If sampling and looping is your thing you’ll definitely want to take a look at the new RC-300 Loop Station from BOSS.
It claims to be the most powerful Loop Station yet (building on the RC-3 and RC-30 models announced at NAMM’11) featuring three synchronised stereo tracks and a host of controls including dedicated footswitches, pro effects, inputs, and PC connectivity.
At-a-glance features:
- Three stereo tracks with dedicated footswitches and controls for each
- Dedicated fader per track
- Expression pedal for effects control in real time
- Up to three hours of internal recording and 99 onboard memories
- 16 onboard effects optimised for looping
- XLR Microphone input with phantom power
- USB storage; import/export WAV files
Triple Stereo Loops
Create, stack, and manipulate multi-layered loops with the RC-300’s three stereo tracks — each track being independently controllable. The “Auto Recording” feature starts recording the moment you begin playing your instrument, or as soon as you start a connected audio player. Count-In mode gives you one-bar of rhythm before recording starts. You can Undo/Redo as you go. The sky’s the limit with three hours of recording time!
Expanded Pedalboard
The RC-300’s ultra-wide pedalboard is equipped with an Expression pedal (which can be assigned to a variety of parameters) and enlarged footswitches for controlling REC/PLAY and STOP for each track. There’s also a master ALL START/STOP footswitch onboard. Additionally, three independent faders provide immediate control of each track’s output volume. And if that’s not enough control under your hands and feet, you can also connect external Expression pedals and footswitches (sold separately).
Onboard FX
Process your tracks and external-input signals with the RC-300’s expressive onboard effects, including Transpose, Flanger, Phaser, Modulator, vocal effects, and more. A dedicated LOOP FX footswitch is provided for instant activation of the onboard effects. Control the effects parameters in real time with the Expression pedal for hands-free creativity onstage. You can apply the effects to any single track as well as to the entire mix, expanding your creativity and musical expression.
Rhythm Guide and Preloaded Audio
To keep your loops tight and in time, you can play along with one of the cool rhythm patterns in the RC-300’s onboard library as you record; the Loop Quantize feature helps you having your recordings looped in time. Dozens of rhythm types are onboard, including rock, pop, shuffle, Latin, and more. A dedicated knob lets you adjust the volume of the rhythm, and you can set the tempo incrementally or via tap tempo. You can also specify the time signature. When you save a phrase, the rhythm type and time signature will also be saved. To get you up and running right away, the RC-300 comes preloaded with audio backing tracks (including bass tracks, piano tracks, etc.) for instant play-along performance and fun.
USB Connectivity
Connect the RC-300 to your computer via a standard USB cable, and back up your phrases externally for safekeeping. You can import and export WAV files between your computer and the RC-300; 16-bit/44.1kHz WAV files of up to 1.7GB in size can be imported.
AUX Input
In addition to recording your instrument performances and turning them into playable loops, you can record other external stereo audio sources via the AUX IN. Sounds from a digital-audio player or other device connected to the AUX input can easily be recorded and added to your loop performance.
