Open Box BOSS RC-600 Loop Station Effects Pedal Level 1 Red

Most Liked Negative Review

Broken on arrival and doesn't do what I need

Waited three months and it showed up with a broken knob. They're out of stock again so I assume the exchange process would also take months. Probably just returning it. I can already tell that it has some of the same drawbacks as the rc505 in terms of midi connectivity. I can get it to sync up and start the first loop on beat, but then subsequent loops (or even that first one if I clear it and try again) lose the downbeat after that. Not sure why that would be but I can't get it to find the downbeat again until I turn it off and back on. Even starting fresh on a new memory it won't lock in again without a total reset. They advertise all these capabilities and different loop modes/behaviors but don't mention that if you're trying to sync it with anything then most of the modes are even an option. As far as I can tell midi sync only starts recording on the downbeat if you have loop sync on, meaning the start of each phrase is lined up. So then if two phrases aren't the same length and you try to switch between them they start in the wrong spot. This essentially means that only one setting out of all of them can be used with midi (loops synced/same length or multiples). Far less versatile than what is advertised. I don't know about you guys but I play lots of songs where sections aren't all the same length. I suppose you could program in the specific number or measures for each phrase before recording and maybe that would work but I'm doing bar gigs and taking requests and stuff. I can't stop and map all that out in advance. Even when it is synced, the phrases I record still sound glitchy like they're being quantized even though hypothetically it shouldn't need to be stretched at all if the start and end points are synced with the metronome. These kinds of limitations aren't mentioned anywhere in the documentation. The manual is only like 20 pages and doesn't go into any detail about any of this. You just have to spend the money and figure out what doesn't work on your own. Very frustrating. I like the fact that it has 6 loops per memory. And the idea of being able to "bounce" one track to another is brilliant. I've always used two loop stations to recreate that, and would very much appreciate the flexibility of having it built in. It probably works great if you're just looping on the fly without a metronome but I specifically bought it for use with a drum machine because they advertised so much more functionality in that area. Beyond disappointed.