop mode settings.

Using the Rhythm Guide

The RC-50 contains a Rhythm Guide that can help you with your timing as youre recording phrases. You can also use it as a backing rhythm part to play along with. In the Rhythm Guide, there are preprogrammed rhythms with different time signatures referred to as patternsthat use a variety of drum and percussion sounds. Use the following steps to audition a few of the patterns: 1. Press the SELECT button. 2. Turn the GUIDE LEVEL knob to adjust the Rhythm Guides volume level. 3. Turn the PATCH/VALUE knob to select a rhythm. 4. Press the START/STOP button. 5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to audition other patterns. 6. When youre finished, press START/STOP to stop the currently playing pattern, and then press EXIT.

Simulstart

Simulstart is a feature that allows you to start and stop phrases simultaneously in a patch. This can be useful if, for example, youve recorded three different phrases in each phrase location, and want them all to start at the same time. Use the following steps to turn Simulstart on or off for each of the phrases in a patch: 1. Select the desired patch. 2. Press the NAME/PATCH button. 3. Press the PARAMETER button repeatedly until Patch:SimulStart appears in the display. 4. Use the buttons to move the cursor, and the PATCH/VALUE dial to select ON or OFF for each phrase. 5. When youre finished, press the EXIT button. 6. Press the WRITE button twice to save your new Simulstart changes.

Naming a Patch

Any of the 99 patches can be custom-named with up to 16 characters. Use the following steps to name a patch: 1. Select the desired patch. 2. Press the NAME/PATCH button. 3. Press to move the cursor to the first name character. 4. Turn the PATCH/VALUE dial to select the desired first character. 5. Press to move the cursor to the next character. 6. Turn the PATCH/VALUE dial to select the next character. 7. Repeat Steps 5-6 to enter the remaining characters of the name you want. 8. To save the patchs new name, press the WRITE button twice.

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Additions to the RC-50 Owners Manual
At the time of publication, the information below was not included in the RC-50 Owners Manual. Please add the following additional information to the Owners Manual.
Switching Playback-Start Operation
You can switch the manner for starting playback immediately when the REC/PLAY/OVERDUB pedal is operated while recording is in progress.
Priority Given to Rhythm (Factory Default)
This preserves the performance rhythm from the time that recording started. When you operate the pedal, the performance-start location is adjusted and playback is started accordingly. Although it may sometimes sound as if playback has started from the middle of a phrase, from the following loop, playback takes place as recorded.

Priority Given to Sound

This starts playback from the beginning of the recorded data. Note, however, that for the rhythm guide, recorded phrases, or recordings synchronized with MIDI, playback starts with Rhythm Priority.
How to Change the Operational Mode
To choose the mode you want to use: 1. With the RC-50 turned off, hold down the pair of buttons for the mode you want:
Rhythm PriorityLOOP SYNC + PHRASE 1 Sound PriorityLOOP SYNC + PHRASE 2
2. Without letting go of the mode buttons, press the POWER button on the RC-50s rear panel. 3. Continue to hold down the mode buttons until the RC-50s main screen is displayed, and then release the buttons.
The setting is saved in memory, so you dont need to carry out this procedure the next time you start up. You should carry out this procedure only when you want to change to a different mode. If youve chosen Sound Priority mode, be sure to turn the GUIDE knob all the way counter-clockwise. The Guide isnt used in this mode.